WVPA Sharing: Delegate Summers receives AARP National ‘Capitol Caregivers’ Award

Release from AARP WV:

CHARLESTON, W.Va.  – To recognize her work to support family caregivers in West Virginia, AARP has named West Virginia House Health Committee Vice Chair Delegate Amy Summers of Taylor County as a recipient of AARP’s national “Capitol Caregivers” award.

The 2016 class of “Capitol Caregivers” honorees is a bipartisan group of elected officials from 23 states – 57 state legislators – who have advanced policies to help family caregivers who are making it possible for older Americans to live independently at at home—where they want to be.

West Virginia House Speaker Tim Armstead joined AARP West Virginia state leaders and volunteers to formally recognized Delegate Summers during a Wednesday morning event at the State Capitol in Charleston.

Delegate Summers is being recognized for her leadership in the 2016 passage of legislation that eliminated West Virginia’s overregulation of skilled, trained advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) professionals, helping to improve access to primary care in the Mountain State.

“AARP West Virginia thanks Delegate Amy Summers for her leadership in the West Virginia Legislature on issues impacting family caregivers, 50+ West Virginians and their families,” says Gaylene Miller, state director of AARP, which serves nearly 300,000 members age 50 and older in the Mountain State. “This legislative champion is a strong advocate for caregivers and their families in the Mountain State, helping to make their lives a bit easier.”

Nearly 300,000 West Virginians provide unpaid care for their older loved ones as family caregivers—valued at about $2.8 billion annually. They help with bathing and dressing, meal preparation, managing finances, transportation, grocery shopping and more. Today, family caregivers also perform medical tasks like wound care, injections, nebulizers, and complex medication management.

“Family caregiving is one of these rare issues that crosses geographic and political lines, says AARP West Virginia State President Rich Stonestreet. “This isn’t a Democratic issue.  It’s not a Republican issue. It’s a family issue.”

To recognize America’s silent army of family caregivers, AARP has launched the “I Heart Caregivers” initiative, to spotlight the stories of these unsung heroes, and the great labor of love they perform every day. Find more information online at aarp.org/iheartcaregivers.