New study finds half of Canadians wish they had professional help with caring for loved ones

Bayshore Home Health proves Canadians go above and beyond when caring for family members

Mississauga, ON – April 2, 2013 – Bayshore Home Health, Canada’s largest national provider of home healthcare services, has conducted a study revealing that half of Canadian caregivers are spending 17 hours per week on average caring for a loved one at home. Of those surveyed, the majority revealed that they do not think others understand the commitment necessary and therefore not surprisingly, 49 per cent of respondents expressed that they wished for professional help in taking care of an elderly loved one.

The situation is a symptom of the aging baby boomer population. The need for care is becoming more prominent but while Canadian caregivers are going the extra mile for their loved ones, many are making ever-greater personal sacrifices in order to do so. In fact, 60 per cent said they felt they go ‘above and beyond’ what is expected of them in caring for an elderly loved one.

“Canadians are the quiet champions of health care. They are conscientious, and feel obligated to take care of their loved ones at home but may underestimate the commitment involved,” said Stuart Cottrelle, president of Bayshore Home Health. “We want these caregivers to know that we understand their situation, are well aware of the degree of dedication and time it takes, and are seeking a ways to help them to share experiences and recommendations for the benefit of all”.

Canadian adults who assume accountability for caring for a family member while also maintaining the everyday responsibilities of their own lives have been termed the ‘sandwich generation.’ They feel accountable for both the young and old, but have highlighted that committing to caring for a family member can impact much more than time. Almost half of Canadian caregivers expressed that caring for an elder loved one has prevented them from travelling, and a further quarter say it has prevented them from taking on a hobby.

“It was staggering to discover that more than half of Canadian caregivers feel as though the responsibility of caring for a loved one has steered them from enjoying simple things in life like travel,” said Stuart Cottrelle, President of Bayshore Home Health. “We felt AIR MILES® was the perfect partner to give something back to our supporters. We recently launched a Facebook contest for 25,000 AIR MILES® reward miles to encourage individuals to travel with the peace of mind knowing that their family members are cared for.”

Bayshore Home Health has partnered with AIR MILES® Canada to recognize those champions of health care who ‘Go the Extra Mile’ for others.

About Bayshore

Bayshore Home Health delivers a wide range of nursing, personal care, home support and companion services through more than 50 home care offices and two-dozen community care clinics across the country, serving over 100,000 clients annually. These services are purchased by government care programs, insurance companies, workers’ compensation boards and the public. It also provides nurse and caregiver staffing services to health care organizations and the corporate sector. Bayshore Home Health is a division of Bayshore HealthCare, one of Canada’s leading providers of home and community health care services and a recipient of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies award since 2006. More information can be found at www.bayshore.ca.
Twitter: @bayshore_health
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From March 19th to March 23rd 2013 an online survey was conducted among 505 randomly selected Canadian adults who are currently providing unpaid help to an elderly loved one who has a disease, disability, frailty or simply has a reduced ability to care for themselves and who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 4.4%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to age, gender and region to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of the Canadian caregivers providing unpaid help to loved ones. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.