Family caregivers are the foundation of our system of care for older adults and younger people with physical or cognitive limitations. But they often provide that care with great love but little skill. The result: Preventable injuries to both care recipients and their family members, more emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and an overall lower quality of life for everyone [...]
I and others have written endlessly about the importance of supporting family caregivers. They are the backbone of the system of care that supports frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. Often, their assistance is vastly more important than costly medical treatment. But many family members provide this care with little or no training, no guidance about services that [...]
The typical family caregiver is a 50-something woman who spends 27 hours a week caring for an aging parent who has two or more serious medical conditions, and is doing so with little outside assistance, according to a new survey by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. While that describes a typical caregiver, many different family members serve as [...]
Ask family caregivers what sort of government support they want and their answer is clear: They want upfront cash. Not bigger future Social Security benefits. Not respite care or tax credits, not paid family leave, or even reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs. They want cash. That, at least, were the preferences of participants in four focus groups described in a new [...]
Caring for a chronically ill parent, spouse, or other relative is hard. And, without support, it can seriously interfere with paid jobs, disrupting not only employees’ lives but their workplaces as well. There are lots of good reasons for firms to assist workers who are caring for loved ones. Unfortunately, many don’t make the effort, perhaps because they are worried [...]
Welcome to November, National Family Caregivers Month, one of those Hallmark Card-like designations that politicians grant when they can’t, or won’t, actually act to help people. But instead of getting frustrated over what Congress isn’t doing, it seems like a good opportunity to think about what support those family members need. Many groups have surveyed family caregivers over the years [...]
The federal agency that operates Medicare, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is finally recognizing what families have known for, well, thousands of years: Family members are the bedrock of the system of care for frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. And the agency is taking some important steps to help them. Some proposals will provide [...]
Family caregivers are overwhelmed, usually untrained, and often under enormous financial stress. If they are lucky, they have a community to help support them. But unless those receiving care are on Medicaid, they get little help from government. Now, Maine has begun a program aimed at helping family members care for aging or disabled relatives and help themselves. Called “Respite [...]
More than ever, family members are required to play a major role in caring for their loved ones. But they are being asked to do increasingly complex medical tasks with little or no training. The result: Greater risk to patients and enormous avoidable stress for those family caregivers. A new study attempts to identify the barriers to good caregiver training. [...]
It has become increasingly popular to promote home as a setting for both sophisticated medical treatment and long-term care, and often for good reason. But supporters of this trend need to recognize and reduce the burden it places on families who must take on ever-challenging clinical and organizational roles to make home care work. Hospital at Home; SNF (Skilled Nursing [...]