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The Reality

According to the AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, almost 30% of all U.S. households are already involved in caregiving. The number of caregivers will continue to grow exponentially as life expectancy increases.

Consider these facts:

• In the next 30 years the population of people over age 65 will DOUBLE!
The U.S. Census Bureau

• At least 15% of those over the age of 65 are affected by depression.
National Mental Health Association

• The elderly make up 13% of the U.S. population, but consume 30% of all prescribed medicines, and 40% of over-the-counter drugs.
Nursing Spectrum Magazine, summarizing the results of several published studies

• Elderly individuals are hospitalized for adverse medicine reactions SIX times more often than the non-elderly population. Of all hospital admissions of the elderly in a recent study, 17% were attributed to medication problems.
Archives of Internal Medicine reporting on The Role of Medical Noncompliance and Adverse Drug Reaction of the Elderly

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

You may be confronted with a myriad of issues and find yourself asking questions like:

• Where do I start?
• What information do I need to gather?
• How do I talk with my parent/relative?
• What do I need to talk to them about?
• How do I know when to intervene?
• How do I adapt to my new role as caregiver?
• What can I do to avoid caregiver burnout?
• How do I determine what “in-home” resources are available?
• How do I make use of community resources?
• What factors should be considered in determining whether or not my relative may need to move?
• What housing options are available?
• What criteria should be used in determining the type of environment that my relative needs?
• What does Medicare really cover?
• How do I help my relative protect his/her financial future?
• What legal planning does my relative need to undertake?
• Who will advocate his/her healthcare needs?
• Can I manage long distance caregiving?