Iowa Names 2019 Capitol Caregivers

Segebart

Dolecheck.jpg

Konfrst

Ragan

This year, four elected officials in Iowa went above and beyond to provide commonsense support for family caregivers by championing the Iowa CARE act.


To recognize their critical leadership in passing and supporting family caregivers, AARP named Sen. Mark Segebart, Rep. Cecil Dolecheck, Rep. Jennifer Konfrst and Sen. Amanda Ragan to the 2019 class of “Capitol Caregivers.” This bipartisan group of elected officials from 30 states, including Iowa, advanced policies to bring more help family caregivers. The award was presented be AARP Iowa State President, Chuck Betts.



Iowa CARE Act
This new law will help more than 300,000 family caregivers in Iowa who help their older parents, spouses, children with disabilities and other loved ones to remain in their homes and communities.



2019 Iowa CARE Act will feature four important provisions:

• The name of the family caregiver is recorded when their loved one is admitted into a hospital if a patient chooses to designate one.
• The designated family caregiver is notified when their loved one is to be discharged back home.
• The hospital discusses the caregivers’ abilities and limitations.
• The hospital discusses the patient’s care needs at home and provides an explanation of the medical tasks to be performed – such as medication management, injections and wound care.

AARP Iowa State Director Brad Anderson says, "AARP Iowa thanks the many family caregivers who shared their personal stories with lawmakers, the large statewide coalition that rallied together to cast a wide net of support for the CARE Act, the Iowa Hospitals and Nurses Association for working out a compromise bill language, and the Iowa lawmakers who listened and acted.”


The Iowa Care Act is just a first step to making family caregivers’ big responsibilities a little bit easier. AARP will continue to fight for Iowa's family caregivers and their loved ones in 2020 for commonsense supports, like working towards lowering the price of prescription medication.



If you are a family caregiver, you are not alone.

• For tools and resources, go to aarp.org/caregiving.
• To share your story and connect with others, go to aarp.org/iheartcaregivers.
• To find out how AARP is fighting for you, check out aarp.org/SupportCaregivers.