National Caregiver Month

November 10, 2015 - By: Danbury-Seniors

November is National Caregiver month.  Recently, the State of Connecticut passed Senate Bill 290, the CARE (Caregiver, Advise, Record and Enable) Act.

Championed by the Connecticut Chapters of AARP and Alzheimer’s Association, the CARE ACT helps guarantee caregivers are given follow-up instructions when a patient is discharged from the hospital and to help reduce costly hospital readmissions.

The CARE A requires hospitals to do the following:

• Record the name of the caregiver on the patient’s medical record
• Inform the caregiver when the loved one (patient) is to be discharged to another facility or home
• Provide the caregiver with education and instructions of the medical tasks you, the caregiver, may need to perform at home, like managing education or wound care.

Connecticut is the ninth state to pass the CARE ACT.