From Washington, D.C.: Caregivers are Finally Making it to the Radar Screen

Today’s blog comes to you from the White House Conference on Aging in Washington, D.C., a once-a-decade policy summit that this year is putting a particular focus on the needs of the rapidly aging baby boomers. The first of them turn 60 starting in January, and tens of millions will follow within a decade.

This morning delegates heard both hope and worry -- hope from leaders such as Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel, who laid out that company’s vision for technology for healthy aging; and worry from U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, who warned of an impending budget deficit disaster, based on current trends for Medicare and Social Security spending.

The good news from D.C. is that the various sectors that make up our health care system are finally starting to hear the word “caregiver” and begin to respond to it. They are finally making the connection between this nation’s network of informal caregivers -- 20 to 25 percent of adults now fit that category -- and the long-term viability of our health care system. I heard glimmers of this new awareness in the presentations today and in many of the conversations I’ve been having with various policy makers and delegates.

This awakening is coming not a moment too soon. Our nation’s caregivers, looking out for the needs of their parents and grandparents as well as their children, are frustrated, worried, and -- increasingly -- burned out. Conferences like this one can raise the visibility of their plight. Stay tuned for more from here -- including a look at some of the exciting new technology that will transform your home into a place for healthy aging