Caregiving – a “Crisis Situation”

The U-T San Diego has reported that there are an estimated 650,000 unpaid family caregivers in San Diego County. Some are referring to this as a crisis situation, with numbers expected to swell as the baby boom population ages. “Caregiving is not only a crisis in terms of numbers; on a personal level, it can be devastating,” adds Lorie Van Tilburg, executive director of the Southern Caregiver Resource Center, a local nonprofit agency. San Diego County officials recognize the issue and are taking action. Last Tuesday, county board members voted to approve The Alzheimer’s Project, a five-year plan that will include expanding services, care, and support for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers.

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Caregiving: ‘The job nobody applies for’

In San Diego, 650,000 people care for loved ones and experts call it a crisis By Michele Parente | November 30, 2014 Alford Claiborne was a marathon runner, so he knows how to push through pain, how to dig deep to muster the will to keep going. Even when he’s spent, even when it feels like he can’t take another step. Nothing in his training, though, could have prepared him for what has turned into the longest-running challenge of his life. For 13 years, Claiborne, 70, has been a full-time caregiver for his wife. Rita was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease when she was 54. Click here to read more… Original Post By: U-T San Diego