Alzheimer’s Association offers free resources to families caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia

During National Family Caregivers and National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in November, and all year round, the Alzheimer’s Association offers free resources to families caring for a loved one living with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Caring for those living with this disease poses special challenges for family caregivers, and no caregiver should face this disease alone.

Currently, there are nearly 100,000 caregivers in Iowa providing care to more than 62,000 people living with Alzheimer’s.

The Alzheimer’s Association Iowa Chapter offers many free resources for families facing this disease including:

• 50 local caregiver support groups in communities across the state and a virtual group for young-adult caregivers on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

• In-person and virtual education programs, including a 7-part series to help empower caregivers throughout the holiday season on each Thursday at 11 a.m. via Zoom from Nov. 7 – Dec. 26.

• 24/7 Helpline – 800-272-3900 – staffed by master’s level trained clinicians available 24/7, 365 days of the year to answer any question about the disease.

Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s takes longer, lasts longer, is more personal and extensive than most other diseases, and takes a heavy toll on the health of the caregivers themselves. As a result, many dementia caregivers neglect their own health needs and that can lead to a crisis. The Alzheimer’s Association is here to make sure dementia caregivers have all the tools and support they need to care for not only their loved one living with the disease, but themselves as well. Visit alz.org/iowa for a full list of local care and support resources.

Alzheimer’s Caregiving: By the Numbers

• More than 11 million people in the U.S. are providing unpaid care to a person living with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

• In 2023, these caregivers provided an estimated 18.4 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $346.6 billion.

• 83 percent of the help provided to older adults in the U.S. comes from family members, friends or other unpaid caregivers.

• Nearly half of all caregivers (48 percent) who provide help to older adults do so for someone with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.

• Among primary caregivers of people with dementia, over half take care of their parents.

• Approximately two-thirds of caregivers are women, and one-third of dementia caregivers are daughters.

• Approximately one-quarter of dementia caregivers are “sandwich generation” caregivers, meaning they care not only for an aging parent, but also for children under age 18.

• The total lifetime cost of care for a person living with dementia is estimated at almost $400,000 ($394,683) with 70 percent of these costs borne by family caregivers in the forms of unpaid caregiving and out-of-pocket expenses.

• 41 percent of caregivers have a household income of $50,000 or less.