By Jaime Joshi Elder
Caregiving has been a central feature of every society since the days of the Mesopotamians and with the aging American population anticipated to expand substantially by the year 2050 – the number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to increase from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050 which is a 47% increase – taking care of the caregiver has become a vital and pressing concern.
Caregiving can be split into two categories – formal and informal. A formal caregiver is a paid care provider who either lives in one’s home or in a residential facility and an informal caregiver is an unpaid individual such as a partner, family member or friend who helps with the activities of daily life and medical tasks.
Visiting Angels of the Palm Beaches recognized this need for both formal and informal caregivers and answered the call with an expansive vision and investment – the creation of Visiting Angels University at Palm Beach Gardens.
The first of its kind in Southeastern Florida, Visiting Angels University at Palm Beach Gardens will serve as a resource center and educational facility and will also host support groups and serve as a meeting space for local non-profit and community organizations.
As a caregiver resource center, Visiting Angels University provides caregivers a chance to continue their education and improve their skills and knowledge on topics as essential and varied as customer service, infection control, privacy and confidentiality and palliative care.
While this educational component applies more to formal caregivers, Visiting Angels wants to ensure that the needs of informal caregivers are met and that their voices are heard as well.
According to a paper by Steven H. Zarit, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University, 40% to 70% of family caregivers have clinically significant symptoms of depression and of these caregivers, approximately a quarter to half of them meet the diagnostic criteria for major depression.
Visiting Angels University will start hosting support groups in Spring 2024 and plans on creating groups for caregivers, clients and families. In addition to creating safe spaces where people can experience reduced stress by talking and embracing the encouragement, support and advice of others, Visiting Angels University will also create dedicated support groups for Parkinson’s Disease, Family Caregiving Dynamics, Bereavement and Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
The latter is crucial as approximately 40% of family caregivers of people with dementia suffer from depression. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, this is a significant increase compared to 5-17% of non-caregivers of similar ages.
As the severity of cognitive impairment of the person with dementia increases, so do the rates of depression for the caregiver.
In addition to the support groups, Visiting Angels University is dedicated to being a resource for the entire community and not just staff, clients and their families. They will be hosting a series of public seminars on the topics of health, aging and care.
With the creation of Visiting Angels University, Visiting Angels is furthering their mission and cementing their legacy of providing non-medical home care and restoring hope through the assistance of healing the emotional, spiritual and physical well-being of the South Florida families they serve.
