Employees and Employers Benefit from Eldercare Support

Learn About This Leading National Eldercare Assistance Program

The Keys to Successful Eldercare Assistance

This Is Our Mission at

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How We Help Employees Who Are Caring for an Elderly Loved One

We educate caregivers so they understand all their options.

We coordinate the search for appropriate services in their area.

We facilitate connections to needed services at discount prices.

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How We Help Employers Who Face Increased Costs Due to Eldercare Stress

We educate employers about caregiver stress in the workplace.

We coordinate a comprehensive eldercare assistance program.

We facilitate resolution of eldercare issues to relieve caregiver stress.

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Do You and Your Employees Need Eldercare Support?

YES, if your employees are missing work, arriving late or leaving early due to eldercare responsibilities.

YES, if your business is incurring expense and disruption to find substitutes for absent caregivers

YES, if employees have less energy, creativity and productivity as a result of caregiving

YES, if caregiving makes some employees unavailable for assignments that would benefit your business.

Aging with Grace has provided eldercare services to tens of thousands of individuals and families in the last six years.

Aging with Grace is the leading national eldercare assistance program that works with employers, employees and employee benefits consultants to address eldercare stress in the workplace.

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Why Do Eldercare Issues Cause Stress for Employees?

• Eldercare issues appear suddenly after an accident or illness.

• Families have to make quick decisions for which they have little or no preparation or education.

• Families often lack the expertise to assess an elderly person’s needs or ability to live safely at home.

• Families have little knowledge of community and government resources.

• Families have no idea where to turn for assistance to make sense of their eldercare options.

• Most eldercare givers juggle caregiving with full-time jobs, as well as parenting.

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Why Do Employers Need to Address Eldercare Stress?

• Caregiving costs U.S. employers $33.6 billion in lost productivity each year. *

• The percentage of adult children taking care of their parents has tripled since 1994. **

• Approximately 9.7 million adult children over the age of 50 care for their parents. **

• Americans who work a full time job and care for an elderly or disabled family member suffer from poorer physical health than those who work full time but do not have caregiving responsibilities. ***

• Caregivers employed full time across all age groups are substantially more likely to experience physical health issues than non-caregiving counterparts. ***

• Adult caregivers younger than 30 are more than 61 percent more likely than non-caregivers to have high blood pressure or recurring neck or back pain. ***

• Caregivers in all age groups are more likely than non-caregivers to report that they do not feel well-rested at work after performing caregiving at home the previous night or day. ***

* Source: National Council on Aging

** Source: University of Michigan and U.S. Health & Retirement Study

*** Source: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index

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How Does Caregiver Stress Affect Employees?

Signs of caregiver stress include:

• Reduced energy and productivity

• Ongoing emotional strain

• Withdrawal

• Sleeplessness or sleeping difficulty

• Lack of concentration

• Weight loss or gain

• Drug or alcohol abuse

• Eating disorders

• Mood swings

• Chronic fatigue

• Feelings of being overwhelmed

• Depression, especially for caregivers of dementia patients

• Feelings that caregiving is a second job with no relief or breaks

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How Does Caregiver Stress Affect Employers?

Signs of caregiver stress include:

• Lack of productivity

• Increased absenteeism

• Late arrivals and early departures by employees

• Workday interruptions

• Lack of concentration by employees

• Increased use of sick days or unpaid time off

• Requests to shift from full-time to part-time

• Reluctance of employees to take on new responsibilities or a promotion

• Employees quitting their jobs

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Economic Impact on Employees Is Great

• 66 percent of working caregivers say they have had to go in late, leave early or take time off to perform caregiving. *

• Nearly 40 percent of working caregivers report that caregiving affects their ability to advance on the job.**

• 29 percent say they passed up a promotion due to caregiving commitments.**

• 20 percent say they have had to take a leave of absence to perform caregiving duties. *

• 12 percent say they have had to give up working entirely to perform caregiving. *

• Caregivers who are 50 or older average a $303,880 financial loss per person in lost wages, pensions and Social Security benefits over a lifetime. **

* Source: National Alliance for Caregiving 2009

** Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute & New York Medical College’s Center for Long-Term-Care Research and Policy

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Economic Impact on Employers Is Far-Reaching

• The growth of eldercare responsibilities among adult children is having negative impact on businesses in all fields.

• 68 percent of family caregivers caring for someone over the age of 50 are also working outside the home. *

• Caregiving costs U.S. employers $33.6 billion in lost productivity each year. *

• Replacing workers who are absent for caregiving costs businesses $6.6 billion a year. *

• 70 percent of caregiving workers report it has had some adverse effect on their work. **

• 52 percent of women (2,187,282) and 34 percent of men (953,431) have experienced workday interruptions as a result of caregiving. ***

• 25 percent of employees responsible for the care of relatives who live more than an hour away miss at least one day of work per month. *

• Caregiver responsibilities make some employees unavailable for assignments or promotions that would benefit a business.

* Source: National Council on Aging

** Source: National Alliance for Caregiving 2009

*** Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute & National Alliance for Caregiving, 2006.

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Aging with Grace Offers a Comprehensive Package

More and more employers are finding that by taking care of employees’ needs they are taking care of their business.

• Increased caregiving responsibilities among working men and women have led forward-thinking employers to offer eldercare services to help employees manage this work/life issue.

• Aging with Grace offers a comprehensive eldercare assistance program for working caregivers that places resources and support a phone call away.

• The program provides employees unlimited telephone access to experts in the eldercare field.

• The eldercare experts provide clear answers to the complex questions and challenges of eldercare.

• The Aging with Grace website provides quick access to information and advice at any hour of the day.

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Hands-On, Reliable Assistance by Phone or Online

The Aging with Grace Eldercare Assistance Program gives caregivers a way to get fast, reliable answers from eldercare experts.

• Caregivers have telephone access to experienced eldercare advocates for assistance with immediate needs and long-term planning.

• An Online Provider Directory on the Aging with Grace website provides a searchable list of trusted providers in your local area.

• The Online Provider Directory can be searched by Zip code, mileage limits and by services offered.

• The directory includes contact information and a link to each provider’s website.

• Discounts are available for services and programs from participating providers negotiated by Aging with Grace.

• Quality assurance programs guarantee member satisfaction and provider quality.

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Website Is One-Stop, High-Tech Resource

The Aging with Grace website — www.agingwithgrace.net — collects vital caregiving information in one easy-to-use Internet location.

• Resource hotlinks connect caregivers to the expertise of eldercare agencies and organizations ranging from the American Society on Aging to the National Family Caregivers Association.

• Hotlinks also connect to caregiver resources, veterans resources, Medicare information and financial, legal and health planning services.

• A Caregiver Support Library for members offers current and timely articles on eldercare issues.

• The complimentary Aging with Grace “Caregiver Tool Kit” is available as an easy download.

• A monthly caregiver newsletter provides up-to-date information on eldercare topics on the website or by email.

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How the Aging with Grace Process Works

The Aging with Grace Eldercare Assistance program provides hands-on, personal support for caregivers and their families.

• When a caregiver contacts Aging with Grace, he/she speaks with an elder advocate to identify concerns.

• The elder advocate assesses care options and evaluates financial options.

• The advocate creates an action plan to address the caregiver’s immediate and long-term needs.

• The advocate and caregiver review Medicare or Medicaid eligibility.

• The advocate explores availability of veterans benefits if the client needing assistance is a veteran or the spouse of a veteran.

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How Aging with Grace Assists Veterans

Because eldercare is expensive, Aging with Grace helps veterans and their families identify financial resources.

• Veterans Benefits Consultants help veterans or spouses of veterans apply for health or pension benefits that can help pay for short- or long-term care.

• Veterans Benefits Consultants help determine if clients are eligible for rarely used Veterans Benefits to help pay for non-reimbursed monthly medical expenses.

• The Non-Service Connected Disability Pension Benefit, also known as the "Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefit," can provide additional monthly income up to $1,949 a month.

• The benefit can help pay for such out-of pocket medical expenses as adult day services, home care, family caregivers, in-home safety equipment, assisted living, nursing home care, Medicare premiums or medical co-pays.

• To help caregivers explore this benefit, Aging with Grace offers a “V.A. Aid & Attendance Self-Help Guide” as a download on its website.

• The website also offers a “self pre-qualification form” to determine eligibility for the Aid & Attendance Benefit.

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In-Home Support Technology

The Aging with Grace Eldercare Assistance program offers a wide range of in-home support technology through its website. Features include:

• An electronic Personal Health Record that goes with you wherever you go

• An affordable Personal Alert System that ensures a person is not alone in an emergency

• A CareCalendar tool that provides access to an online calendar to help people keep important dates such as doctor appointments, birthdays, anniversaries and caregiver schedules that can be shared with family and other people

• A free Medication Safety Program that helps monitor the safety of medications

• A CareJournal tool that provides a private place to let out feelings, including anger, frustration, grief or joy

• Direct access to the Aging with Grace CareConnection online caregiver community to share with people who are facing the same caregiver challenges

• A Caregiver R&R section that provides an opportunity to relieve the tensions of a day

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Group Services Benefit Both Employees and Employers

Aging with Grace is the leading national eldercare assistance program that works with employers, employees, labor unions and employee benefits consultants to relieve eldercare stress in the workplace.

• We understand the needs and objectives of all three groups and the impact of this rapidly growing problem on the economic health of industry and businesses today.

• By offering Aging with Grace, an employer, labor union or organization can take a proactive approach to eldercare.

• Group services reduce the effects of employee health issues related to caregiver stress.

• Group services increase productivity and decrease workday interruptions.

• Group services enable employers to do well by doing good.

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Caregiver Stress Is Costly: Yearly Economic Impact

Problem Impact

Replacing Employees $6.6 billion

Absenteeism $5.1 billion

Partial Absenteeism $1.9 billion

Workday Interruptions $6.3 billion

Eldercare Crisis $3.8 billion

Supervisor Time $1.8 billion

Unpaid Leave $3.4 billion

Full-Time to Part-Time $4.8 billion

Total: $33.6 billion

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Source: National Council on Aging

The Keys to Successful Eldercare

Brought to You by

Call or e-mail Aging with Grace 410-329-6472

info@agingwithgrace.net www.agingwithgrace.net

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