USA Today Series Examines Role Of Employer, Stress On Elder Care

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Also Included In: Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 28 Jun 2007 - 17:00 PDT

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

• "Juggling Work, Care for Aging Parent: Some Companies Help Their Workers": As the "ranks of employed caregivers swell, a small but growing number of employers are beginning to establish novel programs to provide help and scheduling flexibility," such as access to elder care referral services, emergency elder care help and subsidies for the cost of elder care, USA Today reports (Armour, USA Today, 6/26).
  
  
• "Caregivers Cope With Stress, Mixed Emotions About Aging Parents": Elder caregivers "struggle with a range of emotions," including ambivalence, anger, resentment and "plenty of guilt," according to experts, USA Today reports (Jayson, USA Today, 6/26).
  

Economic Impact
Elder caregivers contribute the equivalent of $354 billion annually to the economy through their voluntary services but do so at a high cost to themselves and their employers, according to an AARP survey released on Monday, the Baltimore Sun reports. According to the survey, which estimated the number of caregivers at 34 million in 2006, more than 80% reported that they arrived late or left early from work or took leave during the day.

The survey also found that about 41% of caregivers had to take leaves of absence from work and that 37% had to switch from full-time to part-time status. More than one-third of caregivers had to leave work permanently, according to the survey. The survey estimated that caregivers had an economic impact on employers of as much as $33.6 billion (Baltimore Sun, 6/26).

The report is available online. Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the report.

Broadcast Coverage
ABC News on Monday included two reports in conjunction with the USA Today series. ABC's "World News" reported on unconventional nursing homes that offer more personalized care and independence for residents. The segment includes comments from Richard Gamache of Elmhurst Extended Care in Providence, R.I., and nursing home residents (Harris, "World News," ABC News, 6/25). Video of the segment and expanded ABC News coverage are available online.

In addition, ABC's "Nightline" profiled Ray Payton, a Virginia woman who cares for her grandparents and was featured on Monday in USA Today. The segment includes comments from Payton ("Nightline," ABC, 6/25). An excerpt of the segment is available online. Expanded ABC News coverage, as well as a webcast with comments from Payton, is 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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