A Short Interview with Care Navigator Ulrike Grates
How did you come to become a care coordinator at TU Dortmund University?
My father suffered another severe stroke and became in need of extensive care. My mother lovingly cared for him at home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
My mother had neither the time nor the strength and energy to deal with all the other things that came with it.
So there I was, 500 km away, facing all the red tape, care levels, benefits, care services, and much more. Up until that point, I had never dealt with the topic of caregiving. I started from scratch, and there was no one to support me or guide me through this jungle of caregiving.
Half a year later, my father passed away. Some time after that, my mother herself became in need of care. My knowledge of the topic of care grew.
The topic also became increasingly important in my daily work at BEM. When a colleague asked me for information on caregiving, I realized that there should be much more help and support available. I looked into continuing education opportunities.
I’ve now been working as a care navigator for six years. I’ll never stop learning in this field, because care is multifaceted, a balancing act for family caregivers juggling school or work, and very often a marathon. Exchanging ideas with colleagues and students is incredibly valuable to me.
The next challenges with the new care reform are already waiting for us.
What resources are available at TU Dortmund University for family caregivers?
TU Dortmund University supports its university community with, among other things
- flexible work hours
- Working from home/remote work
- The Office for Equal Opportunity, Family, and Diversity promotes a culture of diversity at TU Dortmund University. It develops, implements, and supports strategies, tools, and measures to improve equal opportunity and family-friendliness
- The Qualified Care Navigator
- The online caregiving support group has become well-established. University community members exchange experiences about the challenges of daily caregiving in a trusting environment and support one another by sharing their knowledge. True to the motto: NOT ALONE—STRONG TOGETHER! Parents who care for their children have found another opportunity to discuss individual care options through a WebEx group. For student caregivers, there is a dedicated online care support group every second Tuesday of the month, as the concerns of student caregivers take on a different dimension. This online care support group for students is held in cooperation with Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts (FH Dortmund) and the Dortmund Caregiver Self-Help Group.
What advice would you give to family caregivers?
Family caregivers are often overlooked. It’s important to me that caregiving is no longer a taboo subject and that family caregivers don’t feel stigmatized.
Our society needs to be much more sensitive when dealing with challenging topics, because any of us can very quickly find ourselves in a caregiving situation.
As family caregivers, we need to raise public awareness of caregiving even more, even though I’m well aware that for many people it’s a highly sensitive and very personal topic.
But it’s absolutely crucial that family caregivers take better care of themselves. They can and must say “STOP” much more often and listen to themselves and their bodies.
A saying that has stayed with me for a very long time:
Whatever is good for your soul, do it!