USA Today Series Examines Issues Related To Elder Care

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Also Included In: Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 27 Jun 2007 - 20:00 PDT

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USA Today on Monday published several articles on issues related to elder care as part of a five-day series. Headlines and summaries appear below.

• "Becoming 'Parent of Your Parent' an Emotionally Wrenching Process": "Caring for elderly parents ... can threaten the emotional health," as well as the physical health, of caregivers and their families, USA Today reports (Fetterman [1], USA Today, 6/25).
  
  
• "Elder Care Shifting Away From Nursing Homes": A "shift away from institutionalized care is growing" among adult children who care for their elderly parents because of "the growth of less-restrictive types of care," such as assisted-living facilities and supervised adult day care, USA Today reports (Block, USA Today, 6/25).
  
  
• "Growing Up Meant Becoming a Caregiver": The article profiles Ray Payton, a Virginia woman who cares for both of her grandparents in their home and works two jobs to pay for their expenses (Fetterman [2], USA Today, 6/25).
  
  
• "Many Worry About Being Able To Care for Relatives in the Future": Almost half of the 59% of baby boomers who do not offer personal or financial help or both to their elderly parents have concerns about their ability to offer such help in the future, according to a USA Today/ABC News/Gallup poll, USA Today reports (Fetterman [3], USA Today, 6/25).
  
  
• "Proposed Legislation Would Help Caregivers With Financial, Day Care Aid": Lawmakers have proposed several bills that seek to reduce costs for family caregivers -- some of which would provide caregivers with tax credits of as much as $3,000 annually -- but Congress "hasn't passed any of the proposals in final form," USA Today reports (Fetterman [4], USA Today, 6/25).
  

Broadcast Coverage
ABC News recently broadcast three reports in conjunction with the USA Today series. Summaries appear below. Expanded ABC News coverage is available online.

• "Companies Help Employees Care for Parents": The "World News" segment includes comments from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); Scott Weisburg, vice president of benefits and compensation at General Mills; and Verizon and General Mills employees who care for their elderly parents (Jamieson, "World News," ABC, 6/23). Video of the segment and expanded coverage are available online.
  
  
• "Tech Tools Let Seniors To Stay Independent": The "Good Morning America Sunday" segment includes comments from Jeffrey Kaye -- director of the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology, which develops technology to help elderly individuals live independently -- and a family that uses ORCATECH products ("Good Morning America Sunday," ABC, 6/24). Video of the segment and expanded coverage are available online.
  
  
• "'Fraiser' Star's Family Struggle With Alzheimer's": The "This Week" segment includes a discussion with actor David Hyde Pierce (Stephanopoulos, "This Week," ABC, 6/24). Video of the segment and expanded coverage are available online.

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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