It’s National Caregiver Month: Celebrate Your PCAs!

Living with a spinal cord injury often involves relying on assistance with personal care. Our caregivers bridge the gap between our care needs and our lifestyles and life ambitions. They are enablers of our independence. This National Caregiver Month, we celebrate those who care for us.

What does a caregiver do? 

A Personal Care Aide (PCA) or Personal Care Assistant provides non-medical support, assisting with daily living activities like bathing, dressing, and meal preparation, often in clients’ homes.

For people with spinal cord injuries this looks like hands-on assistance with fundamental personal tasks, which vary based on the injury level.

Who works as caregivers?

In the U.S. 1.4 million individuals work as personal care attendants. Women make up a large majority of this workforce, accounting for 80% to 84% of all personal care aides. Minorities are highly represented in the U.S. personal care attendant workforce, comprising nearly 40% of personal care aides.

Many caregivers provide care for family members with both physical and intellectual disabilities. There are an estimated 11.2 million family caregivers in the US who receive some form of compensation, typically through government-funded programs like Medicaid or the VA. The vast majority of family caregivers, about 47.8 million people provide care that is unpaid.

Caring for your caregiver

Caregiving can be hard work. Caregivers must be dependable and reliable because their jobs involve ensuring that their clients or family members have their daily needs met. Sometimes the position involves pressure that causes what is known as burnout. 

Avoiding caregiver burnout is important. It manifests as fatigue and neglect of their own needs. As individuals with disabilities like spinal cord injuries we can be mindful to take care of our caregivers by looking for the signs and making efforts to give our personal care attendants adequate breaks.

We can celebrate our caregivers and the crucial work that they do, this month and every month, with gratitude and appreciation. Take time to ask them how they are doing. Let them know how much you value their support and the independence it allows you to have. Reach out to our firm to learn more.