Family Caregivers and the Challenges They Face

A caregiver is anyone who feels responsible for another person’s welfare (financial, emotional, supportive) because of illness, frailty, life changes, and/or losses.

• Statistics show that at least one person out of four families has caregiver duties
• The average woman could spend more years caring for her parents then raising her children
• More and more men and women are taking on caregiving responsibilities of spouses, parents, grandparents, partners and significant others

Pat Baker, Director of Gwinnett County Health and Human Services, will be presenting information on the challenges caregivers face and resources that can help them address these challenges.

Bio: Pat Baker

Pat’s career in the field of health and human services, particularly aging programs, began in 1973 and includes the positions of activity director in a nursing home, project director for an Older Americans Act nutrition program in south Texas, and planner at an Area Agency on Aging in southwestern Oklahoma. From 1992 – 2002, Pat was a program supervisor in the Community Relations Unit for the Aging Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Pat also served as the project coordinator and facilitator for the Oklahoma Aging Advocacy Leadership Academy, a training academy that identifies and develops volunteer leaders and advocates on issues related to aging. In 2002 Pat and her husband moved to Georgia where she was a consultant for the AARP, The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, and the Alzheimer’s Association…just to name a few. Pat took the position of Director of Health and Human Services for Gwinnett County in 2008. Pat lives in Lilburn with her husband, Arch, who is a minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA. They have two grown children and one grandchild.