The FAMCare Blog

Adults 65 and older account for 16% of the US population but 80% of COVID-19 deaths. Even as most states begin to gradually reopen society to restart a stalled economy, the message to the elderly is “NOT YOU”. You best - “STAY HOME” – “ISOLATE” - “QUARANTINE” while the rest of society risks illness trying to get on with life.

Social workers who work with the elderly are concerned. They say that during times of crisis, mental health cannot be overlooked. Loneliness and social isolation for older adults have a deep, emotional impact, sometimes leading to social disorders such as depression and anxiety. Social isolation has also been linked to increases in emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and nursing home placements.

Great responsibility yields great reward.  This is especially true of SARCOA (Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging), the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) serving senior citizens of Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, and Houston counties of southeast Alabama.  By continuously seeking ways to better serve the rapidly growing senior population through planning, coordinating, and developing community levels of service, SARCOA is able to make a huge difference as one of 13 AAA’s in Alabama, and one of more than 650 AAA’s in the nation

With 88% of 15,400 Medicare and Medicaid-eligible nursing homes reporting as of May 31, Medicare officials rolled out a federal database showing that the nation's nursing homes had 95,515 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 58,288 suspected cases, and more than 31,782 deaths among residents and staff. The Kaiser Family Foundation quickly amended the government’s admittedly incomplete statistics reporting more than 43,000 deaths, over a third of the nation’s known coronavirus deaths.

In our 2015 report, The Aging Tidal Wave, we dealt with the healthcare crisis that was about to overwhelm the long-term care industry. The aging baby-boomer population was growing rapidly while the number of caregivers was actually declining.

Throughout life, we may find ourselves having difficult conversations with our loved ones. There is never an easy way to approach these, and some can be upsetting to even think of. Discussing end-of-life arrangements is perhaps one of the hardest to reconcile, yet it can be one of the most important conversations we can have.

The San Francisco board of supervisors recently introduced a budget measure that would raise the minimum wage for nonprofit and in-home supportive service workers from $15/hour to $17/hour. When challenged, the board justified the $13 million added annual expense to the city budget by citing the crisis the home healthcare field is experiencing in San Francisco. It is bleeding workers daily.

The Hospice movement is a humanitarian, patient-centered protocol that is still striving for complete integration into main stream medical practice. Traditional medical regulations, policies, protocols, and cultural norms are geared toward  improving the patient’s health and, at the very least, maintaining current levels of patient functioning. Even the metrics used by skilled nursing facilities to assess the quality of care are not congruent with end-of-life care.

Research shows that most people currently living with dementia have not received a formal diagnosis. In high income countries, only 20-50% of dementia cases are recognized and documented in primary care. This ‘treatment gap’ is certainly much greater in low and middle-income countries, with one study in India suggesting 90% remain undiagnosed. If these statistics are extrapolated to other countries worldwide, it suggests that approximately three quarters of people with dementia have not received a diagnosis and, therefore, do not have access to treatment, care and organized support that getting a formal diagnosis can provide.

Please enjoy the following article from our friend Harry Cline of The New Caregiver's Comprehensive Resource: Advice, Tips, and Solutions from Around the Web.  Thank you Harry!

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Having a loved one who lives far away from you can be a hard thing to deal with. It’s even harder when that loved one needs care.  Making sure loved ones have the help and care they need can be difficult.  You need to keep up with medications, doctor visits, plans for procedures, and everything else that comes into play with any kind of disability, and aging as a whole.  With the new prevalence of smartphones and technology, it makes it easier than ever to keep an extra eye on your loved ones, even if they are far away. 

When we’re very busy taking care of other people, it’s easy to overlook the need to take care of ourselves. But self-care is vitally important for making sure you’re up to the challenges of being a caregiver. In order to be there for your loved ones and handle all your responsibilities, you need to keep up your health and energy levels. Here are some tips for making time for yourself in your everyday life.