As a member of the Washington State Council on Aging, I am writing because November is National Family Caregivers Month. The theme for 2016 is “Take Care to Give Care.”
Caregiving deserves our attention, as a human and financial concern. More than 900,000 Washingtonians serve as unpaid family caregivers. According to data from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, uncompensated, informal caregiving is estimated to be valued at $10.6 billion. An average caregiver loses about $300,000 in salary and benefits in their lifetime, many having minimal resources to begin with.
Caregiving can be rewarding, but also physically and emotionally demanding. The stress of dealing with caregiving responsibilities leads to a higher risk of health issues among the nation’s 90 million family caregivers.
A significant objective of our care network should be to assist family caregivers — something as simple as a bit of time to care for self in the form of respite activities can make all the difference. Caregivers are giving their help, and need our help. Ask yourself if you know of a caregiver who could use some time for self-care.
