Foundation for

American Health Care LeadershipPromoting and Enabling Healthy Choices:

Linking the Desire for Health

with the Decisions & Tools that Support Health

Suzanne Mintz, President/Co-founderNATIONAL FAMILY

CAREGIVERS ASSOCIATION

www.thefamilycaregiver.org

1/800 896 3650

NFCA

• NFCA is the nation’s leading grassroots organization in support of all family caregivers. NFCA educates, supports, empowers, and speaks up for the millions of Americans who care for chronically ill, aged, or disabled loved ones.

• NFCA reaches across the boundaries of different diagnoses, different relationships and different life stages to address the common needs and concerns of all family caregivers.

Family Caregiving TodayBasic Facts

• More than 50 million Americans• Over ½ provide on average 20 hours of care per

week or more• 80% of all homecare services• Conservative market value $257 billion annually; more than twice what is spend on nursing homes

and paid homecare combines; comparable to all Medicare spending 2002.

• Typical FCG woman 46 yrs old, employed, caring for mom who lives elsewhere

Financial Impact

• Lower incomes than typical American family – 43% less than $30K compared to 35%

• Out of pocket medical expenses 2.5 times higher – 11.2 percent of income.

Health Impact

• As many as 59% prone to clinical depression

• Multiple studies have shown immune system impact, and in some cases increased mortality.

• Most recent findings: Stress of family caregiving can cause premature aging, as much as 10 years.

A Vision for the FutureAt NFCA we envision an America in which: • patients and their families are at the center of all

healthcare planning;• care for those with chronic conditions is holistic

and integrated --- across medical and social settings, regardless of age or economic status;

• the contributions of family caregivers to the welfare of their loved ones and to society is recognized and supported so that family caregivers no longer need to sacrifice their own health and wellness to provide care.

Self Identified FCGMotivated But Not Enabled

• Believe self care very important yet self care declines with family caregiving. Regular exercise decreases by 50% Doctor visits to check out a perceived health problem decrease by 33%.

• The experience doesn’t move people to plan for their own future - 45% not at all, and only 29% a little bit.

Non Self- Identified FCG Not Even Motivated

Family Caregiving It’s Not All Up to Youwww.familycaregiving101.org

A Public Education Campaign Designed to

Help Family Caregivers Recognize Their Own Risk and Seek Help to Be Better Caregivers

Things We Are Seeing

• Parents who have relocated for retirement are moving closer to their kids

• Aging women are talking about congregate housing as a way to continue to be independent while also living in community.

• Olmstead decision creating a base of more home/community-based services enabling the concept of aging in place. (Bring services to me, not me to services)

Things to Think About• No matter how healthy our life style, sooner or

later we will get at least one chronic condition. After the golden years come the rust years.

• There are far fewer Gen Xers than there are boomers, and the healthcare worker shortage will not be eradicated any time soon. Who will provide care?

• Living longer means needing more money for a longer period of time. EBRI says most of us won’t have it.

• Medical science moves at the speed of sound. Social and systems changes move glacially. How can our institutions respond in meaningful ways?

More Things to Think About

• Americans values youth, beauty, and comfort. Can we scare people into action using chronological vs real age comparisons and life with savings vs not enough savings comparisons?

• Membership in the Hemlock Society is on the rise. Is choosing the time of our death the ultimate act of control and a very pragmatic present to give our kids? (half joking – not sure how serious)

National Family Caregivers Association

For more information on

Helping Family Caregivers Become Advocates and Building a Family

Caregiver Activist Movement

Contact NFCA

1/800 896 3650

www.thefamilycaregiver.org