Caregivers have crucial role in our society

Grandpa lives in a casita, or guest house, next door to the main home where the devoted teen and his parents often start their day discussing the division of caregiving tasks they will complete. They chart daily activities, along with the mobility and general well-being of the increasingly frail family patriarch.

The early-morning phone call signals the start of another day of caregiving. It’s an hour-by-hour observation, conversation and hands-on care for their loved one.

It’s a universal story being played out here in our community, a shared experience for millions of individuals and families.

Are you a caregiver? If you help a family member or friend with daily activities like preparing meals, managing medications, handling finances or any number of other necessary duties, you are.

Most of us will be caregivers at some point in our lives. We may care for a parent, spouse, life partner or a friend. It may be for a few hours a week or all day, every day.

The majority of health care is actually provided by families, not health-care professionals.

Caregiving is also a very important social issue that can be stressful, as well as time-consuming.

Caregivers and professionals, including nurses, physicians, social workers and care managers, frequently speak about the burdens the work can have on a person’s physical and mental health, not to mention the caregiver’s finances and economic productivity.

November marks National Family Caregiver month, a time to acknowledge the important role that family members, friends and neighbors play in caring for others coping with illness, injury or frailty.

This year’s theme for National Family Caregiver Month is “Care Comes Home.”

The observance explores an unprecedented intergenerational challenge.

The amount of caregiving needed is going to increase as the population ages, experts say, so promoting awareness through local conversations about the realities of caregiving is prudent.

It seems that this conversation about caregiving is really an essential part of a larger conversation about creating a livable community where people of all ages want to grow up, live a productive economic and social or family life, and age with independence, safety and dignity for as long as possible.

According to the Caregiver Action Network, a national advocacy organization, 39 percent of all adult Americans are caring for a loved one, and Arizona is home to more than 855,000 caregivers.

By performing necessary daily tasks, caregivers help ensure that their loved ones stay at home — where they belong — while saving Arizona’s Medicaid system an estimated $9 million in long-term care-facility charges annually, according to the most recent report from AARP Arizona.

The nation’s 90 million family caregivers are front and center in providing care every day. That enables their loved ones and friends to stay at home longer, where they are happier and healthier.

Ninety percent of people over the age of 65 would prefer to stay in their home as they age. Family, friends and neighbors provide 80 percent of the care for older adults.

Surprisingly, most of the care provided to individuals with ongoing health conditions doesn’t happen in hospitals, nursing homes or clinics. The vast majority of care actually occurs at home.

While there are several positive aspects of home-based care, there are also challenges. Caregivers report that providing care can be stressful, isolating and even exhausting. Complex care happens in the home, and almost half of family caregivers perform sophisticated medical/nursing talks for their loved ones, like providing wound care and operating specialized medical equipment. Up to 70 percent of caregivers manage medications for their loved ones.

It’s important that family caregivers are aware of the local resources available to help with caregiving responsibilities.

That’s where the Pima Council on Aging comes into the picture. PCOA should be the first place to call or go for help. The PCOA has a team of intake specialists to address all questions on services and resources.

The PCOA staff of 100 professional specialists and scores of trained volunteers provide access to a continuum of services, information and referral, and advocacy for older adults and their family caregivers as well as people with disabilities who live in Pima County.

Through three service locations in Tucson and Green Valley, PCOA serves more than 15,000 individuals and families every year.

Call the PCOA help line at 790-7262 in Tucson for information, assistance and consultations.