Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, March 26, 1997, Page 3, Image 3

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Long Distance Elderly care growing
The number of boomers who pro­
vide long-distance care is expected
to double in 15 years. Long-distance
caregivers miss approximately 15
million days of work annually.
A survey suggests a grow ing mar­
ket tor private businesses and the
voluntary sector.
Nearly 7 million Americans pro­
vide care or manage care for a rela­
tive or friend aged 55 or older who
lives at least one hour away, accord­
ing to a survey cosponsored by The
<• National Council on the Aging
(NCOA) and The Pew Charitable
Trusts.
The survey is the first to focus
ex clu siv ely on lo n g -d istan ce
caregiving.
The caregivers in the survey lived,
on average, 304 m i les away from the
care recipient and spent an average
o f four hours traveling to reach that
person. Those respondents w ho were
the primary caregivers for the older
person spent an average of 35 hours
per month giving care — roughly
the equivalent o f one week of work
each month. One-quarter of all the
respondents spent more than 41
hours per month providing care.
Long-distance care is a large and
growing concern to baby boomers.
The average age o f the caregivers
interviewed was 46, and nearly half
of them were boomers. The survey
indicates that approximately 3.3
million boomers are providing long­
distance care.
“ We expect that the number of
long-distance caregivers will more
than double over the next 15 years as
the baby boomers and their parents
age,” said James Firman, Ed.D.,
president and CEO of NCOA.
“To deal w ith this growing phenom­
enon, employers, consumers, and
government will need to foster bet­
ter ways of helping the caregiver and
receiver."
The average care recipient was
78 years old, and 64 percent were
women. The care recipient was typi­
cally a relative: 53 percent were
parents or step-parents o f the
caregiver; 11 percent were grand­
parents.
“The survey reveals that long­
distance caregiving in America is a
family affair,” said Donna Wagner,
Ph D., vice president for research
and development at NCOA “Most
of the caregivers in the study were
able to manage their caregiving re­
sponsibilities because of the help
they received from family and
friends. The results demonstrate that
policies and programs that help long­
distance caregivers benefit not only
care recipients but the entire family
unit.”
As long-distance caregiving
grows along with the aging o f
boomers and their parents, em­
ployers in the U.S. may face seri­
ous employee leave and produc­
tivity issues as a result More than
half of all the respondents said
their responsibilities interfere with
their professional, social, or fam­
ily needs.
Among the employed respon­
dents, 25 percent said they miss at
least one day of work in a typical
month because of their caregiving,
and 15 percent said they had taken
unpaid leave during the past year.
NCOA estimates that at least 15
million days o f work are missed
each year because of long-distance
caregiving.
Despite the toll that caregiving
takes on their personal lives, how­
ever, the overwhelming majority of
respondents said they plan to con­
tinue providing the care indefinitely.
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Given their burdens, long-dis-
tancecaregivers could benefit from
many different forms of assistance.
Caregivers report that the greatest
unmet needs of the care recipients
are for personal care and assis­
tance, companionship, help in cop­
ing with an illness, and more fam­
ily contact.
More than 70 percent o f the
caregivers reported that they
would benefit from educational
materials about services, and 62
percent said that they would like
someone to visit the person and
update the caregiver about the
recipient’s mental and physical
health.
“The survey findings confirm a
sizeable and growing market for
services for elderly people,” said
Carolyn Asbury, Ph D., directorof
the health and human services pro­
gram at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
“Private businesses and the volun­
tary sector have important oppor­
tunities to respond to this emerg­
ing market.”
More than half of the survey
respondents are already receiving
help from formal service provid­
ers — often a home health agency
or individual.
The survey also suggests that
churches and synagogues could be
particularly helpful resources for
long-distance caregivers. Among
carerecipients who were affiliated
with a faith congregation, 76 per­
cent received some form of help
from the congregation.
More than 90 percent o f the
prom, even a 30-year-old condom.
Putt was traveling with his family
when he found the wallet in a phone
booth in New Castle, Del.
"It seemed HJ>.e a godsend,” Putt's
wife, Doris, said. “At the time, we
had six children and were on our
way to visit their grandparents in
Philadelphia and we were short on
money.”
Putt felt bad about taking the
money, and, earlier this year, he
tracked down Bradley through the
the Florida Division of Motor Ve­
hicles.
FOOD & DRUG
Look For Your
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Tender
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• Cook’s Shank Portion ham & water
to sacrifice their income (The Work­
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also passed by an overwhelming
majority the Partial-Birth Abortion
Ban which protects the life of the
partially-born baby and the life and
health of the mother.”
Mrs. Hamrick made her state­
ments as the U.S House o f Repre­
sentatives voted to pass (295 to
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caregivers whose family member
or friend had received help from
the congregation said they were
satisfied or extremely satisfied with
this help, and 65 percent of these
caregivers said they would like to
have or would consider arranging
for help from a congregation other
than th eir own or the care
recipient’s.
In the survey, caregiving was
considered “long-distance” if it re­
quired travel of at least one hour to
reach the care recipient.
Caregiving was defined as provid­
ing or managing care, services, or
financial or legal assistance for a
person aged 55 or older.
Two hundred respondents were
identified as long-distance caregiv­
ers and were interviewed in a tele­
phone survey. Respondents were
screened from a sample of nearly
1,000 adults representative of the
U.S. population.
The National Council on the Ag
ing is a private, nonprofit associa­
tion of more than 7,500 organiza­
tions and professionals in the U.S.
who work with and on behalf of
older persons.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, a
national philanthropy with over $4
billion in assets, support nonprofit
activities in the areas of health and
human services, culture, education,
the environment, public policy, and
religion. Through their grant-mak­
ing in aging, the Trusts seek to
promotetheability ofelderly people
to live independently in their com­
munities.
136) the Partial-Birth Abortion
Ban Act.
Hamrick continued, “ Families
across America will be strength­
ened by having more quality time
together, and women and children
in these families will be saved from
the emotional, physical, and spiri­
tual destruction of infanticide-on-
demand.
H appt
SAFEWAY
s
House passes two pro-family bills
“The House of Representatives
has made great strides this week in
the battle to preserve American
families,” Family Research Coun­
cil Director of Communications
Kristi Hamrick said Thursday.
“They have passed legislation
to allow parents working in the
private sector the flexibility to ad­
just their schedule without having
Advertise In
* v ' - ' ^
Long-distance
care opportunities
Wallet returned
after thirty years
Thirty years after he lost his wal­
let, Allen Bradley got it back - with
interest.
Bradley hadn’t seen his tan wal­
let, containing $78, since he was 17.
Last week, it came in the mail, with
$200 and a note of apology.
“ Everything is still in your wallet
like it was when I found it,” wrote
Ernie Putt of Chesapeake, Va. “I
realize that the little extra I'm send­
ing will not correct my misdeed, but
it may help.”
Still inside were a 1967 Elvis
Presley calendar, old photographs
of girlfriends Bradley no longer re­
members, a receipt for the 1965 Mus­
tang he rented for his high school
,
does it
B etter
for
L ess .
PLU 8980