Respite Care Report Offers Ideas to Strengthen Oregon Families

AARP Oregon salutes Oregon's nearly 470,000 family caregivers during November's National Family Caregiver Month. We also recognize it's a tough job. A bit of rest now and then, or "respite care," helps prevent significant stress and burnout that can lead to worse health for the caregiver, and diminish the caregiver's ability to provide good care to their loved one. Caregivers need short breaks!

I first became aware of how important it is for caregivers to get breaks when I was at a meeting in Medford a few years back. A physician who treats many patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia noted that all too frequently, he sees the family caregiver die from stress-related reasons before the person with Alzheimer’s dies. Indeed, family caregivers have higher rates of heart attack, stroke, and suicide than their non-caregiving peers.

There are multiple ways to reduce stress for caregivers, such as support groups, training on how to provide care, and exercise – but one key unmet need in Oregon is caregiver respite. The word “respite” doesn’t always connect with people, but it is defined as temporary, short-term care that provides relief from the extraordinary and intensive demands put on ongoing care providers. In other countries, they simply call it “a short break”, but it is important to realize it has real therapeutic impact. Research shows that respite has a positive impact on caregiver health and helps the caregiver provide better care to their loved ones. It also helps people stay in their own homes longer instead of moving into long term care communities.

The need for better access to and effective use of respite in Oregon is not a new realization, but since nothing was happening, AARP Oregon decided to kick-start the conversation. We convened a Caregiver Respite Summit of 70 stakeholders plus held 14 community meetings around Oregon to gather community input.

The result is a new report, "Improving Caregiving Respite Services in Oregon" that is available to download.

We believe we can expand access to high quality and affordable respite that can reduce the strains of family caregiving through three areas:

• Enhancing education and awareness,
• Increasing the supply of providers, and
• Making respite more affordable

There will be a lot of work to do in the future to achieve the recommendations in the report, and you can help. At action.aarp.org/oregonrespite, you can sign up to receive updates on ways you can get involved in the effort to improve access to respite in Oregon. We may ask you to contact your state legislators, your member of Congress, or maybe even your Chamber of Commerce.

But most of all, we want to start a conversation about the needs of family caregivers, and we hope you can be part of that discussion. If you know a family caregiver who is getting overwhelmed, ask them how they are doing and if they need a break. The most important resource to provide anyone who might need help is the ADRC of Oregon. The ADRC can help folks find respite, training, support groups, and other supports.

Lastly, if you have a caregiving story you want to share – especially if it includes the importance of respite – you can go to https://act.aarp.org/iheartcaregivers/ to tell your story, and it may help others know they are not alone.