The Big Squeeze
When Working and Caregiving Collide
By DIANE YORK
Catherine Sterling* is a mother of two daughters with severe
disabilities. She is also a talented and valued employee at a local
college. Her older daughter, Keltcie, has Rett Syndrome, a progressive,
debilitating disease that robs the child of previously learned skills,
such as walking, talking and self-feeding.
“Keltcie could not attend school as she was having seizures every day,”
said Sterling. “She cannot feed herself, cannot communicate and is in a
wheelchair much of the time. She needs full-time care every day and
night.”
Her younger daughter, Peggy, 12, has a form of autism. She can attend
school with the assistance of a helper. She, too, requires lots of extra
care.
As Keltcie’s disease progressed, Sterling found it harder and harder to
work. She tried to find help, but potential aides were scared away by
Keltcie’s history of choking and seizures. Sterling was worried that
she’d lose her job.
Her employer stepped in and worked with her to arrange for her to
telecommute, staying in close touch by phone and computer. She is also
teaching an online course at night, when her husband is at home.
“I love my job, and I need to work,” she said. “I am so grateful to the
college that they have shown such a spirit of flexibility and
cooperation.”
Millions of individuals face a dilemma similar to Catherine Sterling’s,
whether they’re caring for a child, a parent, a spouse—or all of the
above. It’s estimated that nearly one in five Americans provides
substantial care for a disabled relative over age 18. And projections
indicate that more than 10 million older adults will have long-term care
needs by 2020.
Schedule Squeezes
Elaine Petri* is another employed caregiver. She works full time while
trying to keep her husband who suffers from dementia at home and caring
for her father who is almost totally incapacitated by a stroke. Both
live at home with her.
Her husband goes to adult day care three days a week. She has struggled
with this schedule for several years.
“My employer has worked with me. They have given me a great deal of
flexibility,” Petri explained. “I have used the Family [and Medical]
Leave Act and also use my own sick leave and vacation time. Every day
must be carefully planned.”
With a full schedule at work and at home, she says she would not have
been able to continue working if her employer was not willing to help.
Robert Mellon* is a busy executive with a demanding schedule. He juggles
his usual 50-hour work week with the responsibility of caring for his
dad who cannot drive or prepare meals and who gets confused.
“You think an errand, an appointment will only be 30 minutes or an hour,
but it always is more than that. You have to really plan your time and
then figure it is going take a lot longer,” said Mellon. “All the small
things you do add up… It takes a lot of time from my job. It is hard to
fulfill both the role of a caregiver and my professional role.”
Employers’ Vital Role
Elissa Ecker is well aware of the needs of caregivers—her husband gives
full-time care for his own mother. So, as vice president of human
resources for Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, she is in a position to
champion flexibility and compassion for employees who are juggling the
roles of parent, employee and caregiver.
“We changed our policy so that sick leave can be used for doctor’s
appointments for disabled relatives, changed our bereavement policy from
three days to five days to help our employees get through hard times,”
said Ecker.
“We also initiated a unique leave-sharing program so that employees can
donate their leave time to another employee who is in distress.”
She says that agencies such as Senior Connections, The Capital Area
Agency on Aging, are an invaluable asset to both employers and
employees.
“We have been able to offer more services to our employees through our
workplace partnership with Senior Connections,” Ecker said. “They have
come to our workplace and given presentations, brown bag luncheons, on
subjects like Medicare Part D and geriatric pharmaceuticals. They have
helped us to find solutions to [employees’] stressful situations, even
if it’s showing them that they are not alone!”
Making It Work
Everyone benefits when employers can help employees handle the demands
of caregiving. Marian Dolliver, the caregiver support manager at Senior
Connections, explained, “Productivity is lost when the employee has a
relative he must care for—we help return them to productivity. The
person who needs care gets better care when the employee caregiver is
given help.”
For the most part, Area Agencies on Aging such as Senior Connections do
not provide direct services. However, said Dolliver, “Our ‘Care Compass’
can help the employer and the employee tap into resources they may be
unaware of.” [See ‘Ease the Squeeze’ sidebar.]
John Paul Marosy is a consultant on the subject of elder care. In his
book, “A Manager’s Guide to Elder Care and Work,” Marosy urges employers
to build trust with employees by letting them know that they can use
flex time and leave time to care for family members without penalty. He
says it’s important to share information about policies with employees.
He also recommends flexibility in utilizing existing policy and
creativity in coming up with new policies.
Marosy’s second book, “Elder Care: A Six Step Guide to Balancing Work
and Family,” provides the employee a step-by-step process to create a
written plan to deal with his or her personal situation.
Diane York lives in Richmond and frequently
writes about health and fitness. She has a master’s degree in
rehabilitation counseling.
*Names have been changed to preserve the privacy of
individuals and their families
Working Figures
-Approximately 35 million Americans provide care for
a family member or friend over age 50.
- The average age of these caregivers is 47.
- Nearly 60% of these caregivers are also employed, most in full-time
jobs.
- A full-time employee who is also a caregiver costs the employer $2,110
a year on average.
Sources: Caregiving in the United States,
National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, 2004; The MetLife Caregiving
Cost Study, MetLife Mature Market Institute and NAC,
2006.
Ease the Squeeze
Sources of help for working caregivers
Senior Connections, The Capital Area Agency on Aging
www.seniorconnections-va.org
(804) 343-3000, (800) 989-2286
Programs include Workplace Partners for Eldercare, Care Compass,
Friendship Cafés, and assistance with Medicare/Medicaid applications.
Other Virginia area agencies on aging provide similar programs. See
www.vaaaa.org or call (804) 644-2804 to find the agency nearest you.
Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Richmond Chapter
www.alz.org/grva
(804) 967-2580
(800) 272-3200
(statewide 24-hour helpline)
The chapter provides educational resources for families dealing with
Alzheimer’s disease. It does not provide direct services, only
referrals. More than two dozen in-person support groups meet throughout
the chapter’s service area, which includes Fredericksburg and the
Tri-Cities. Charlottesville is served by the Central and Western
Virginia Chapter,
www.alz.org/cwva.
Family Lifeline
www.familylifeline.org
(804) 282-4255
Jewish Family Services
www.jfsrichmond.org
(804) 282-5644
Commonwealth Catholic Charities
www.cccofva.org
(804) 285-5900
The three organizations above have need-based, sliding scale pricing
for in-home care services. Home care services through commercial
agencies generally cost from $15 to $22 per hour. Individual
(non-agency) caregivers charge less.
