Help for the Stressed Caregiver

Last week’s New York Times article “Who Will Care for the Caregivers” was written by Dhruv Khullar who is a resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. 

Dr. Khullar examined the many strains experienced by caregivers who are often caring for aging parents while working and raising families.  Caregivers are often ill-prepared for the complex health tasks that they are expected to undertake.  They are often responsible for managing multiple medications and keeping track of a myriad of other issues related to their aging parents.  In a large majority of instances, they are unpaid for the tremendous work that they do.

Dr. Khullar discussed the enormity of this caregiving population which he estimated at 40 million Americans as well as the fact that the potential pool of caregivers is shrinking because of demographic shifts.  He also highlighted the fact that being a caregiver for an aging relative often has negative consequences for caregivers who are also employees.  Time and attention that should be focused on work are often diverted to urgent matters related to aging parents.  

There are some sources of help for caregivers.  Support groups and resource hotlines have begun responding to the strain felt by many adult children of aging parents.  Dr. Khullar also discussed certain policy changes that can be implemented broadly to improve the caregiving experience.  The CARE Act has been passed in more than 30 states.  This legislation grants certain information and other rights to caregivers. There are other proposed policy changes that may help caregivers financially.  

At SilverBills, we provide a valuable service that gives tangible relief to caregivers.  We receive, scrutinize and ensure that clients’ bills are paid correctly and on-time.  Clients no longer need to open envelopes, review bills, keep track of due dates or write checks.  SilverBills alleviates some of the burden of caregiving by allowing families to shift some of their caregiving tasks to us.  We are proud that we have helped lessen caregiver stress for many families and look forward to helping many others by relieving them of the burden of paying bills.  To learn more about how SilverBills can relieve caregiver stress, please call us at 866 653 4427 or email us at [email protected].