Last month, we reported on an innovative employer education program undertaken by the Alzheimer's Association of Southeast Wisconsin and other agencies with funding by the United Way in Waukesha County. This month, we feature interviews with two representatives of employers who attended the caregiver simulation event. The project exposed employers to the reality of caregiving challenges by having them engage in a guided problem-solving process that illustrated the variety of situations and challenges faced by employed family caregivers. For more, see July 08 issue.

Interview #1: Deborah Fuderer (DF), who works for GE Healthcare as program director of the Cancer Support Connection, heard about the event from a communication manager at her company.

JPM: Why was your company interested in your attending this event?

DF: The Cancer Support Connection is an internal program for our employees and their immediate family members who are diagnosed with cancer. This was a good opportunity to take advantage of local resources for this group. We are finding more of our employees who are dealing with a parent who is getting older and in need of care.

JPM: What was the Caregiver Simulation experience like?

DF: We had individual scenarios that we had to resolve. I thought it was very interesting where some things were easier to resolve and others more difficult. I learned that there are a lot of resources in our county that I had no clue even existed. I also learned that you need to be organized when you go to talk with agencies.

I think the average person has no idea how really difficult it is to do it, i.e., finding the elder care that's needed. It would be very beneficial for HR teams to actually go through something like this. I was amazed that the process wasn't more streamlined and easier to deal with.

JPM: Did you share your experience with anyone back at your company?

DF: Because we are so large a company, we would need to translate the program into an initiative that would work across the U.S. I definitely think the company would look at doing this on a national level - helping employees know where to go on a local level.

I think many people are going to be in for a real rude awakening when they realize what's involved in elder care.

Interview #2: Sandy Shockley (SS) works for UPS in Business Development and heard about the project via an announcement at a staff meeting that provided an update on United Way activities.

JPM: Why were you interested in this topic?

SS: I've been a caregiver in the past and recently I was a caregiver for my uncle. And this time, I found that it was affecting my life at work and at home.

JPM: What was the Caregiver Simulation experience like for you?

SS: It was a real eye-opener because, a lot of times, we focus on our own family situation and what's happening with them. To go to the simulation and be given the different scenarios handed out - real- life situations that others face - raised my awareness. The main benefit was realizing that I am not alone. I guess it is becoming an every day thing in our society. People are living longer lives and they need assistance as they get older. What I wasn't so aware of was that everyone cannot wind up in a nursing home. The elderly have to be taken care of by family members.

Dealing with my uncle, who did wind up in a nursing home, I was horrified with the lack of care he received - and with the amount of money paid out. Even if you have an elderly relative placed in a nursing home, you are still an active caregiver. In fact, you feel more obligated. And it's hard. I could not believe how draining it is.

The simulation showed me where you can look for support groups - probably a little too late for me, but great to know that these resources are available for others.

JPM: How would you recommend that this type of education be brought to more employers?

SS: These types of events should be offered at least twice a year. Reach out to the management and HR people at the companies. If they are not aware of this issue, they can't really respond.

JPM: Did you report back to your company after the simulation experience?

SS: We did share the findings at two different meetings. Because of my caregiving experience, I had educated my immediate supervisor and manager about my situation. One of our HR people also attended the simulation and I know that she did report back to other managers.

I've been an employee at UPS for 29 years now and I've never worked with a manager that I couldn't talk to about this type of issue. I've found that, at UPS, managers do listen and respond. I'd like to see more of these simulations, covering more topics, like the importance of having a living will and the decisions that caregivers often have to make on behalf of elders who may become mentally incompetent.