Sioux City’s first Caregiver Olympics celebrates home care

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – November is National Care at Home Month, and to celebrate, several local healthcare organizations came together to participate in Sioux City's first Caregiver Olympics.

"I was watching the Olympics this summer and I was thinking of something fun to do with our caregiving team," Visiting Angels owner and director Kristen Hammerstrom said. "Then I was at a meeting with some of the other [home care organizations] and I floated the idea to them and they said 'that would be awesome.'"

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In honor of National Hospice and Palliative Care month, nine Sioux City caregiving teams went head-to-head competing in a relay race with specialized in-home care tasks.

"A lot of bed-making happens in homes, we strip beds and wash the sheets and put it back on, so that's obviously an important part of caregiving," Hammerstrom said. "The sorting of socks, we do a lot of laundry. The dressing of somebody, sometimes people need help getting dressed. And then of course we make all kinds of meals, not just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but we thought that would be a fun way to highlight some of the things caregivers do in the home."

While the event was a way to bring awareness to Siouxland's several home care options, it was also a way to recognize the hard work caregivers provide every day.

"It's unseen a lot of the time because most of the time it's a family member caring for a family member," Hammerstrom said. "So we just want people to know that if you need help caring for somebody at home there is somebody here that can help, because it's important for caregivers, especially family caregivers, to get a break. Because it's hard being a caregiver."

"As much as it is difficult to be a caregiver, it is also difficult for these employees too to help and take care of families, so this is just our light heartfelt fun moment to help people," Hospice of Siouxland marketing & fund director Kim Wilson said.

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Despite the friendly competitive atmosphere, all nine teams shared one common goal.

"While we might be competitors, at the end of the day our main goal is to care for patients and make sure that our patients and their loved ones are taken care of. That is our main goal," Wilson said. "I just think it's so great that we can all come together and just really showcase to Siouxland all of the avenues that are available for them."

Care Initiatives Hospice took home the first Caregiver Olympics gold medal, along with several gift cards to local stores and restaurants.