A senior care company wants to help children and grandchildren balance work with caring for their elderly loved ones.

Home Instead Senior Care started the Daughters in the Workplace informational program. It’s free for caregivers, both men and women.

It informs them about employee assistance, military service and financial assistance programs offered county and statewide.

Alice Baughman’s grandmother, Edith Wysong, fell and injured herself in January. After that, her health slowly declined. Baughman, her mother and other relatives had to step in to help, but she said it was a challenge balancing work and caring for Edith. 

“When I was at work I felt like I should be at home. When I was at home, I felt like I should be at work. And of course, I still had two kids I was trying to take care of on top of that. So it was a struggle trying to coordinate all that,” said Alice Baughman, Director of Financing & Personnel for Home Instead Senior Care.

Edith passed away in July at 90-years-old. Baughman wants other families going through the same situation to know there are resources available to help.

“How are they going to find this balance of time? What resources are there? Do we even qualify? What do we do next? It’s just a way to have a collective of information, together,” said Jesse Trentini, a home care consultant for Home Instead.

Jesse Trentini had to commute an hour between work and home to care for his grandmother, who died last year. 

“There were days I would get there, sit down at my desk and the phone would ring. I would have to get up, turn around and drive back,” Trentini said.

Trentini and Baughman, who also work for Home Instead, said it’s important for caregivers to realize they are not alone.

“You can find a balance. There’s always a way to find a balance,” Trentini said.

“I just hope that when somebody does go through this situation that their families understand, friends, families, employers understand that it is a group effort,” said Baughman.

If you would like to learn more about how to care for your loved one, you can contact your local veterans organization or area agency on aging.