EW: Voluntary Benefits
CDHC: Supplemental Health
by Paul Hogan, Home Instead Senior Care
When Lane Claxton of Boulder, CO, was laid off in July 2008 from a full-time job in single-family home sales, looking for work wasn’t an option. Claxton had been assisting in the care of her 76-year-old mother with Parkinson’s disease on the weekends and, occasionally, at night. “I was stressed–guilty and frustrated–with no time for myself,” Claxton said, describing her life as a full-time working family caregiver. For a time after being laid off, she stayed out of the job market to research care options and help care for her mother and step-father, who suffers from macular degeneration.
Like Claxton, many working family caregivers have found that caregiving is a stressful job that most seniors and family caregivers haven’t even thought about until they’re faced with an emergency. Such a situation can result in difficult circumstances for employers as well. Among people who have been employed while caregiving, most (68%) have had to make a workplace accommodation due to caregiving, according to “Caregiving in the U.S., A Focused Look at Those Caring for Someone Age 50 or Older,” November 2009, produced by the National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP.
The most common workplace accommodation is going in late, leaving early or taking time off during the day (64%). This workplace accommodation has increased since 2004 from 58% to 64%.
A recent survey sheds new light on the challenges that face employees who are caring for aging loved ones. In the survey, conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care network, nearly three-fourths (73%) of adult children–usually daughters like Claxton who often are responsible for the care of their parents–are in the dark when it comes to senior care. Those adult caregivers could name no more than two of eight options available to seniors who can no longer live independently. (The two most readily identifiable were nursing homes and assisted living facilities.) The seniors who could soon need care were largely uninformed, too. About half (50%) of seniors ages 65 to 75 have not thought about their own future care needs, according to the survey.
The survey also revealed that there is little consensus among seniors and family caregivers on where to go to learn more about senior care. Fifty-two percent of seniors and 38% of adult children believe that local area agencies on aging would be the place to turn for more information. Forty-six percent of adult children and 40% of seniors believe the Internet would be the source.
Cost, too, was an area of misinformation, according to the study. Research reveals that both seniors and adult caregivers are missing the mark, overestimating such popular options as assisted living facilities and home care and underestimating the price of nursing homes.
For example, the average cost of nursing home care in the United States is $78,000, while family caregivers estimate that to be $59,000 and seniors believe the cost to be $65,000. Assisted living facilities, on the other hand, average $36,000 annually. Adult family caregivers believe ALFs cost $47,000 while seniors think the annual price tag is $49,000.
Home care costs were as much a mystery to family caregivers and seniors, with those groups estimating the annual cost at $29,000 and $28,000, respectively. In reality, home care costs average only $18,000 annually.
When she started her search to locate resources that could help her parents, who are planning to sell their house and move to a care community, Claxton said she could have benefited from more assistance.
“The good part is that facilities are not like the nursing homes I experienced when I was 7 and visiting my grandmother,” she said. “The drawback is the expense of everything–it was a surprise–and the emotional aspect of giving up your home and everything that you love.”
One positive note: Claxton picked up a new job along the way: professional caregiver. Her family caregiving experience led her to Home Instead Senior Care where she is a CAREGiver, helping seniors like her mother stay independent and at home.
Paul Hogan is co-founder and CEO of Home Instead Senior Care. Home Instead Senior Care is among the nation’s largest providers of at-home care for seniors. Hogan and his wife, Lori, are co-authors of “Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions” (November 2009/McGraw Hill). For more information, go to www.stagesofseniorcare.com.