vice magazine logo

Christensen, 56, is his dad’s primary caregiver. The role requires him to traverse the street between their homes every hour or so to prepare Reed’s meals, administer eye drops, deliver groceries, manage finances, and, above all, keep him company.

Since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, much attention has been devoted to flattening the curve of the disease while also raising the line of health care system capacity. In other words, keeping people out of the hospital.

Many of the individuals required to turn those ideas into reality reside outside the traditional health care settings. They are responsible for preventing potential patients’ deterioration in the first place, and helping patients discharged from the hospital recover and rehab at home.

These largely unrecognized workers include personal care aids, community health workers, and home nurses. They also include family caregivers, like Christensen, whose role has only grown more critical in the coronavirus era.

Even in normal times, caregivers like Christensen are the bridge between the hospital and the home by providing services and companionship to dependent adults and children. During COVID-19, this role has only intensified as families have sought to avoid exposing their vulnerable loved ones to the virus. Doctor’s visits have shifted to the virtual setting. Supportive medical services like at-home rehab and nursing have been overwhelmed. Many social services have gone offline too. All of this has come at a considerable personal, emotional, and economic cost to caregivers.

Read more in Vice.

This is an external article from our library

Everyone is talking about caregiving, but it can still be difficult to find meaningful information and real stories that go deep. We read (and listen to and watch and look at) the best content about caregiving and bring you a curated selection.

Have a great story about care work? Use our contact form to submit it to us so we can share it with the community!

Related Articles

How to pay off your emotional debt

How to pay off your emotional debt

We are able to buffer intensely stressful experiences by repressing our emotions in the moment (sometimes subconsciously). We save “feeling our...

The quiet rage of caregivers

The quiet rage of caregivers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which calls caregivers the “backbone” of long-term home care in the United States, has warned that...

Popular categories

Finances
Burnout
After Caregiving
Housing
Relationships
Finding Meaning
Planning
Dying
Finding Support
Work
Grief

Don't see what you're looking for? Search the library

Share your thoughts

0 Comments

Share your thoughts and experiences

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join our communities

Whenever you want to talk, there’s always someone up in one of our Facebook communities.

These private Facebook groups are a space for support and encouragement — or getting it off your chest.

Join our newsletter

Thoughts on care work from Cori, our director, that hit your inbox each Monday morning (more-or-less).

There are no grand solutions, but there are countless little ways to make our lives better.

Share your insights

Caregivers have wisdom and experience to share. Researchers, product developers, and members of the media are eager to understand the nature of care work and make a difference.

We have a group specifically to connect you so we can bring about change.