Georgia Caregivers Act Passes Unanimously!

The Georgia Caregivers Act passed both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly unanimously and is now awaiting Governor Kemp's signature!

Sponsored in the House by Representative Lee Hawkins and in the Senate by Senator Dean Burke, the Georgia Caregivers Act will bring much needed support to family caregivers across the Peach State. AARP Georgia thanks Representative Hawkins and Senator Burke for their leadership on this important issue.

Hear what AARP volunteer Laurie R. has to say about the importance of the Georgia Family Caregivers Act.

Family caregivers help their parents, spouses and other loved ones so they can live independently in their homes and communities—instead of in costly, taxpayer-funded institutions. They assist with meal preparation, managing finances, transportation, and much more.

Many family caregivers also perform medical or nursing tasks for their loved ones like complex medication management, wound care, and injections. Yet most receive little or no training for these important duties. That’s why AARP Georgia supported the Georgia Caregivers Act - a no-cost, commonsense bill that does three things:

The bill ensures that

(1) Patients can identify a caregiver upon admission to the hospital;
(2) The identified caregiver is notified of the plan to discharge the patient home; and
(3) The caregiver is given live instruction and training on the medical and nursing tasks to be performed at home.

In 2021, more than half of Georgia’s hospitals were penalized for excessive patient readmissions. The Georgia Caregivers Act could help prevent these costly hospital readmissions. The bill passed unanimously in the House on March 8th, and in the Senate on April 1st and AARP is strongly urging Governor Kemp to sign the bill into law.