Growing caregiver crisis highlighted at Oct.13 screening event

Published on September 24, 2021 • Last modified on September 27, 2021

MPR’s Cathy Wurzer and filmmaker Dr. Jessica Zitter to lead discussion

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — If you’re not a caregiver now, odds are good you will be soon. New research from AARP shows more than one in five adults — a total of 53 million Americans — are now unpaid family caregivers. Pioneer PBS and the Southwest Initiative Foundation along with several other partner organizations are teaming up to bring awareness to the crucial role caregivers play in an upcoming online screening and discussion event to be held Wednesday, October 13 at 1 p.m. Event participants will watch the 25-minute film, Caregiver: A Love Story, which highlights an essential, yet largely unseen workforce — the family caregiver. The screening will be followed by a discussion between MPR News and PBS host and founder of the nonprofit End in Mind, Cathy Wurzer, and physician and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Dr. Jessica Zitter of Do No Harm Media. The event will be free and open to the public through an online platform. Pre-registration is required by calling 1-800-726-3178, by emailing yourtv@pioneer.org or by visiting www.pioneer.org/caregiver.

“Thanks to support from SWIF, Pioneer PBS can convene this event in partnership with several organizations in our viewing area who are providing services and resources to the family caregivers in our communities,” said Shari Lamke, Pioneer PBS president and general manager. “Our goal is to focus public awareness on the ‘invisible patient’ — those who are caring for loved ones with memory loss and chronic or terminal illness — and to inspire our region to do all we can to support them,” Lamke continued. “The most important thing we can do is to help our caregivers know that they are not alone, that there are resources to help them and that they are valued,” Lamke added.

The October 13 screening event will be held in front of a limited live audience at the Pioneer PBS studios. Most participants will be joining the event online and will be sending in questions to Wurzer and Zitter via chat. Co-sponsoring organizations include the Granite Falls Living at Home Block Nurse Program, the Remember Project, the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging and Prairie Five Community Action Council. Staff and volunteers from these organizations will be part of the audience as well as those providing care to family members. “We hope this event can serve to connect people across the region,” said Mark Roisen of the GFLAH Block Nurse Program. “Every community needs to raise awareness and bring communications and networking resources to this issue,'' he added.

Support from Southwest Initiative Foundation comes from its Paul and Alma Schwan Aging Trust Endowment Fund, which maximizes the social and economic contributions of elders throughout southwest Minnesota by keeping them well and engaged in community life. “Our vision is for all people in our region to thrive, at all ages and stages of life,” said Nancy Fasching, SWIF’s Vice President of Community Impact. “We know through research, community information and personal experience how important caregivers are and appreciate Pioneer PBS bringing this program to our communities.”

For more information and to discover ways you can get involved, contact Pioneer PBS Community Engagement Specialist Sami Caswell at scaswell@pioneer.org.