Support the Comfort of Aging at Home

Ted Gough

Across a spectrum of political views, 87 percent of likely Oklahoma voters support services that can help people live in their own homes as they age, according to a recent nonpartisan SoonerPoll. Most respondents support home- and community-based services such as hospice care, home health care, visiting nurses, transportation, home-delivered meals, senior centers, help with housekeeping, respite care and a central place for caregiving information.

More than 524,000 family caregivers in Oklahoma provide assistance to help a parent, spouse or other adult continue to live at home. These unpaid services are worth more than $6 billion annually. Nationwide, 60 percent of family caregivers also have full- or part-time jobs. Home- and community-based services can ease the burden of caregiving.

AARP Oklahoma asks voters to urge lawmakers to support home- and community-based services. For contact information, go to oklegislature.gov and use Find My Legislator.