CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One in every four West Virginia adults is serving as a primary caregiver to an aging loved one.

The figures from West Virginia AARP show the numbers are cultural in West Virginia where the long held tradition is to care for family members as they age and offer them the dignity and grace to stay in their own homes until they die.

Tom Hunter with AARP West Virginia said those individuals may also continue to hold down full time jobs while providing the care either alone or with sibling assistance. Hunter added it’s a strain and a burden on those trying to handle the task.

“The challenges are three fold, they’re financial, they’re physical, and they’re emotional. But the financial one is the big one in West Virginia. You have an individual holding down a full-time job a

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