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In the meantime, Congress can take some incremental steps
toward meeting families’ long-term care needs. Alzheimer
caregivers have a disproportionately heavier burden than
others due to the number of hours spent providing care,
the duration of time they serve as caregivers and the difficulty
of the tasks they perform. Seventy-one percent of Alzheimer
caregivers provide care for more than a year, and 32 percent
provide five or more years of care.
Alzheimer caregivers are considerably more likely than
other caregivers to help with the most difficult Activities
of Daily Living (ADLs), including incontinence, bathing
and feeding. One in eight Alzheimer caregivers becomes ill
or injured as a direct result of caregiving, and one in
three uses medication for caregiving-related problems.
Simple caregiver interventions such as respite, counseling
and supportive services can have a major impact on health
care costs by delaying nursing home placement. In addition,
studies have found that adult day care not only benefits
the person with Alzheimer’s, it also reduces stress
and burden on caregivers and extends the time they can provide
care in the home.
The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) is
an important source of assistance for Alzheimer families.
Established as part of the Older Americans Act, the NFCSP
provides federal grants to all 50 states to expand and enhance
existing caregiver-support services, particularly respite
care and adult day care.
As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Older Americans
Act (OAA), the Alzheimer’s Association recommends
that OAA programs be strengthened so they can better meet
the needs of people with Alzheimer’s disease and their
caregivers by:
Increasing funding for the National Family Caregiver Support Program to $250 million and increasing the authorization levels of all titles of the act by at least 25 percent above fiscal year 2006. Adding family caregiver assessment as a service that states must provide with National Family Caregiver Support Program funds. Making all individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias eligible for all Older Americans Act services, regardless of age. Alzheimer's disease is not limited to those over age 60 or 65. Family caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias under age 60 face enormous problems, but few programs are available to assist them.
Next: ALZHEIMER PROGRAMS
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Simple caregiver interventions such as respite, counseling and supportive services can have a major impact on health care costs by delaying nursing home placement.
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