More Support Needed for Family Caregivers
In the fall of 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) revealed its first collaborative and strategic national plan for providing family caregivers with various supports and resources. The 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers consists of several hundred action steps that can help relieve family caregivers of the extra burdens they face when adult relatives choose to age at home. At Direct Care Innovations, we understand the unique challenges that family caregivers face each day. Let’s take a deeper look into how the USDHHS will approach this growing dilemma.
Current Support Deficit for Family Caregivers
As your Direct Support Professionals work daily with their clients, they already see the current support deficit for family members who are caring for their loved ones. The needs are great for both your clients and their relatives. Many home health agencies agree that while they provide some form of hourly care for their clients, family caregivers are tasked with being responsible for their adult relatives for the remaining hours of each day. They also agree that these overburdened caregivers can greatly benefit from various resources and education supports.
Why Family Caregivers Need This Vital Support
Family caregivers are essential to the health and well-being of their loved ones who are elderly or are living with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DDs). There are assisted living facilities that individuals with disabilities can take advantage of, but this is not an option for everyone. This is why family caregivers sacrifice their time and energy by choosing to care for their loved ones.
Another reason why family caregivers need these essential resources is that it’s typically their support that makes a real difference in the life of their adult family members. One of the most critical determinants of a person’s health is the support of their family. We know that your agency does its best to provide caring and compassionate services for your clients, but there truly is no one else like family.
Resources That Family Caregivers Need
Government officials and home health care industry leaders have acknowledged that the core mission of this comprehensive plan is to “address resource opportunities for the health, well-being, and financial security of family caregivers.” Among the resources discussed are:
- addressing trauma and its impacts on families.
- providing both equity and accessibility for family caregivers who are in underserved communities.
- including family caregiving as part of the overall public health infrastructure.
- increasing funds for state and local health departments to provide valuable resources and necessary support.
Helping You Provide Compassionate Support to Your Clients
We realize that your organization can better serve its clients when day-to-day operations are streamlined and back-end processes run smoothly. We invite you to request a sales demo so you can see firsthand how our business management software provides an easy-to-understand and simplified system. Contact us today at (480) 295-3307 to learn more about our wide range of modules, such as real-time authorization management, employee training tracker, HCBS scheduling, and more.
Source: Filbin, Patrick. “Home-Based Care Agencies, HHS Agree: Family Caregivers Need More Support.” Web article. Home Health Care News.