LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Nevada has one of the fastest growing senior populations in the country.
Hundreds of thousands of Nevadans care for older parents, spouses or loved ones.
The Alzheimer’s Association also estimates there are 54,900 Nevadans currently living with Alzheimer’s disease with 84,000 more serving as unpaid family caregivers. These caregivers provide an estimated 142,000,000 hours in unpaid care valued at $2,681,000,000.
Laura Berger is one of those caregivers. She’s been taking care of her mother, RoseMarie, 84, for the the past two years.
She calls it a 24/7 labor of love.
“I had to give up everything to take care of my mom,” Berger said. “I just try to give her as much comfort and love and patience as I can on a daily basis.”
RoseMarie has Alzheimer’s, a type of dementia that slowly caused memory loss.
“We had no preparation for this at all,” Berger said.
She turned to the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Caregiving program, which opened in 2019.
“I didn’t even know how I was going to be able to do this is and till this day with the Cleveland Clinic and what they did for me and through classes and everything it changed my whole life,” she added.
The center offers a free onsite library and an array of no-cost social and education programs such as classes, workshops, and music and art therapy.
Dr. Lucille Carriere, the Angie Ruvo Caregiving Chair says it’s never too late to seek out support.
“We have the third fastest aging population in the country, so it is imperative that we really look to our caregivers and how we are supporting them,” Dr. Carriere said. “It has such bearing on the lives and the quality of life of the loved ones that they care caring for, they are truly an extension of our healthcare system.”
To date, more than 116,000 visits have been made to the center’s caregiving program.
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