The Business of Aging

Increasing Numbers of "Single Households" Impacting Senior Care

This is a very interesting article on the how the aging baby boomer's will impact the health care system as it relates to long-term care. The article and most of the statistics and financial information are for the San Francisco area but I believe it is relevant to any community.

One trend that continues to interest me is the increasing numbers of "single households" and how this will impact senior care. On a national level, there will be more than twice as many single households as the previous generation, mainly due to higher divorce rates, according to a McKinsey Global Institute analysis in 2007.

This means that many seniors will have to turn to community resources or other living arrangements as they age and are unable to care for themselves. True, they can rely on their children but that's assuming the children are local and many are not.

Either way, this demographic trend will no doubt have a major impact on the senior care marketplace - and possibly how/where we as caregivers live.

Check out article here.

 

Elder Care. A high-speed train Racing Toward a Steel-Reinforced Concrete Fortress?

David J Levy JD CCE  from the American Association for Caregiver Education and a true expert on caregiving issues,   sent me a copy of the BusinessWeek article, Our Health-Care System Needs a Bypass.

David says that if you read nothing more read her description of Eldercare:

“If health care is a train headed for a brick wall, then elder care is a high-speed train stuffed with our parents and grandparents racing toward a steel-reinforced concrete fortress.”

In his email to me, David writes that the author has framed the issue for an out of the box solution. Essentially, aging in place with a Social HMO and great reliance on friends, neighbors and the family.

But David asks a question: Who trains and supports these folks to do this? Who explains the reciprocal independence, dignity and quality of life mantra that family caregiver and their loved one deserve? David says all this fails before it starts without a methodology to teach. It is the parable of giving them a "fish" or teaching them how to fish. Like everything else in the system we don’t have enough fish for starters and enough fishermen to teach fishing anyhow. 

Something to think about.  

Thanks David.

Will The Changing Economy Bring Families Closer Together? What it Could Mean for Elder Care.

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.

Caregivers Cope with Physical, Emotional Demands

Our friend David J Levy from the American Association for Caregiver Education emailed me about a interesting article in the Sun-Sentinel titled Caregivers cope with physical, emotional demands.

It discusses how caregiving causes "presenteeism" in the workplace. Presenteeism is the opposite of absenteeism. In contrast to absenteeism, when employees are absent from work, presenteeism is the problem faced when employees come to work in spite of stress and/or illness. Presenteeism can have have significant repercussions on business performance.

With the vast number of working caregivers, presenteeism is undoubtedly on the rise and the article talks about this trend and what employers can do to help employees. 

A good read.

Intel Gets into the Healthcare Business with New Caregiving Site

Intel Corp. has launched the ConnectingForCare.com web site as an "online community" for the estimated 50 million or more family members and other caregivers in the United States.

The site is designed to help family caregivers, nurses, social workers and others both share information and give each other emotional support, "filling a void in today's healthcare system," said officials at Santa Clara-based Intel. Intel developed the site in conjunction with the National Family Caregivers Association.

Intel's announcement came as a number of Silicon Valley and high-tech companies are diving into the health-care space, including Google, Microsof, Revolution Health and others. But Intel says it's been working on applying technology to the needs of caregivers, along with aging and chronically ill individuals, since 1999.

I reviewed the site and granted it is new but as a caregiver myselfI I was not that impressed. It's basically a few articles (content) and some discussion boards. However, if you find value in networking with other caregivers who may be in a similar situation as yourself then you might like the site.  But caring for aging loved ones is "local" and unless the person you are networking with lives in the same town as the person you are caring for (and can recommend resources like Doctors, home health aides, companion services, handymen services, etc.) they may not add value to your caregiivng needs. But kudos to Intel for building this site as it will no doubt benefit some caregivers.

If you are caring for aging loved ones, you may find ShirleyBoard.com of interest. ShirleyBoard is an online community for people caring for aging loved ones but instead of the focus being on networking and content, it allows you to centrally store your caregiving information, keep a record of your caregiving journey (daily logs, notes, etc.), notify freinds and family when you make new updates, etc.  I use it every day and it works great.

Microsoft's New Medical Records Web Site - Why it will Likely Fail

Microsoft Corp launched on Thursday a Web site that lets people store medical information online, moving into a consumer health care business targeted by Google Inc and other technology players.

When I visited the site, I found some features quite useful. While not a caregiving journal, it does offer a lot of interesting features like the ability to store medical information (for free) in an encrypted database and it allows me to decide who sees the information.

However, without agreed upon industry standards on what information can be shared, how to store it and who can see it, this is likely to not go very far.  Not to mention HIPPA an the reluctancy of many providers to put anything online. 

But besides that..........Microsoft in the healthcare business?  Please.  Healthcare is about people and the first thing I noticed about Microsoft's new HealthVault site is there is NO PHONE NUMBER to contact anyone if you have questions. Before I put any of my records online, I'd like to speak with someone or at least know that if I have an issue or concern, there is someone I can call.

Typical Microsoft and a big reason (poor customer service)  why they continue to lose customers across their entire product line. 

Boomers expect to work longer, can't afford to quit

A USA Today article Boomers expect to work longer, can't afford to quit reports that Boomers have  fewer children and are less likely to be married, leaving them fewer options if they need help in their old age. 

There are more than 37 million Americans 65 and older, a number that is expected to nearly double by 2030, according to the Census Bureau.

While the article focused on why Boomers will need to work longer, it did not really discuss the related caregiving issues.  For example, because Boomers tend to have only one child (and my guess is most of these children will live more than 50 miles from their parents) they will need home care services as they age - yet, will they have the financial means to afford such services?  And, many of these Boomers currently in their sixties still have living parents who need care - yet, if the Boomers themselves still need to work, they are less able to care for their parents. 

Be Kind and Patient to Older Americans. It's Good Business and Good Period.

While reading the Tangled Neuron blog  I noticed one of the recommended books was  titled Just Love Me: My Life Turned Upside-Down by Alzheimers.

The book caught my attention because most books on Alzheimers tend to be written by caregivers or medical professionals.  Anyway, I found one of the book reviews on Amazon to be particularly moving:

This book has been such an eye-opener that I gave it to friends. As a caregiver to my mother with late stage Alzheimer, it was such a revelation for me to understand what she was going through. When I see the fear and frustration on my mother's face when she knows she should remember something or when she is pretty sure that what she just said doesn't make sense, I remember the title of Jeanne's to "just love" her. All the stories that the author tells of forgetting what she meant to add to the conversation or blanking on the alphabetical order are all things that I watched my mother go through. I would get so frustrated with my mother when she erratically thinks we were going some place else or ask about someone who is dead. Now thanks to "Just Love Me" My Life Turned Upside-down By Alzheimer's,  I know to just give my mother a smile or a hug. I know she can still appreciate the beauty of a sunset even though she sometimes forgets my name. And I know that she never asked to have Alzheimer's and that it is much more painful for her than it is for me.

Well said.

Anyone caring for someone with Alzheimers understands the importance of patience - and kindness.   And as the U.S. population ages,  we all need to be more understanding of older Americans.  Recently, I was out for lunch with my elderly mother who was having difficulty ordering food from the menu. The waitress who was obviously in a hurry became visibly frustrated which hurt my mom's feelings and upset her. That same day, I was filling a prescription for my mom at the local pharmacy when the cashier yelled at an elderly man saying "don't yell at me" when the man had clearly not yelled - he was trying to explain why he thought the prescription was incorrectly filled.  The cashier seemed more stressed than the elderly gentlemen.

These pharmacies (all businesses) need to train their employees on the importance of patience and understanding toward seniors. With the massive increase in our senior population this is good business and just good period.  It's the right thing to do. These seniors helped build the society we now enjoy and a little respect is due.  Service is bad enough at most businesses today but cut the seniors a break - you'll want the same treatment when your that age.

Great eNewsletter for Elder Care News

I found this great newsletter titled Elder Care News.  I subscribe to a lot of newsletters relating to elder care and this is one of the best for general news on a wide variety of elder care topics.

Welcome

Welcome to the ShirleyBOARD blog.  In this blog, I will talk about my personal journey of caring for my mother, Shirley, who has Alzheimer's.  In this blog, I hope to provide some very valuable lessons and  information for other caregivers - from how to choose caregiving resources, communicating with family members, importance of various legal documents, the benefits of Geriatric Care Managers, the latest medications for Alzheimer's and other information from someone who has been there and continues to face new challenges each day.   

While caring for my mom, I was inspired to create a web site that would benefit other people caring for aging loved ones. The site is called ShirleyBoard.  If you are caring for an older person (or involved in the care of an older person), ShirleyBOARD is for you - and it's FREE.  The ShirleyBoard is an online community for people caring for aging loved ones.  Benefits of joining the ShirleyBOARD:

• Centrally Store Your Important Caregiving Information
• Give Access to Friends, Family and Healthcare Professionals - And Decide What they Can View
• Keep a Record of Your Caregiving Journey - for Years to Come.
• Network With Other Caregivers.

Check it out.

ShirleyBoard can't do it all, but it can help you stay organized, communicate / share information, and network with other caregivers. You can also create a caregiving journal that you will treasure for years to come. Not a week goes by when I don't refer to my journal and read about the wonderful, and challenging, times I have caring for my wonderful mother.  And if you are up for it, ShirleyBoard’s community feature allows you to Be a Peer, and Find a Peer.

The name ShirleyBOARD comes from my mom's name, "Shirley", and the concept of a community bulletin "board", where people post and share information. It's a really cool site.

I look forward to blogging and turning my readers onto other valubale resources, blogs, etc.

Stay tuned!