The “Invisible Work Force” of Family Caregivers for Older Adults

From The New York Times, a well-told tale from siblings who recently “joined the ranks of the 15 million or so unpaid and untrained family caregivers for older adults in this country,” calling them the nation’s invisible work force.  As one son admits:

The work takes its toll. These sons, daughters, husbands and wives are at increased risk of developing depression, as well as physical and financial difficulties, including loss of job productivity. Being sick and elderly in this country can be terrifying. Having a sick and elderly loved one is often a full-time job.

 

As the workload increased, we hired help, as much for ourselves as for our parents. But after some items were stolen, we realized we had to be more careful about whom we allowed into our parents’ home. Older adults in this country lose almost $3 billion a year to theft and financial fraud. Nearly every week my father instructed us to donate money to someone who had sent him a generic email appeal. It fell on us to keep our parents from being exploited.

 

With millions of elderly adults requiring assistance with daily living, physicians should make it routine practice to ask family members whether they can provide the requisite care. Many of these potential caregivers, ill or stressed themselves, simply cannot.

For the full article, read When Family Members Care for Aging Parents. 

My thanks to colleague Laurel Terry at Dickinson Law for sending the link to this article!