Blog #3

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Wild Card (An Alternative: Community-Based Services)

When we think of the elderly services we tend to think of services that deal with long term care like nursing homes and assisted living facilities. But as the elderly population continues to increase, the demand for these facilities will undoubtedly increase and thus raise the cost of care. Point being there are alternatives to the traditions facilities that care for the elderly. Services that are becoming ever so popular are community-based services, which are services that provide care in a noninstitutional setting. In other words, the services are provided in the consumer’s home and other locations within the community. These services include home health care, hospice care, and adult day care.

As the baby boomers “become of age” the demand for nursing homes and other facilities alike will increase. However the question remains, does it have to? Although most elders are in need of nursing homes and assisted living facilities staffed with nurse practitioners and other certified nurses; a good number are not in need of such extensive care. A great cost-effective alternative to these facilities are community based services which provide care for a few hours a day, to a few days a week; assisting with a few ADLs as well as the monitoring of medication. To elaborate further home health care tends to be utilized by people who need intermittent care rather than full time care, like the chronically ill. Hospice care provides services to meet the needs of the patients who have a limited life span. This form of care is not limited to the just the patient but can be utilized by the family and friends as well. It meets the psychosocial and spiritual needs of everyone involved. The last alternative is adult day care; which is a unique form of long term care. It provides interim supervision and assistance to elderly individuals who cannot be left alone. Typical hours of such a service are from 8 AM to 5 PM; similar to the working hours of the “sandwich generation” who have to work to support the family financial.

By making informal caregivers aware of such services it stops the need for early institutionalization and preserves the elders’ sense of independence. However, it is important to realize that such facilities are not always the best place for your loved ones. For instance Medicare doesn’t cover all community- based services because some facilities like the adult day cares aren’t equipped to handle the medical side of the service. So it goes without saying that caregivers need to be educated to ensure that the loved one is receiving best possible care. That means they should take into consideration the cost, the services provided, and the social aspects provided by the service.