State Legislation, Policy & Reports
New State-Level Guardianship Data
A new publication, State-Level Guardianship Data: An Exploratory Survey, was released by the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging. Guardianship is a critical protection for at-risk individuals. It is also a complex intervention in which the guardian is given substantial and often complete authority over the lives of vulnerable older adults. Media accounts have detailed significant instances of abuse and exploitation. Yet, basic state-based data on guardianship is limited, offering courts, policymakers and practitioners little guidance for improving the system. For more information, visit:
State-Level Guardianship Data: An Exploratory Survey
California: Governor's Executive Order to Implement Health IT Program
In an executive order issued in July, California's Governor Schwarzenegger allocated $240 million in state funds for health information technology. The Governor set a goal of 100 percent electronic health data exchange in the state within 10 years. He also directed the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA); Business, Transportation and Housing Agency; and the chief information officer?s office to develop a state policy that would accelerate health IT implementation. The program has the potential to improve and expand access to healthcare for older adults and their caregivers, especially in rural and underserved areas of California. For more information, visit:
California Governor's Executive Order
Massachusetts: Passes Law to Investigate Long-Term Care for Adults with Disabilities
On September 26, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney signed into law a bill establishing a Special Commission on Long-Term Care for Persons with Adult Onset Disabilities (Senate, No. 2582). This new commission is charged with investigating the long-term care options for adults between the ages of 19 and 59 years old who are neurologically or physically disabled, including those with Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, or multiple sclerosis, and who are currently underserved. The commission is to report on the adequacy of various services for this population, including residential nursing homes, community-based housing and support models, and personal care attendants. It is also required to report on the respite care needs for those disabled adults who continue to be cared for by family members of friends in the community. For more information, visit:
Massachusetts Legislature
California: Commission on the Status of Women Public Hearings
The California Commission on the Status of Women is holding its third and final public hearing on issues facing California women on October 19, 2006 from 1-5p.m. in Sacramento. Issues for testimony include, but are not limited to: family caregiving, child support, healthcare access, universal healthcare, childcare, child custody, disability and spousal support. Information from the hearings will help to determine the Commission?s legislative agenda and recommendations for administrative action, the state budget and studies on issues impacting women and girls. For more information, visit:
California Commission on the Status of Women
Federal Legislation, Policy & Reports
Lifespan Respite Care Act Approved by House Energy and Commerce Committee
The Lifespan Respite Care Act was unanimously passed out of the House Energy and Commerce committee on September 20, 2006. If enacted, the bill will award grants or cooperative agreements to an agency, organization, or political subdivision to: (1) develop lifespan respite care at the state and local level; (2) provide respite care services for family caregivers caring for children or adults; (3) train and recruit respite care workers and volunteers; (4) provide information to caregivers about available respite or support services; and (5) assist caregivers in gaining access to such services. For more information, visit:
Library of Congress - THOMAS
2005 White House Conference on Aging Final Report Now Available
The 2005 White House Conference on Aging Report, The Booming Dynamics of Aging - From Awareness to Action, is available for download. The report includes several resolutions related specifically to caregiving, including Resolution 13, to "develop a national strategy for supporting informal caregivers of seniors to enable adequate quality and supply of services." The top recommendation was to reauthorize the Older Americans Act within the first six months of 2006. Other resolutions recommend that policymakers promote innovative models of non-institutional long-term care and that they support older adult caregivers who are raising their relatives' children. For more information, visit:
The Booming Dynamics of Aging - From Awareness to Action
States Receive Federal Grants to Help People with Disabilities Live in the Community
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced nearly $20 million in Real Choice Systems Change Grants for Community Living to states in order to develop programs for people with disabilities or long term illnesses. These grants will help states and territories "rebalance" their long-term support programs to help people with chronic illness or disabilities reside in their homes and participate fully in community life. The eight states receiving 2006 awards are California, Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Kansas. Since 2001, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded 306 Real Choices grants, totaling approximately $237 million to 50 states, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit:
U.S. DHHS Press Release
International News
Global Cost of Alzheimer's Disease Reaches $248 Billion
Swedish researchers at the annual International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders held July 15-20, 2006 in Madrid, Spain reported the estimated total global cost of caring for those with Alzheimer's disease and dementia is now more than $248 billion annually. The group based the estimate on costs of informal and indirect care for the estimated 28 million people with Alzheimer's and dementia worldwide. For more information, visit:
International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders
United Kingdom: Pension Reform
Carers UK, a caregiver advocacy group in the United Kingdom, issued a written response to the government's White Paper on pension reform. Carers UK welcomed the government's increased emphasis on caregivers, and it urged the government to ensure that the proposed new 'carer's credit' covers as many caregivers as possible. The carer's credit would allow caregivers to accrue credit in the country's public pension program if they provide care for the sick or severely disabled for at least 20 hours a week. Carers UK emphasized the complex lives of caregivers who are trying to combine work and care and expressed the need for any pension reform to be both flexible, so as not to leave deserving caregivers out, and simple enough for the benefits to be accessible. For more information, visit:
Carers UK
United Kingdom: Unpaid Carers Save 34 Billion Pounds ($64.4 Billion US) Annually
Eight million people in the United Kingdom provide unpaid care to an elderly parent, and a survey found that the average value per caregiver for providing this service over the final years of a parent's life was 120,187 pounds ($228,436 US). If the government had to provide this care, the annual cost would be more than 4,000 pounds (approximately $7,603 US) per care recipient. Despite these already high costs, the article reported that the annual cost for people paying for their own care without financial support from the government is expected to grow in the next two decades. For more information, visit:
The Guardian
Research Reports & Journal Articles
New Study Released on the Health Risks of Family Caregivers
Evercare and the National Alliance for Caregiving released a study showing that more than 2.5 million family caregivers suffer from depression, stress and rapidly declining health. Because caregivers often put the needs of those in their care ahead of their own needs - including healthy eating, getting rest, and visiting the doctor - their health tends to suffer more as the time and intensity of their caregiving duties increase. Ninety-one percent of the 528 caregivers who participated in the survey reported being depressed. For more information, visit:
Evercare Study of Caregivers in Decline
Helping Alzheimer's Caregivers Cope
The article, When a family member has Alzheimer's - Helping caregivers cope, was published in the January 2006 issue of Patient Care. The authors assert family members who take care of a person with Alzheimer's disease need extensive education about safety, managing the patient's environment and behavior, and maintaining their own emotional and physical health. They offer practical tips for caregivers on how best to handle difficult behaviors, as well as suggestions for physicians to help to prevent caregivers from becoming burned out by monitoring their emotional health and responding to problems as appropriate. For more information, visit:
Patient Care
Rural African American Caregivers of Stroke Survivors
The September 2006 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing includes the article, Caregiving in rural African American families for older adult stroke survivors. The study found families coped with the transitions of stroke caregiving by using the following strategies: "deciding to care," "dividing care," "protective care" and "coming to terms." The theory developed provides nurses and other health care professionals with a framework to help rural African American families care for their older relatives who have experienced stroke. For more information, visit:
Journal of Neuroscience Nursing
New Survey on Consumers' Views of Patient Safety and Quality of Care
The Kaiser Family Foundation and the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released a survey capturing the public's views and knowledge of medical errors and their experiences in taking steps aimed at improving the quality of their care. Substantial numbers of older Americans and their caregivers report taking certain actions aimed at improving the coordination of care and reducing the likelihood of a medical error. These include checking the medication given by their pharmacist against the doctor's prescription (70%); bringing a list of all their medications to a doctor's appointment (54%); and bringing a friend or relative to a doctor's appointment to help ask questions (45%). For more information, visit:
Kaiser Family Foundation
Conferences & Trainings
Alzheimer's Foundation of America Concepts in Care Conference
The Alzheimer's Foundation of America's 1st annual Concepts in Care conference will be held on October 21-22, 2006 in Dallas, TX. The conference will focus on optimal hands-on care for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related illnesses and their families. For more information, visit:
Alzheimer's Foundation of America 1st Annual Conference
National Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform 2006 Annual Conference
The 2006 NCCNHR annual conference, "Care Matters," will be held on October 22-24, 2006 in Arlington, VA. The conference focuses on quality long-term care and will feature in-depth and interactive plenary sessions and workshops including: issue campaigns for effective advocacy, ombudsman problem solving and complaint investigations, restraint reduction, assisted living and culture change, emergency preparedness, workforce retention and turnover, promoting resident-directed care, community and state advocacy strategies that work and the consumer role in quality initiatives. For more information, visit:
NCCNHR's 2006 Annual Conference
Alzheimer's Disease and Aging Symposium
The UCLA Geriatric and Alzheimer's Disease Awareness (UGADA) Association will be hosting the nation's first student-organized symposium on the effects of Alzheimer's Disease. The event will be held at UCLA from 5pm to 9pm on Thursday, October 12 and includes a formal dinner. Speakers include Patti Davis (former-President Ronald Reagan's daughter), Bill Nye the Science Guy, and many others. For more information, visit:
UGADA Association's Alzheimer's Disease and Aging Symposium
Catholic Charities Third Annual Caregiver Retreat
The South Suburban Senior Services of Catholic Charities in Calumet City, IL is sponsoring its Third Annual Caregiver Retreat on Saturday November 4, 2006. The retreat will be located at the Josephine P. Argento Center at 1700 Memorial Drive. This retreat will offer a wide variety of workshops and sessions to empower caregivers and to broaden their awareness of services and resources in the south suburban area. For more information, please call: (708) 271-6254.
Funding, Media & Miscellaneous
Baby Boomer Guide to Nursing Home Care
National Senior Citizens Law Center's comprehensive new nursing home guide explains the many laws that protect nursing home residents, and gives practical advice on how residents and their families can obtain the best nursing home care possible. The Baby Boomer's Guide is written in straightforward, user-friendly terms, for direct use by residents and their families and friends. It also is a useful reference for attorneys, social workers, nursing home operators, or others with a personal or professional interest in nursing home care. For more information, visit:
The Baby Boomer's Guide to Nursing Home Care
Easy-to-Read Booklets on Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Loss
The National Institute on Aging is offering two free booklets for people with limited literacy skills to learn about Alzheimer's disease and memory loss. The booklets provide basic information about the difference between mild forgetfulness and more serious memory problems (such as the signs of Alzheimer's disease), treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other memory problems, and how to get help to care for someone with Alzheimer's disease and other memory loss. For more information, visit:
Understanding Alzheimer's Disease & Understanding Memory Loss
PBS to Air Remaking American Medicine in October
Remaking American Medicine is a four-part television series that will feature patient- and family-centered care. It will tell stories highlighting improvements in the quality of patient care and profile health care providers, patients, and families who are working together to change the way health care is delivered in the US. The four one-hour programs are scheduled to air on PBS on October 5, 12, 19 and 26 at 10p.m. For more information, visit:
Remaking American Medicine
