November is National Family Caregivers Month. We sat down with Erica Morse, a former Med Supply employee who has found her calling in the fields of Caregiving and Gerontology, to answer a few questions about the life of a caregiver.
Can you explain what a gerontologist is?
My degree in gerontology, that is the study of aging. How I explain it to people is basically like social work, specifically for older people, but also you’re learning the psychosocial aspects of aging, death, dying, family dynamics, all of that. But it is a degree where you definitely have to make your own career, no one really hires a gerontologist unfortunately.
I got into it because my first job was at an assisted living kitchen and I really worked well with seniors, one of my friends moms at the time told me about a gerontology degree. I didn’t really think about it but I was like, “Oh, I love old people! This should be fun, this works well for me.” Then when I graduated I was like, “Oh, I’m gonna have to do something else to figure this out”, which is why I originally thought nursing home administration would be the logical next step, but my life’s changed since then.
What led you to becoming a caregiver?
Actually, it was when I moved on from Med Supply. Management gave me some options of other opportunities I could pursue, and if I wanted to keep driving long distances to learn something new or if I wanted to just move in a different direction. At that time I just thought it’d be best, especially with where I live, and I had a really hard time finding a job at that time. I exhausted my entire unemployment, and I could not find a job that suited me. So I thought, “Well, I’m just going to put my name on care.com and see what happens.” And I got contacted by a woman who was 49 and I started working for her, then someone else found me on care.com and I just started doing that.
How long have you been in this field?
I’ve been working with elders since I was 14, so in some capacity I’ve worked with older people for the past 19 years. The majority of it was in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, places like that. Discharge planning, I was a Therapy Program Manager for awhile, I did therapy tech work, then Med Supply setting up the medical equipment but also doing home care and hospice as needed. Then I worked two years at CareOne Senior Care which is a private-duty home care agency, as Agency Director and Care Manager. I’ve been caregiving in some capacity since 2015.
Can you describe the basic duties of being a caregiver?
You’re helping another individual live their life. When I look at what a caregiver does specifically, they do everything. You do everything that it takes to help the person live the life they want. Basic housekeeping, going out, keeping relationships, having phone calls, coming up with meaningful activities to do, help create ways to preserve their independence. You try to encourage people to do as much as they can. Like one of my fellas, he’s real stiff and achey and I do have to help him a lot but I always make him try to put his own pants on before I assist him. And last week I went over and he’d gotten his pants on by himself! You know, it takes me a little while to learn my peeps but once I know them I try to come up with things where you do this, I do that.
You have to have a lot of patience because really, people just need time to do it at their pace and in their own way. And the beautiful thing about the home setting is you have the opportunity to do that. If you’re in a facility you really can’t foster independence for people because you have to move on to the next person.
How do you find your client base?
So I started with a post on care.com but I really don’t have to post anymore. care.com opened the door because I was desperate and didn’t know what to do. After awhile, what ends up happening is you start building these unofficial networks with other private caregivers. So you just start to meet other people that are doing it too, in your area. It’s all about building connections, and when you’re working in peoples houses you’re better off with a word-of-mouth referral because there are caregivers for everything client, and clients for every caregiver, but not everyone is a good match. I know that if someone has been referred to me I feel very comfortable that they probably know my style is going to be good for them.
If I was going to give someone advice on it though, care.com is the way to go. You can background check yourself, post your driving record, you pay a nominal fee you come up in searches for other people. I’ve used care.com to recruit my caregivers for 24/7 cases and things like that. NextDoor is another asset, a client’s family found two amazing caregivers there, and it really localizes you to your specific area and people looking for that.
What is your favorite part about the job?
I like the problem solving and set up aspects of things. Once I’ve got a client’s routine set, everything’s good, no drama or problems to solve, I tend to get a little bored. I usually find those are the ones I will do a once or twice a week visit with, maybe that person and I have something I do with them. But I am not a sit in place kind of caregiver. I’m a pretty active person, I’m always organizing houses. I do functional nutrition also, so I do nutrition assessments, work on meal plans, try to work on their goals. I’m very functionally oriented, so for me, I kind of need those clients with a challenge. My perfect client is someone who has the funds to be able to stay at home, has some family or friend support where they have some safety net, not just the caregivers, and then I come in and help them create a cohesive system.
A message to family caregivers:
You may feel like you’re failing at “doing it all” if you are the sole caregiver for a family member. I really like to counsel families that you’re not doing yourself or your loved one any favors by not getting help for yourself. Never be afraid to ask for help. I think that sometimes when you can get outside help, what it does is create a neutral party that can give some suggestions or can show you a different strategy for handling situations.
I can walk into a persons home without decades of baggage and emotional this or that, with no pre-conceived relationship, and build a different kind of rapport and relationship with the client. And sometimes that’s just enough to give the primary caregiver a break so they can go do yoga or get a massage or go to the grocery store without having to worry about how long it takes to get back, or whatever it is, just get a break. And it also gives the client another person to talk to, another perspective. You know, they’re just sitting at home being bored too so, really, building relationships and companionship is super important as well. Even when you are meeting all the needs of your loved one, a lot of times that loved one has lost their independence or has no-one else to talk to. So even just getting a new companion alone can be huge benefit in mood for the client. Look for community resources, never be afraid to reach out and get some information.
Trusted resources to find caregivers: