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Registered nurse Stephen Van Dyke treats a patient while on a home health care visit on March 23, 2012 in Arvada, Colorado. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week on whether the 2010 health law can require most Americans to have health insurance starting in 2014. Van Dyke works for the Dominican Sisters Home Health Agency, a non-profit that performs some 25,000 home visits each year in the Denver area. It provides free home nursing care to patients with chronic diseases, helps them to better manage their disabling illnesses and provides custodial services with the aim of keeping patients in their homes and out of more expensive nursing home care. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
By —

Colleen Shalby

What does it mean to be a caregiver in America?

Health

Not everyone who’s a caregiver does so for a living. Many people in the U.S. are long-term caregivers for ailing family members, spending, on average, 20 hours a week caring for loved ones.

Whether it’s your job, or simply your responsibility, there is no single description for what it means to be a caregiver in America. To better understand what longterm care entails, PBS NewsHour hosted a Twitter chat on that very topic.

Joining the conversation were members from the ElderCare Workforce Alliance, and AARP’s aging, home and family expert Amy Goyer. You can view that discussion below.

By —

Colleen Shalby

@CShalby

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