Caregiving Resources in the Mt. Washington Valley

February 25, 2024

According to AARP, family caregivers spend a lot of time caring for family, neighbors and friends — an average of 24 hours of care per week, studies show. For some, it’s a full-time job. Although it may truly be a labor of love, the truth is, family caregivers often feel invisible, alone and unappreciated. The value of caregivers is unmeasurable when considered as hours of unpaid care. 

Rachel Vose, Licensed Clinical Social Worker for Visiting Nurse Home Care & Hospice of Carroll County (VNHCH) has seen firsthand what it means to be a caregiver. Not only does she support caregivers in her role at VNHCH, she too was caregiver to her own parents in their final years.

Vose shared that many people don’t understand the important role of a caregiver and what it entails. She enumerated their responsibilities including:

While most caregivers find caring for a loved one to be rewarding, Vose acknowledged the difficulties involved. “There’s a lot of emotional stress for caregivers. Most of us know very little about caring for a really sick person, let alone the dying. When you add those emotions, and feeling that you don’t have the knowledge, there is a lot of fear.   But the flip side is, it’s a gift, whether it’s done out of duty, respect or love, it’s very, very worthwhile.”

Vose recognized that not everyone has the resources to get the help they need.  But thanks to new community resources and an ACL grant, there are more ways than ever for caregivers in Carroll County and western Maine to get education and support.  

In 2022, the Mt. Washington Valley received a 3-year ACL grant,  a program that makes awards to provide services and supports for older adults and people with disabilities, to conduct research, and develop innovative approaches to doing both. The Mt. Washington Valley ACL grant supports services through the Gibson Center for Senior Services, VNHCH, Mt. Washington Valley Adult Day Center, and Memorial Hospital.  The grant has funded caregiver training, dementia programs and adult day services. 

Here are local supports to be aware of:

Memorial Hospital recently published a schedule of spring 2024 dementia and caregiver focused workshops, including Teepa Snow training, Virtual Dementia Tour and REACH caregiver program. (See Sidebar for Details). 

In closing, Rachel recounted, “It is a gift. When all is said and done, people feel a sense of gratitude. They feel good about what they did and grateful for the experience.”

For more information on VNHCH, visit them online at www.VNHCH.org or call 603-356-7006.

Upcoming Workshops for Caregivers

To register for these workshops at Memorial Hospital Education Center, sign up via CourseStorm: memorial.coursestorm.com or call 603-356-5472,ext 2553.

Teepa Snow Positive Approach to Care®, Getting to Know Dementia

A series offered for loved ones who are caring for a person living with dementia.

The Virtual Dementia Tour®

(VDT) is an experiential training program that enables caregivers to experience for themselves the physical and mental challenges those with dementia face, and use the experience to provide better person-centered care.

Tues. April 2nd, 1:30-3:30pm, Memorial Hospital Education Center 

Tues. May 7th, 1:30-3:30pm, Memorial Hospital Education Center 

Tues. June 4th, 1:30-3:30pm, Memorial Hospital Education Center