'The State of Aging': Latinos keep aging relatives out of nursing homes

Matthew Casey is a senior field correspondent for KJZZ. This story is published as part of a collaboration between KJZZ and The Arizona Republic.

Matthew Casey
KJZZ
Arminda Perez-Castillo (right) prepares dinner with her daughter Luz Romero.

Arizona has long been a destination for older adults, with its pristine retirement communities and warm climate. But aging in America isn't what it used to be. This is part of "The State of Aging in the Valley," a series that explores the reality of an aging society.

Her hands may shake, but Arminda Perez-Castillo is still very good with a kitchen knife. The 79-year-old swiftly cut beef into small cubes for a dinner of "guisado," or stew.

“Did you add salt?” Perez asked her youngest daughter in Spanish.

“Yes, mom,” answered Luz Romero. “And garlic.”

In 2000, Perez was hit by a car. Romero has been her caregiver ever since. Cooking is just one of many things they do together.

“My mom has symptoms of dementia,” Romero said. “And she has Parkinson’s. And she has osteoporosis.”

Romero has given up a lot for her mother. She quit college and later had to stop working.

These sacrifices are so her mom will never live in a nursing home.

“With Latinos, it’s not like that,” Romero said. “We are their caregivers. We are their nurse. We are their doctors.”

Federal data supports Romero’s claim. Despite having a longer life expectancy than Whites and African-Americans, Latinos made up just 5 percent of the national nursing home population in 2014.

The first ever in-depth study of Latino caregivers, published in 2008, found that 84 percent believe they were raised to care for a loved one. The report also said Latinos are more likely to feel shame for not look after an elderly parent or relative.

Read more from KJZZ's "The State of Aging in the Valley” series.