Salinas, CA Caregivers For Family Members Have Hope : New Government Alliance Working For Your Rights
by Richard Kuehn on 04/30/15
It’s not easy taking care of a family member as they grow older. I cared for my grandmother for years and to watch her struggle through the many stages of Alzheimer’s disease was heart wrenching. There’s also the terrible logistics which come with being a caregiver. How to get your family member out and about enough while still keeping your job, finding time to make a healthy dinner, run errands, etc. I was glad to read that four members of Congress (Senators Kelly Ayotte (R –N.H.) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Representatives Diane Black (R-TN) and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) have banded together to fight for the rights of family caregivers. Together, this bipartisan group has formed the Assisting Caregivers Today (ACT) caucus on Capitol Hill. They will have their work cut out for them. As baby boomers grow older, there are predicted to be just four people available to care for every family member 80 years or older by the year 2030, down from seven in 2010.
