Family Caregivers

The Only Viable Solution

This country was surprised when all those Baby-Boomer kids showed up for
school in the 1950s, and believe it or not we are surprised again now
that they are showing up wanting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and
assistance when they become frail and vulnerable. Today there are 50
million Americans providing care to someone in their family, and that
number will be 150 million by 2030. Peter Arno reports, that as of 2000,
family caregivers provide \$257 billion worth of services annually.
Caregivers are not distributed equally. As an example, this five county
area, contains about 10% of Florida's total population, but almost 17%
of its caregivers and about 30% of those are over the age of 60. The
national government has started to recognize and begin to support these
struggling caregivers with efforts such as the National Caregivers
Support Program and Cash & Counseling. This is a start, but much more
must be done. We will not succeed in meeting this challenge if we do not
utilize our most valuable asset, the family caregiver.

The family caregiver is the first responder, provides the most loving
care, is the most effective and is also less expensive then any
government program. If the family caregiver is not in the picture, then
who will provide care for the aging crowd at our door? Family caregivers
are not only the nation's best elder caregivers they are also who we
would choose to care for us. Family members my be the preferred choice
as caregiver, but on the other hand no one wants to be a burden, or to
disrupt the lives of their loved ones.

The National Council on Aging reports "People do not anticipate caring
for a parent. They state 'We will cross that bridge when we get to it.'
But when adult children suddenly have to cross that bridge, they look
frantically for answers and options." When we are thrust into the
caregiver role, it may be when we are not so young ourselves. Many of us
join the ranks in our 50's, 60's and 70's when a parent or spouse
becomes dependent on us. No matter how much we hope to avoid this
situation, or to avoid putting our loved ones into the role of caring
for us, we truly have no control. Many plan for the best when they
should be **hoping** for the best, but **planning** for the worst. An
ounce of prevention is worth many pounds of cure when it comes to
eldercare.

It would be wonderful if everyone would take the time to be prepared for
a caregiving role and every effort should be made to encourage it.
However, if we agree that most will think about being a caregiver only
when the need occurs, we have identified the point were they will be
most ready to accept teaching, guidance, and support. This is where the
system must be able to enter, responding with the help that is needed.
Starting into the caregiving world is like eating an elephant. It
appears to be overwhelming, but the process is always the same, you
start with one bite at a time.

When we are starting to care for an elderly person, determining what we
need to know is the first step. We can't find the answers if we don't
even know the questions. Becoming an effective family caregiver is no
easy task. It is often stated that experience is the best teacher. I
contend however, that someone else's experience is the best teacher. We
will learn faster and more effectively by listening to the suggestions
and solutions that have been developed by those who have gone before us.
We will save time, money, and stress, while increasing the safety and
well being of the care receiver. No one needs to reinvent the wheel.

The best source of this experience is from Professional Geriatric Care
Managers. They have both the breadth and the depth in caregiving
experience and are constantly in the role of elder advocate. They have
had repeated contact with almost every kind of provider in the industry:
medical, legal, housing, rehab and on and on. They, with a few very
pleasant exceptions, have found that the elders and their caregivers
have care provided **[to]{.underline}** them or **[for]{.underline}**
them, but never **[with]{.underline}** them. When the elder and their
caregiver are not an integral part of the caregiving team, and are not
engaged with respect for their input, we are all wasting time and money
while putting the elder's well being in jeopardy.

Elders and their caregivers cannot be expected to change the system, but
there is much they can do for themselves. Care Manager's experiences
have shown that caregivers will be valued team members when they:

-   Are informed and know what the questions will be, and have the
    answers ready.

-   Are able to effectively communicate the elder's status to those
    providing services, including Diagnoses, Allergies, End-of-Life
    wishes, Medications, and much, much more.

-   Are prepared and feel comfortable asking questions of providers.

-   Have learned to be a team player and to treat providers as a part of
    that team.

-   Expect to be treated as a team member by the professionals involved
    in providing services.

Knowledgeable family caregivers will have a significant impact in
reducing medical interventions. Improved medication management alone
will reduce hospital admissions as medication errors are estimated to be
a contributing factor in 2/3rds of the admissions of those over 65.

As information technology has developed, so has the way the world
operates. No company, agency, or government can operate on a paper-based
system and remain cost effective and efficient. This is also true in the
processing and recording of family information. When one becomes
involved in caregiving, the quantity and complexity of data becomes
overwhelming.

Use of a proven, systematic approach to the management of an elder's
information, maximizes the elder's independence and safety, while saving
precious time, money, and stress for the caregiver. The system must be
easy for families to use even when they are hundreds or even thousands
of miles away and must encourage and facilitate the tracking and sharing
of information but with effective, customizable security. The
interchange of information must be able to operate in a "No Tech" as
well as "High Tech" world. It must aid those who are frustrated trying
to find helpful information and guidance in their struggles with these
new responsibilities. It should be an interactive source of eldercare
services that help the elder by improving the caregiver's knowledge and
effectiveness. It should be operating as a hosted application,
accessible securely from anywhere at any time, with any Internet
browser. Unlike books, pamphlets and multiple web sites it should have
data, information, and resources, although stored and maintained in
multiple, distributed locations, accessible from single points of entry.
It should guide the caregiver in a step-by-step process that will enable
them to quickly and efficiently make their elder safer and more
independent because they will now know the ins and outs of being a
successful family caregiver. The importance of having the data available
and accessible is surely driven home to us as we watch the unfolding
Katrina saga. Information availability will provide an unprecedented
ability to assist when disaster strikes, evacuations are made, records
are lost or communication is disrupted.

The tools and technology are available and operational. The time to
begin using them to support the family caregiver is **NOW!**

**White House Conference on Aging**

**Policy Solutions Forum**

**West Palm Beach, Florida**

**September 12, 2005**

John Boden

801 North Swinton Ave.

Delray Beach. Fl 33444

\(561\) 265-0016

jboden@elderissues.com