by New York State Office for the Aging
ALBANY, NY (11/24/2009)-New York Office for the Aging today released three new reports indicating that services which provide support to New York family and friends who provide daily care for a loved one enable those receiving care to live independently in their homes and communities and avoid institutionalization. Thirty Eight percent of the caregivers surveyed reported that, without caregiver support, their care receivers would end up in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
In total, fifty-two percent of the caregivers surveyed reported that their care receivers would not be able to continue to live in the same home if services by local offices for the aging had not been provided, according to one report developed by the NYS Office for the Aging. Significantly, the survey found that Caregivers in New York's aging services network system are providing significant amounts of care, higher than the amount of care reported by caregivers in national studies. For example, caregivers served in New York caregiver support programs report spending an average of 62.6 hours a week providing care. This is considerably higher than the national average of 21 hours estimated in a recent AARP report (2008), which includes caregivers of all ages and all disabilities.
Michael Burgess, Director of the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) said: "These reports confirm the valuable role that family, friends and neighbors play in providing needed health care and long term care services to New Yorkers of all ages." He continued: "With health care and long-term care costs escalating; the growth of the older population and those persons with disabilities; and workforce shortages in home-based personal home care, caregivers are playing an even more critical role in helping people needing assistance to maintain their independence and live in their homes and communities of choice."
Informal caregivers are recognized as the bedrock of community care, providing between 75% and 80% of the daily assistance needed by frail older New Yorkers. In NYS, this care has been valued at more than $25 billion each year by AARP. There are over 2.2 million caregivers in NYS and at any one time during the year, over 3.1 million caregivers who provide help with daily needs.
Director Burgess noted: "The informal caregivers' value to their loved ones, their communities and the state is unmistakable. It is vitally important that we do all we can to support these unpaid caregivers in communities across the state so that they can continue to care for their loved ones."
A typical caregiver in the New York aging network services system is a 64-year-old female, who has either a high school or some college education, spends more than 20 hours a week providing care to her mother and spends an average of 5.7 years providing care to care recipients.
The average age of care recipients in NYSOFA caregiver programs is 82.5. With advanced age, the care recipients are more likely to have health problems and be limited in daily activities of living. They also have a higher probability of entering into a nursing home. One of the reports identifies gaps in caregiver services.
"As we enter Thanksgiving week, and the month of November being Family Caregivers Month, it is an opportune time to thank the thousands of unpaid caregivers across the state for providing care to family members, friends, neighbors and other loved ones, who might otherwise not be able to remain in their homes if not for the care and assistance provided by these caregivers," Burgess said.
The care provided by unpaid caregivers in New York State, if paid for at the current market rate, is valued at $25 billion per year. It is also estimated that caregivers save over $12 billion per year in Medicaid program costs. Businesses are also affected by issues faced by caregivers as almost six in ten caregivers (59%) either work or have worked while providing care. The loss to the economy when a caregiver leaves or loses their job, or fails to work to their full potential is significant. Nationally these losses are estimated to cost businesses $33.6 billion a year, according to a MetLife study.
The New York State Family Caregiver Council's mission is to provide guidance, advice, and recommendations that will enable the state to develop policies and programs that support caregiving for friends, family, or community members of all ages and all levels of ability. The Council reviewed data from the cited surveys to help form recommendations that are part of a full report submitted to the NYSOFA. The Council includes caregivers across the age and care spectrum, community advocates, academic experts in caregiving issues, and New York State government agencies.
NYSOFA advocates for the over 3.2 million New Yorkers who are 60 years of age and older, including at all levels of government and the private sector, with the cooperation of concerned organizations and older persons. In addition, NYSOFA administers federally funded programs under the Older Americans Act and a variety of state-funded programs which serve the elderly.
The reports are as follows:
1) New York State Office for the Aging. (2009). Sustaining Informal Caregivers: New York State Caregiver Support Programs Participants Survey: Report of Findings on the Aging Services Network. New York State Office for the Aging: Albany, NY.
2) New York State Family Caregiver Council. (2009). Supporting and Strengthening Caregivers in New York State: New York State Family Caregiver Council Report. New York State Office for the Aging: Albany, NY.
3) Caprio, T., Katz, P, Karuza, J, and Rehse, D. (2009). New York State Caregiver Services Survey: NY Connects Local Long Term Care Councils' Assessment of Community Caregiver Support Services. Report to the New York State Family Caregiver Council. Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center of Upstate New York: University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY.
To read or download the reports visit NYSOFA's web site at www.aging.ny.gov.
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