As I’ve written about on a few other occasions, we can learn a lot about senior care and how to improve upon it by looking at how other countries are handling the issue. Today, I wanted to take a look at some of the proposed changes that Canada is talking about and how it might impact the quality of care that the country is providing.
As you probably have heard, there has been somewhat of a care crisis in the United States. There are a growing number of seniors in our country, and as the Baby Boomer generation ages, the need for more access to care is going to continue to grow. There’s a chance that the crisis might get worse before it gets better. And unfortunately, that means that there’s the potential for seniors to lose out on the high quality care that they deserve.
The U.S. isn’t the only country experiencing this. It’s happening in Canada. The proposed solution there is to increase space for care by adding more buildings and beds for care to be delivered in. Expanding nursing homes and assisted living facilities will certainly help. There’s debate on whether these should be for-profit institutions or state run. However, regardless of who is funding these facilities, the proposed solutions from all major political parties are pretty similar.
Some have noted that the measures that Canada is taking to help fight the care crisis aren’t quite enough. Creating more space for care to take place in is certainly important, but getting more people working in the care industry is a high priority, too. Creating space is only half of the fight. Without professionals to work, facilities are not as effective as they should be.
One of the best ways to help prevent your family from being impacted by a care shortage in your area is to start planning early. There are a lot of options out there, but you are far more likely to find the option that works best for your family if you start the planning process as soon as possible. Even if an older loved one doesn’t quite need care yet, planning ahead can help you to ensure that you know what’s out there and start getting an idea of what they want, what will help address their needs the best, and what you as a family need to do to ensure that it is possible to achieve those goals.
Things change over time, but planning ahead is still helpful. Even if you need to change your original plans because of illness, injury, or something else, planning ahead helps you to know what your backup options should be.
Planning can be really hard. That’s why it’s important to have a good team on your side. We’d love to be part of that team. Feel free to give us a call to schedule a free consultation and start talking about how senior care can help your family, and help guide you through the process so that you and your family are protected in this respect to as great of a degree as possible.
Leave a Reply