Cassie Theirfelder is manager of advocacy for AARP Michigan.

In her role, she helps develop programs and initiatives that support older adults and the family caregivers who assist them, helping expand access to guidance, services, and support for those who need it most.

Cassie, thanks so much for joining us.

>> Thank you so much for having me.

Well, I think so many of us have heard lots and lots about AARP, but uh pull the curtain back.

Demystify how you are able to provide such a strong voice for for seniors and those who need care.

>> Absolutely.

So, AARP is actually the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that's dedicated to empowering adults age 50 and older to live and age as they choose.

We have an amazing network of here in Michigan alone 1.3 million members and we're able to learn from them and provide their stories to our legislators and let them know what's going on in their communities.

>> Caregiving is something that affects all cohorts, but certainly a heavy emphasis >> on seniors.

And in your work, you're identifying those pressing issues, those things about a work uh force crisis, areas of need and care for both family caregivers and direct care workers.

What are some of those areas of concern that you really have your eye on?

Well, when we look at family caregivers, we know that here in Michigan alone, there's more than 1.5 million family caregivers, and they're providing services that range from uh managing medications and preparing meals to arranging transportation and providing help with bathing and getting in and out of bed.

These family caregivers, more than half of them provide medical services to their loved ones, but only 5% of them have any training to do so.

Uh we know that caregiving has a physical, emotional, and financial burden on these family caregivers.

Family caregivers spend an average of $7,200 every year out of pocket just to provide care to a loved one.

Um you know, as a loved one ages, they might need a wheelchair, for example, and then the family caregiver might need to equip their home to have a ramp or widen doorways for that wheelchair to come through.

or a caregiver might need to help with um medical equipment expenses or even things like providing transportation and providing groceries for their loved one can add up and be really expensive for our family caregivers.

So, we know that this can be really difficult on caregivers and they can actually struggle to afford their own basic necessities as well.

>> Well, let me tell you from a personal standpoint, uh I have a 94 year old father.

I am one of six.

We all live in the area, so we have a pretty good team.

I'm the one that does uh the groceries.

But those are under the best of conditions.

We do struggle with some of those things.

Under lesser conditions, maybe there's only one family member juggling uh all these priorities.

It certainly has to cause a lot of uh stress uh in all areas of someone's life.

What steps can we take?

What steps do you advise for family caregivers in particular to have somewhat of a smoother journey and where they can find help?

>> Absolutely.

Uh we actually have a lot of resources available at AP.

You can visit our website to get connected to these resources, but one is our family caregiver guide and this is really helpful for anyone who is starting out their journey with caregiving.

It provides information about assessing your loved ones needs so that you know do they need additional care and if so what should that care look like and these resources also include information about how to deal with grief and how to build a plan for life after being a caregiver.

There are also a lot of events and programs available both virtual and in person.

Um so we have events that relate to training and tips on being a caregiver.

um and also events where family caregivers can go and engage with other family caregivers.

But we also have some guides available on approaching conversations related to managing finances or some of the other important uh even legal information that you might need to know when it comes to providing care for your loved one.

So all of that information is available on our website, but we also work ARP and the United Way worldwide work together with the 211 caregiver program.

So, if anyone is in need of additional information or resources related to being a caregiver, please call 211 and they will connect you to all of those resources available, especially those here in your local community.

>> Well, 211 is very, very important because uh as we age, I'll count myself in this.

Some of our digital literacy falls away.

So, having >> uh that available on the phone is is critical.

Let's talk about uh the world of HCBS.

This is important.

This helps folks age in place, but lots of folks aren't aware of uh of what it is and what it needs.

>> So, HCBS is home and community based services.

Um, these are essential to older adults being able to remain in their homes as they age.

Now, we know that 87% of all adults 45 and older want to stay in their homes and their communities when they age.

Uh this is only possible through the services provided by home and community based services which are offered through organizations like the area agencies on aging.

These services range from full-time inhome care help and nursing assistance to even providing assistance with household chores, preparing meals um and and things only a few times a week that the as the older adult may need.

So these services are really essential.

Unfortunately, we know that there's not enough funding available right now to meet the needs of everyone who wants access to these home and community based services and the vast majority of our dollars is going towards um institutional care, nursing home care.

As we are watching our population age pretty rapidly, we need to be modernizing our Medicaid funding to reflect those needs.

The average spending for Medicaid dollars for states towards home and community based services is 53%.

But here in Michigan, we only allocate 29% of our dollars.

It's really important that we start adapting our policies to reflect what adults want for themselves when they're aging.

>> The AP of Michigan throwing a lifeline to our uh seniors uh and populations in need.

Cassie Thefelders, thank you so much for being here.

We are grateful.

>> Thank you.

Thank you so much.

We want to thank Impart Alliance at Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine.

This work is made possible by a grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services as well as the supporters of our caregiving initiative, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr.

Foundation, the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, and AARP Michigan.

Thanks to all for helping make this important program possible.