SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - A Minnesota bill called the Care Act would provide family caregivers with extra training and is getting renewed support after it fell out of favor in St. Paul last session.
Seth Boffeli with AARP Minnesota says 600,000 people across the state care for an aging parent or other family member. Boffeli says they work hard and a lot of times they lack the necessary training and support, and good communications from doctors, nurses in the health-care setting.
Boffeli says if hospitals can provide a little more training when people are discharged, it could help lower medical costs by reducing readmissions, and ensuring that caregivers correctly administer medications and other types of care needed by older family members.
Rochester AARP volunteer Ken Zaiken says his sister struggled getting her husband home after his brain surgery. Zaiken says his sister felt overwhelmed when it was time to discharge him and she had difficulty setting up a time to go over the instructions with the busy hospital staff.
Zaiken says that coordination could take place so that she could be there, see an example of the wound care, ask questions and get a level of comfort with it.
If hospitals provide more training when patients are discharged, it could help lower medical costs by reducing readmissions.