The Fourth Annual Family Caregiver Day at the Capitol in Phoenix on Thursday, March 21, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., will include at least one indirect representative of the University of Arizona.
Lisa M. O'Neill, DBH, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine and Palliative Medicine, manager of the Arizona Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (AzGWEP) and associate director of research and education for the UA Center on Aging, will be going as chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging.
“Family caregivers provide nearly $10 billion a year in unpaid care,” Dr. O’Neill said. “This important event will encourage family caregivers to become self-advocates and allow them the opportunity to share their concerns and needs with our state’s policy makers.”
Another is new State Sen. Heather Carter, EdD (R.-Cave Creek), who is an associate professor in the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and associate director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health. She served in the Arizona House for eight years before moving to the Senate in January.
Another person likely to be there is Rosemary Browne, MD, an associate professor in the UA Geriatrics division and medical director of the Home-Based Primary Care Program at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System. Dr. Browne also is president-elect of the Arizona Geriatrics Society.
Both Drs. Carter and O’Neill are on the agenda to speak at the event, which is hosted by the Arizona Caregiver Coalition and AARP Arizona. It takes place in the Executive Tower of the Arizona Capitol Museum, Second Floor, Room 200, 1700 W. Washington St.
Goals for the event include:
- Learn to be an advocate for family caregivers
- Share your experience as a caregiver, and
- Presentation of the David Besst Award for contributions to family caregiving.*
A complimentary lunch is provided, but seating is limited.
To RSVP, call (888) 737-7494 or visit www.azcaregiver.org/advocacy
Questions? Contact Jutta Ulrich at JUlrich@azdes.gov
Event flyer (please view, post and share with colleagues):
caregiverdayatcapitol_flyer_03-21-19.pdf
* Named in honor of the late founder of the Arizona Caregiver Coalition, the 2019 winners of the award were previously announced as:
- Duet Partners in Health & Aging, a nonprofit, interfaith organization that promotes health and well-being through its vitally needed, free-of-charge services to homebound adults, family caregivers, faith communities and families. Duet is based in central Phoenix, near Peoria Avenue and I-17, but it hosts events throughout the Valley, including at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 7205 N. 51st Ave., Glendale, and Christ Evangelical Lutheran, 918 South Litchfield Road, Goodyear.
- Dr. David W. Coon, an Arizona State University professor and researcher, whose work on aging has appeared in scientific journals and been funded by federal and state grants.
EXTRA INFO: How Many Caregivers in the U.S.?
- Approximately 43.5 million caregivers have provided unpaid care to an adult or child in the last 12 months.
- About 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the last 12 months.
- The majority of caregivers (82%) care for one other adult, while 15% care for 2 adults, and 3% for 3 or more adults.
- Approximately 39.8 million caregivers provide care to adults (aged 18+) with a disability or illness or 16.6% of Americans.
- About 15.7 million adult family caregivers care for someone who has Alzheimer's disease or other dementia.
SOURCE: Family Caregiver Alliance/National Alliance for Caregiving
And this from a January 2018 article in The New Republic, “The Grandparenting Generation”:
“The number of grandparents raising grandchildren steadily increases: In 2014, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 6 percent of American households contained a co-resident grandparent and grandchild; in 1970, that figure was 3 percent. Sixty percent of those households were headed by grandparents, which translated to 2.7 million grandparents caring for grandchildren…”
ALSO SEE:
“Advances in Aging Spring Lectures Kickoff Jan. 14 with Dr. Lisa O’Neill on ‘Hoarding Disorder’” | Posted Dec. 20, 2018
“UA Center on Aging Awarded Grant to Continue End-of-Life Education with Medical Students” | Posted Aug. 21, 2017
“Three from UA Center on Aging in the News on Elder Abuse Prevention, Biological Sciences and Hearing Loss” | Posted Dec. 7, 2016
“Lisa O’Neill Named ‘2015 Gerontologist of the Year’ by Arizona Geriatrics Society” | Posted Nov. 2, 2015