NEW YORK STATE — An AARP survey recently found that rural family caregivers are stressed, cutting work hours or even leaving jobs because they do not have enough help. 

A survey of registered voters aged 40 and older in New York’s rural areas mirrors the findings of AARP New York’s other caregiving surveys, the organization said. 

More than 70 percent of rural caregivers reported being stressed. Of those who work (70 percent of rural caregivers), 62 percent have adjusted their schedules, 19 percent dropped to part-time and 13 percent left jobs so they could help an older loved one at home. 

Nearly all have paid for transportation, home modifications and other expenses, AARP continued. Most (62 percent) want more financial help from the state and 90 percent don’t have faith in nursing homes. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul could greatly reduce the burden on older individuals and their families by adding $42 million to the Enhanced In-Home Services for the Elderly Program (EISEP) and other programs, AARP New York suggested. EISEP offers affordable delivered meals, transportation, housekeeping and personal care to older adults who do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private help. 

But funding for EISEP only increased by $700,000 in the 2024 budget, even as the state office for the aging said 16,000 requests for these non-medical services are unfilled. 

“Thousands of older individuals in our less-populated regions wait months or even longer for help with housekeeping, grooming and meals,” said David McNally, AARP New York director of government affairs & advocacy, who spoke at a meeting of the Caregiving Working Group of the North Country. 

Waitlists for EISEP and other programs are especially long in some upstate rural counties, according to the state’s own numbers.

“The challenge is finding workers with reliable transportation able to get to remote areas. They need to work full-time. They need benefits and to be able to pay for their own child care,” said Dana Corwin, interim director of the Chautauqua County Office for Aging Services. “If we had more funding, we could recruit and retain people who really want to be doing this work.” 

The rural caregiving report was gleaned from a statewide telephone survey of 1,345 registered voters age 40-plus that AARP New York conducted in fall 2023. Read the full report at www.bit.ly/4hHAhbP.