Raising Parents

Hey there,

Having received my third invitation to join AARP I just had to share this with you all.  Now I don’t consider myself ready to join AARP because i don’t think of myself as a senior or senior citizen.  Knowing that I am in the baby boom age group I did a Google search on how many senior citizens there really are in the United States and I was very surprised.  Here is the break down from SeniorJournal.com

• As of July 1, 2004 there were 36.3 million people over the age of 65 which reflects 12% of the total population.  Also, 351,000 people entered this group between 2003 and 2004.
• The number of people over 85 during the same date was 4.9 million
• Here is the astounding statistic 86.7 million people will 65 or older by 2050 that is a 147% increase

Yikes !! I suppose the 85 and older crowd probably have some type of caregiver or in assisted living but just think about the strain on the families as we approach 2050.  I have a caregiver for my 95 year old father and I have to say I thank her everyday for what she does for both him and me.   As I mentioned in my earlier post, Dad has been living with me since 1997 and up until recently he has been self-sufficient.  This past spring however he started get forgetful and I knew it was time to start really thinking about how to make sure he was fine when I travel for work.  My 21 year old daughter and he are the same personnality what I call “hard headed”.  You know the type that can’t admit they are wrong about something so they continue to press their point never getting anywhere.  I knew that I didn’t want him in a nursing home or I guess the in phrase is assisted living but I also didn’t know much about senior care.  What I found is that Medicare will provide elderly care services if the person is home bound.  Well Dad still liked to visit his friends at the senior citizen’s center so that was out.  After careful consideration and research I finally contracted to a private elderly care service and after a few months I realized that I didn’t have a clue about caring for my Dad.  This decision was the best thing I have done in a long time.

As part of my quest for knowlege on this subject I tripped over a guide by Deena Hawley.  In her guide,  entitled “Today’s Caregivers Guide”  she covers:

• Medical Coordinators
• Financial Planning
• Housekeepers
• Personal Assistants
• Cooks
• Shoppers
• Home Maintenance Personnel
• Home Managers
• Trage Specialists
• Valets
• Chauffers
• Advocates for Care
• Medical Equipment Operators and
• Personal “nurses” and “nursing aides”

To get your copy of Deena’s just “CLICK HERE”