Burden grows for caregivers of elderly relatives

  • By Michelle Singletary
  • Wednesday, October 3, 2012 3:58pm
  • Business

Once again, my husband and I have joined the millions in this country providing care for an elderly relative.

A few years ago, we cared for my husband’s father. But he insisted on returning to his home. The situation worked for a while. Then it became clear that my father-in-law would need to move back in with us.

There is joy in caregiving. Yet it’s also a tough job, and it can bring on lots of stress, anxiety and a strain on your finances. And in our country’s never-ending battle to contain health care costs, caregivers are increasingly performing tasks usually left to trained medical staff.

Patients who are discharged from the hospital or return home after same-day medical procedures often require a lot of medical attention. When that patient is elderly with chronic physical and cognitive conditions, many of those medical duties may fall to a member of the family.

A report from AARP’s Public Policy Institute and the United Hospital Fund, a nonprofit research organization, confirms what many caregivers have known for years — that they are doing far more than helping with daily living tasks such as bathing, dressing, eating, shopping and/or managing the finances of elderly parents or relatives.

“At a time when federal and state health policy is driving changes to reduce hospitalizations and nursing home admissions, it is critical to consider who will care for people with multiple chronic conditions who need substantial help with tasks that are often considered ‘nursing’ or ‘medical’ care,” the report’s authors wrote. “The default is the family, ready or not.”

There are more than 42 million unpaid family caregivers in the United States, according to the report “Home Alone: Family Caregivers Providing Complex Chronic Care.” Almost half of family caregivers performed medical or nursing tasks that included managing multiple medications, helping with devices for mobility, preparing food for special diets, caring for wounds, administering IVs and injections, using monitors, managing incontinence, and operating specialized medical equipment.

The report was based on a national survey of 1,677 family caregivers. Many respondents reported having to administer five to nine prescription medications a day. Forty percent of those surveyed said they felt stressed and worried about making a mistake. At one point, to manage all the medication my father-in-law had to take, my husband created a spreadsheet, which includes dosage details — how many times a day, how much — and what the drug does.

Although the report was aimed at professionals in the elder care field and policymakers, it’s an important validation for caregivers’ expanded responsibilities and shows that they need more training.

“It really calls for far more systematic and sustained efforts to help family caregivers perform tasks that 20 years ago would have been done in hospitals,” said Carol Levine, director of the Families and Health Care Project for the United Hospital Fund. “Having been there myself, often the tasks are presented to you as ‘This is what you need to do’ rather than ‘Are you able to do this or willing to do this?’”

So what do you do if you are a caregiver facing more medical or medication responsibilities than you think you can handle?

Ask for help.

“Find out what types of help are available,” Levine said. “What you also need to do is be realistic about what you can and can’t do.”

In our case, we hired professional long-term care assistants to help with my father-in-law, who requires a great deal of care and monitoring for his diabetes.

If your elderly relative is being discharged from a medical facility and you still aren’t comfortable administering medication or handling medical equipment, let the medical team know. You might get pushback, Levine said, but press anyway.

“While loved ones are in the hospital you aren’t allowed to touch pills or run machines and then when they are ready to go home you get a quick tutorial,” Levine said. “In the hospital, there is always somebody to call — an aide, nurse or doctor. When you are home, you are really all alone. I don’t think professionals understand that. “

If you’re a caregiver looking for help, go to www.aarp.org/home-family/caregiving. Read the article by Levine on whether you are suited for the medical jobs of family caregiving. You can also find resources at www.nextstepincare.org.

Family caregivers are crucial in the mission to lower health care costs. But if we don’t take care to make sure they are supported and trained for all the care they have to give, this mission will fail.

(c) 2012, Washington Post Writers Group

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.