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November is National Family Caregivers Month

By Katie Schubert

Omaha, NE – November is National Family Caregivers Month.

The National Family Caregivers Association estimates 65 million Americans are caregivers for an aging loved one. Brian Petranick, president and COO of Omaha-based Right at Home Inc., estimates there are 240,000 family caregivers in the Omaha metro.

Petranick says caregiving can have a significant physical and emotional toll on the person providing care, particularly among those he calls the "sandwich generation." "There's a group of people, a certain demographic, typically in their 40s or 50s, that are still taking care of their own children or in some cases maybe grandchildren, and then they also have aging parents who they're taking care of. So they're sort of being pushed between providing care for two different groups."

Petranick says 40 to 70 percent of caregivers have signs of depression. He says there are resources available to help caregivers take care of themselves, while also caring for their loved ones.

More information about National Family Caregivers Month is available at www.nfcacares.org.