Alzheimers Association-Connecticut chapter, AARP to hold press conference

The Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimers Association will be holding a press conference today at 10:30 AM Room 1A of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

The release follows:

FOR RELEASE: Immediate   CONTACT:   Christianne Kovel

Tuesday, March 30, 2010      christianne.kovel@alz.org

• • • •                                     860-828-2828

                                                                                                             Jennifer Millea, AARP

• • • • • • • •  860-548-3164; jmillea@aarp.org  

ALZHEIMER’S ADVOCATES URGE RE-OPENING OF ALZHEIMER’S RESPITE

Program Saves State Money by Delaying Nursing Home Placement; Answers Critical Need in the Community

Hartford, CT – The Alzheimer’s Association-Connecticut Chapter, along with its partners AARP and the Connecticut Association of Areas on Aging, were joined today by individual family caregivers and State legislators at a press conference in Hartford to demonstrate the negative impact that the closure of the Alzheimer’s Respite Care Program is having on Connecticut families and urge the Governor to re-open the Program.  

Despite the Legislature funding the Respite Program at $2.3 million for both FY ’10 and FY ’11, the Governor closed the program last May to new intakes, resulting in a waiting list of more than 400 caregivers who are unable to access critical respite services.  The Governor also has proposed a $1 million reduction in funding for the program for FY ’11, which begins July 1, 2010.     

Currently in Connecticut there are over 70,000 residents who have Alzheimer’s and related dementias with over 125,758 caregivers.  Seventy percent of people with Alzheimer’s disease live at home cared for by family and friends.   “This disease has the potential to bankrupt our healthcare system,” said Patricia Clark, Executive Director for the Alzheimer’s Association.  “Expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid are three times higher for people with Alzheimer’s disease than for other beneficiaries.”

AARP State Director, Brenda Kelley said, “Across the nation, including right here in Connecticut, unpaid family caregivers are the backbone of the long-term care system, providing help to their loved ones to enable them to live at home. But too often, providing care to loved ones also leads to health, emotional, and financial challenges for the caregivers themselves. Connecticut’s Alzheimer’s Respite Care Program not only provides a much-needed break to individuals caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, but by helping to delay costly nursing home placement, it actually saves the state money in the long-run.”   Nancy Lewittes, a caregiver who utilized the program said, “The Alzheimer’s Respite Care Program has allowed me to cope with the emotional and physical stress of caring for a loved-one with this dreadful disease.  My goal was to ensure that my husband continued to live comfortably in our home, and Adult Day Care made it possible for him to continue to live at home and afforded me time to work.”

A comprehensive new caregiver study – Caregiving in the U.S. 2009 – found that the number of caregivers utilizing respite care has more than doubled since 2004 (from 5% to 12%). Reducing key stresses in caregivers, such as physical strain and financial hardship, can reduce nursing home entry, as well as reduce medical costs for the caregivers themselves.  Prior to Connecticut’s Alzheimer’s Respite Care Program being closed last May, it served over 900 families, reflecting an increase of 24% in the past year. 

The Respite Care program employs companions and homemakers, home aides, adult day care centers, personal care assistants and case managers, preserving and creating thousands of jobs in the health care industry.  With a demand for over 9,000 jobs in the health care industry predicted in the next five years to serve the growing and aging population of individuals 65 and older it is an economic engine.

List of supporting partners:  Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans, Connecticut Commission on Aging, Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, Connecticut Homemakers and Companions Association, Connecticut Association of Adult Day Care Providers, Connecticut Association for Home Care and Hospice, Inc., CT Community Care, Inc., Connecticut Association of Not-for Profit Providers for the Aging and Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.  

If you have any questions about this post or need help finding senior-care options for a loved one, call 1-866-483-4896 to speak with a care advisor in your area.