1. 44 GUIDE TO GOOD HEALTH www.guidetogoodhealth.com Spring 2015
We All Feel Better
at Home
Apartment, house, assisted living or nursing
home—when we’re not well, we want the
people, surroundings and routines we know.
VITAS ensures that patients near the end of
life are home, in comfort and dignity, with a
professional hospice team to oversee their care.
If symptoms become acute, a continuous care
team is at the bedside up to 24 hours a day,
avoiding frightening trips to the ER. And that
makes the family feel better, too.
VITAS brings hospice home.
800.723.3233
VITAS.com
By Margi Shrum
The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) offers a
helping hand to those who are helping others through its Family
Caregiver Support Program.
Administered by the DHS Area Agency on Aging (AAA), the program
reimburses eligible caregivers for expenses for supplies and services they
provide to keep a loved one in his or her home in Allegheny County.
The program, which reimburses up to $200 per month to caregivers,
tends to be under the radar for several reasons, said Brenda Slagle, AAA’s
Family Caregiver Support coordinator. One is that husbands, wives, chil-
dren and other immediate family members tend to not think of themselves
as caregivers when in fact they are and can benefit from the program.
Family Caregiver Support can cover the costs of even seemingly mun-
dane services, such as meal preparation, medication setup and assistance, or
light housekeeping. Those are functions that family members provide out
of love and fealty. But they can take income away from a caregiver who must
pay someone else to do these tasks, or they can prevent a caregiver from
working to bring in enough money to support a household. They can also
take away from a caregiver’s time in tending to other family members.
“We want Allegheny County’s residents to know that while it’s under-
standable to help, that doesn’t have to come with a heavy cost,” Brenda said.
“There is support to cover expenses and consequently help free a caregiv-
er from some stress.”
Besides services, the Family Caregiver Support Program can reimburse
for supplies, such as disinfectant and incontinence products, and nutrition-
al supplements.
A portion of respite and adult day care services costs can also be reim-
bursed.
While the Area Agency on Aging administers the program, that doesn’t
mean that caregivers them-
selves necessarily have to be
older.
Legal guidelines for the
Family Caregiver Support
Program, which is a federally
mandated program, allow it to
benefit caregivers age 18 or older
who assist a loved one age 60 or
older. They also allow reimburse-
ments for caregivers who help a
loved one who is between 18 and
59 years old who has a diagnosis
of dementia.
Further, people who are age 55
or older who care for a relative
who is not their own child are eligible if the person they are helping is under
18 years of age or between 19 and 59 years old.
There are income eligibility guidelines to qualify for the Family Caregiver
Support Program. But importantly, program administrators utilize trained,
skilled care managers to help families not only through determining eligi-
bility but also with other needs, including training to develop care-giving
skills, and financial and resource counseling.
“There is no need to feel alone and overburdened,” Brenda said. “Call the
Senior Line to take that first step in helping yourself to help your loved
one.”
Margi Shrum is a communications specialist for the Allegheny
County Department of Human Services. She can be reached at
(412) 350-5482 or margi.shrum@alleghenycounty.us.
Family Caregiver Support Program
Offers Financial Help
>
Senior Guide
To get started in finding assistance,
or to learn about other programs sup-
porting older adults, call the AAA Senior
Line. The local number is
(412) 350-5460. The toll-free num-
ber is 1-800-344-4319. The line is
open Monday through Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Emails are also answered at
SeniorLine@alleghenycounty.us.