Serving Harris, Galveston, Brazoria and Fort Bend Counties
HOUSTON
November Issue 2014
Inside This Issue
RESPITE CARE: CARING FOR THE CAREGIVERS By Jeff Carmack Managing Editor Texas Department of Aging and Disability
Cheaper Medications may be Counterfeit See pg. 10
INDEX Legal Health..................pg.3 Money Matters..............pg.4 Mental Health...............pg.5 Healthy Heart................pg.7 Marketing Essentials.......pg.9
What you don’t know about Hospice Care could hurt you See pg. 15
Janet Barker could write a book about being a caregiver. Barker spent 13 years taking care of her mother, evolving from tracking her mother’s medications to living with her in a senior housing setting. Along with a sister, she now helps care for her 95-year-old aunt. People like Barker who provide unpaid voluntary care and assistance for family members are sometimes called “family caregivers.” By helping with daily activities such as meal preparation, bathing and dressing, medication, transportation, shopping, and more, they provide much of the support that lets people stay in their homes and out of institutions.
significant symptoms of depression, and that women – who make up the bulk of the caregiver cohort – tend to have higher rates of depression and anxiety and lower levels of well-being and life satisfaction than do male caregivers. More than one-fifth of all caregivers report being exhausted when they go to bed at night.
There are an 2.7 million caregivers in Texas. “The value of care given by unpaid – or family – caregivers in Texas is estimated at $34 billion a year,” said Joyce Pohlman, grants coordinator at the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS). “Their work is estimated to save the state $3.2 billion to $12.6 billion in Medicare and institutional spending a year.”
One in 10 caregivers reports that caregiving has caused their physical health to suffer. Additionally, caregivers are known for neglecting themselves by not addressing their needs, leading to chronic health conditions such as heart disease, heart attacks and cancer at twice the rate of non-caregivers. Seventy percent of caregivers who also work outside the home say that their caregiving duties negatively affect their Pohlman said that about 50 percent work, forcing them to juggle work hours of caregivers are reported to have clinically or take leave to deal with their caregiving responsibilities. Fortunately, there is help for caregivers in the form of respite care -short-term help that provides temporary relief to caregivers “Research shows that respite and other supports have a positive effect on mental and physical health,” Pohlman said.
Caregivers have respite options, Pohlman said. Most DADS waiver programs offer respite as part of their services, and the National Family Caregiver Support Program -- operated by the area agencies on aging -- provides respite information for caregivers. The AAAs and aging and disability resource centers also use the “train the trainer” model to equip caregivers to take care of themselves, and manage their lives better. Another resource assembled by DADS and the Texas Respite Coordination Center is the Take Time Texas (TTT) website. The centerpiece of TTT is a searchable database with a list of more than 1,000 respite care providers. Users can filter searches by county, type of provider, age of recipient and the type of respite they provide. The Texas Lifespan Respite Care Program is a state-funded program that pays for respite care. People who are not qualified to get respite services through other programs can sometimes receive them through this program, Pohlman said.
If you provide care for a family member and need a break, respite can help. www.dads.state.tx.us/taketimetexas.
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO 1 HOUSTON TX