What is The CARE Act?
The CARE Act recognizes the critical role family caregivers play in keeping their loved ones out of costly institutions.
The bill features three important provisions:
- The name of the family caregiver is recorded when a loved one is admitted into a hospital;
- The family caregiver is notified if the loved one is to be discharged to another facility or back home; and,
- The facility must provide an explanation and live instruction of the medical tasks – such as medication management, injections, wound care, and transfers – that the family caregiver will perform at home.
Why Coloradans Need The CARE Act:
- Most care recipients (69%) did not have a home visit by a health care professional after discharge from the hospital.
- Almost half (46%) of family caregivers perform medical or nursing tasks for their loved ones with multiple chronic physical and cognitive conditions.
- Three out of four (78%) who provide these medical or nursing tasks manage medications, including administering intravenous fluids and injections.
- Most family caregivers report that they received little or no training to perform these tasks.
Supporters of HB 1242 include:
- 9to5 Colorado
- CarePartnersResource
- CCHI
- The Arc of Colorado
For more information on HB1242 please contact:
Kelli Fritts, AARP Colorado (303)249-1518 or kfritts@aarp.org
Family Caregivers in Colorado
- The vast majority of older Americans want to live independently at home.
- Most seniors who receive assistance at home rely exclusively on unpaid family caregivers for help.
- More than 575,000 family caregivers in Colorado help their loved ones to live independently at any given time – keeping them out of costly institutions, such as nursing homes.
- Across Colorado, family caregivers provide unpaid care valued at about $6.6 billion annually.
- Family caregivers perform a variety of caregiving duties, including help with bathing and dressing, feeding, medication management, wound care, transportation, and more.
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