Beth Fields, an occupational therapist and geriatric health and caregiving researcher at the University of Wisconsin, described her own experience with the challenges caregivers face.
After a back injury, her brother spent three weeks in intensive care before being sent home. Her family received “little information on how to support him when he got back home,” she said, and medical complications sent him back to the hospital.
“We must take a critical look at the support we are providing to the caregivers who are the backbone of our long-term care health care system,” Fields said.