USA Today series plunges into caregiving

USA Today is doing a great job helping people understand what’s involved in caregiving and longterm care for our elders.

If you’re a professional in aging, it may seem like an old story well told. But if you’re just starting to get an inkling, the series of articles Role Reversal: Your Aging Parents and You is an eye opener. You may want to share these articles with friends and clients.

To give an idea just how big the issue of caregiving is, not only personally but as a factor in the economy, consider these "average caregiver" facts from the AARP:

• The “typical” caregiver in the U.S. is a
46 year old female who works outside
of home and spends more than 20
hours per week providing unpaid care.
Caregivers often experience serious
economic losses due to changes in
work patterns, including lost wages,
loss of health insurance and other job
benefits, and lower retirement savings
and Social Security benefits.

• Almost one fifth of workers (19%) are
informal caregivers. Productivity
losses to U.S. businesses related to
informal caregiving are estimated to be
as high as $33.6 billion per year, more
than half the value of all productivity
losses due to common pain conditions,
such as arthritis, headache, and back
conditions.

In the USA Today series, “Becoming ‘parent” of your parent an emotionally wrenching process” is an especially eloquent account of the emotional aspects of the caregiving relationship.

Here’s the list of series articles that have appeared or will appear in the journal and its online counterpart. ABC news is running stories on the subject as well.

Monday
The burden of caring for elderly parents
A shift away from nursing homes
Valuable resources for caregivers

Tuesday
Coping with an aging parent: The emotional toll
Balancing work and caregiving
Claiming your parent as a dependent

Wednesday
Navigating sibling relationships
Re-emergence of multigenerational households
Avoiding scams that target your parents

Thursday
Long-term care insurance has its own risks
When a parent has Alzheimer's or dementia

Friday
Planning for retirement and elder care
How to spend down assets to pay for care