From the desk of Rosemary Laird, MD
Founder of Navigating Aging Needs (NAN), LLC
Facing the Long Goodby
Here in Florida, we don’t experience the changes of Autumn as dramatically as people elsewhere in the nation, particularly in the northern states. Still, there is no getting around the fact that the coming of winter is literally “in the air,” whether it’s a puff of cooler breeze, the rays of the setting sun slanting lower in the sky, or the sight of a dead leaf falling from its branch and spiraling to the ground.
Labors of Love
Caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia work as much as 40 hours a week caring for their loved one, nearly 30% more time than caregivers tending to people who do not have dementia. A 2019 study found that family caregivers provided more than 18 billion hours of unpaid care to loved ones with dementia, and a 2023 study estimated that the unpaid hours caring for loved ones with dementia could be valued at $346 billion.