A Caregiver In Pinellas County Said It's Heartbreaking When A Client Dies

TAMPA BAY AREA, FL — Caregivers do crucial work in Florida homes, helping residents with daily tasks, often enabling them to remain at home. In some cases caregivers are viewed as an extension of the family, and one worker says she sees her job as helping a loved one.

National Caregivers Day is observed the third Friday in February to honor those who provide emotional and personal support to people who need care. The Providers Association for Home Health & Hospice Agencies established the day in 2015, according to National Today.

Catherine McSwain, a caregiver who has been employed with Right at Home Central Pinellas for almost four years, told Patch it takes a very caring and loving person to do the job of a caregiver. She said she has those qualities and loves helping people.

"It brings me so much joy to care for other people," McSwain said. "I work 12-hour shifts, and at the end of the day, I feel happy knowing I've given my client the care they need."

McSwain said heartbreak also comes with the job because eventually you lose the person you've been caring for and have developed a relationship with until their death. In a way, it's like losing a family member.

"Recently, I just lost one of my clients," McSwain said. "She was a lovely lady. She had Alzheimer's, and she thought I was her daughter. And we kept it that way because it made her happy."

Her client was under her care for about three years, spending 12 hours a day with her.

McSwain said she cares for clients the way you would your parent because she had experience being a caregiver to her mom, who died over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2011.

Caregivers Spend On Average In A Month, According To Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index

• Six days grooming, feeding, dressing, bathing and walking a person who relies on them for basic needs.
• Thirteen days commuting, cleaning, doing the laundry, monitoring medication, shopping and cooking special meals for their clients.
• Thirteen hours spent coordinating visits with physicians, researching symptoms and diseases, and managing finances.

Peter Snelling, executive director of Right at Home branches that include Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee Counties, said in a Patch interview that his dad was 57 years old and his mom was 46 when she gave birth to him. As they aged, he had to offer care to them for daily activities. He eventually needed help from others caring for his parents.

"In those days, there were few, if any, professional agency options. Fortunately, I was able to find a couple of amazing ladies who provided care and assistance for my parents, for many years, and they were able to live out their remaining days in their family home," Snelling said.

Snelling said that often the care that family caregivers provide goes unacknowledged, sometimes even by the very people that they are caring for. This is why the Right at Home team encourages as many people as possible to celebrate National Caregivers Day.

"If nothing else, this is a wonderful opportunity to simply say, 'Thank you for everything you've done and continue to do,'" Snelling said.

For more information about Right at Home that offers services in Tampa Bay and nationwide, visit their website.