The panel:
Ellen Eldridge, Senior Health Reporter and Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism, GPB, @EllenEldridge27
Dr. Jennifer Olsen, CEO of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, @JenOlsen_DrPH
Paige Alexander, CEO of The Carter Center @P_AlexanderCEO
The breakdown:
1. Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander updates us on President Carter’s health.
Last month, the family of former first lady Rosalynn Carter announced her dementia diagnosis. This comes after the Carter family announced that former President Jimmy Carter would enter home care earlier this year. Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter rest at their home in Plains, Ga.
Paige Alexander gives us a Plains update.
2. Where Georgia stands on the crisis in mental health care and attention.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about seven potential family caregivers per adult. GPB’s Ellen Eldridge reports that nearly 20 percent of Georgia’s population is over 60, and about 10 percent of the state’s seniors live alone. In addition to the caregiver shortage in Georgia, today’s caregivers may face mental, emotional and financial challenges themselves. The Georgia Legislature passed a mental health overhaul during the 2022 session, but during the 2023 session, more mental health funding fell short.
Dr. Jennifer Olsen talks about proactively helping caregivers in our own communities.
3. How Rosalynn Carter’s legacy lives on in mental health and care spaces.
Ellen Eldridge talks about participating in The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism.
Monday in political rewind: The AJC’s Patricia Murphy joins us as former President Donald Trump says he’s been indicted by the DOJ’s special counsel.
