The US is desperately short of nurses, personal care aides, and other direct care workers who help frail older adults and younger people with disabilities manage their days. Instead of dealing with the problem, policymakers have, predictably, devolved into their usual partisan blame-mongering. Watch, if you can, this recent hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the worker [...]
The other day, someone asked me whether, given the coronavirus outbreak, her 93-year-old aunt should go a skilled nursing facility for rehab following a week-long hospital stay. Her question is an important one: What should you do if you or a family member are living in a nursing home or assisted living facility (ALF), or may need to go to [...]
What if real estate developers worked with on-site nurses and social workers to help frail older adults and younger people with disabilities stay in their apartments? Could they deliver--in a cost-effective way--social supports and care coordination that would improve the well-being of residents, reduce their health care costs, and benefit property managers? The answer is: They can, especially for older [...]
Here’s a word association game: I say, “long-term care” and you will probably respond, “nursing home.” But the truth is that there are nearly twice as many assisted living (ALF) and other residential care facilities (more than 30,000 in 2014) in the US than nursing homes (about 15,000). And there are more than 800,000 people living in residential care facilities, [...]
Congress and President Trump took dead aim at seniors and younger people with disabilities this week. First, Congress voted to cut or freeze funding for key federal senior service programs. Then the House passed its bill to replace the Affordable Care Act—a measure that would make health insurance unaffordable for many people aged 50-64, allow insurance companies to sell policies [...]
Most of us, most of the time, want to age at home. But the reality is not everyone can, or should. Sometimes staying in your own home as you become increasingly frail is a poor choice. It can be lonely and even dangerous. It can burn out family caregivers. And it even can be more costly than other options, especially [...]
You’ve probably heard somebody say, “assisted living is the new nursing home.” A new study suggests that, in important ways, it is true. People living in residential care communities, including assisted living, care homes, or adult group homes, look a lot like those who once lived in nursing homes. They suffer from serious chronic conditions, need assistance with daily activities [...]
Would you rather live in a Life Plan Community or a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)? The market research folks have the answer: Most older adults, especially those under 65, would much rather live in a Life Plan Community than a CCRC. Even though they are exactly the same thing. A group of facility owners has concluded they need a [...]
Older adults may be better off living in age-segregated communities than in neighborhoods or buildings filled with young adults or families with kids. They may have better support, access to more services, and even a better sex life. That, at least, is the conclusion of University of Florida professor Stephen Golant, an environmental gerontologist and expert in the housing of [...]
Assisted living facilities (ALFs) may be going the way of cable TV. Still around, but with a limited future. Their residents are changing. Even as their needs become more complicated, they are demanding less institutional-like care. At the same time, assisted living will have to find its place in a world where medical and social care are becoming better coordinated [...]