Rosalynn Carter:
There were a lot of lessons learned.
At first, we really had to work hard
to get people to admit that they had
a family member with Alzheimer’s.
People didn’t come forward. You had
to search for them. But once they
learned that it can really help, the
word gets around a little bit. But
we did learn that we had to go to
see them, instead of having them
come to see us. And I think that’s
going to be very helpful with
wounded warriors, too. As I said,
we’re working on that now. It’s been
difficult to get people to
participate.
Gary Barg: Are
you in general feeling more positive
about the progression of support for
family caregivers in the nation?
Rosalynn Carter:
Yes, I think Medicaid Long-Term
Services and Supports (LTSS) is
going to help us, too. There are a
lot of good things like grants. I
think that’s going to be helpful.
We’re working on policy issues, too;
with AARP, for instance. Many people
are not able to use sick leave to
care for family members. There are
just a lot of different things that
I think are beginning to happen. Of
course, there’s so much that has
happened since I began; but we still
have a way to go before caregivers
can get the total information they
need to have a better life. There’s
going to be a real need in the
future, even more than right now.
And right now there are millions and
millions of people caring for
someone at home. I want to
congratulate you, too, on what
you’ve done since I’ve talked to you
last.
Gary Barg: Thank
you very much. We’ve actually just
celebrated the 17th anniversary of
the launch of Today’s Caregiver
magazine. What would you like
to see happen for caregiving in the
foreseeable future?
Rosalynn Carter:
If we could get all of our
recommendations implemented, we’d be
in really good shape; to educate the
public and translate evidence-based
programs into community programs.
One thing would be tax credits for
unpaid labor. Another thing is to
get people to admit that they are
caring for someone who needs help;
so many don’t call themselves
caregivers. And I don’t think we’ve
probably gotten over that yet when I
look at the work we’re doing with
Alzheimer’s and Wounded Warriors and
others. Sometimes, they don’t want
to admit that they need help. Also,
caregivers need to take care of
themselves. We’re updating the book
Helping Yourself to Help Others,
which I wrote in the late 1990s, and
we hope to have it finished by
February.
