The state of Florida is currently going through an interesting process when it comes to the elderly population there, and it’s one that other states should keep their eyes on if they want to truly learn how to better care for the older people that are part of their communities.
On a daily basis over the last several months, there have been about 1,200 people moving into Florida. It is the largest growing population of any state in the U.S. and a good number of these individuals are aged 65 or older.
In addition to this, the workforce of Florida is not growing at the same rate. Because so many of the people moving into the state are past retirement age, the number of skilled workers and other professionals is not going up at the same rate.
The issue? There are more people in need of services like home maintenance, automobile repair, construction, medical care, and yes, senior care. This need is going up, but the ability to fulfill that need is not.
The elder care crisis is not a surprise. Unfortunately, the country is not as prepared to combat it as we wish we could be. The crisis has long been anticipated, but a lot of the problems with care shortages that we are seeing today, such as what I described above that’s currently happening in Florida, were sped up or exacerbated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Problems that were expected to come to fruition five or ten years down the road happened in an instant thanks to the unique challenges posed by COVID.
And unfortunately, it is our elderly loved ones that are now paying the price for this.
During the pandemic, Florida saw the number of care workers decrease by more than 10,000 people. In a time when caregivers were needed the most, a large number of people left their jobs, either voluntarily or because of job cuts. And in the time since, the number of people applying to become Certified Nursing Assistants has also decreased.
Florida is unique because it is a destination for seniors. As such, it also stands as a warning to the other states in the U.S. We have a lot of work ahead of us.
So, who will be caring for our older family members and friends? In some cases, many families won’t even feel the impact of a care crisis at all. That’s because many places were aware of this and took precautions long ago to resolve the problem. But even despite this foreknowledge, there are a lot of factors at play.
Hopefully, this is not something that has negatively impacted your family. Hopefully, it is something that never will. Planning ahead is one of the best ways to combat the issue. Even if there is a care crisis in your part of the world, planning ahead allows you to confront the problem head on and resolve it before it impacts your family.
Even if there are fewer professional caregivers than needed in your community, when you start the process early, you are empowered to find the right care to best serve your family.
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