C-TAC Co-Founder and Board Member Bill Novelli highlights the essential role family caregivers play in our health care system and the urgent need to better support them.
Family caregivers are a critical part of our nation’s health care system, providing essential support to millions of people living with serious illness, older adults, and individuals with disabilities. Yet the systems and policies intended to support caregivers have not kept pace with the growing responsibilities they shoulder.
In a new op-ed published by McKnight’s Home Care, Bill Novelli, Co-Founder and Board Member of the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC), makes the case for greater recognition and support for family caregivers.
In “Family caregivers hold our healthcare system together. They need support,” Novelli examines the vital role caregivers play in helping people navigate complex health care needs, from coordinating appointments and managing medications to providing hands-on care and advocating for their loved ones.
The piece also underscores a fundamental challenge: while our health care system increasingly depends on family caregivers, too many are expected to take on these responsibilities without adequate resources, training, financial support, or recognition as essential members of the care team.
For C-TAC, strengthening support for family caregivers is integral to advancing a health care system that honors the needs, goals, and preferences of people living with serious illness and those who care for them.
As the number of Americans needing complex, long-term care continues to grow, ensuring caregivers have the resources and support they need will become increasingly important—not only for caregivers and their families, but for the sustainability and effectiveness of the broader health care system.
Read Bill Novelli’s full op-ed in McKnight’s Home Care: “Family caregivers hold our healthcare system together. They need support.”
Read the OpEd
