Caregiving

By AARP North Carolina President Bob Palombo

DURHAM - AARP North Carolina provided Durham’s Healing with CAARE with a one-thousand dollar contribution today to help support the services they provide to area Veterans.

RALEIGH, NC – AARP North Carolina expert on financial security and family caregiving Debra Tyler-Horton is leaving to become the State Director of AARP Georgia, after having built an extensive network of volunteers and partner organizations that help thousands of North Carolinians improve their own financial resilience and better handle the responsibilities of caring for older or disabled loved ones.

Last week, Governor Pat McCrory signed the state's long overdue budget bill that included more funds to help seniors and their family caregivers with services such as Meals on Wheels, in-home health aides, transportation to medical appointments and more. The budget also offsets rising health care costs with the reinstatement of the medical expense deduction that was eliminated in 2013.

RALEIGH -- The long delay in getting a state legislative budget passed has paid off for family caregivers and those with high out-of-pocket medical expenses. In the budget released overnight, lawmakers restored Home and Community Care Block Grant funds that were cut two years ago. These funds help seniors and their family caregivers with services such as Meals on Wheels, in-home health aides, transportation to medical appointments and more. These services save the state money because they help keep seniors independent as they age while freeing up time and resources for family caregivers to remain in the workforce.

By Margaret Toman -- as appeared in the July/August NC Medical Journal

AARP North Carolina applauds Congress and the President for their approval of the NOTICE Act, a federal law the President signed yesterday to take effect in August of 2016. Short for “Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility,” AARP pushed to require hospitals to provide written notification to patients 24 hours after receiving “observation care,” explaining that they have not been admitted to the hospital, the reasons why, and the potential financial implications of that decision.

WILMINGTON -- Family caregiving for relatives or close friends with chronic, disabling, or serious health problems so they can remain in their home is nearly universal today. In 2013, about 1.28 million family caregivers in north Carolina helped another adult loved one carry out daily activities ( such as bathing or dressing, preparing meals, administering medications, driving to the doctor visits, paying bills).

DURHAM -- AARP Chief Medical Officer Dr. Charlotte Yeh met with NC health care leaders, and the state's Alzheimer's Task Force, explaining some promising pilot programs that improve health care outcomes while reducing overall costs.

by Elaine Ryan |