Hospitals are focused on treating patients, but they are not the only ones in distress. Their caregivers , who can be friends, loved ones, or even hospital staff , can face mental health issues related to stress, fear, grief, or even simply from having to put up a brave front so the patient doesn’t have to worry.
While the challenges of the person sitting in a waiting room or giving a hand a comforting squeeze may be hard to compare to that faced by the patient, they are still rea, and few resources exist specifically for caregivers.
At Danbury Hospital, the Goldstone Caregiver Center provides care for those trying to support others.
“The Caregiver Center is here to support families,” said Miranda Dold, a licensed clinical social worker and the manager of the Goldstone Caregiver Center. “We realize that caregiving comes with many different challenges, and so we are here to provide support in whatever way the caregivers need.”
Dold oversees two other fulltime staffers and a team of volunteers who help provide access to services and seek out individuals in the hospital who could benefit from a visit.
“We know that everyone’s definition of support for themselves is different. So, we provide support on many different levels,” said Dold. “We have this beautiful center; it provides different aspects that can be helpful to caregivers. It’s a very calming space, it’s a place for caregivers to rest and rejuvenate.”
The Goldstone Center is outfitted with earth tone decorations and comfortable furniture. Two “quiet rooms” offer a space where a caregiver can take a nap or collect their thoughts in private. A kitchen area that is well stocked with herbal teas can offer a brief respite while computers with internet access can allow caregivers to handle work-related matters, make arrangements, or conduct research. A conference room ideal for “family meetings” is also available, complete with bookshelves bearing literature on topics likely to come up during hospital stays.
The Goldstone Center also organizes groups and classes on topics pertaining to health care and managing the challenges of being a caregiver. They are offered in a hybrid fashion and, according to Dold, provide a true “lifeline” to those caring for the homebound.
“With most healthcare systems focused on improving the patient experience through various initiatives derived from the voice of the patient, Danbury Hospital is fortunate to have the Goldstone Caregiver Center that embraces the family experience, too,” said Peter Athanasoulis, director of experience engineering at Danbury and New Milford Hospitals, which are part of Nuvance Health.
“The Center, fully funded by philanthropy, compliments our ongoing commitment to service excellence and continuous performance improvement.”
The Goldstone Caregiver Center is completely free, and its services are available without requiring a connection to Danbury Hospital or Nuvance. There are only 20 to 30 caregiver centers across the U.S., according to Dold, who noted they often work together as an informal network by providing advice about how to access services they don’t themselves offer.
The first center to open was the Ken Hamilton Caregiver Center at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco.
“Marian Hamilton’s husband was very sick,” Dold said of the origins of the program. He had been in the hospital, and she had young kids and said, ‘I’m trying to be a wife, a caregiver, a mother. Where is the support for me as we work through this?”‘
The resulting model is described by Dold as “homelike, warm” and both replicable and adaptable to the needs of individual communities.
Dr. Stuart Bussell, a colorectal surgery specialist at Danbury Hospital, spoke highly of the benefits of the facility.
“You know what it’s like if you had a family member that was really sick, in surgery or the ICU.” Bussell said. “It’s teeth grinding, it’s so stressful. So that’s why I try to send families down to the Goldstone Center. It’s not just about the technical aspects of doing surgery or medicine for us. You have to think about the customer service aspect to use a hotel term. Did you have a good experience? Did you feel like your questions were answered?”
Bussell also expressed hope that caregiver centers will become increasingly common in coming years, such as the sister Goldstone Caregiver Center Nuvance planned for Norwalk Hospital.
“We’re really lucky to have spectacular donors that permit us to do a lot of work that we might not otherwise be able to do, but I would like to see places like this everywhere. Just like every hospital has an intensive care unit, every hospital has waiting rooms, you should really have something like this,” Bussell said. “I just think it’s an essential part of good health care.”
