At this moment, in countless private homes and nursing facilities nationwide,

someone is awaiting a drink, a kindly word, medication, or the comfort of another's company. Whether driven by hunger, pain, or feeling isolated from the familiar, in all likelihood, comfort will come from a caregiver.

Caregivers, nurse's aides, nurses, social workers, and hospice workers are the front line protecting the vulnerable. In addition to addressing patient's medical needs, we rely upon caregivers to provide care with compassion. 

Home Alone

Family members who become caregivers quickly realize that, although gratifying, caregiving is emotionally and physically exhausting. In the absence of adequate support, unforeseen calamities, loss of personal freedom, worry, and fatigue often lead to caregiver depression.

Unless a supportive relief network is promptly rallied, the patient and the caregiver suffer. 

Institutional Care

When in-home care is not possible, nursing facilities' staff experience much of the same stress, emotional and physical strain that the in-home provider endures.  Nurse's aides, social workers, and hospice workers all benefit from  a support network, and are therefore able to equitably share responsibilities. But such a system is unable to provide immunity from fatigue, stress, guilt, depression or burnout.

We assume there will always be caring and capable people in these roles, working in end-of-life care, providing a safety net to those in need. 

At To Honor, our goal is to ensure caregiver's needs are met, so that they are better able to meet the challenge.

Acknowledging Excellence

How can we recognize, and celebrate those who've chosen to work in caregiving, and in social work? In American culture, recognition is most often realized through wages and benefits.

The reality is, industry standard wage in the field of social welfare is seldom commensurate with education, skill, or value added.

Caregivers are held accountable to improve the human condition.  We believe the time has come for us to consider the caregiver's human condition. 

Concern for the Caregiver

In a 2003 article published by The Family Caregiver Alliance, entitled "Caregiver Depression; A Growing Health Concern", author Leslie Gray, MSW, cited greater levels of premature mortality in the caregiving versus the non-caregiving population. A 2004 study suggested that caregivers were found to suffer depression more often than the patients they serve.  

And while these concerns are grave, nursing facilities nationwide haven't yet met their greatest challenge. Thirty-eight million Baby Boomers (Americans born between 1946-64) will begin to require services of the skilled nursing population by 2011.

How do we as a society consciously prepare the caregiving industry for the challenge ahead? How can we demonstrate 'our' compassion to those dispensing compassionate end-of-life care?

                                       We propose To Honor

Respite Retreat at To Honor

To retain those currently dispensing care, and to attract others to this increasingly demanding field,  we must care for the caregiver.

Addressing their needs, acknowledging and honoring their efforts, and supporting them with respite will:

• Reduce physical and emotional suffering
• Bolster strength and spirit by conveying community-wide support, respect, validation and appreciation of continued efforts
• Spare nursing facilities some of the cost and disruption associated with employee turnover, and
• Safeguard the quality of patient care by retaining caregivers already familiar to their patients; those currently giving compassionate patient care.