MEDICARE CAREGIVER INFORMATION
www.medicare.gov/caregivers
This Web site focuses specifically on how caregivers can make the most of Medicare for their care recipients. It has a comprehensive guide to Medicare for caregivers, an online video of a panel discussion on connecting caregivers to Medicare, and numerous articles.
STRENGTH FOR CARING
www.strengthforcaring.com
This site on caregiving, created by Johnson & Johnson, has informational articles, personal stories, and message boards through which caregivers can communicate. A unique offering is its CareConnector, an application for iPhone and iPod touch that includes a care planner, a prescription manager, a journal, and links to the online message boards of Strength for Caring.
LOTSA HELPING HANDS
http://nac.lotsahelpinghands.com
Created by the National Alliance for Caregiving, this site allows caregivers to create an online community with friends, relatives, neighbors, and others to manage caregiving tasks — for either a single caregiving situation or for more than one. The intent is to make it easier for caregivers to ask for help. Lotsa Helping Hands aims to be user-friendly and is free to use.
Audio/video
YOUR CAREGIVING JOURNEY
www.blogtalkradio.com/Caregiving
Your Caregiving Journey is a weekly online radio show hosted by Denise Brown, who is also the creator of Caregiving.com. The show’s subjects include traveling with a care recipient, saving money, books on caregiving, and personal profiles of caregivers.
CARING FOR YOUR PARENTS
PBS/WGBH Boston, 2008
This documentary, a companion to the book of the same title, follows several families through their caregiving experiences while also exploring the broader phenomenon of caregiving. A DVD of the program is available for purchase at www.amazon.com and www.shoppbs.org; the program can also be viewed for free online at www.pbs.org/wgbh/caringforyourparents. The online video is paired with a free “Caregiver’s Handbook” and a separate video, A Conversation on Caring, in which a panel discusses issues related to caregiving.
Government service
ELDERCARE LOCATOR
(800) 677-1116
www.eldercare.gov
This service, available by phone or on the Web, gives the contact information of local public agencies that deal with services for the elderly. The Web site also has a link (”Eldercare Locator Pubs,” under “Other Resources”) to fact sheets and booklets for older adults and caregivers that can be downloaded or ordered in printed form.
