AARP Caregiving Resources - www.aarp.org/relationships/caregiving
Information on caring for your loved one or volunteering to help a friend. Plus for caregivers, an extensive toolkit filled with interactive features, such as expert videos, calculators and worksheets.
CaringBridge - www.caringbridge.org/
This free, customizable site connects family and friends during a loved one’s serious health event. It’s a good tool for keeping friends and family informed about a person’s condition. Visitors to the site can leave messages of love and support on it. Users can also sign up to receive messages when the loved one’s journal is updated with new information. You can also have your customized website turned into a CaringBook, a professionally printed book.
Lotsa Helping Hands - www.lotsahelpinghands.com/
You can use this website to create a free, private, web-based community to organize family, friends, neighbors and colleagues — a family’s “circles of community” during times of need. Use the site to easily coordinate activities and to invite and manage volunteers. Communicate and share information using announcements, message boards and photos.
CareMinds - www.careminds.com/home
Share caregiving experiences with others looking for knowledge, resources and insights into providing the best possible care for their older loved ones. Once you register, you can set up a private, personalized CareSite to organize a care team, to assign roles to each care team member, to share photos, to post supportive messages, to maintain a care calendar, to report on scheduled events, to chart recurring health readings and more.
ShareTheCare - www.sharethecare.org/
Read this guide to learn how to organize a group to care for someone who is seriously ill. The guide explains what a caregiver is, who needs one, how to start a group and make it run, how to be part of a group and share caregiving tasks and more.
Alzheimer’s Association Carefinder - www.alz.org/carefinder/index.asp
Get information and resources on planning ahead, care options and coordinating care.
Eldercare Locator - http://www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare.NET/Public/Index.aspx
Locate services and resources for older adults in any U.S. community. This site links older adults and their caregivers with state, local and community agencies on aging. The toll-free number is 1-800-677-1116.
Home Health Care Compare - www.medicare.gov/hhcompare/
Use this tool to investigate how well the home health agencies in your area care for their patients.
Meals on Wheels Association of America - www.mowaa.org/
Find a center (www.mowaa.org/Page.aspx?pid=253) near you to provide home-delivered, nutritious meals to your loved one. Or call 1-703-548-5558.
National Adult Day Services Association, Inc. - www.nadsa.org/
Get the facts on adult day services and find a location in your area. The toll-free number is 1-800-558-5301.
National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers - www.caremanager.org/
Find a local care manager and learn more about geriatric care.
National Association of Social Workers - www.helpstartshere.org/
Find resources and tip sheets for caregivers and a directory of social workers who specialize in working with older people and their caregivers.
National Respite Locator Service - chtop.org/ARCH/National-Respite-Locator.html
Search for local respite services, including programs that specialize in conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, epilepsy and autism. You may also call 1-919-490-5577.
National Alliance for Caregiving - www.caregiving.org/
Get information on caregiving research, policy analysis and national programs.
