Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Things are changing and Boomers need financial help…

The phone calls are starting to get strange.

Dad quit his bridge club because they’re stealing from him.

Mom talks constantly about an old beau. 

The police called because she doesn’t recognize her husband. 

How you are going to handle things and do you know what’s involved in caregiving?

A new Gallup Poll reported that 41% of baby boomers have a parent needing financial and personal care, while 8% of these boomers have moved a parent in with them. 

Another 37% say they expect to do so in the future and more than half report that they’re concerned about being able to provide care while working a full time job. 

A new AARP study estimates 34 million American are unpaid caregivers giving an average of 21 hours per week to help an aging relative. 

Some are regularly calling, flying to see their Mom every few weeks or just taking their parent to a doctor appointment 

The economic impact of ”free care” is estimated to be about $350 billion.

Surprisingly, that’s more than what the government spent on Medicare last year and exceeds the Federal budget deficit in 2006.

Doesnt this make a strong case for Congressional action? So, why hasn’t anything happened!  

Main Line Elder Care Associates, Inc., understand the difficulties and complexities of managing health care.

We deal with the struggles of finding the right facility, review the legal and financial complications and mediate any of the strains this process will have on your family. 

Our care managers also know that If there are any conflicts in the family that this process by itself and without the aide of a geriatric care manager will definitely become more stressful because caregiving is very exhausting. We also understand how frightening and confusing this process is to an aging parent.

Remember, the person on the front line - well they need your support  because no one can handle this situation alone - it’s unfair to let them struggle alone because caregiving threatens emotional health and unlocks all kinds of fears. Dementia or Alzheimer’s?

Hiring a professional care giver is your best resource for providing some of the care.

Today, our families pay financially and pay emotionally without any help from Capitol Hill.

Write us your comments and contact these websites also www.caregiver.org, www.eldercare.gov, www.TheFamilyCaregiver.org, www.Medicare.gov, www.AARP.org/Families 

Contact www.mainlineeldercare.com  and www.info@mainlineeldercare.com  for more information about hiring a home health care worker, information on caregiving, legal issues and housing safety, etc.

Main Line Elder Care Associates, Inc., and the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers, Inc., which is a clearing house to help you find a geriatric care manager who can help monitor your parent’s care. www.caremanager.org

Helen C. Hopkinson, J.D., President and CEO, Main Line Elder Care Associates, Inc., writes articles regarding elder issues which appear in her blog and newsletters. She has appeared as an expert on TV and radio to discuss the problems facing employee caregivers, healthcare management needs, care plans and many other subjects involving the elderly or disabled. She is a graduate of John Marshall Law School, a certified Arbitrator and Mediator. She co-founded MLECA with Brenda M. Hanna, BS, RNFA and they are dedicated to serving clients in the Greater Philadelphia area and surrounding counties.

MLECA is the recipient of the CitiCorp’s Boost Award for 2007.

Member, National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, Inc. 

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Posted by HELEN C. HOPKINSON, PRESIDENT/CEO - MAIN LINE ELDER CARE ASSOCIATES at 01:49:39 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Serious Problems at Work

According to the National Council on Aging the phrase “The Quiet Problems at Work” was coined to describe the growing amount of middle age Americans now being “sandwiched” between caring for their own families and an aging home-bound parent.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services predicts that the total number of employed caregivers, also referred to as the “sandwich generation” is expected to surge to nearly 15.6 million Americans.

Employees caring for older relatives is costing employers $29 billion each year.

The stress associated with striving to be a good parent, managing a successful career and being a responsible caregiver is extremely overwhelming. Unfortunately, many of these individuals are just not prepared to deal with problems involving an aging parent.

Studies prove that while employee caregivers may be physically at work, they are really mentally absent. Main Line Elder Care Associates understands how this leads to a decrease in productivity and higher turnovers.  

Main Line Elder Care Associates located in Wayne, Pennsylvania understands the importance of providing employees with information regarding ways to make it possible to achieve their goals more efficiently and with less stress. Our programs were designed to reduce absenteeism and reduce turnovers.   

For more information, call Main Line Elder Care Associates at 610-2667 or visit us online at www.mainlineeldercare.com.

Let MLECA help you find the right solution to your problem, email us at info@mainlineeldercare.com

Helen C. Hopkinson, J.D., President and CEO, Main Line Elder Care Associates, Inc., writes articles regarding elder issues which appear in her blog and newsletters. She has appeared as an expert on TV and radio to discuss the problems facing employee caregivers, healthcare management needs, care plans and many other subjects involving the elderly or disabled. She is a graduate of John Marshall Law School, a certified Arbitrator and Mediator. She co-founded MLECA with Brenda M. Hanna, BS, RNFA and dedicated to serving clients in the Philadelphia area and surrounding counties.

MLECA is the recipient of the CitiCorp’s Boost Award for 2007.

Member, National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, Inc. 

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Posted by HELEN C. HOPKINSON, PRESIDENT/CEO - MAIN LINE ELDER CARE ASSOCIATES at 02:28:35 | Permalink | Comments (1) »