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(HealthNewsDigest.com)-The oldest baby boomers will turn 65 just two years from now-but they are not likely to follow previous generations of seniors into old folks’ homes anytime soon.
These days, the average age of a nursing home resident is 82 and older Americans are insisting more and more that they be able to receive the care they need at home as long as they can. At the same time, the number of seniors living in America is expected to double to an estimated 71.5 million by 2030. This creates a tremendous demand for home- and community-based services for older people who require a certain level of care, but who demand the freedom to remain in their own homes or wherever else they choose to live.
Home- and community-based services can take a variety of different forms.
Community engagement programs can create an organized system that lets neighbors help neighbors. Volunteer banks-where one person “banks” a certain number of volunteer hours helping others in exchange for receiving assistance from other volunteers later on-have been successful in providing basic services that help seniors live independently for longer. This could be as simple as helping an older neighbor with shopping, yard work or minor home repairs.
For those needing a bit more help, home-based services provided by professionals include health care and help with daily activities such as medication management, medical equipment services or assisted living at home. Like community engagement programs, these services aim to help older people receive the help they need while remaining independent and living at home as long as possible.
Finally, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, provide services at a central location, where seniors come during the day while continuing to live at home. Services provided at PACE centers include meals, medical care, therapy, prescription drug fulfillment and referral to other social services.
Volunteers of America-one of the nation’s largest and oldest human service organizations-has served the needs of seniors for more than a century. It recently launched a new initiative called Aging with Options™ to transform the current elder care system and increase access to home- and community-based services. Volunteers of America is already a national leader in providing care and housing for seniors, and is the largest nonprofit provider of affordable senior housing, the fourth-largest nonprofit provider of skilled nursing care and the sixth-largest nonprofit provider of assisted living for seniors.
For more information about Aging with Options, visit www.VolunteersofAmerica.org or call (800) 899-0089.
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