SENATE MEMORIAL 82

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Michael Padilla

A MEMORIAL

COMMEMORATING FEBRUARY 25, 2015 AS "I HEART CAREGIVERS DAY" IN THE SENATE.

     WHEREAS, the number of residents of New Mexico who are eighty-five years of age or older and most likely to need caregiving assistance is projected to reach over seventy-five thousand in 2030; and

     WHEREAS, most older adults and individuals with chronic diseases or physical challenges would not be able to remain at home without the help of unpaid family caregivers; and

     WHEREAS, each year, an estimated four hundred nineteen thousand adults in the state provide unpaid family caregiving, which equates to an estimated two hundred seventy-four million hours a year and an estimated value of more than three billion dollars ($3,000,000,000); and

     WHEREAS, unpaid family caregivers face many challenges in providing care, such as managing financial resources, managing medications, providing wound and other health care assistance and maintaining the home; and

     WHEREAS, working family caregivers may have to make workplace accommodations or even leave the work force to care for a family member; and

     WHEREAS, the aging and long-term services department is leading an effort to develop a family caregiver state plan; and

     WHEREAS, unpaid family caregivers need access to resources and deserve recognition for their work;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 25, 2015 be commemorated as "I Heart Caregivers Day" in the senate; and

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

- 2 -