Family Caregivers Have a Voice on the VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network

VoiceAmerica's influential Family Caregivers Unite! talkshow links with community engagement specialist, Recreational Respite

Phoenix, AZ (PR-Inside) January 18, 2012 -- Because of the growing importance of family caregiving in North America, Family Caregivers Unite! is teaming with community engagement specialist, Amy MacFarlane of Recreational Respite, to strengthen links with the family caregiver communities.

Family Caregivers Unite! host, Dr Gordon Atherley, says that family caregivers are giving more and more to healthcare systems, but they are not yet receiving all the support they need and merit. "Which is why they need ways to communicate among themselves, to share experiences, and to get the information they need to help their family members", he says.

Amy MacFarlane, Director of Family Caregivers Unite!'s community engagement, says that connecting Family Caregivers Unite! more closely with family caregiver communities, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally is the next major step forward in family caregiving. "Then they'll be helped to engage with each other and to make their voices heard with a new level of empowerment and advocacy for their roles, as caregivers", she adds.

In the US, the National Alliance for Caregiving reported that there are 65.7 million family caregivers. Of them, 34 percent are men. The Canadian Caregiver Coalition estimates that there are over 4 million family caregivers in Canada, though some estimates are higher. In both countries, family caregivers subsidize the healthcare systems though their unpaid efforts, by enabling family members to stay at home, and by providing care that is exhausting physically, psychologically and financially for many family caregivers.

Thanks to North America's aging cohorts, incurable diseases increasingly preoccupy healthcare system planners. For the care of incurable diseases the types of care delivered by healthcare systems are essential. But they are nonetheless insufficient: family caregivers constitute an increasingly necessary contribution to sufficiency of care. Some authorities hold that, without family caregivers, healthcare systems will be increasingly unable to cope with the challenges of the aging population.

Family Caregivers Unite! is.gd/0OQ4Jl an internet-based social media project of international scope, now with over a hundred episodes, saw its audience grow by 600% through 2011.

Family Caregivers Unite! airs live on Tuesdays at 10 AM Pacific / 12 Noon Central / 1 PM Eastern on the VoiceAmerica Variety Channel. To access the show, log on at www.voiceamericavariety.com. All shows will be available in Dr. Gordon Atherley's Content Library on the VoiceAmerica Variety Channel for on-demand and podcast download.

The VoiceAmericaTM Network offers the latest conversations in a talk radio format, providing education, interaction, and advice on key issues live, on demand as well as through pod cast download. If interested in hosting a talk radio show on VoiceAmerica Network, contact Jeff Spenard, President of Internet Radio at 480-294-6417 or at jeff.spenard @ voiceamerica.com.

Contact Senior Executive Producer Brandy Jackson at 480-294-6411 for advertising / sponsorship information or other show details.

About VoiceAmerica/World Talk Radio, LLC:
World Talk Radio, LLC is the world leader in online media broadcasting and the largest producer and distributor of live internet based talk radio and TV, delivering over 1,000 hours of programming weekly on its VoiceAmerica™ Network (www.voiceamerica.com) and WorldTalk Radio Network (www.worldtalkradio.com) as well as live and on-demand video content on VoiceAmerica.TV (www.voiceamerica.tv). Featuring more than 200 hosts broadcasting to eight niche community based channels: its flagship VoiceAmerica™ Variety Channel, VoiceAmerica™ Health & Wellness Channel, VoiceAmerica™ Business Channel, VoiceAmerica Sports, 7th Wave Channel, The Green Living Channel, VoiceAmerica Kids Channel and World Talk Radio Variety Channel. VoiceAmerica™ TV offers targeted and exclusive video programming channels. World Talk Radio, LLC is one of the pioneers in internet broadcasting, producing and syndicating online audio and video, offering an innovative, effective and comprehensive digital broadcast platform. Digital Publishing through its 10 years of broadcast and media experience along with our seasoned staff of Executive Producers, Production and Host Services Group, World Talk Radio, LLC provides an internet radio and video platform for new, emerging and veteran media personalities to expand and monetize their business and brand in an online digital medium.