The 23rd Annual Summit of the Rosalyn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) was held this past October at Georgia Southwestern State University.  The purpose of this year's summit was to shed light on the needs of family care givers.  With over 65 million Americans providing care for a loved one, the physical, emotional and financial tolls can be crippling.  Amberwood Care Centre sees these effects on a regular basis. When it is determined that someone needs daily care, most families choose to keep their loved ones at home and provide care themselves.  All too often, the responsibility of constant care giving creates emotional and physical stress for the families.  A common solution for these family caregivers is respite care.  Amberwood Care Centre provides temporary care of the individual in need so that care givers can take a "break" from their daily responsibilities.  This time allows them to rest and take care of themselves, which in turn, helps them to provide better care for their loved one.  The importance of family care givers taking care of themselves, was a major topic at this year's event.

     The Summit was attended by several national leaders in health care policies, including Kathy Greenlee (assistant secretary for the Administration on Aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)and Susan Hill from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  There were also delegates from RCI Korea who sharing their experiences with building a college curriculum for care giving.

     The summit concluded just days before National Family Caregivers Month began.  Launched by the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA)in 1997, each November, through a presidential proclamation, family caregivers are recognized for the important role they play in this country's society.  As mentioned before, caring for a family member often comes at a high price to the care givers themselves. It is common that they do not take care of themselves due to exhausting schedules and sometimes even out of guilt for taking time out for themselves.  On top of this, their is the emotional stress of watching a loved one "suffer".  In cases of dementia and Alzheimer's the patient can be combative and difficult creating resentments and further guilt. To make matters worse, 83% of all family care givers also contribute financially to the care for the recipient.  This can place a huge burden on the care giver. Many times, the care giver cannot remain employed because of their responsibilities at home.  Obviously, this can lead to more stress. The NFCA hopes to alleviate these problems by:

• Raising awareness of family caregiver issues
• Celebrate the efforts of family caregivers
• Educate family caregivers about self-identification
• Increase support for family caregivers

The complete findings of the Rosalyn Carter Summit can be found at www.RosalynCarter.com  Through the efforts of such organizations as the RCI and NFCA, the ever growing number of family givers will find the support they need to continue doing what they do. President Obama summed it up perfectly during his 2009 NFC proclamation, "The true strength of the American family finds its roots in an unwavering commitment to care for one another."