CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One in every four West Virginia adults is serving as a primary caregiver to an aging loved one.
The figures from West Virginia AARP show the numbers are cultural in West Virginia where the long held tradition is to care for family members as they age and offer them the dignity and grace to stay in their own homes until they die.
Tom Hunter with AARP West Virginia said those individuals may also continue to hold down full time jobs while providing the care either alone or with sibling assistance. Hunter added it’s a strain and a burden on those trying to handle the task.
“The challenges are three fold, they’re financial, they’re physical, and they’re emotional. But the financial one is the big one in West Virginia. You have an individual holding down a full-time job and trying to take care of a loved one. They are often taking money out of their own pocket to help meet the financial needs of that loved one’s care,” Hunter explained.
Many West Virginias have no desire to leave their home of many years for assisted living. Others can’t because of an inability to afford such care. Hunter said by avoiding the nursing home, those family care providers who aren’t compensated at all and at times are paying much of the expense of the sick loved one are saving the state a fortune.
“Unpaid caregivers are providing more than three-BILLION dollars annually in West Virginia in unpaid care to allow individuals to remain in their homes. It’s at a financial sacrifice for those individuals and we’d like to see them get some needed relief,” he said.
AARP is backing another bill this year which would provide a tax credit to those providing free in-home healthcare for older adults.
“We’d like to see the state to take a hard look at a tax credit for working caregivers to try and give them some financial relief and put some of that money back into their pocket which they spend on taking care of a loved one,” said Hunter.
The same legislation failed in this past Legislative Session.
According to West Virginia AARP: “In West Virginia, 52% of family caregivers report financial setbacks. Taking on debt, draining savings, or struggling to afford basics like food and medicine. 57% of our state’s caregivers are also juggling full- or part-time jobs. Many must reduce work hours or leave the workforce entirely due to caregiving responsibilities, jeopardizing their own long-term financial security.”
November is National Caregivers Month to shine the spotlight on those problems in hospitals and clinics nationwide.