CareShare Network

Israeli study highlights caregivers overcoming grief through volunteerism

2011-10-01T20:58:00.022-04:00

At the 119th convention of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Eleanor Pardess presented on Meaning, Opportunities, Validation, Involvement, Nature Group (MOVING), a bereavement-coping model utilized by trauma affected volunteer and professional caregivers to surmount grief and avoid burnout, the Jewish Tribune reports.

Dr. Pardess is the executive director of SALEH, an organization that provides support to trauma victims of terrorist attacks and other crises within Israel's immigrant communities. She conducted a three-year study of SALEH's volunteer and professional caregivers, also trauma survivors. Her research examined how the caregivers tapped their memories of receiving support in the aftermath of traumatic experiences to fuel the compassionate support they delivered to new immigrants coping with similar tragedies.

SALEH volunteer caregiver Luda, the mother of a murdered child, served as a model to Tanya when Tanya lost her son to a sniper attack after moving to Israel from Belarus. Luda used her three years of successfully coping with the loss of her son to teach Tanya how to continue living. Similar scenes reoccur frequently among SALEH's caregivers as they help newly arrived bereaved families.

Years after learning coping skills from Luda, Tanya helps another grieving mother. “I clearly remembered how I felt exactly the same way,” Tanya says. “I spoke with her about how I had felt and how I continue to live. I believe it helped her, just like what I heard from Luda when she helped me....When I give strength to others, I take strength from it. What I do as a volunteer is my own self-psychoanalysis.”

65.7 million adults in US are caregivers

2009-12-13T21:16:00.017-05:00

In a comprehensive-joint study that sought to determine the differences in caregiver experiences since the publication of a similar report in 2004, the National Alliance for Caregiving and the AARP found that nearly one third or 29% of the US adult population is comprised of caregivers. Caregiving in the US 2009 describes the experiences of individuals caring for another adult, an elder or special needs child at an average 20-unpaid hours per week in the United States.

The study profiled the typical caregiver as a 48-year-old woman (66%), caring for a relative (86%), who is likely a parent (36%). Seventy percent of the time, care recipients are 50 or older (69-yrs.-old on average), incapacitated by the effects of old age (12%) and illnesses such as Alzheimer's (10%), mental or emotional distress (7%), stroke (5%) and heart disease (5%). The report also cites the racial and ethnic backgrounds of caregivers: 72% white, 13% black, 12% Latino, 2% Asian and 2% other.

Reporting other data on the income levels, employment status and more about US caregivers, the in-depth study presents a snapshot on the simplest and most complex aspects of caregiving in the US today.

Elderly immigrants live and cope in isolation

2009-08-31T10:53:00.019-04:00

“They never win spelling bees,” said Judith Treas, a sociology professor and demographer at the University of California at Irvine, about America's isolated immigrant elderly in the New York Times article, "Invisible Immigrants, Old and Left With Nobody to Talk To." “They do not join criminal gangs. And nobody worries about Americans losing jobs to Korean grandmothers.”

Sociologists have coined the term ".5 generation" for this cohort of late-life immigrants, who arrived in the US too late to become bi-cultural. Seventy percent of them are unable to speak or read English. Some do not drive and lack the confidence to take the bus alone. A few spend their time in front of the TV reading actors' facial expressions on the screen to decipher story lines. Others babysit their grandchildren. Many of them stay at home, hidden away from the social connections that keep depression and other psychological disorders at bay.

They also hold a special distinction as America's fastest growing immigrant group. Their ranks have expanded by 11% since 1990 from 2.7 million to 4.3 million. By 2050, their numbers will increase even more to 16 million. In 2007, 16% of them lived below the poverty line, compared with 12% of their native-born counterparts, UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research data reveals. Twenty-four percent are considered near poor.

Some municipalities are reaching out to this group of seniors through targeted programs. Fremont, California, has a mobile mental health unit and volunteer ambassadors that assist immigrant seniors in tapping resources at social service agencies. Chicago's Depression Project helps older immigrants dodge the psychological effects of social isolation.

One member of the cohort took matters into his own hands: Pravinchandra Patel, 84, founded the 100 Years Living Club to foster community among the men of this immigrant community. For the past 14 years, the club's members have gathered at malls and other public places to socialize with each other, share snacks and discuss the issues of the day.

Younger neighbors are also working to ease the difficulties of immigrant seniors. Kashmir Singh Shahi, 43, volunteers with Community Ambassadors Program for Seniors. He serves as a listening ear and guide to available resources for Hardev Singh, 76, who takes two buses to work the night shift at a gas station full-time. “I don’t want to become idle in the heart,” Singh said.

Germany grapples with needs of immigrant pensioners

2008-02-24T22:22:00.010-05:00

During its boom years after World War II, Germany launched a guest worker program that has resulted today in some 2.5 million of its residents being of Turkish descent. Currently, the country is preparing for the retirement of the aging members of this community.

Among the challenges Germany will address as it responds to the needs of older Turkish immigrants is educating eligible individuals of their rights to a pension: 79% of eligible Turks draw their public pension compared to 96% of native Germans.

Public and private nursing facilities are also responding to this emerging need by offering culturally-sensitive services such as halal meals, Friday religious programs and prayer rooms that face Mecca. To keep down costs, many of the facilities rely on government subsidies.

Abstract of Growing old in a new home; Germany tries to integrate its senior Turkish citizens by Naomi Kresge, The International Herald Tribune

On stumbling into caregiving and lessons learned

2007-09-10T22:39:00.000-04:00

In Parade's lead story "How Can We Help Our Nation's Caregivers?," Gail Sheehy outlined healthcare system facts she was surprised to learn upon abruptly becoming a caregiver after her husband's cancer diagnosis. Some of her newly acquired knowledge included information already posted here in previous entries on the loss of income to caregivers and the profile of a typical caregiver. New names were added to the list of employers creating caregiver-friendly policies -- Nike and Johnson and Johnson.

The new information was on Medicare, Medicaid and initiatives under consideration by states to assist caregivers:

“Boomers are shocked when they find out Medicare won’t pay for any long-term care for chronic illness,” Gail Gibson Hunt, CEO and president of the National Alliance for Caregiving, said.

It is difficult for boomers to qualify for Medicaid's long-term care benefits, unless they have lost all of their assets, including their homes, per 2006 insertions by Congress.

California's new insurance program allows caregivers to take six weeks off to care for a loved one while continuing to receive 55% of their wages.

Sixteen caregiving bills mostly offering tax incentives to caregivers "survived the legislative process" between 2004 and 2006.
Twelve states plan to bolster family-leave act laws this year.

Over one million children are caregivers

2007-09-01T20:49:00.000-04:00

In "When A Kid Becomes the Caregiver," the Washington Post profiled one of the nation's 1.4 million, age eight to 18, children caregivers. The subject of the feature, Aleyna Castillo, 18, a first-year student at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, moved her mother cross state to a house near campus to continue caring for her as she attends classes.

"I can't totally abandon my mom," Castillo said. "She needs me." To balance her academic, social and caregiving responsibilities, she will live on campus, deviating from this intention only for emergencies.

The article also outlined the general characteristics of youth caregivers: They deal with a lot of stress, often live in isolation, experience mood swings and exhibit anti-social behavior. They also wear several hats as companions, diaper and feeding tube changers, errand runners and more. Fears that scrutiny of their circumstances will lead to charges of abuse or neglect against their care recipients constantly haunt them.

Few resources are available to them in the US, except as targeted programs by foundations such as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which provides counseling, social activities and other services. One nurse in Florida has also launched a program, believed to be the the nation's only, for caregiving youths in that state's public schools.

By comparison, caregiving children in England are recognized through the country's census and receive law-mandated assistance from some 350 agencies that counsel them, help with homework and plan social activities.

Sen. Robert Byrd speaks on aging

2007-08-22T19:38:00.000-04:00

Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), 89, the US' longest-serving senator in history addressed his own aging in a speech on the senate floor in response to a story in the Charleston Daily Mail that attributed some changes in his handwriting to his advanced years. "The newspaper offered as proof the signatures on my Senate financial disclosure forms from last year and this year. It is true that this year's signature looks like I signed it in a moving car," he said. Other highlights from the speech include the following:

-Mr. President, I feel compelled to address head on, I mean head on, the news stories in recent weeks that have pointed out the shocking discovery, yes, shocking discovery, that I am growing older. Did you get that? Shocking discovery that I am growing older.

-Old age is not so bad when you consider the alternative.

-Abraham Lincoln once rightly observed: In the end, it's not the years of your life that count. It's the life in your years.

-I believe all ages and all occupations should be part of a truly representative body. I also believe society works best when the energy and idealism of youth, youth, youth, pairs with the experience and wisdom of age. America is the land of opportunities. I don't think our some 36 million citizens over the age of 65 are disqualified from participating in the life of the country that we--we--helped to build. Our country rejected those kinds of arbitrary barriers long ago, and this Senator loudly and proudly rejects them now.

Seniors band together to age at home

2007-08-19T19:16:00.000-04:00

To keep the elderly aging in their beloved homes, different versions of a model that creates communities efficiently providing the services that typically send seniors into retirement facilities exist or are being planned nationwide, Jane Grossman reports in "A Grass Roots Effort to Grow Old at Home" for the New York Times. Through this approach, tradesmen, meal preparers, home health aides, doctors, security providers, companionship services and other resources are a phone call away.

In high-income areas, seniors needing these services establish the communities as non-profit organizations supported through membership dues. In low-income neighborhoods, the reverse occurs as local, social-service agencies organize residents to barter favors with each other or find volunteers to assist them. This model of organizing for self-sufficiency at home does not work as well in non-densely populated suburban areas. In such cases, residents rely on advice-focused solutions to bridge the complexities a lack of physical proximity presents.

At the state level, Grossman claims New York is a national leader in financially supporting organizations and programs helping seniors preferring to age at home. Congress, through the Older American Act, encourages these new approaches but is not funding any specific projects.

Japan prepares for babyboomers' retirement and its impact

2007-08-12T21:52:00.001-04:00

Japan, which has the world's oldest population, is awaiting the retirement of seven million babyboomers, dubbed Dankai or the massive generation, this year. Projections also show that as the percentage of Dankai's increase, the country's birthrate will decrease. Today, individuals 60 or older comprise 20% of the country's population, but by 2050 this figure will become 50% as the birthrate dips to 90 million from the current 125 million.

The toll of this generation's retirement is an 89% yearly increase to the $70 billion Japan currently spends on elder care, Masahiro Mori, health and welfare secretary at the Embassy of Japan, told the Erickson Tribune in its chronicle of the issue. "When we have reform, we can control costs by increasing consumer co-payments," he said. The paper reports that Mori favors "returning to work and cobbling together income from long-term care programs and government and private pensions" to salvage Japan's healthcare, pension and long-term care systems.

With strict immigration laws and fewer workers to fund the system, the country looks to maintain quality as it cuts costs. Preserving the system is important because life expectancy has risen from an average 55 years after World War II to 83 for women and 75 for men today. Methods for curbing costs include cutting hospital stays, typically 60 days for heart surgery; encouraging healthy lifestyles; and discouraging retirement at the set age of 60. Dankai's, some of the nation's wealthiest individuals, are also being asked to continue spending on the economy by buying special products and programs being created just for them.

Lack of industry oversight main obstacle in healthcare

2007-08-08T16:30:00.000-04:00

Caregiving has gotten its fair share of attention lately, but another side of the issue, its healthcare component, has not. What will it mean for the system when millions of babyboomers retire and start tending to their aches, pains and illnesses under the current system? With many states looking to follow in Massachusetts' footsteps by mandating that residents purchase private insurance or face penalties, the biggest obstacle to the system is that private insurers seem to self-regulate.

Recently, Good Morning America profiled a woman struggling with a rare condition. In spite of her own entreaties and letters of support from her doctors, her insurance provider would not cover the only medication that experts believed would help her. Even with a story running on Good Morning America about its decision, the insurer stood firm. The woman was frustrated and baffled that one entity could hold such power over her life and health.

In these cases, where doctors recommend one treatment and the insurer denies coverage, a third party should immediately step in to oversee the appeals process. A version of this arbitration process already exists: when private insurers make a decision patients believe is wrong, they tell patients they have the right to appeal.

When patients appeal, the company often simply affirms its position by claiming its medical director reviewed its reasoning -- and approves of it. Once patients reach their state's appeal board, they are exhausted and depleted, facing yet another battle with another uncertain outcome. Some people follow the process through its end. Others give up.

Since a single-payer system is not very popular right now while mandated-self insuring is, there needs to be an official, overt and strong appeal system implemented for patients. Otherwise, these insurance mandates by the states to their residents become boons for private insurers, leaving consumers feeling trapped between having to accept an inadequate private plan and no recourse when it fails them.

Digital media study becomes caregiving study; employer awareness on the rise

2007-08-03T17:32:00.001-04:00

In 1999, Intel Corporation set out to study the effects of digital media on consumer's lives only to change course when many of the subjects revealed that assistance with their caregiving responsibilities was the most pressing issue on their minds. A recent San Jose Business Journal article detailed how the company used that study's findings to establish a new division and build gadgets to satisfy the needs of this demographic.

Intel also widened the scope of the study beyond the US and Europe to find that 860 million people worldwide are diagnosed with a chronic condition. This number is expected to double by 2025 and once again in 2050. Baby boomers configure in this data -- 60% of them will have more than one chronic condition by 2030. The statistic for caregiving was as alarming; by 2040, there will be three seniors for every caregiver.

Outside of tapping into the market's potential for products useful to individuals within these demographics, Eric Dishman, an Intel executive, said the gadgets should also help the one third of the company's 90,000-employee workforce involved in caregiving.

Overall, assisting caregiving employees is increasingly being addressed by employers. In 2006, the number of them offering back-up care as a benefit rose from 6% to 14%. Some are also hiring professional health advocates to help employees grappling with the issue.

Caregiving's toll revealed; some taking steps to help

2007-07-28T20:04:00.000-04:00

Caregiving takes a mental and physical toll on those providing it, and many from doctors to state and federal governments are now realizing that a healthy caregiver is also an important component of a recuperating patient's treatment regimen.

The statistics on caregivers' health are dire, an LA Times article "The Unsung -- and Unseen -- Caregivers" by Melissa Healy cited:

Most caregivers stop tending to their overall health as they focus on their responsibilities.
A 2003 study on those caring for dementia sufferers found they had suppressed immune systems for three years after their caregiving stints had ended.
30% of elderly caregivers with a history of chronic disease passed away during a study on their quality of life and that of peers with similar stress levels but no caregiving duties.
Another study revealed that 91% of caregivers with deteriorating health are clinically depressed.

Help is on the way as doctors reach out to caregivers as well as patients. The federal government, through the National Caregiver Support Program, will distribute $162 million to the states this year to assist caregiver initiatives and technologies that allow the sick to receive their care at home. Caregivers, specifically two interviewed in the article, are also working to establish balance in their lives by turning to support groups or psychotherapy.

EEOC, concerned about rise in caregiving-related complaints, issues new guidelines

2007-07-23T09:07:00.000-04:00

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released guidelines highlighting how current laws protect working caregivers, addressing what it calls an "emerging discrimination issue" and the 31% rise in pregnancy discrimination filings over the past decade. The agency does not categorize caregivers as a new protected class but show how, for example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act shields new mothers against gender discrimination or how the Americans With Disabilities Act covers caregivers of the disabled.

"It's going to have, I think, a tremendous impact," said Joan Williams, director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California-Hastings, to the Boston Globe in its article on the issue. The center has fielded from employees, attorneys and companies dozens of questions on the guidelines since their publication nearly two months ago. "The guidelines show that you can't treat mothers and other caregivers differently based on assumptions of how they will or should behave," she said.

Italy grapples with caregiving demands

2007-07-08T20:35:00.001-04:00

"As Families Shrink, Italy's Elderly Turn to Foreigners and Nuns for Caregiving, Companionship" by Frances D'Emilio of the Associated Press presents this statistic: "In 1950, Italy had five adult children for every elderly parent. Now five has shrunk to a statistical 1.5 and by 2050 there won't even be one adult child for every elderly person."

With 26 percent of its population 60 or older and the world's highest percentage of citizens over age 80, the country is evaluating how it will care for its oldest in a cultural atmosphere where placing the elderly in senior facilities is not the norm. Some older Italians are taking matters into their own hands by turning to immigrant workers from eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, paying them an average $1,500 per month.

Surveys show that some Italians blame immigrants for crime, so the elderly uncomfortable with bringing a foreign worker into their homes turn to nuns of the Catholic Church for their care. Many old nurseries and middle schools that sat empty for years have now been converted into elder-home facilities, charging, in one case, $1,770 per month for room and board.

This demand for senior options has possibly launched a new industry, not just for foreign workers but for Italians, as well. When Sacred Heart University first launched its home companionship program in 1999, only immigrants attended. Now, the same course is also attracting native Italians.

However the country decides to deal with this issue, it is not one that will disappear soon, as life expectancy for women is 84 years and 78.3 for men. The current center-left government is working to revert the retirement age from 60 to 57. The last conservative government raised it to the current figure.

Zimbabwe's economic crisis affecting its elderly, and caregiving

2007-07-06T15:15:00.000-04:00

IRIN's "Zimbabwe: Old and Hapless" paints a dire picture of Zimbabwe's poor elderly struggling to survive in their homes or caregiving institutions.

The article highlights Maharagwe Munongwa, a 70-year-old retired driver, lucky enough to be receiving the equivalent of 83 cents in monthly pension payments. Many others in his age group spent lifetimes at jobs that offer the Zimbabwean, average-pension payment of $2 per year or no pension at all.

Munongwa, who is also caring for three of his grandchildren, relies on remittances from their father in Canada to supplement his pension. But because the government outlawed money-transferring agencies, receiving the supplements has become very difficult. "Sometimes we go for two months without receiving anything from that young man [the agent] who misinforms my son that he is giving us the money. I am diabetic, and when the money is delayed I suffer a lot, while my grandchildren sometimes go hungry," he told IRIN.

Others living in nursing facilities for the elderly fair no better, as funding has been pulled or significantly slashed. The facilities cannot pay for utilities, such as water and electricity, needed for residents' care. Doctors, nurses and nursing assistants leave for better-paying jobs and working conditions in neighboring countries. A bill that would have tied cost of living to pension payments has stalled, still in draft form.

There is a lead-up process to caregiving

2007-07-01T13:20:00.000-04:00

Many adult children, suddenly or gradually, become caregivers for their aging parents. They usually arrive at that phase after a period of “equality,” where parent and child share a friendship. In this phase parents retain their independence living in settings they deem most safe for them, utilizing (if necessary) day care programs and special meal delivery or transportation services to simplify their lives. These arrangements strengthen the friendship between the adult child and parent, as each lives independently and turns to each other for support.

But the sudden onset of a debilitating illness and other similar tragedies can alter the relationship, leading the adult child to step forward as an under-prepared guardian or full-fledged caregiver. “When Adult Children Care for Their Elders,” an article in the current issue of Harvard University’s alumni publication Harvard Magazine, explains the changes, such as difficult discussions on financial planning, medical choices and end-of-life issues, typically brought on by this role reversal.

In addition to outlining the evolution of the adult child and parent relationship and some of the issues a new caregiving dynamic introduces, the article featured two especially notable passages:

In previous generations, Muriel Gillick, M.D., associate professor of ambulatory care and prevention at Harvard Medical School, explain[ed], parents expected to be cared for by their children. “Now it’s seen by the older people as unfortunate.” Such a perception can exacerbate problems between adult children and their aging parents. “Because we tend to view dependency as a bad state,” she add[ed], “we fail to recognize that we actually have the opportunity to help people and that caregiving may be a good and loving thing to do.”

Nancy Costikyan, social worker in the university’s Office of Work/Life Resources, said, “The workplace is getting smart about issues like the need to address childcare, flexibility, a whole range of worklife issues, [but] we’re not as good at understanding how to respond to eldercare needs,” which are still seen as a private family issue, and often as the responsibility of women. “Eldercare issues,” she believes, “are where childcare issues were 25 years ago.”

AARP estimates economic value of caregiving

2007-06-28T13:21:00.000-04:00

In a report released this week, the AARP appraised at $350 billion the value of the unpaid and informal caregiving that individuals performed throughout the country in 2006.

To fulfill their responsibilities, working caregivers, who comprise 19% of the workforce, switch to part-time hours or resign, refuse promotions, retire early -- losing income plus health and retirement benefits. The effects of these decisions is absenteeism, workday distractions and a monetary cost of $33 billion a year to employers.

The report profiled the typical caregiver as a 46-year-old woman, decreasing her work hours by 41% to meet her duties. It also revealed some commonalities that all caregivers, men and women, share:

92% significantly alter their work patterns
83% arrive late, leave early or take time off during work days
41% take a leave of absence
37% opt for part-time instead of full-time hours at work

Series highlights current federal legislative proposals, bill

2007-06-27T20:08:00.000-04:00

USA Today recently published several articles on caregiving, and among its chronicles of caregivers' challenges was a very important story on the federal-legislative facet of the issue. One bill under consideration offers Medicare health insurance coverage at age 55 instead of at 65 to caregivers. Another allows caregivers to collect Social Security payments at their highest lifetime salary rate.

"Congress hasn't passed none of the proposals in final form," the article states. In other words, relief -- perhaps as the up to $3,000 in yearly tax credits to counter out-of-pocket caregiving expenses proposed in one likely bill -- will be delayed.

The Lifespan Respite Care Act passed by Congress and signed by president Bush has none of its targeted $40 million funding. When funded, the bill will provide grants to respite care agencies so they can enhance their services for caregivers.

Is FDA approved electronic-pill box a solution for caregiving woes?

2007-06-24T09:42:00.001-04:00

CareShare Network News

A computerized-pill box ideal for the elderly and individuals with complex medication regimens received Food and Drug Administration approval. The device releases visual and audible reminders when patients should take their medications and dispenses them in their correct dosage. It also allows doctors and pharmacists to monitor and adjust prescriptions remotely through the web.

Officially dubbed the Electronic Medication Management Assistant (EMMA) by manufacturer InRange Systems of Altoona, Pennsylvania, the device can be used for up to 10 different medications and is scheduled to go on sale in early 2008. It must be used under the supervision of a licensed professional.

InRange Systems received its approval under the special FDA "de novo" classification, a fast track, usually 60-day process, reserved for low-risk devices.

New crop of benefits a step forward but not enough

2007-06-21T21:39:00.000-04:00

CareShare Network Commentary

"Companies Help Employees Cope with Caring for Parents" proclaimed a Wall Street Journal article by Sue Shellenbarger, which described some prominent corporations' answers to the negative repercussions of caregiving on their employees. The solutions ranged from web courses teaching coping techniques, phone support groups to seminars on self-care tips and emotional support. This is a new approach by employers such as IBM, Exxon Mobil and Texas Instrument -- all featured in the article.

While it is admirable that these employers are helping their employees prevent the depression, other ailments and 63% higher than non-caregiver mortality rate of caregivers, cited in the article, they must continue to do more. These new programs are a great stride from the productivity-only approach of the past, where employees discretely resolved their caregiving problems at home and quickly returned to work.

But these employees would be better served with an HR representative dedicated to their difficulties on site, perhaps serving as an advocate amplifying their concerns and difficulties to bosses. A case manager on the job, specializing in Medicare issues and referral services available for those just beginning their caregiving journey would also do. Programs addressing only the side effects of caregiving are not enough.

Complementary resources to root out the causes outside of caregiving itself creating stress in caregiver employees' lives should also be a part of this new crop of benefits being offered by employers.

Nursing home charged in resident's death

2007-06-18T22:22:00.000-04:00

CareShare Network News

A Massachusetts grand jury recently indicted a national nursing home corporation for manslaughter, neglect, abuse and making false Medicaid claims in connection to a resident that died in 2004.

Julia McCauley, 74, lived at Tennessee based Life Care Centers of America, Inc.'s Life Care Center of Acton since 1996. On April 24, 2004, she was found in her overturned wheelchair after wheeling herself down the facility's stairway, plunging to her death. She was not wearing a doctor recommended, electronic-monitoring device that would have sent alerts to staff and locked restricted-area doors when she died.

After reviewing evidence gathered from an investigation focusing on the absent device, a Middlesex County grand jury returned an indictment. An arraignment date is pending in the case.

Alzheimer's impact on caregiving

2007-06-18T18:35:00.001-04:00

Newsweek in its June 18 edition addressed the challenges boomer caregivers are facing caring for parents and, in one case, a spouse suffering from Alzheimer's. In the piece, Barbara Kantrowitz and Karen Springen countered the impression of the disease as a "slow, quiet slide into permanent forgetfulness. It's rarely a gentle fade to black," they said. What caregivers encounter as their loved ones decline from the most common type of dementia is incontinence, periods of screaming, frustrations at losing their motor skills and memory limitations and violent episodes.

The caregivers relinquish jobs, change locations and experience personal resentment at siblings or relatives not sharing as many responsibilities. Their bodies pay the price with increased risks of heart disease, depression, chronic illness, cancer and overall quality of life. Some respond to the stressors of witnessing what may also occur to them in their future by turning to advocacy. Two bills now under consideration in Congress has the support of at least one caregiver interviewed in the article.

The Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2007 aims to increase Alzheimer's research funding for the National Institutes of Health from $642.7 billion to $1.3 billion, doubling the current budget. The Alzheimer's Family Assistance Act would relieve caregivers through tax credits. But the expenses associated with the disease are not just burdensome to caregivers because estimates are that the current Medicare budget will nearly double by 2030 to $400 billion, as a result of Alzheimer's costs.

Supreme Court upholds companionship-services law

2007-06-17T00:15:00.000-04:00

The movement for better home-care worker compensation experienced a setback when the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that this million-strong workforce is not entitled to overtime pay nor minimum wages under federal law.

The Court upheld the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act that exempts domestic-service employees from its reach. In the process, it overturned a New York appeals court decision in Coke vs. Long Island Care at Home that granted overtime-pay and minimum-wage benefits to health-care workers employed by private companies or public agencies. The ruling leaves in the lap of Congress any new efforts to change this law.

Gerry Hudson, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, which filed the original suit on behalf of the plaintiff, 73-year-old, 20-year veteran of the personal-attendant field Evelyn Coke, told the Los Angeles Times that the "ruling would 'hurt efforts to provide America's growing senior population and people with disabilities with the quality, reliable in-home care they will need to live independently.'"

Promising new Alzheimer's drug to enter late-stage trial

2007-06-15T18:51:00.000-04:00

Major pharmaceutical companies Wyeth and Elan, in partnership since 2000, will start a late-stage trial of a new Alzheimer's drug in the second half of this year.

A New York Times article detailed Wyeth's contribution to the research, which involves transplanting genes of Alzheimer's sufferers to mice that then develop the same symptoms as humans. After treatment by Wyeth scientists, the mice regain the motor and memory skills they lost after "acquiring" the disease.

In "after" three-dimensional views of the treated mice's brain, beta amyloid, a toxic plaque believed by some scientists to be the primary cause of the disease, clears. "You can get rid of pretty much all the amyloid. And you can reverse their memory to normal, like a young mouse," said Dr. Menelas Pangalos, Wyeth's vice president for neuroscience research.

The company hopes to duplicate this reversal in humans. "We're going after this. And we're not stopping until we've nailed it," he said.

Who will care for baby boomers when they retire?

2007-06-15T11:29:00.000-04:00

The US will need at least 1 million caregivers in the next decade and perhaps 2 million more by the year 2030 when all baby boomers will be at least 65 and presumably retiring. In addition to the need for more healthcare aides, the nursing home industry faces its own crisis with a turnover rate of 70 percent and nearly 100,000 vacancies for nurses and nursing assistants.

Some states fill the shortage by ensuring healthcare workers receive what they are not entitled to under federal law: a minimum wage or overtime pay. Others such as Vermont created a new corps of caregivers through its Choices for Care program, which compensates any friend or relative caregiver $10 an hour for tending to an elderly person. Community colleges are launching new programs that train inviduals interested in entering the field.

Those most affected by the shortage, the elderly, cope by settling for subpar care from their caregivers, or they enter understaffed nursing facilities. And when family members take on the caregiving duties, it is usually at a cost to them that comes in the form of emotional, physical or financial tolls.

"My impression is that baby boomers haven't really addressed the issues of aging yet - they're more absorbed with how to avoid aging," Dr. Robert Butler, president of the International Longevity Center-USA, said. "We're facing a historic demographic change, and we do not have an adequate, well-trained work force - from doctors down to basic in-home caregivers - who know the details of aging."

-Compiled from Seattle Post Intelligencer article