Every day, 10,000 Baby Boomers reach retirement age in the U.S. In the next few decades, there will be 75 to 80 million seniors. Who will provide care for our aging population? Caregivers are often likely to be spouses or children. Caring for your own parents is becoming increasingly common. Our parents used to be the very foundation of our family, and now we find that they are the ones that need our support. The Sandwich Generation finds itself caring for children or grandchildren, and their own parents all at the same time.
There are an estimated 38 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S. The heaviest caregiver responsibilities tend to fall on women due to gender norms. This puts emotional and financial strain on family caregivers. Having another person dependent upon you for their care is stressful. It is common for resentment to build. And this makes it difficult to enjoy your normal relationship as daughter or spouse.
Holding down an outside job while being an unpaid caregiver is difficult to manage. Family caregivers are more likely to miss work, be forced into a part-time work, or be passed up for advancement to meet the demands of caregiving. In addition, uncompensated care expenses can add up, often more than $5,000 a year.
At SYNERGY HomeCare, we understand caregiving and caregivers. We understand the devotion of family members. In fact, it is very often that our own caregivers need to take time off of work as professional senior caregivers to care for their own parents or other family members. They are the natural caregivers in their own family.
We are flexible in the services that we provide. We can provide the respite care that family caregivers need to maintain their emotional wellbeing, work conflicts, and family demands. Our senior caregivers are trained and experienced in senior care including dementia care. Our support goes beyond just senior caregiving, our caregivers also have experience caring for people who have other care needs including those associated with Parkinson’s Disease, and cancer, stroke and surgical recovery. We can provide care for a few hours a day or up to 24/7 care to accommodate business trips, family vacations, or emergencies.
We have a new client here in Tucson with dementia whose wife cared for him for ten years without a break – literally ten years without a break for herself. She took him to all of her own medical appointments and to service appointments for their automobile. She cut her own hair. She was completely devoted to his care and she did it out of love, not obligation. But it took an emotional and physical toll on her. Her own health suffered. She is now able to leave the house to run errands and take time for herself. She said that it makes her feel “free”.
It is extremely difficult for anyone to handle the demands that come with 24/7 caregiving. We must take care of ourselves if we are going to be the best support for our loved ones. As the airline instruction goes, “Put on your own mask before helping those around you.”
More than one in six full-time workers in the U.S. are caregivers. The vast majority of elderly people want to age at home; this will place an even greater demand on caregiving in the coming years. It is estimated that 700,000 new caregivers will be needed per year to help the aging population. Some groups have forecast it to become the largest occupation by the 2030’s. As former First Lady Rosalynn Carter liked to say, “There are only four kinds of people in the world – those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers.”
SYNERGY HomeCare of Tucson can help reduce the burden placed on family caregivers through respite care. This can be scheduled time every week or scheduled as needed. Call us today at 520-327-2771 to set up a free, in-home consultation.
