The way we care for older adults in the US is, self-evidently, not working. In just the past three months, at least 44,000 residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have died from COVID-19. Hundreds of thousands have been sickened. And millions have been isolated from family and friends for months. Yet, this crisis did not [...]
The coronavirus pandemic and the fast-moving federal response to it is upending long-standing rules and practices for caring for older adults. Some changes will be incredibly disruptive, while others may increase support for vulnerable seniors. Here are some of the ways they are affecting how we care for our parents. No more nursing home visits. Just a week ago, the [...]
When we think about family caregivers, we usually picture spouses or 50-something adult children. But, it turns out, about one-third of Americans have helped care for an older loved one by age 40. In some respects, those millennials resemble older caregivers: They are as likely to underestimate the need for long-term supports and services in old age and they misunderstand [...]
The Trump Administration’s increasingly tough crackdown on immigrants threatens to worsen an already severe shortage of aides who care for frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. The shortage of direct care workers will affect those living at home as well as those receiving residential care. The problem already is squeezing nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as well [...]
What are family caregivers worth? As the credit card commercial says, they are priceless. But they also have a financial value. And calculating that value is important as we consider ways to help them. For example, before Congress creates new government supports for family members who help aging parents or other relatives with disabilities, it will want to know if [...]
Like millions of others, Kathy Kenyon is trying as best she can to care for her parents—both of whom have some dementia. The health care system won't let her. In a presentation to the prestigious Institute of Medicine a couple of weeks ago, Kathy described in painful detail what is it like to try to navigate the disorganized maze we call health care. Kathy [...]
The Obama Administration announced this week that home health aides and other direct care workers are entitled to protections under federal labor laws, including the right to both the minimum wage and overtime pay. The new rules, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) won’t take effect until 2015. But they should be a significant benefit to many direct care [...]
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the dramatic decline in family caregivers who will be available to assist Baby Boomers in their old age. Today, according to estimates by AARP, there are about 7 people aged 45-64 to care for each person who is 80 or older. By 2030 there will be only 4 and by 2050 there [...]
Seniors continue to be readmitted to the hospital too frequently. But when it comes to explaining why, patients and providers are on Mars and Venus. The patients blame doctors and nurses. Doctors and nurses blame patients. And everybody blames the hospitals. The problem, everyone seems to agree, is that hospital discharges are a mess. Patients don’t understand what they need [...]
Being a family caregiver is a lot harder than it used to be. Providing personal assistance, such as help eating or bathing, is tough enough. But now, many family caregivers are acting more like nurses. They have to manage medications, change dressings on wounds, and even monitor and operate medical equipment, from home dialysis to mechanical ventilators. According to a new survey by the AARP Public Policy Institute [...]