Proclamation 5282

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Home care services, which are rapidly gaining acceptance throughout the Nation, allow the physically and mentally impaired who do not require skilled nursing home care to remain in their own homes, or to stay with their families, instead of being moved to an institution. Home care provides individualized support services to permit maximum independence for those in need of assistance.

Progress in medical science and the generally rising level of health care from birth are contributing to a greater number of people living longer. A corollary to this advance is an increase in chronic illnesses of the aged that require care over an extended period of time. Home care provides the assistance needed to help older Americans to maintain independence despite such illness. All Americans should commend those individuals who provide personal and health care in the home. Their skill and caring make the lives of those they serve fuller and more meaningful.

To give special recognition to the importance of home care services, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 237, has designated the week of November 25, 1984, through December 1, 1984, as "National Home Care Week," and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of that week.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of November 25 through December 1, 1984, as National Home Care Week, and I call upon all Government agencies, interested organizations, community groups, and the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and ninth.

RONALD REAGAN

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:26 p.m., November 26, 1984]