Alzeheimers caregivers get relief in budget

By Jennifer Calhoun

Jun. 7, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --

PEMBROKE -- Caregivers of Alzheimer's patients in the region could get some relief in the near future, patient advocates say.

The state legislature is expected to provide $500,000 in the 2008-09 budget for Project CARE (Caregiver Alternatives to Running on Empty), a program that offers up to $2,500 a year for respite care to families of Alzheimer's patients in Cumberland, Hoke, Scotland, Richmond and Robeson counties.

The budget, which includes the Project CARE funding bill, was passed by the state House on Friday and was sent to the Senate for consideration.

Project CARE was implemented last year in 14 counties in the western part of the state on an experimental basis through federal funds, said Charles Dickens of the Senior Tar Heel Legislature, which advocates for issues on aging.

Dickens, who spoke during a town forum in Pembroke, said the program has proved to be such a success that other states are copying the model.

The program allows families to spend up to $2,500 on respite care for the year in any manner they choose. The funds would be allowed for any type of dementia, during any stage of illness, and would be offered to families of all income levels, said Lisa Gwyther, director of the Duke Aging Center Family Support.

Program caseworkers will guide the family through the process and provide information on services.

Dickens said Project CARE is needed because family caregivers often work around the clock to care for dementia patients, and are rarely able to leave the house. And because respite care can be costly, many families are unable to afford it, he said.

The effect, he said, can be detrimental to the physical and mental health of caregivers.

"The need from the caregivers' perspective is so compelling," Dickens said. "The opportunity to help them through Project CARE is so appealing that to do anything less than we've done would just be unforgivable."

But the program is also beneficial from the state's standpoint because it helps keep dementia patients out of hospitals and nursing homes, Dickens said.

He estimated a year's worth of care could cost from $23,000 to more than $50,000, depending on the facility.

Len Erker, director of respite for the state's western chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, said Project CARE has been working well since its implementation last year in his region.

"It simply works and it works well," he said. "And it's flexible enough to meet each family's needs for respite care."

Sylvia Morris, who moved to Cumberland County to care for her mother with Alzheimer's, said she hopes Project CARE will be passed.

Morris, who is often unable to leave the house for days, said the respite care would allow her "to get the basics of life taken care of," like going to the grocery store and to the bank.

"There is a point where you do feel like you're breaking a little bit with the stress of it," she said.

Staff writer Jennifer Calhoun can be reached at calhounj@fayobserver.com or 486-3595.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0072-25828815