"Caring for Your Parents" on NET Radio and NET Television March 31-April 2

LINCOLN, Neb. (March 21, 2008)-- From March 31 through April 2, NET Radio and NET Television are combining to present "Caring for Your Parents," a project featuring a locally produced four-part public radio series and national television documentary.

As the population ages, many adults are grappling with an unprecedented social, economic and personal revolution as they transition into the primary caregiver role for their aging parents. With family members now responsible for 80 percent of eldercare in the United States, nearly every generation is feeling the ripple effects of the aging process.

The four-part NET Radio series looks at the challenges faced by families with younger children and older parents, the "sandwich generation." It is scheduled to air at 6:33 and 8:33 a.m. CT Monday, March 31; Tuesday, April 1; and Wednesday, April 2, during "Morning Edition." It will conclude Wednesday, April 2, at 4:40 p.m. CT during "All Things Considered."

NET Radio visits the Bernhager family in Wayne and the Rosentrader family in Mason City near Broken Bow and offers stories about the caregiving strategies these two families use. A third report explores the situation of remote caregivers, those who are caring for parents who live very far away. NET Radio visits Gail Armstrong of Papillion whose parents live in Good Samaritan Village in Hastings. The fourth story will gather a group of seniors in O'Neil to talk about caregiving issues from the older generation's point of view.

An audio link to each day's story will be on NET Radio's Web site (www.netNebraska.org/radio and click on Nebraska News) the day of its broadcast. All that is needed to listen to the report is access to the Internet and a free Windows Media Player program.

The PBS special "Caring for Your Parents" airs Wednesday, April 2, at 8 p.m. CT on NET1 and NET-HD. It repeats on NET2 on Friday, April 4, at 6 p.m. CT and Saturday, April 5, at 7 a.m. and 12 noon CT.

The first 90 minutes of the television program looks at the caregiving process through the experiences of five American families from varying cultural and economic backgrounds. The documentary exposes struggles to keep parents at home, shows the impact of caregiving on marriages and reveals the financial repercussions of eldercare. Through the stories of these families, viewers glimpse the emotional and physical effects of caregiving that often go unnoticed. Heartbreaking stories explore the decision to stop driving, loss of independence and friction between caregivers and medical professionals.

Immediately after the 90-minute documentary, medical correspondent Dr. Art Ulene leads “A Conversation About Caring.” This half-hour panel discussion offers concrete advice and guidance on how to start the conversation -- often the most difficult step in caregiving. The panel of experts includes Newsweek columnist Jane Bryant Quinn; best-selling author of "Passages," Gail Sheehy; AARP Publications editor-in-chief and co-author of "Caring for Your Parents: The Complete AARP Guide," Hugh Delehanty; renowned physician Dr. Cora Christiansen; and leading eldercare expert Dr. Bill Thomas.

A list of local eldercare resources and more information about caregiving will be available at pbs.org/caringforyourparents. Following the April 2 broadcast, the television documentary and follow-up discussion will be available, free of charge, on that Web site.

NET received grant funding to undertake a variety of outreach activities across the state with partners including Nebraska AARP; Nebraska Caregiver Coalition; the Lincoln Area Agency on Aging; CIMRO of Nebraska (the state's Medicare Quality Improvement Organization); and the Nebraska Aging Enrichment Coalition. Caregiver resource fairs and screenings are set for Omaha, Hastings, Lincoln, Scottsbluff, Columbus, Fremont, and York. In addition, a live theatrical presentation on aging issues will be presented in several communities.

NET1, NET2 and NET-HD are part of NET Television. NET Radio and NET Television are services of NET. For more information about NET Television or NET Radio, visit www.netNebraska.org.

RELEASE WRITTEN BY: Deb Miller, (402) 472-9333, ext. 353, or e-mail at debmiller@netNebraska.org

NET Radio: Broadcasts on the following frequencies: Alliance/91.1 FM; Bassett/90.3 FM; Chadron/91.9 FM; Columbus/90.3 FM; Culbertson/92.7 FM; Falls City/91.7 FM; Harrison/89.5 FM; Hastings/Grand Island/89.1 FM; Lexington/88.7 FM; Lincoln/91.1 FM; Max/93.3 FM; Merriman/91.5 FM; Norfolk/89.3 FM; and North Platte/91.7 FM.

NET Television: NET1 is Nebraska's first public television broadcast service and includes PBS and award-winning, locally produced public television programming; NET2 offers live coverage of the Nebraska Unicameral, and other news and public affairs programming; NET3 is a 24-hour channel featuring the most popular how-to, travel and lifestyle series; and NET-HD presents high-definition digital broadcast programming displayed in a wide-screen format.