Following my participation at Haverford Quarterly Meeting in January, I spoke with Friends Winnie Shaw Hope, who spent many years as a Special Education teacher and as a Social Worker, and Meg Lytton, a retired Family Medicine physician. In 2023, Haverford Quarter made a concerted effort to reach out to caregivers. They identified a need that many caregivers have emotional and financial concerns with great differences. Their goal was to “insert into people’s consciousness” the needs of caregivers, themselves.
Caregivers are often involved with the care of infants through the aged. The cared for often vary in needs from physical and mental health to hospice care. Even after someone has passed away, caregivers experience impact from their experience.
Haverford Quarter offered meetings geared towards caregiver support. They quickly learned that scheduling was an issue as caregivers’ time is not their own as they are responsible for those for whom they’re caring. Those who managed to attend poured out their concerns and appreciated the support.
Winnie and Meg realized that they could still offer support through their newsletter, Radnor Monthly News, and the Care and Council committee. They’ve begun to share information on dementia, the physical needs of caring 24 hours a day, and sibling support. The duo noted that grief work includes all family members. Feelings regarding caregiving of a family member and grief includes all family members, who may each process feelings involved differently from one another. Acknowledging these feelings and keeping communications open among family members is very important when possible.
Recognition was given for the need for early establishment of Power of Attorney, Advance Care Planning: Advance Directives for Health Care | National Institute on Aging, and it was noted that using the correct form for the Friend’s state was imperative. Health care systems will not accept POA’s found online or other sources if they aren’t the approved state form such as the Free Advance Directive Forms by State from AARP. Friends can find these references on Quaker Aging Resources site in the Related Links section under the Financial Matters Resource Financial Matters | Quaker Aging Resources.
Our discussion included utilizing publications on keeping legacy documents such as New York Yearly Meeting’s workbook which was recently updated. Other important points of discussion centered around what questions patients or family members should be asking physicians. The LISTEN NOW | willgather Podcast serves as a helpful resource in listening to experts; the resources are offered through the Penn Memory Center. PYM and NYYM established the Quaker Aging Resources website 13 years ago and produced resourceful pamphlets including Care of the Caregiver | Quaker Aging Resources. Accessing community and Quaker resources will hopefully provide support for caregivers. Meetings who have established caregiving support are encouraged to reach out to PYM Aging Support to collaborate on ways to share their experiences with the wider community.
This article was prepared by Sheila Sorkin, PYM, Aging Support Coordinator. This article is to provide support, resources and engage the aging community of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting as part of the “To Brighten Your Day” series.
