Lumberton Caregiver presented with her Portrait of Care that was displayed at the US Capitol

LUMBERTON – AARP is recognizing the efforts of 40 million Americans, including the nearly 1.8 million in North Carolina, who help older parents, spouses, and other loved ones live independently at home, where they want to be. According to the AARP Public Policy Institute, the unpaid care they provide – managing medications, cooking meals, driving to appointments, performing complex medical tasks and more – is valued at about $5.95 billion annually.

Susan Herring from Lumberton is one of these unsung heroes. Susan is a loving daughter who is deeply committed to her 96 year-old mother and left the workforce to care for her mom, Helena.

AARP North Carolina  recognized Susan and Helena with a Portrait of Care, an artist’s painting in their honor. The painting was displayed earlier this month in the US Capitol Building.


Randomly selected through AARP’s storytelling initiative, I Heart Caregivers (aarp.org/iheartcaregivers), Susan is one of 53 family caregivers from every state, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands receiving a hand-painted portrait. Thousands have shared their stories on the site.

A story of hope, love and dedication.

AARP State President Bob Palombo believes family caregivers’ stories aren’t celebrated nearly enough. “Because of their tireless efforts, older parents, spouses and other loved ones can remain in their homes. It’s a labor of love, to be sure, and sometimes more than a full-time job.”

“It’s time the world got a better picture of just what it means to be a family caregiver,” he added. That’s why AARP launched a new phase of the I Heart Caregivers story-telling initiative in 2015, called “ Portraits of Care.” To honor and recognize family caregivers all around the country.

The Herring’s story is representative of many of the issues that many family caregivers face while tenderly trying to balance their caregiving duties with work and life.  Susan left the workforce to care for her mom, Helena.  Helena is a retired Director of School Nursing of what was formerly known as Southeastern General Hospital, a former teacher and World War II vet who also was a family caregiver for her own parents and taught her daughter Susan the skills needed to provide care.  Helena came to Lumberton after growing up in Maine, meeting her late husband during their service in World War II and returning home with him.

“We want to celebrate family caregivers, spotlight their experiences of hope, love, dedication and perseverance, and elevate their stories,” said AARP North Carolina Doug Dickerson. “This is especially important as we work to support family caregivers through public policy, education, outreach and more,” he said.

Supporting Family Caregivers


“Family caregivers are the backbone of our care system, serving a crucial role in helping older North Carolinians and other loved ones remain in their own homes and communities,”Dickerson continued.

“That’s why AARP is fighting for commonsense solutions like greater workplace flexibility, ‘respite care’ that allows caregivers to take a hard-earned break¸ giving nurses more authority to heal, financial help for caregivers, and making sure the right resources are available in the community, like home care and adult day programs. These solutions will help make their big responsibilities a little bit easier.”

“AARP volunteers from across the state have been expressing the needs of family caregivers to their elected leaders to make this kind of support a reality because supporting family caregivers is a priority for all of us,” Dickerson said.

As the 2016 state legislative session approaches, AARP is gearing up to educate the public about the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable – CARE – Act.  This Act, passed in many other states, will support family caregivers when their loved ones go into the hospital, and provide training on medical tasks they will need to perform once their loved one returns home.

AARP is also advocating for:

• workplace flexibility so family caregivers don’t have to worry about losing their pay – or losing their jobs – when they have to take time off work to bring their older loved one to a doctor’s appointment.
• “respite care” that allows family caregivers to take a hard-earned break.
• to make sure caregivers have access to the right resources in the community, like home care and adult day care.
• to cut through the red tape and allow nurses to have the full authority to heal.
• to help family caregivers navigate financial challenges by making sure power of attorney and adult guardianship laws are consistent and honored from state to state.