November is National Family Caregivers Month

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What better time to celebrate the CARE Act than National Family Caregivers Month. The law, which passed during Delaware’s 2016 Legislative session, goes into effect on January 1, 2017 after Governor Jack Markell signed the bill into law.

Patients are having shorter hospital stays, with their caregivers often performing complex medical tasks such as wound care or managing medication once they are home. The CARE Act makes hospital discharge less stressful by giving patients the opportunity to identify a caregiver; and offering instruction / demonstration of the care needed once their loved one returns home. Beginning January 1,  caregivers can use their Caregiver Wallet Card which identifies them as the caregiver for the patient. It supports caregivers from the moment their loved ones go into the hospital to when they return home.

Delaware is home to some 123,000 Delawareans who are providing unpaid family caregiving for parents, spouses, friends, or neighbors. This care is valued at 1.58 billion each year. That’s why AARP Delaware worked so hard to ensure the CARE Act passed. Helping caregivers is a top priority for us.

Learn more about unpaid family caregiving at www.aarp.org/caregiving. Download you free wallet card at action.aarp.org/DECAREAct.