John Sumser is an expert when it comes to employment and recruiting topic. At our recent annual company meeting, John gave a superb keynote presentation where he touched upon how changing demographics and other societal trends are impacting everything from politics to marketing to recruiting - and the opportunities this is presenting. Fascinating stuff and I highly recommend John for any event you are planning. His presentation can be tailored to any company/industry. It's important stuff.
Anyway, John's presentation got me thinking about elder care.
People say it takes a village to raise a child. This is debatable but when it comes to caring for elders, there is no question about it - it takes a village or at least a team of experienced and caring professionals. Especially when the elder has Alzheimer's. But most of all, it takes a family. Unfortunately, within the last one hundred years of our society, increasing numbers of people have moved away from home. The number of long-distance caregivers in the U.S. who are caring for an older relative is about 7 million. Long-distance caregivers are generally defined as living more than one hour from the older adult needing assistance.
But a recent USA Today article titled For family, There's no Place Like Your Hometown shows this trend is starting to reverse - and the economy is a major reasons why. In fact, geographic mobility is at the lowest levels since the government began keeping statistics in 1948 according to a recent study by Pew Research Center.
"People move for economic opportunity, and they stay put for family ties," says Paul Taylor, project director of Pew's Social & Demographic Trends Report. "But if you add it all up, you find ultimately family trumps money when people make decisions about where to live."
Those who study migration trends say a combination of factors has led to the decrease in mobility, including an aging population (the prime ages for moving are 18-29); a rise in two-career couples, which complicates job moves; a murky employment outlook; fewer moves to traditionally high-growth areas; and the economic slump, whose roots began years before the word "recession" came into play.
My opinion is that this trend of decreased mobility will dramatically increase in the next 10 - 20 years - meaning I believe families will be brought closer together by either (1) children moving back to their parent's hometown or (2) parents moving to their child's hometown. And the primary reason I believe this will happen is economics.
And the impacts this will have on companies providing products and services relating to the aging population is enormous.
According to Met Life, the average cost of a private room at a nursing home in the USA is about $77,000. The average monthly "base" rate for an individual residing in an assisted living community is about $35,628 annually. If you have dementia and require additional support, this number can exceed $100,000 per year. And unless you have a long term insurance policy, this is all private pay. What about in-home care? The average hourly rate for in-home care is about $20. If your needs increase to requiring a full-time live-in you can end up spending $200 per day or over $70,000 per year.
Now, how many families can afford these rates?
Not many.
And even fewer with the recent real estate and stock market downturns.
As a result, children of aging parents requiring some level of care may be forced to live if not together, closer to their parents.
And this will impact how we market senior services.

