Who are our Caregivers?
Mountain Caregiver Resource Center serves families of persons with adult-onset chronic, disabling brain diseases and disorders.
The term caregiver refers to anyone who provides assistance to someone else who
is in some degree incapacitated and needs help. Examples include: a husband
who has suffered a stroke; a wife with Parkinson's disease; a grandfather
with Alzheimer's disease; and a son with traumatic brain injury from a
car injury. Selected
statistics on Mountain Caregiver Resource Center Caregivers:
- The typical caregiver
served is a 60 year old married woman with a limited income. She has
been caring for her husband who has dementia/Alzheimer's disease for
5 years.
- The caregivers
range in age from 23 to over 85 years of age.
- Over half the
Mountain Caregiver Resource Center caregivers(63%) are spouses and
(25%) are adult children. The largest group of caregivers are wives
(40%), followed by husbands (23%), daughters (22%), and daugher-in-laws
(4%).
Whom do our caregivers
care for?
- The current Service
Data Report shows, the typical person with cognitive impairment is
80 years old living at home with their spouse.
- The number of
brain-impaired adults served are male (50%) and female (50%). They
range in age from 18 to over 85 years of age.
- Of those cared
for 88% are 65 years and older, 49% are 75 to 84 years of age.
- Dementia is the
most common diagnosis (66%), followed by Alzheimer's disease, (34%)
other degenerative dementias, and Parkinson's disease.
(Source:
MCRC Service Data Report 7/01/00 to 6/30/01)