Introduction

This CD is designed to provide resources for family caregivers with a loved one who needs ongoing care and assistance in Indiana.

 

Caregiving can be an overwhelming and difficult task. It’s not easy to determine what help your loved one needs, find those services, figure out how to pay for them and then monitor to see that quality care is given. To help you on your caregiving journey, we have filled this CD with information to educate, guide and empower you. On it, you will find resources that cover the continuum of long term care—from keeping your loved one at home to care in a nursing home.

 

Although we have prepared this CD with you, the family caregiver, in mind, each and every one of these resources can be easily adapted and used by the consumer him or herself. In fact, we urge you to involve your loved one as much as possible in discussions and decisions about his or her own care, while you focus on doing the best you can to support and advocate for his or her wishes.

 

And if the going gets tough, remember there are many places you can turn for support, and caregiving is all about just doing the best you can.

A Few Notes About This CD

This CD can be used in a number of different ways. Some people may want to focus in on the information they need right now, while others will prefer to read through all the material in order to start planning for care in the future. There is no right or wrong way to use this resource.

The CD is designed to be run on a computer that is connected to the internet. If you are not connected to the internet, this CD will still function, but none of the outside links for more resources will be accessible.

You will find many useful links and resources on this CD. Text that is blue indicates a link to a helpful resource. To access the resource, just click once on the blue text.

To read all of the resource documentation provided on this CD, you must have a copy of Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. Acrobat Reader is available as a free download here.

Finally, the material contained on this CD is current as of June 2009. Future updates are planned, but if you wish more current information during the year, you will need to contact the authors of the original source material.