The White House Conference on Aging was held two weeks ago, marking some momentous occasions. It was the 80th anniversary of Social Security, and the 50th anniversary of both the Older Americans Act and Medicare. Traditionally, this get together has been a place to explore possibilities for taking care of the older population and their growing set of needs.
For the last 50 plus years, the meeting happens every decade, but this year’s had a slightly different tone. There is evidence that the current elderly population is growing at a much faster rate than ever before, and therefore, the things to come out of the conference are of a greater importance than they ever have been before. The Baby Boomers are now seniors or about to become seniors, and this was just the beginning of the population explosion in the United States. More and more people will be in need of care as the population grows and medical care extends lifespans even further. And the current senior care system is unable to handle the numbers that are going to be needing senior care in the next ten to twenty years.
One interesting thing to come out of this conference was that at least one panel, the importance of caring for caregivers was stressed. The quality of our elderly loved ones’ lives depends heavily upon the care that they are receiving, and if caregivers do not have a stable and helpful support system, their quality of care will begin to deteriorate. For family caregivers, this is even more the case as family members often don’t have an easy ability to get away or take a vacation like professionals have. In fact, one professional stated that we need to “see caregivers as a huge part of the solution for the future,” when it comes to taking care of the older generation and ensuring their ongoing safety. It keeps the healthcare system moving forward so that it can help everyone and not just a segment of the population, and it is a burden off of our minds as we know that our loved ones are getting the attention and help that they deserve, but that we might not be able to give them ourselves. If we can’t give them the help that they need, then we need to find professionals to step in. That’s just a part of being a responsible and loving family member. It can be overwhelming and emotionally difficult, but in the end it’s a small return for the years of nurturing and support that our moms and dads gave us.
Other topics discussed included senior justice, retirement security, and the growing crisis if more caregiver job are not added. There are caregiver jobs being added to the economy, but not at the rate required to meet the anticipated future demand. A solution needs to be arrived at soon, before the crisis becomes an actual problem. Hopefully, this year’s conference will be the act that gets the ball rolling with a little more urgency in this direction.
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