HOUSE MEMORIAL 41

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Tomás E. Salazar and Deborah A. Armstrong

A MEMORIAL

COMMEMORATING FEBRUARY 12, 2016 AS "I HEART CAREGIVERS DAY" IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

     WHEREAS, one in five New Mexicans serves as a family caregiver during any given year; and

     WHEREAS, each year, an estimated four hundred nineteen thousand adults in the state provide an estimated two hundred fifty-seven million hours of unpaid family caregiving at an estimated value of over three billion one hundred million dollars ($3,100,000,000); and

     WHEREAS, the governor and the aging and long-term services department released the New Mexico State Plan for Family Caregivers in 2015, which identifies unpaid lay caregiver issues and needs; and

     WHEREAS, AARP New Mexico has been a leader in addressing lay caregiver issues and needs and is bringing volunteers and partners together to raise awareness and develop specific recommendations; and

     WHEREAS, in 2015, the legislature addressed a family caregiver issue of concern and enacted legislation to allow for the designation and training of lay caregivers to provide care to patients after discharge; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico State Plan for Family Caregivers provides recommendations for future action; and

     WHEREAS, unpaid lay caregivers need to be recognized for their work;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 12, 2016 be commemorated as "I Heart Caregivers Day" in the house of representatives; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the AARP New Mexico state office and the secretary of aging and long-term services.

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