Championing Families and Caregivers in Washington

Earlier this week, AARP and members of the congressional Assisting Caregivers Today (ACT) Caucus hosted a much-needed National Caregiving Forum on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to examine the myriad ways in which we can better support the 40 million family members who provide daily care and assistance to their elder loved ones. Being a family care provider is an exceptionally challenging and physically, emotionally, and financially stressful position to be in -- my family and I know this first hand. My personal experience and the need to "find a smarter way" to get my loved ones the care they needed are what ultimately led to the launch of CareLinx. This high-profile symposium focused on how best to help caregivers support seniors who prefer to age in place safely and securely. It brought together concerned parties from the worlds of senior advocacy, healthcare, government and business, which makes great sense as each one of those sectors has strong contributions to make and, as one of the speakers succinctly put it, "a lot of the best ideas do not come from Washington." It was my great honor to be invited by AARP to join a panel and share my perspectives with those in a position to support family caregivers and the loved ones in their charge. Among the issues I addressed was the importance for families to get the training and the assistance they need to take on a role that few of us are ready for initially and to have some ongoing mechanism in place to make sure that they continue to receive help themselves as their loved one's needs intensify over time. This is especially true when it's a hospital stay that first brings the need for family caregiving into play. Indeed, appropriate, quality aftercare following a hospital discharge is more often than not the thing that keeps seniors from having to be readmitted. As the number of elders in our population increases (thanks in part to better healthcare, increased longevity, and declining fertility rates), ensuring we have quality senior care measures in place is very much a national issue in need of conversation, new thinking and bold ideas. To be sure, elder care concerns will impact more and more families as their Baby Boomer loved ones enter deeper into their senior years. The demand for new approaches to elder care is a global trend in dire need of solutions, and CareLinx takes great pride in helping to provide them. It was my privilege to give a voice to the concerns of caregivers, families, and seniors with like-minded advocates, healthcare professionals and elected officials in Washington.

CareLinx CEO Sherwin Sheik