So many "Elder Orphans" in our society (drugs, legal, family)
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Except that there is an entire industry built up to assist elders in-place. Visiting nurses, visiting physical therapists, visiting occupational therapists, visiting non-medical helpers, visiting housekeepers, visiting Geek Squad, visiting barbers, visiting chiropractors, visiting rent-a-friends, Nextdoor... you get the idea.
Technology is making huge strides -- everything from sensors to detect if you left the oven or stove on by accident to Uber/Lyft that will take you pretty much anywhere you want to go, to telemedicine to intelligent thermostats to motion detectors that can see if you've gotten out of bed today to intelligent refrigerators that know what food you need ordered to grocery delivery services to make sure you don't run out.
As we age, the opportunity is ripe for entrepreneurs to provide services to the elderly to assist the elderly to age in place. The opportunity is huge and growing.
I'd say the reminder that you are running out of milk, and a question, order? What type? How much? would have use. You say yes and it orders. You have had chicken three times in a row and do not want it, if it says order chicken you can say no, order fish. For staples this isn't much different than the automatic settings you can put on this type of product on amazon. It doesn't need to be elder based.
But I'd draw the line at motion detectors and the like unless someone is already very compromised. For someone not it sounds way too big brotherish. Uber and Lyft are also not an option for the poor/income challenged. Or if you live in a small town or out of a city.
And for some it will remain a no go. My grandmother refused help until she had her stroke. She kept her house just as she liked, with all her beautiful things scattered around on little tables. It wasn't ergonomicly designed, but she loved it. She took care of her house, cooked her own food, went to the store by herself, and took pride in doing Thanksgiving. If you don't want to have these 'invisible' guardians, you should be able to say no.
And sometimes when people wish to be 'helpful' and 'provide' it ends badly because nobody compares what the recipent likes and tolerates and what the provider assumes they do. What one person finds comfortable may be far from the 'helper's' idea. A messes up b's stuff. B no longer feels welcome if B's choices are not acceptable. Fail for everyone. Making the world better and safer for someone has to remember that that someone must have a choice and veto power over what is 'best' or you are not 'helping'.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightengale212
Sounds like you live in a wonderful community "hint" I would very much enjoy one of the posters who live in a 55+ community to start a dedicated thread sharing about which community they live in, COL, pros, cons, and anything else you think to share with others who are considering making a move to your community. I know many of you have already shared much info about your community, but having that info in one thread would be great.
That's a very good point. It just goes to show that people should think about making their own plans for old age or just being alone and not depend solely on anyone else be it kids or spouses or other family members.
I like the idea of a few seniors getting together a la Golden Girls. Eventually some enterprising entrepreneurs will see money to be made in this and there will be more of these homes specifically built for senior sharing. But as with the independent living complexes that exist today, even shared, they might not be affordable for any but the more well-to-do.
I re-posted to add this link that was posted on the Elder Orphans FB page. While it looks great, many people could not afford the $1200 a month rent. These are the residences I foresee springing up in the future.
I also GOOGLED "Senior housing sharing" and found quite a few of these types of living arrangements. Some looked as if they would be affordable to those of modest means like the situation in the real "Golden Girls" where only the home owner, Blanch, really had any money. But originally her decision to share wasn't because of loneliness, it was so she could share her expenses of keeping up the house.
I can't imagine paying $1200 a month for a bedroom, bath, and shared kitchen. But I'm sure it's cheaper than assisted living!
Except that there is an entire industry built up to assist elders in-place. Visiting nurses, visiting physical therapists, visiting occupational therapists, visiting non-medical helpers, visiting housekeepers, visiting Geek Squad, visiting barbers, visiting chiropractors, visiting rent-a-friends, Nextdoor... you get the idea.
Technology is making huge strides -- everything from sensors to detect if you left the oven or stove on by accident to Uber/Lyft that will take you pretty much anywhere you want to go, to telemedicine to intelligent thermostats to motion detectors that can see if you've gotten out of bed today to intelligent refrigerators that know what food you need ordered to grocery delivery services to make sure you don't run out.
As we age, the opportunity is ripe for entrepreneurs to provide services to the elderly to assist the elderly to age in place. The opportunity is huge and growing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by no kudzu
That is all very true but these services cost Big Bucks and are only available in more highly populated areas. Most people who need care need it full time and family needs reassurance somebody will be there all the time...that is until it is their turn to provide that 24 hour care and disruption to their lives and families.
no kudzu, is partially right, those services actual cost BIG BUCKS!!!!!in most places. And, in many other places, especially smaller towns and rural areas it does not matter how much they cost as those services aren't available.
You'll also find that, while they look good on paper, these "services" are woefully inadequate... Sort of like putting someone in a nursing home and assuming they're going to have 24/7 "nursing" care there when it's actually just a very dangerous warehouse.
Except that there is an entire industry built up to assist elders in-place. Visiting nurses, visiting physical therapists, visiting occupational therapists, visiting non-medical helpers, visiting housekeepers, visiting Geek Squad, visiting barbers, visiting chiropractors, visiting rent-a-friends, Nextdoor... you get the idea.
Technology is making huge strides -- everything from sensors to detect if you left the oven or stove on by accident to Uber/Lyft that will take you pretty much anywhere you want to go, to telemedicine to intelligent thermostats to motion detectors that can see if you've gotten out of bed today to intelligent refrigerators that know what food you need ordered to grocery delivery services to make sure you don't run out.
As we age, the opportunity is ripe for entrepreneurs to provide services to the elderly to assist the elderly to age in place. The opportunity is huge and growing.
That industry you speak of is only available for those seniors (or their family) that are wealthy enough to pay. Otherwise you take what you can get and if on Medicare/Medicaid it might be down to a home health aid (of dubious quality) once or twice a week for a few hours.
One wonderful older gentleman (John Sorensen) despite having home help and a local relative who looked in on him fell in his apartment. He laid there on the floor for two days until a neighbor heard his calls (IIRC) and summoned 911. He died not long afterwards in hospital or a nursing home.
Some caregivers are not appreciated even by the people they are caring for. I've heard of many adult children who spent years of their life caring for an elderly parent, to find out later that the parent had written them out of their will. So they lose out big time. Also, it's worth mentioning that taking time out of the workforce to be a caregiver, leaves one with a big gap on their resume and can make it difficult to resume their career later on. Caregiving is a risky thing.
Exactly that happened to my BIL. His mother and one of his sisters kept calling him to help take care of his dad when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's because they didn't want strangers in the house taking care of him. He worked for an accounting firm that had lost major clients, so he was the first one axed with the reason given that he had taken off too much time.
He collected unemployment and took care of his father every day for about the next two years till his father died. In the interim, his mother also died suddenly. His unemployment had run out and he told the sister that he wanted to move quickly on selling the house because he was broke. My sister was supporting them both and things were tight.
His sister informed him that everything had been left to her since she'd never married or had children as my BIL and his other sister had. (The unmarried sister was an RN who owned her own home. She wasn't destitute.) My BIL didn't believe her, but they found the will, and yup, everything went to the one sister. He asked her to at least give hi money so he could buy a used vehicle as his was on its last legs. She lent him the money and made him sign a note for it.
And then...before the estate was settled, the single sister died at the age of 63 of a stroke. The RN was diabetic with high blood pressure and morbidly obese to boot and was not taking her meds. My BIL and his other sister inherited the parents' AND the sister's estates.
He has not been to visit either his parents' or his sister's graves since he buried them.
I was hoping this thread would be more about living life as an elder (or just adult) orphan -- that is, living a full and satisfying life without the usual family supports -- BEFORE the bedridden-in-diapers stage...
There are people out there who do "gopher" services like get groceries, etc., for a fee. I know a multimilionaire who does this as it's more profitable for him to just pay someone to do errands than take time away from his business to do so.
Exactly that happened to my BIL. His mother and one of his sisters kept calling him to help take care of his dad when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's because they didn't want strangers in the house taking care of him. He worked for an accounting firm that had lost major clients, so he was the first one axed with the reason given that he had taken off too much time.
He collected unemployment and took care of his father every day for about the next two years till his father died. In the interim, his mother also died suddenly. His unemployment had run out and he told the sister that he wanted to move quickly on selling the house because he was broke. My sister was supporting them both and things were tight.
His sister informed him that everything had been left to her since she'd never married or had children as my BIL and his other sister had. (The unmarried sister was an RN who owned her own home. She wasn't destitute.) My BIL didn't believe her, but they found the will, and yup, everything went to the one sister. He asked her to at least give hi money so he could buy a used vehicle as his was on its last legs. She lent him the money and made him sign a note for it.
And then...before the estate was settled, the single sister died at the age of 63 of a stroke. The RN was diabetic with high blood pressure and morbidly obese to boot and was not taking her meds. My BIL and his other sister inherited the parents' AND the sister's estates.
He has not been to visit either his parents' or his sister's graves since he buried them.
Karma is a ......
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"hint" I would very much enjoy one of the posters who live in a 55+ community to start a dedicated thread sharing about which community they live in, COL, pros, cons, and anything else you think to share with others who are considering making a move to your community. I know many of you have already shared much info about your community, but having that info in one thread would be great.
