Dr. Terri Harvath

All right. Well, I think it's a couple of things that are happening. One is we are living longer. Two, we're seeing the aging of the baby boomer generation, which is this huge expansion of the numbers of people, not just in the U.S., but across the globe that were born after World War II. And that baby boomer generation didn't have as many children as they had siblings.

All right. Well, I think it's a couple of things that are happening. One is we are living longer. Two, we're seeing the aging of the baby boomer generation, which is this huge expansion of the numbers of people, not just in the U.S., but across the globe that were born after World War II. And that baby boomer generation didn't have as many children as they had siblings.

And so we're seeing a huge increase in the number of older adults. I mean, for a while, 10,000 people were turning 65 every day. And so in 1950, you had a 30% chance of being a family caregiver. By 2030, you're going to have a 3% chance, just because there's so many more older adults compared to the younger people who are often their family caregivers. So...

And so we're seeing a huge increase in the number of older adults. I mean, for a while, 10,000 people were turning 65 every day. And so in 1950, you had a 30% chance of being a family caregiver. By 2030, you're going to have a 3% chance, just because there's so many more older adults compared to the younger people who are often their family caregivers. So...

Yeah, I was gonna say one of the things that is also happening in our healthcare system is that we're discharging patients home quicker and sicker. You know, patients who used to stay in the hospital for longer periods of time being cared for by doctors. professionals who've gone to school to learn how to provide that care are now getting discharged home.

Yeah, I was gonna say one of the things that is also happening in our healthcare system is that we're discharging patients home quicker and sicker. You know, patients who used to stay in the hospital for longer periods of time being cared for by doctors. professionals who've gone to school to learn how to provide that care are now getting discharged home.

And we're asking family caregivers to not only take on very complex care, but to do so with very little training. Things that I went to nursing school to learn how to do, we asked family caregivers to do, and maybe we've given them a little bit of instruction and not given them an opportunity to practice doing that.

And we're asking family caregivers to not only take on very complex care, but to do so with very little training. Things that I went to nursing school to learn how to do, we asked family caregivers to do, and maybe we've given them a little bit of instruction and not given them an opportunity to practice doing that.

And so they're very ill-prepared often to step into that role that is quite complicated.

And so they're very ill-prepared often to step into that role that is quite complicated.

And with all the news about overdose, family caregivers, I think, are often reluctant to treat pain adequately because they're afraid of getting their family member addicted or something bad happening. And again, we don't give them good guidance. I think of the family caregiver as the invisible member of the healthcare team.

And with all the news about overdose, family caregivers, I think, are often reluctant to treat pain adequately because they're afraid of getting their family member addicted or something bad happening. And again, we don't give them good guidance. I think of the family caregiver as the invisible member of the healthcare team.

You know, they're absolutely essential, but we don't, as a healthcare team, we often don't include them in the planning. And we also don't include them as a target of our interventions. You know, and that's why I think Lisa's role is so important because we She's out there really working directly with family caregivers to help them in the role as it is unfolding.

You know, they're absolutely essential, but we don't, as a healthcare team, we often don't include them in the planning. And we also don't include them as a target of our interventions. You know, and that's why I think Lisa's role is so important because we She's out there really working directly with family caregivers to help them in the role as it is unfolding.

Yeah, I agree, Lisa. And I think, you know, in nursing, we see burnout when resources get more scarce and nurses are asked to do more with less. And I think the sense of burnout comes from not being able to provide the care that you would like to provide or that you think your patients need and deserve. And we saw burnout and accelerate dramatically during the pandemic.

Yeah, I agree, Lisa. And I think, you know, in nursing, we see burnout when resources get more scarce and nurses are asked to do more with less. And I think the sense of burnout comes from not being able to provide the care that you would like to provide or that you think your patients need and deserve. And we saw burnout and accelerate dramatically during the pandemic.

And it has continued post pandemic to be concerning because we're seeing lots of nurses and other professionals opt out because the conditions have been very difficult. Those same conditions has made caregiving much more difficult for family members because a lot of what community supports are available dried up or became inaccessible because of the pandemic, because of sheltering at home.

And it has continued post pandemic to be concerning because we're seeing lots of nurses and other professionals opt out because the conditions have been very difficult. Those same conditions has made caregiving much more difficult for family members because a lot of what community supports are available dried up or became inaccessible because of the pandemic, because of sheltering at home.

For those caregivers who maybe were getting help from other relatives, friends, or neighbors, often they got isolated in order to protect both the caregiver and the older person from COVID. And so we've seen a really dramatic increase, I think, in caregivers who are feeling overburdened in the care that they're providing.

For those caregivers who maybe were getting help from other relatives, friends, or neighbors, often they got isolated in order to protect both the caregiver and the older person from COVID. And so we've seen a really dramatic increase, I think, in caregivers who are feeling overburdened in the care that they're providing.