New N.D. Law Helps Family Caregivers

If you’re a family caregiver, help has arrived.

Thanks to AARP and the North Dakota Hospital Association, a new law called the CARE Act is already making a difference in North Dakota.

The CARE (Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable) Act helps family caregivers when their loved ones go into the hospital and as they transition home.

The law ensures hospitals:

• Identify and involve the patient's family caregiver throughout the hospital stay.

• Keep that caregiver informed of their loved one’s discharge plans.

• Provide education and instruction of aftercare tasks – such as medication management, injections, and wound care – that the family caregiver will perform at home.

Download a wallet card to carry with you so you have important information about this new law when you need it most.

More than 62,000 North Dakotans care for older parents, spouses or other loved ones, helping them to live independently at home. These family caregivers have a huge responsibility, and this new law will make life a little bit easier for them.

More information on AARP's caregiving resources can be found here.