Caregivers, Know Your Rights

AARP Minnesota is distributing wallet cards to help families understand their rights under a new state law. The Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable (CARE) Act, which takes effect Jan. 1, will provide training and support for family caregivers when a loved one comes home from a hospital stay.

The law will allow every hospital patient to designate a family caregiver, whose contact information will be recorded in the patient’s chart. The hospital must make reasonable efforts to notify the caregiver in a timely way about transfers and discharge, and to train the caregiver on how to perform follow-up medical tasks needed at home.

“There is no better way to learn a caregiving task than to see it demonstrated live,” said Seth Boffeli, a spokesman for AARP Minnesota. “This law can help family caregivers gain confidence in their skills and can reduce costly hospital readmissions.”

There are about 585,000 family caregivers in Minnesota. For more information, go to aarp.org/mn.