National shortage of home-care workers threatening the option of aging at home (retired, graduate)
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Would you also agree that the Federal Government has no responsibility to take care them?
No. The Federal government provides social security and Medicare for our elderly U.S. citizens who have enough work credits to qualify for it.
I think that those benefits could be handled better for those who are not able to care for themselves. I also think that social security/Medicare should provide a base level of care for all seniors and that they can choose to enhance their own care by using their personal savings if that is what they want to do.
I also think that volunteer groups in the community can provide entertainment, social opportunities and other kinds of service work.
I think that you just have to focus on making things as easy as possible for yourself while you are caring for your boyfriend. The lake house isn't going anywhere, it'll be there when the snow melts. But right now it makes good sense to be in an easier maintenance home closer to doctors, shopping and other conveniences. It'll be good to have his son nearby for a backup. Just having someone around who also loves and cares about your boyfriend will mean something.
I am so sorry that you are going through this.
Thanks, it does suck, but we're trying to make the best of life as it is now. Amazing how literally overnight everything can change.
This isn't Sparta. We don't just set our weak and feeble on a hillside and tell them, "Best of luck." As I pointed out previously, there are no other options. You, or from a parent's or parents' money, (a) pay for a home aide (b) pay to send them to an ASL or nursing home (c) family members care for them or (d) people do nothing and let them die. If there is no money at the end of the rainbow for options a or b, or there is a worker shortage because those workers decided to pursue more lucrative work than being a home aide, then you're left with option c as the ultimate cost equalizer, inconvenient as it may be. To reiterate, it's most definitely an inconvenience. Multi-generational homes don't sound like much fun to me either, but it is the best solution to the worker shortage for those who can't afford otherwise. Speculating: it might even help tame inflation .
That's correct, and I touched on that previously as well. It's insanity for a person who has major health issues to want to, whether out of stubbornness, hubris, or an alleged fear about a loss of dignity, remain in their home, especially if there is no help. It's better for them to move in with, or move closer to, family, if they are on good terms with each other. Obviously, if family ties are strained, this is less likely, or won't be happening at all. You can't control what the brother does, but you will relocate her to Tennessee if needed. However, and although your wife's mother doesn't have major health issues currently, developing some may change her mind quite quickly about her desire to remain in her home. I suspect a major health issue that requires a home aide, or else option d get initiated, would change how the brother reacts, too, but either way, they all have to make a decision on what to do. If the brother is comfortable with option d as I listed above simply because he doesn't want to lift a finger, then what can you do?
Most people do not have elderly family members living with them in the United States. That isn't because people are heartless, it's because the average home is simply not set up to provide assisted living services. Unless you have provided that kind of care, yourself, you really have no clue what it entails. Add dementia or complex medical issues into the mix and an in home care environment can easily become an overwhelming situation fast for both the caregiver and the elderly person needing the care.
Most people do not have elderly family members living with them in the United States. That isn't because people are heartless, it's because the average home is simply not set up to provide assisted living services. Unless you have provided that kind of care, yourself, you really have no clue what it entails. Add dementia or complex medical issues into the mix and an in home care environment can easily become an overwhelming situation fast for both the caregiver and the elderly person needing the care.
I'm speaking to the need for a home aide and not more end-of-life care. And if the home isn't set up for a family member to provide these services, it's not set up for an aide to do either. Trying to stay in your home under these conditions is an unwise decision all together.
I'm speaking to the need for a home aide and not more end-of-life care. And if the home isn't set up for a family member to provide these services, it's not set up for an aide to do either. Trying to stay in your home under these conditions is an unwise decision all together.
Assisted living is not end of life care. The average home is not set up to provide basic assisted living.
70 year old women should not be trying to heft around their 200 pound husbands. That isn't safe for either one of them.
Assisted living is not end of life care. The average home is not set up to provide basic assisted living.
70 year old women should not be trying to heft around their 200 pound husbands. That isn't safe for either one of them.
You do realize that many hospitals, nursing homes and rehab places aren't set up that way either.
Nursing profession is predominantly female in USA, and nurses on a routine basis suffer job related injuries to their backs trying to move heavy (or obese) patients. This goes for nursing assistants/techs/aides who work in healthcare facilities as well.
Assisted living is not end of life care. The average home is not set up to provide basic assisted living.
70 year old women should not be trying to heft around their 200 pound husbands. That isn't safe for either one of them.
I don't think you understand what exactly assisted living means.
"Assisted living is a type of housing designed for people who need various levels of medical and personal care. Living spaces can be individual rooms, apartments, or shared quarters. The facilities generally provide a home-like setting and are physically designed to promote the resident's independence. Services are offered to assist residents with daily living."
Long before "assisted living" facilities were thought of elderly lived at home (theirs or maybe family member or friend), and or someone came in to "do" for them.
You seem to believe that "assisted living" requires something like skilled nursing care, which it most certainly does not. In fact assisted living facilities by nearly all local state laws are not allowed to provide skilled nursing care. If a resident of former needs later they are transferred or otherwise sent to someplace that provides such care.
Care or nursing homes have existed since early 1900's if not before. It was just thought of as shameful to send one's parent or grandparent to such a place rather than care for them at home.
Above being said since Victorian times if not sooner there were all sorts of places that would be considered care homes today; homes for "indigent ladies or gentlemen of good repute", homes for "sailors or other former military", and so it goes.
As with medical care those who could afford it tended to hire someone one to come in and "do" for elderly or disabled. This or again a daughter, DIL or some family member took on the task.
Hospitals, nursing and care homes exist largely because it is more efficient to provide skilled nursing and medical care in central locations. Again people who could afford it then and now hired private duty nurses.
You do realize that many hospitals, nursing homes and rehab places aren't set up that way either.
Nursing profession is predominantly female in USA, and nurses on a routine basis suffer job related injuries to their backs trying to move heavy (or obese) patients. This goes for nursing assistants/techs/aides who work in healthcare facilities as well.
I would counter that a staffed facility is able to send 2 or 3 aids to help get a patient situated safely. Assisted Living/Rehab/Nursing homes also have bathrooms that are wheelchair friendly - wide doors, hand rails, zero entry showers, rails on the side of the toilet for easier transfer, etc. Whereas in a regular home, a caregiver may be trying to heft a person into a regular tub. Even trying to get a wheelchair bound person over the threshold into a regular shower is not that easy - and that's assuming that the wheelchair can fit through the shower door so that they can transfer to a shower seat. Sometimes a sponge bath is the only feasible way for them to bathe.
In a facility, the food is delivered to the facility and it is cooked by kitchen staff. It is then served to the residents by staff, either in the residents' rooms or in a large dining room. In a home environment, the caregiver has to leave the house to grocery shop and possibly has to figure out a way to bring their patient with them (some can not be safely left alone). That may require getting a wheelchair in/out of the house via a wheelchair ramp, the person transferred safely into the car, the wheelchair collapsed and hefted into the trunk, then once they arrive at the store, the wheelchair is hefted back out of the trunk, the person is transferred to the wheelchair and then pushed into the store. Then there is the logistics of where you put the groceries as you shop - you are pushing a wheelchair so pushing a cart, too, is difficult.....once you're done there's the transfer back into the car, the hefting of the wheelchair into the trunk and then, of course, more hefting and transferring to get back inside the house. Oh, and then there is the meal prep...
Long term care facilities are absolutely set up for this kind of care. Regular homes are not.
I don't think you understand what exactly assisted living means.
"Assisted living is a type of housing designed for people who need various levels of medical and personal care. Living spaces can be individual rooms, apartments, or shared quarters. The facilities generally provide a home-like setting and are physically designed to promote the resident's independence. Services are offered to assist residents with daily living."
Long before "assisted living" facilities were thought of elderly lived at home (theirs or maybe family member or friend), and or someone came in to "do" for them.
You seem to believe that "assisted living" requires something like skilled nursing care, which it most certainly does not. In fact assisted living facilities by nearly all local state laws are not allowed to provide skilled nursing care. If a resident of former needs later they are transferred or otherwise sent to someplace that provides such care.
Care or nursing homes have existed since early 1900's if not before. It was just thought of as shameful to send one's parent or grandparent to such a place rather than care for them at home.
Above being said since Victorian times if not sooner there were all sorts of places that would be considered care homes today; homes for "indigent ladies or gentlemen of good repute", homes for "sailors or other former military", and so it goes.
As with medical care those who could afford it tended to hire someone one to come in and "do" for elderly or disabled. This or again a daughter, DIL or some family member took on the task.
Hospitals, nursing and care homes exist largely because it is more efficient to provide skilled nursing and medical care in central locations. Again people who could afford it then and now hired private duty nurses.
I know what assisted living is. Generally people go into assisted living when they require assistance with one or more activities of daily living - medication management, assistance with toileting/bathing/dressing. They are often fall risks and have limited mobility using walkers and wheelchairs to get around. They no longer cook or shop and need help with meal preparation. They need transportation to their medical appointments.
People are living longer than they did back in the olden days. There are lots of elderly caregivers doing all of the above with little to no help.
I'm clear on the difference, but that wouldn't solve the issue of not being able to find a worker to do the work that the 70-year-old would have to take on. If neither of these are a possibility, refer to post #210 on what your options are.
Quote:
Originally Posted by springfieldva
The average home is not set up to provide basic assisted living.
Homes can be renovated or remapped for "basic" assisted living.
Quote:
Assisted Living/Rehab/Nursing homes also have bathrooms that are wheelchair friendly - wide doors, hand rails, zero entry showers, rails on the side of the toilet for easier transfer, etc. Whereas in a regular home, a caregiver may be trying to heft a person into a regular tub.
You can remodel the bathroom to put in a safety tub or walk-in-tub. If there is money for a home aide or an ASL, there would be money to do this if independent living is still desired. Wheel-chair ramps can be made to fit the home as well, and so on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by springfieldva
70 year old women should not be trying to heft around their 200 pound husbands. That isn't safe for either one of them.
Steal this idea: create a gig app that uses non-medical, on-call people movers. The app company provides all the malpractice insurance just to cover all bases, but this is strictly for moving the elderly when needed. Since these calls would be for non-emergency yet needed moving, like other types of delivery apps, these gig workers can decide to take an order that comes up in the pooling orderflow, or not take an order if they want. Hospitals, medical facilities and individual homes all would have access to "brawn." There are gyms everywhere, and you can market this there, as well as generally, giving both fit men or women who aren't otherwise in the medical profession an extra avenue to make some money. This cost could be prohibitive if a person utilizes this constantly, or needs it daily, but it would be there.
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