Arizona Celebrated Family Caregiver Month
According to a recent press release “Arizona is encouraging people to speak up during Family Caregiver Month,” said David Best, Program Services Manager for the Independent Living Supports Administration within the DES Division of Aging and Adult Services. “One of the most important attributes of being an advocate for your loved one is the willingness and the ability to speak up and keep your eye on the ultimate goal of protecting, not only the health and safety of your loved ones, but your own as well.”
Some fast facts about Arizona family caregivers include:
- Most adults would prefer to age in place. Ninety percent of adults over the age of 65 would prefer to stay in their current home as they age. Family, friends, and neighbors provide 80 percent of the care for the elderly!
- Two out of every five adults are family caregivers. Thirty-nine percent of all American adults are caring for a loved one who is sick, disabled, or living with frailties of old age. That’s up from 30 percent in 2010.
- Family caregivers are the backbone of the Arizona’s long-term care system. Family caregivers provide more than $9 billion worth of unpaid care each year!
- Family caregivers are the only people who are present with patients in all care settings.
- Complex care happens in the home. Nearly half of family caregivers perform sophisticated medical/nursing tasks for their loved ones.
- Many families make changes at home because of their caregiving responsibilities.
- It’s not just women doing the caregiving. Men are now almost as likely to say they are family caregivers as women (37 percent of men; 40 percent of women).
FMI: Read the full press release at https://www.azdes.gov/uploadedFiles/Office_of_Communications/news_release_11_04_2015_DES_Announces_Support_for_Caregivers_During_Arizona_Family_Caregiver_Month.pdf