Latest AARP Caregiving Report Suggests That Caregivers Need Extra Support Too
Lifeline Medical Alert System provides caregivers with reassurance that loved ones can summon help when required.
(PRWEB) January 7, 2005 -- According to a 2004 study conducted by the
National Alliance for Caregiving and the AARP, an estimated 44 million U.S.
caregivers face substantial challenges as they seek to maintain their own life
balance while they support the needs of elder family members and/or those with
disabilities. The survey also revealed that the average individual devotes about
20 hours per week to caregiving, and nearly one in five (17%) say they provide
more than 40 hours. The average total length of caregiving is 4.3 years. While
the most common caregiver situation is women helping women, 40% of caregivers
are now reported to be men. More than half of care recipients live in their own
home, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and the AARP.
Lifeline Systems, the company that first invented the personal
medical alarm 30 years ago, and which today helps over 400,000 seniors or
disabled people to live with greater independence and dignity in their own homes
can provide reassurance to caregivers that their loved ones can summon the help
they need when required.
Many caregivers do not get the support they
need. More than one in three caregivers say no one else provided un-paid help to
the person they care for during the past year. Half of the caregivers said that
they did not avail themselves of any of a variety of services offered by their
communities either. The level of care that caregivers say they provide has a
direct impact on the caregivers ‘level of burden’. At the highest levels of
burden, caregivers say they have less time for friends and family, hobbies or
their own social activities. These burdened caregivers also say they are getting
less exercise and believe that caregiving has affected their own health
negatively. When asked what their greatest unmet needs were and what could be
done to help them, the most frequent response was to find more time for
themselves.
By allowing caregivers to leave home with the re-assurance
that their parents or other loved ones can quickly summon help if required, the
Lifeline medical alarm system is a welcome answer to these caregiver needs.
Lifeline Systems, the company that introduced the personal medical alarm in the
United States 30 years ago, today helps over 400,000 seniors or disabled people
to live with greater independence and dignity in their own homes.
The
Lifeline medical alert not only provides immediate access to the Lifeline
Personal Response Service when needed, but it also offers several other features
to enhance the everyday quality of life for both users and their caregivers. For
example, the Lifeline CarePartner® Telephone can be set up to record and play up
6 personalized daily, weekly or one-time reminders. The reminders, which are
recorded remotely from any touch-tone phone by a caregiver, can be used to
provide messages about taking medication, keeping appointments, eating well,
exercising... or simply expressing love and support.
The CarePartner Telephone works with either Lifeline's Slimline or Classic Pendant Personal Help Button and is yet another
example of why more caregivers trust Lifeline to look after their loved ones.
Lifeline is proud to be the preferred provider of personal response services to
members of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, and to thousands of
leading hospitals across the country. In addition, the Lifeline service is also
available through select chapters of the American Red Cross.
When it
comes to experience, no other personal response service compares to Lifeline.
The service costs little more than a dollar a day, there are no hidden costs, no
long-term contracts, and subscribers may discontinue the service at any time.
For more information, visit www.lifelinesys.com.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/1/prweb195131.htm