Caregivers in the balance

By Betsy Wadland - Milford Daily News - March 1, 2005

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What do you worry about? Your children? Job security? Terrorism? Your health and your partner's health? If you care for elderly parents, then worry about their well-being outweighs all of these. In fact, one-third of caregivers believe that eldercare responsibilities have strained their job performance and marriage, according to the Senior Bridge Family Study of Home Caregivers.

"Most caregivers are time-starved and overwhelmed by the complexity of their caregiving responsibilities," notes Larry Sosnow, chief executive officer of Senior Bridge Family, a national provider of home-based elder care services. "Fully 80 percent of the survey respondents work full-time outside of the home and are juggling eldercare, childcare and job responsibilities." As a result, nearly half of those surveyed indicated that their loved one required more care than they were able to provide...