Family Caregiver Support Serving The Phoenix Valley & Maricopa County

Help with bathing and grooming

Families often worry about how to keep their loved one clean.

Hazards of giving a bath
Seriously ill individuals are often unable to bathe or groom themselves. Family members may try to help, but assisting another person in and out of the tub or shower can be physically demanding. The floors are slippery. Surfaces are hard. And bathrooms are typically cramped with very little room for moving around.

More injuries occur in the bathroom than in any other room of the house. And the injury can be with the family caregiver as much as with the patient! Family members are not trained in methods for safely moving a frail or weak person. Even giving a sponge bath to a person in bed can be hard on a caregiver’s back.

Our skilled professionals
Our nurse aides, however, have learned safety techniques to protect their patients and themselves from injury. An aide can come to the home to help with bathing and grooming. This relieves your family of worry and risk.

Let us free up your time and energy
At Solace Hospice, we know there are many things that only family members can provide. Let our staff help with tasks such as bathing and grooming. This gives you time and energy to more easily provide the special love and affection only family caregivers can give.

24/7 access to advice and assistance

Have a question? Worried about something? Family caregivers are free to call the office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have professionals available to answer your concerns. No waiting until the morning, with your loved one in pain. You can rely upon our caregiver support program to get you a ready response. If it’s something we can help with over the phone, great! If not, our staff will come to check on your loved one. They will offer recommendations and make sure you are comfortable with the treatments being suggested.

Family caregiver educational resources

Our hospice nurses are available to answer your questions. In the comfort of your home, they can explain the disease and the medical issues that surround it. They understand the day-to-day impact of living with your loved one’s condition: the symptoms, the likely progression of the illness, treatments for remaining comfortable, and remedies for dealing with side effects. Education is a strong component of our caregiver support. Even in the context of an incurable condition, just knowing what to expect helps many patients and families relax and feel less anxious.

Plus we have an e-library of family caregiver educational materials that you can access online, 24/7. It’s full of information to help you and others in your family better understand the process you are all going through.

Respite: Getting some time off

It’s only natural to need a break now and then from the constant attention and responsibility of caring for a seriously ill loved one. At hospice we have two ways to provide respite:

• A hospice volunteer can come out periodically to stay with your loved one for a few hours while you get some relief. Go meet with a friend. Do something fun. . It’s not selfish. It’s part of being a responsible family caregiver. You need to keep your spirits up in order to continue to be present for your seriously ill relative. Our volunteers have been trained in the needs of the seriously ill. They can help physically. They can also sit and chat with your loved one. Patients often look forward to the volunteer’s visit as much as the family caregivers do!
• For an extended break, ask about our respite benefit. You may be eligible to have your loved one stay elsewhere for up to 5 days so you can build up your reserves. There is no charge for respite care.

Emotional and spiritual support

Powerful issues arise when a loved one is seriously ill. Our team of professionals is here to provide caregiver support to you and the rest of your family.

• Perhaps there is conflict in the family, disagreements about care.
• Maybe you and your relative have never had a close relationship and the process of providing care is bringing up difficult feelings or painful memories.
• You might be struggling with spiritual issues, feeling angry at God or questioning your faith.

You can talk with our social worker about family and emotional issues. And our chaplain is available to help you come to resolve those existential questions that naturally arise as you deal with death and dying. (Chaplains do not push a particular faith. They draw upon the insights and principles of religions generally to help people find their own inner answers to life’s difficult questions.)

Grief support and bereavement. At such time that your loved one passes, the hospice team is available to help with periodic check-ins and access to grief professionals for the entire year after the death.

Coordination of services

There’s a lot to juggle caring for a seriously ill loved one. It may be that there are programs in the community that can help with your family’s specific needs around things like transportation, food, installing a grab bar in the bathroom, etc. Our social workers are very knowledgeable about the programs in Maricopa County and can help you apply to those that you qualify for.

This article is brought to you by Solace Hospice.

Might you or a loved one benefit from hospice care?
Check out our services

• Hospice in Phoenix, AZ and neighboring communities
• Hospice in Scottsdale, AZ and neighboring communities
• Hospice in Peoria, AZ and neighboring communities
• Hospice in Sun City, AZ and neighboring communities
• Hospice in Surprise, AZ and neighboring communities
• Hospice in Mesa, AZ and neighboring communities
• Hospice in Chandler, AZ and neighboring communities