The Caregiving Exchange
Fall 2015
STAY CONNECTED
From the President's Desk 
Happy National Family Caregivers Month & Happy Thanksgiving.
There's a lot of exciting news in the caregiving world to share.
I was honored earlier this fall to participate at the 6th International Carers Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden on behalf of the Alliance and our International Alliance of Carer Organizations. (That's me, pictured above with Alliance Board Member Dr. Thomas Edes of the V.A., speaking briefly with Her Majesty Queen Sylvia of Sweden about the importance of supporting family caregivers.)
The four day international meeting focused on elevating family caregiving through innovative technology, improved work environments, and social supports. Caregiving is truly an international phenomena that requires more attention from global thought-leaders and national leaders here in the U.S. I'm encouraged that caregiving has become a topic ofdiscussion by the 2016 Presidential candidates and that members of Congress are working hard to find solutions (more in the Legislative Update below). Even so, our conversations with European colleagues reminded me that not all solutions can come from government. We must continue to think about how technology and employers can better support family caregivers as well.
This month, National Family Caregivers Month, is one of those moments where we can reflect on the needs of caregivers and be thankful for their contributions. We've got a list of events and updates on our website at
caregiving.org/caregiversmonth and encourage you to send us your news to share.
As we look towards 2016 and the upcoming national elections, let's keep the conversation going on what will help caregivers in years to come. One place we'll be tackling these big questions is our upcoming conference, "The Next 20 Years in Family Caregiving", which will be in Washington, D.C. on March 21st. I hope to see you there.
Best,
Gail Gibson Hunt
President and Chief Executive Officer
In This Issue:
- From the President's Desk
- Research, Reports & Publications
- Member Updates
- Legislation & Advocacy Updates
- Caregiving Coalitions Corner
- International Alliance of Carer Organizations
- Upcoming Events
An article in Clinical Nursing Studies looked at the application of a stress resource model to the cancer caregiver experience. The relationship between burden of care, perceived stress, and other factors was examined through the lens of this model.Learn more here.
A study in the Journal of Family Issues examined the implications of managing work and caregiving roles, specifically within the information technology sector. The research was guided by the stress process model, and found a number of differences in stress for elder caregivers, and sandwich caregivers. The research demonstrates that further studies of the implications of combining white-collar employment with family caregiving roles are needed. Read more here.
An article in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine investigated the impact of caregiving motives on the caregivers' quality of life as they relate to spirituality. The research focused on cancer caregivers, interviewing them two years and then five years post-diagnosis. The article is available here.
Researchers in The Journals of Gerontology studied the effect of caregiving transitions on perceived stress in female caregivers. The article concluded that these transitions do have an impact on perceived stress, and suggested an increased use of stress-reduction interventions for high-intensity caregivers, or those entering high-intensity caregiving. Learn more here.
Updates from Members
Moments of Life
In May 2014, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization launched a first of its kind national public awareness campaign called Moments of Life: Made Possible by Hospice.
The goal of Moments of Life: Made Possible by Hospice is to educate the public about the choices we all have when facing a life-limiting illness, and how choosing hospice is not 'giving up.'
The campaign captures emotionally powerful 'moments' on video that show what people receiving hospice care genuinely experience. You will find stories from across America, from the patient, family caregiver, and hospice professional points of view. You may be surprised to see how much more 'living' hospice enables in the last chapter of life. Share your story.
Take 1 Moment for Alzheimer's Caregivers
Allergan is working in partnership with restaurateur, model, author and former television host B. Smith, her husband Dan Gasby, Chef'd, and the Caregiver Action Network on a campaign to rally people to #Take1Moment to recognize the family caregivers of those with Alzheimer's disease. The campaign asks people to share a memory or picture of someone they know or knew with Alzheimer's disease on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For each of the first 1,000 hashtags, the campaign will provide a thank you meal to a caregiver, through Chef'd. You can visitChefd.com/take1moment to learn more! National Family Caregivers Month efforts include additional social media activities to help raise awareness of the cause.
New Award for Financial Report
WISER's publication, Financial Steps for Caregivers: What You Need to Know About Protecting Your Money and Retirement, recently received a Merit Award from the National Mature Media Awards. These awards honor the nation's best marketing, communications, educational materials and programs for older adults. The booklet can be downloaded at www.wiserwomen.org.
Open Enrollment Has Begun!
Medicare Open Enrollment has begun and will close on December 7th. You can find all Medicare Open Enrollment annual updates from the Medicare Open Enrollment page at here. The Health Insurance Marketplace is also open, and you can sign up for coverage for you or a loved one at http://1.usa.gov/1KLdDa1.
New Caring.com Research on Family Caregiving
WISER's publication, Financial Steps for Caregivers: What You Need to Know About Protecting Your Money and Retirement, recently received a Merit Award from the National Mature Media Awards. These awards honor the nation's best marketing, communications, educational materials and programs for older adults. The booklet can be downloaded at www.wiserwomen.org.
Open Enrollment Has Begun!
Medicare Open Enrollment has begun and will close on December 7th. You can find all Medicare Open Enrollment annual updates from the Medicare Open Enrollment page at here. The Health Insurance Marketplace is also open, and you can sign up for coverage for you or a loved one at http://1.usa.gov/1KLdDa1.
New Caring.com Research on Family Caregiving
Caring.com -- a website and referral service supporting more than three million family caregivers and older adults monthly -- has released the results of its annual senior care survey. The data revealed that adult children who assist their aging parents do seek help from paid caregivers, rely first on the Internet rather than in-person professional advice, and are happier once their aging loved one moves into a senior living community. Read more in the press release or Senior Care in 2015 index. They've also compiled some of the respondents stories in a series of articles.
Legislation & Advocacy Updates
S. 1549 - Care Planning Act of 2015:
Introduced by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), the Care Planning Act creates a new Medicare benefit called Planning Services that would offer voluntary advance care planning for those with advanced illness. This would include discussion goals of care, values, and explanation of disease progression, exploration of treatment options, and a documented care plan that reflects an individual's goals, values, and preferences. The bill directs HHS to develop quality measures focused on end-of-life care, commission a study and report to HHS on the state of advanced care planning, and include advance care planning materials in the Medicare & You handbook.
H.R. 2894 - CARE for all Veterans Act:
Congressman Ryan Costello (R-PA) and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) have introduced the Caregivers Access and Responsible Expansion (CARE) for All Veterans Act in an effort to increase access to the current VA Caregiver Support Program to all service-era veterans. Currently, the VA Caregiver Support Program is limited to post-9/11 veterans and excludes all members who have served in previous service-eras. The CARE for All Veterans Act treats veterans of all service-eras equally by gradually granting access to supports for pre-9/11 veteran caregivers and prioritizing the veterans most in need. To be eligible for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, Veterans must first be enrolled for VA health services, if not enrolled previously.
S.1421 - Orphan Product Extensions Now Accelerating Cures and Treatments Act of 2015:
Introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Co-Sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tim Scott (R-SC). Similar to the House's 21st Century Cures bill, which passed the House in July, the bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend by six months the exclusivity period for a drug or biological product approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when the product is additionally approved to prevent, diagnose, or treat a new indication that is a rare disease or condition (also known as an "orphan disease").
Updates on Previously Introduced Legislation:
S. 1719 and H.R. 3099 - RAISE Family Caregivers Act:
The RAISE Family Caregivers Act, a bill to develop a National Family Caregiving Strategy, now has 12 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House and 7 in the Senate. The Senate version of the RAISE Act has passed the HELP Committee.
State & Local:
The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable or CARE Act:
Passed in 18 states, the Care Act is model legislation that mandates hospitals offer training to family and friends who care for patients after they are discharged from the hospital. A Michigan State Legislature Senate committee recently heard testimony on the CARE Act onSeptember 30th. The Michigan CARE Act, Senate Bill 352, is online at legislature.mi.gov.
The Council of the District of Columbia's Universal Paid Leave Act of 2015:
DC Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) and several other members introduced the Universal Paid Leave Act of 2015 on October 6th, which could make the nation's capital the first city to offer 16 weeks of paid family and medical leave for nearly all its residents. Employees would receive a paid leave in the event of recovering from illness, caregiving to a sick family member, maternity and paternity leave for an infant or adopted child, or recuperating from military deployment.
2016 Presidential Candidate Proposals:
Former Secretary of State and Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton recently released a "Plan to Invest in the Caring Economy: Recognizing the Value of Family Caregivers and Home Care Workers." The plan includes caregiver tax credits for family caregivers, social security credits, and would expand existing respite supports. Politico has the plan here.
Caregiving Coalitions Corner
Charlotte Dodge, Advocacy Coordinator
November is National Family Caregivers Month
The National Alliance for Caregiving and the Alzheimer's Foundation of America are teaming up in November for a Let's #TalkBrainHealth social media campaign. The campaign includes a Conversation Kit for caregivers of older adults to talk with family and friends about their current role as a caregiver and to discuss the cognitive health of their loved one. Join us on Twitter or at caregiving.org/talkbrainhealth.
Visit the National Family Caregivers Month Calendar for more details on events happening this month.
Save the Date! The 10th Annual National Caregiving Conference
Save the date for our 10th Annual National Caregiving Advocates Conference: The Next 20 Years in Family Caregiving. The conference will be held on Monday, March 21, 2016 in conjunction with the American Society on Aging meeting in Washington, D.C.
The Conference will feature presentations on topics such as: the role of caregivers in the early detection of dementia, policy perspectives on family caregiving, family caregiving and home-based-care, the state of caregiving today, and a table topics luncheon featuring experts in the aging, disability, and caregiving space. Stay tuned and follow updates as we post more information on our website: caregiving.org/coalitions/annual-conference.
Want to learn more about building a coalition? Would you like to connect with other caregiving advocates? Email me at Charlotte@caregiving.org so we can connect.
International Alliance of Carer Organizations
The International Alliance of Carer Organizations (IACO), of which the Alliance is the Secretariat, convened its third Annual Meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden onSeptember 2. Representatives were there from all 11 member nations, as well as invited guests from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, France, Germany and Eurocarers. Sponsors in attendance included Novartis, AbbVie, and Right at Home. Presentations at the meeting included topics such as heart failure, the business case for corporate eldercare, carer assessment and caregivers of children with special needs. The following day, IACO and Abbvie hosted a meeting to discuss supporting carers of persons with Parkinson's disease.
The International Carers' Conference was a success with over 600 persons in attendance and an additional 800 viewing sessions that were web-cast. NAC staff played an active role in the meeting: CEO Gail Hunt presented on technology, Caregiving in the US 2015, and participated in the closing plenary session; Executive Advisor Rick Greene moderated two sessions; and staff Grace Whiting presented on caregiving coalitions in the United States and moderated two sessions. The next International Carers' Conference will be hosted in Australia in 2017.
Upcoming Events in Caregiving & Aging
American Society on Aging Conference
March 20-24, 2016 | Washington, DC
From March 20-24, 2016, nearly 3,000 professionals will meet in Washington, D.C. to engage with each other on a multitude of issues affecting our older adult population. The topics covered at the conference reflect the issues that all professionals face today. They are multifaceted and multidisciplinary, and go beyond the boundaries of geography and discipline. Registration for the conference is now open - learn more here.
Join the National Alliance for Caregiving on March 21st for "The Next 20 Years in Caregiving" which will be hosted at ASA!
2016 BIO International Convention
June 6-9, 2016 | San Francisco, CA
The global event for biotechnology returns to the birthplace of biotech, San Francisco, California. The region continues to grow and advance biomedical innovation while continuing to offer programs and services to support to bring new medical advances to patients. Imagine all of the powerful partnerships when these powerful communities of innovation come together - and learn more here.
n4a Annual Conference & Tradeshow
July 24-28, 2016 | San Diego, CA
The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) Annual Conference & Tradeshow is THE Conference that provides aging professionals with the latest information on trends in Home and Community-Based Services, Long-Term Services and Supports, Older Americans Act, Medicaid, Medicare and Integrated Care, along with practical tools, techniques and best practices to implement them. The call for proposals is now open, until October 30, 2015. Learn more here.
If you would like the Alliance's President and CEO Gail Hunt, to present on caregiving issues at your upcoming conference, please emailgracewhiting@caregiving.org.
STAY CONNECTED
---------------------
National Alliance for Caregiving
4720 Montgomery Lane, Suite 205
Bethesda, Maryland 20814 United States
---------------------
---------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment