LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) — Laura Berger has a full-time job — a “24/7 labor of love,” as she describes it. She’s the caregiver for her 84-year-old mother, RoseMarie.
RoseMarie has Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s certainly not an uncommon situation. An estimated 6.9 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. And the 24/7 task of being the primary caregiver is a challenge that husbands, wives, sons and daughters have never prepared for until it arrives.
The Alzheimer’s Association also estimates that 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 million hours in unpaid care valued at $2.68 billion.
The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas is answering the call in educating caregivers to navigate their new responsibilities. And experts there have identified a need that’s very important in the quality of care for their Alzheimer’s patients: the well-being of the caregivers themselves.