AARP Virginia offers FREE, printable wallet cards on recent Virginia CARE Act

AARP volunteers and staff worked hard to ensure the passage of the CARE (Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable) Act, which helps the over one million family caregivers in Virginia as they prepare to perform a variety of medical/nursing tasks, including medication management, injections, wound care, transfers, and more upon discharge of their loved ones from a hospital setting. Most Virginians who receive assistance at home rely exclusively on unpaid family caregivers for help – at a value to the commonwealth of about $11.7 billion annually.

[See link below to download and print FREE CARE Act wallet cards to place in your and your loved ones' wallets. That way, you’ll have the important information about this law available when you need it most.]

The law requires hospitals to provide your loved one the opportunity to designate a family caregiver. If you are named as the family caregiver, the hospital is required to:

• Enter your name, address, and phone number in your loved one’s medical record;
• Notify you when your loved one is to be discharged to another facility or back home;
• Consult with you on your ability to provide the medical tasks you are being asked to perform at home - such as medication management, injections, wound care, and transfers;
• Offer you a demonstration and explanation, in your native language, of the medical tasks you will need to perform at home and give you time for questions; and
• Provide you a copy of the discharge plan including contact information about any health care, long-term care, or other community-based services and supports necessary to carry out the discharge plan.

If you are a family caregiver, download and print this FREE wallet card to keep with you at all times, so you know your rights under this law:  Virginia CARE Act Wallet Card