Congress is starting to take notice that family caregivers need more help. There have been a lot initiatives being proposed to help make senior care easier to apply and to afford, but change is often very slow when it comes to government led charges.
The Republican Senator from Maine–Susan Collins–has lately been very forthright when it comes to recommending improvements for senior care. It doesn’t matter where you are located or what your political affiliations are, this is a problem that affects all of us. Collins is the Chairwoman for the Senate Special Committee on Aging. She has already co-written laws that help make Alzheimer’s disease care less of a burden, and her next focus is on the overworked and overtired family member that is caring for an elderly loved one.
If you are or ever have been a caregiver to someone you love, you know how stressful and tiring it can be. It’s more than a full time job, and things are made all the harder because it is a person that you love that is in need of assistance. Most senior care in the United States is given by a family caregiver, and as of right now, there’s not much awareness about what this entails, and very little training available concerning how to do this effectively and safely. A National Family Caregiving Project like what Collins has proposed would make big steps toward helping to make this a reality. A Family Caregiving Advisory Council was also proposed. The body would be comprised of both federal and non-federal members. The proposition is entitled Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE), Family Caregivers Act. It has already been endorsed by the AARP.
Her recommendation is based upon the advice given by the Long Term Care commission, a bipartisan focus group that has been helping government officials to brainstorm solutions to the ongoing senior care issues that the U.S. has been facing. It’s just a step as it is no where near becoming a law yet, but it is a step in the right direction. If passed, hopefully much stress will be taken off of the people that provide the most amount of care in this country. Details will undoubtedly change as things go forward, but at least something is being done. Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, or something else, there’s no doubt that we can all agree that better senior care is a must.
There are a number of reasons why senior care is becoming an issue. First, the senior population is getting bigger. There are more people living longer than ever before. Another reason revolves around the fact that families are getting smaller. The growing number of seniors plus the shrinking number of relatives to support them points toward more stress on family caregivers and more reliance on professional services, such as in-home care. Finding a balance now is a necessity, and if you have a loved one that will be needing care soon, it’s a good idea to start the search process well before it becomes an emergency.
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