Roughly 580,000 Wisconsinites and 63 million Americans provide ongoing care to adults or children with medical conditions or disabilities, a 45% increase since 2015, according to a new report from AARP.
Experts called the jump, paired with a lack of resources, an “escalating national crisis.” The new AARP report showed the average caregiver spends 27 hours per week on caregiving tasks.
Myechia Minter-Jordan, CEO of AARP, noted caregiving can affect a person's finances, as well as their physical and mental health.
"We need systems that see caregivers, value them and support them," Minter-Jordan stressed. "Because they are not just helping families, they are holding up our entire health care system."
Minter-Jordan pointed out AARP is advocating for a national paid family and medical leave policy, workplace protections for caregivers, federal tax credits and access to respite care, training and support services.
The report shows just 11% of caregivers have been trained for basic tasks.
Jason Resendez, CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, said he’s seeing “unprecedented complexity” in caregiving.
"Beyond daily care, over half of family caregivers – that's more than 30 million Americans – are performing complex medical and nursing tasks that once primarily took place in clinics and hospitals," Resendez emphasized.
He added just over one in five caregivers who administer injections, manage catheters and use other medical equipment have received training to do so. To help, AARP provides online resources to caregivers.
