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Getting Started

If you are a caregiver for a frail elderly relative, you are not alone. Others have experienced all the questions and problems you are experiencing, and help is available.  Information and services are provided by both private and non-profit organizations, and by the local, state, and the federal governments.  Caregivers may face a variety of issues including managing property and finances, locating a nursing home or other residential care facility, finding in-home services, dealing with health insurance, Medicare, or Medical Assistance (Medicaid), and coping with conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease.  All of the links on this page leave this web site and go to sites maintained by other organizations.  To return to this page, use your browser's back button.

In Maryland, the place to start is the Senior Information and Assistance office at your local Area Agency on Aging, or call the Maryland Department of Aging at 1-800-AGE-DIAL for local phone numbers.  You also can read information for caregivers on the Department of Aging's web site. 

If you are looking for resources in another state, the place to start is the Eldercare Locator, a service of the Administration on Aging and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1-800-677-1116). The Administration on Aging provides access to a wide range of information about "Elders and Families" on their website.  The web page of the National Family Caregiver Support Program may also he helpful. 

The U.S. Administration on Aging has an on-line book for caregivers, A Guide for People Who Care,  that you should read.  Also, there is an excellent paper with important tips from the National Institutes of Health, Planning for Long Term Care.  

The American Geriatric Society’s Foundation for Health in Aging has a useful web site (www.healthinaging.org) that includes a book on Eldercare at Home with detailed information about specific health problems and locating help. Also, the Alzheimer’s Association has many useful articles on Caregiving on its web site .