Governor Mead Honored With Capitol Caregiver Award by AARP Wyoming

To honor his integral work supporting Wyoming’s family caregivers, AARP names Wyoming Governor Matt Mead as 2018 “Capitol Caregiver,” a bipartisan group of 65 elected officials from 24 states. These leaders have advanced policies that support Wyoming’s family caregivers, who help their parents, spouses and other loved ones live independently at home and in the community—where they want to be.

Mead was honored with the Capitol Caregiver Award for his work to restore funding for Home and Community Based Services in Wyoming during the 2018 Legislative Session. In previous years, Mead also supported the CARE Act, which requires hospitals to notify caregivers when their loved ones are moved from their hospital room, as well as offering the caregiver discharge instructions. In addition to his support of the CARE Act and his work restoring Senior Services funding, Mead also signed the Uniformed Power of Attorney bill into law.

“AARP thanks Governor Mead for championing support for Home and Community Based services for those age 50 and over in Wyoming this year,” says AARP Wyoming State Director of AARP, Sam Shumway. “Over his eight years in office, Governor Mead provided key leadership to help make family caregiver’s responsibilities a little bit easier.”

Mead was presented his Capitol Caregiver Award when he joined AARP Wyoming for a TeleTown Hall on Monday, Dec. 3 in Cheyenne. The TeleTown Hall allowed AARP Wyoming members the opportunity to hear the Governor discuss his eight years in office, as well as his view on the future of Wyoming. The TeleTown Hall format also allowed for a select few AARP members to ask the state’s chief executive questions.

Across Wyoming, over 66,000 citizens provide unpaid care for their older parents, spouses, children and adults with disabilities, and other loved ones— valued at about $817 million annually. They help with bathing and dressing, meal preparation, managing finances, transportation, grocery shopping and more.

“Home and Community Based Services funding is a step in the right direction to providing a little bit of help for family caregivers,” says Shumway. “AARP Wyoming will continue fighting for family caregivers and their loved ones in 2019 for: more support, help at home, better access to resources, workplace flexibility, training, relief and more.

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