Ohio Family Caregivers Provide $21 Billion in Unpaid Care to Loved Ones

The unpaid care provided by the 1.46 million caregivers in Ohio is valued at $21 billion, according to new state data available in AARP’s latest report in the Valuing the Invaluable series. This is a $4.2 million increase in unpaid contributions since the last report was released in 2019. The report highlights the growing scope and complexity of family caregiving and highlights actions needed to address the many challenges of caring for parents, spouses and other loved ones.

 “Family caregivers play a vital role in Ohio’s health care system, whether they care for someone at home, coordinate home health care or help care for someone who lives in a nursing home,” said Holly Holtzen, AARP State Director. “We want to make sure all family caregivers have the financial, emotional and social support they need because the care they provide is invaluable both to those receiving it and to their community.”

AARP Ohio provides support to family caregivers and the loved ones who depend on them for care. Part of that work has been promoting accountability in nursing homes to ensure high-quality care and safe environments for those loved ones. Starting in 2020, AARP collaborated with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University to publish monthly reports tracking five key areas in Ohio’s nursing homes, with the goal of identifying specific areas of concern at national and state levels in a timely manner. Building on that momentum, Holtzen was recently appointed to the new Ohio Governor’s Nursing Home Quality and Accountability Task Force, which has similar goals.

The task force, created by Gov. Mike DeWine and led by the Ohio Department of Aging, is working to make excellence the expectation for all of  Ohio’s 960+ nursing homes. During the next two months the task force is traveling to communities across the state to hear directly from nursing home residents and their loved ones about their experiences. More information, including the listening tour schedule and information about public participation, is available here.

AARP Ohio made advancements for family caregivers and their loves ones through work at the Ohio Statehouse. Recently, AARP worked to pass House Bill 23 into law, which will develop training for peace officers and emergency medical service personnel addressing difficult situations for individuals with dementia. AARP Ohio supported the passage of Esther’s Law, which allows family caregivers or patients themselves to install cameras or other electronic monitoring devices in their rooms, ultimately reducing abuse and neglect. 

Read the full report here for national and state-by-state data on the economic value of unpaid care by family and friends.

Resources and information on family caregiving are available at aarp.org/caregiving.