News & Education

Welcome to our WealthStyles segment – your online access to approachable ideas about financial planning with a lifestyle and life event approach.

Myera March Newsletter - March 2010
E-Newsletter - (PDF Format)

Where rubber hits the road

“As someone who works in the area of caregiving for an ageing population, every day I grow more aware of the need to focus on caregiving at every level – legislation, policy, programs, planning, and awareness. While I focus on the areas of research, legislation and policy, I am also touched by individuals who are ‘caught in the headlights’ – not knowing what to do, where to go, or how to navigate their suddenly upside-down future. As our Myera members complete their lifestyle and financial workshops, it is obvious that family caregiving plays a big part in any forward planning. By developing the Myera.MyFamilyCaregiving workshop my hope is that by raising some key issues and identifying the challenges we can bring practical help to our unsung heroes in planning a future for themselves and their loved ones.”

When we think about family caregiving we tend to think about caring for older persons, but this is certainly not the only population that depends on family and friends for support when ill health and injury strike. Regardless of the age of the person receiving care, or the illness or injury that requires them to need care, it is the caregiver—the informal, unpaid, family member or friend—that is the common denominator in being able to stay at home.

Most importantly, do not be fooled by the term ‘informal care’. In many cases, it is not for the faint of heart. Far from it. Modern technology means that hospitals now discharge patients ‘quicker and sicker’. This means that many caregivers are providing at-home medical care that just a few years or even months ago would have been provided only in a hospital setting. Breathing machines, feeding tubes, advanced wound care, and all sorts of medical devices are just a few examples.

The number of people needing care is also growing. In addition to the 78 million Baby Boomers who are heading into retirement in the USA alone, many American, Canadian and British servicemen and women are returning from active duty with horrendous injuries that in past wars would have been fatal. Diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease are increasing at an astonishing rate among younger people along with many other chronic disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, while mental disorders can develop at any age. The end result is that family members and friends are providing caregiving services while working, raising children, volunteering, and trying to keep themselves healthy.

These caregivers are not only the backbone of any healthcare system, they are the unsung heroes of everyday life. But they don’t chose to be heroes. Caregiving has a way of finding us, we don’t go looking for it, and it is not a matter of ‘if’ you might find yourself in a caregiving situation, it is a matter of ‘when’. According to the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, there are four types of caregivers – those who are caring for others now, those who used to care for others, those who will become caregivers, and those who will need care themselves. Read full article.