Kaye speaks to Next Avenue about rural caregivers

Next Avenue interviewed Lenard Kaye, director of the University of Maine Center on Aging and professor in the University of Maine School of Social Work, about the increased burden on caregivers for elderly people in rural areas. “Immediately available, locally residing individuals who can assist are at a premium. But yet it remains a family affair, putting those who are locally situated under the gun to step up and deliver it under whatever stress and strain they may feel. … We would benefit greatly from more preparation and more appreciation for the complexities and the responsibilities that caregiving gives, such that we don’t minimize it and we appreciate the fact that it’s likely going to be knocking at each and every one of our doors at some point in our lives,” Kaye said.