You may have heard that there are about 50 million Americans that are age 65 or over right now. Our population is aging quickly as more people live longer and the population expands. Part of this is thanks to the Baby Boomer generation, and a part of it is thanks to better medicine and technology. You may have heard that there is a health care crisis looming right now because of this. There are more elderly people than ever before and the number of medical professionals and senior caregivers is simply not growing fast enough to meet the demand that will be created. These things are all true.
What you might not know is that of those roughly 50 million senior citizens, two thirds of them have at least two chronic health conditions. They have multiple issues that require attention, and some of these require daily attention. You might have one of these in your own home, but maybe you weren’t aware of just how widespread the issue is right now. And if current demographic statistics hold up, the problem is only going to keep getting worse.
This might seem like a problem that you can do nothing about. To some degree, this is true. You can’t go out and encourage more people to become caregivers. You can’t get more doctors to choose geriatrics as their primary focus. The only things that you really can do are to be aware of the problem and compensate for it.
For example, if you know that you have an older parent with a disability, they are likely to need a higher degree of care in the future. You can begin planning out their senior care now before it is necessary. Even if they are still in their early 60s and in relatively good health, if there is a chronic health issue present now, there is a good chance that managing it will become more difficult ten years from now. This can be difficult to admit, but it is a true statement. Coming to terms with this and taking the appropriate steps sooner rather than later will not only create a higher quality of life for your loved one if and when they need senior care, it will save you a lot of stress. Finding care can be tough, and if you start now when there’s not a rush, then you can take your time and make the correct choice after a thorough search. Perhaps you will even find that getting something like an in-home caregiver now will help to pave the way for more intensive senior care in the future.
One other thing that you can do is to start encouraging your family to live healthier lives. It’s impossible to tell the future for each individual, but studies have shown that the healthier the lifestyle, the healthier people tend to be when they are elderly. This is a general trend, and not a guarantee, but using these statistics as a guide will help you to further support your decisions. Exercise, eating right, and avoiding alcohol and smoking all will help you and your family to prepare now for the future.
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