Alzheimer's Association offers help to caregivers | Characteristics



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The care of a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or some other form of dementia is becoming isolated. Yet the caregiver is "alone" in a crowd of 16 million people who have taken on this task.

If an offer of employment was announced for this job, it would read as follows: The position requires you to be on call 24 hours a day. The salary is zero. In fact, you will pay an average of $ 10,697 a year for work that will negatively affect your health and potentially shorten your life.

According to a press release, the average duration of work is eight to ten years, although some occupy this position for 20 years or more.

By 2018, nearly a quarter of a million Coloradans are in this job, of which 16 million in the United States do the same job out of love, not money.

November is National Awareness Month for Alzheimer 's Disease and Family Caregivers, as proclaimed President Ronald Reagan, whose wife, Nancy, has become his caregiver when it comes to helping his family. he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1994.

About two-thirds of these unpaid caregivers are women.

Depression is common among caregivers. According to a study conducted at Stanford University, caregivers have a mortality rate 63% higher than that of non-caregivers. and 40% of Alzheimer's caregivers die of stress-related disorders before their loved ones.

One in four is a "sandwich generation," which means they're looking after children under the age of 18 and an elderly parent.

Survey respondents often stated that they did not have the choice to become a caregiver.

Many caregivers with dementia are highly educated. About 40% have at least a college diploma or more, and 41% have a family income of $ 50,000 or less.

The Alzheimer's Association of Colorado is the "brain that saves yours" – it offers free information, programs and services to Colorado families. Educational courses are available regularly in Chaffee County and a support group meets from noon to 1 pm the first Thursday of each month at Mount. Shavano Manor, 525 W. 16th Street in Salida.

For more information, call Ann Carter, Regional Director of the Alzheimer's Association. 303-813-1669 ext. 300

Alzheimer's Association Press Release

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