Senior care requirements sometimes occur suddenly. As seniors (people age 65 and older), are now the largest group in size and percentage. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, this age group grew at a faster rate than the total poipulation between 2000 and 2010. It also discovered there are 53,364 centenarians (age 100+).
The population of older men increased at a more rapid rate than older women which means men are living longer now, too. Previous generations experienced women outliving men by decades. Now that women have entered the workforce, this has been changing and the advancement of medical technology has enabled doctors to discover illnesses earlier and successfully treat them.
As seniors are living longer, it has become more acceptable to plan ahead for senior care needs. And more and more assisted living communities are opening up with all the luxuries you would expect to find on a spa vacation. Senior care options include senior home care, assisted living, continuing care retirement communities and nursing homes.
Seniors experiencing a medical emergency can find the need to down-size to a smaller apartment in an assisted living community to be overwhelming. Now there are services which assist with this. One of my friends who had 2 sibilings, had innovative parents who asked each of them to tell them what items in their home they would like to inherit. Then they gave them what they could at the time of their downsizing and sold their home and moved into a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). As everyone in the family knew who was getting what for inheritance, that issue was solved. They were then able to enjoy their retirement years without the added stress of keeping up a large house. Her mother did die suddenly and her father later developed memory loss and cancer but was able to transfer to the nursing home section of the CCRC and the children can go to work each day knowing he is well cared for (he has even found a girlfriend and is very happy).
Review the costs of nursing homes nationwide as you prepare for our own retirement care. Nursing homes are often an extension of a hospital stay now (Medicare will pay for up to 100 days) and if you should run out of money to privately pay for care, you may qualify for Medicaid and be able to receive care in a Medicaid nursing home.
MSNBC recently reported on specialists who assist seniors to down-size. Senior living experts also assist families to find the right assisted living community which will meet their budget requirements and provide the right amenities. These services are free to seniors as they provide a valuable benefit to the assisted living communities who pay a referral fee to the senior living experts.
