American Red Cross Class & Family Caregiver Classes

The purpose of Family Caregiver Support Classes is to help participants gain an understanding of what is involved in caring for a loved one and know how to provide that care through eight one-hour class modules covering topics such as personal care, nutrition, home safety and others. This information is of vital importance to those caring for their loved ones who suffer from chronic illness or disabilities. These classes are free and participants receive a booklet for each module:

• Home Safety
• General Caregiving Skills
• Positioning and Helping Your Loved One Move
• Assisting with Personal Care
• Healthy Eating
• Caring for the Caregiver
• Legal and Financial Issues
• Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's Disease or Dementia

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Class Modules

Clinic Resource Group is a national account for the American Red Cross Family Caregiver program. We certify teachers across the country and direct caregivers to community teachers for class locations and times. The classes are designed to help the every day individual in taking care of loved and do not offer any professional level certification. Please refer to your local community college for upper level training support. Red Cross Caregiver classes are typically offered at community centers such as libraries, various medical support classes, caregiver support sites as well as employers and hospitals.

All classes include handouts and additional provider information. Caring for a parent, spouse or friend at home can be overwhelming. Let the Red Cross Family Caregiver classes help you. Contact GRC today for your local teaching contact for class locations and times. Here is a review of the eight class modules.

Home Safety
The module, Home Safety helps to prepare individuals who are family caregivers to provide a safe environment for themselves and the person in their care by keeping their homes safe from hazards and fires; to recognize the importance of knowing how to use equipments such as wheelchairs; to understand how to protect themselves and their loves one from infection; and to understand how to be prepared for emergencies.

General Caregiving
The module helps to prepare caregivers to measure their loved one's vital; signs such as pulse, respirations and body temperature and how to assist with medications.

Positioning and Helping Your Loved One Move
This module will help prepare caregivers to safely positions and help their loved one move by applying principles of good body mechanics; to understand the importance of repositioning a loved one who spends a lot of time in bed; to recognize how to prevent pressure ulcers; and to understand how to safely help their loved one move.

Assisted with Personal Care
The Assisting with Personal Care Module concerns helping to prepare individuals to assist their loved one with personal care such as bathing, grooming and using the toilet.

Healthy Eating
Health Eating Module will help prepare caregivers to learn about good nutrition and helping their loved one eat.

Caring for the Caregiver
Caring for the Caregiver will help prepare caregivers to care for their own health while caring for a loved one.

Legal and Financial Issues
Legal and Financial Issues will help prepare individuals to understand the legal issues surrounding caring for someone and planning his or her health care; and understand financial issues such as insurance information and budgeting.

Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or Dementia
This module helps to inform caregivers to understand how to deal with the common behaviors, how to provide care and to recognize the signs of depression associated with this disease.