The National Institute on Aging states, "abuse can happen to anyone-no matter the person's age, sex, race, religion, or ethnic or cultural background. Each year, hundreds of thousands of adults over the age of 60 are abused, neglected, or financially exploited. This is called elder abuse.
The toll of COVID induced loneliness and isolation on our elders is still in research phase and will be for some time to come. Caregivers, too, have carried a heavy burden. Professional and family caregivers have endured equal if not greater effects of this long running pandemic. In addition to the fears surrounding the virus itself, as studies are released, we will be able to capture just how deep and wide the emotional burden has been to those caring for PLWD (persons living with dementia).
Millions of older adults and people living with disabilities rely on the direct care workforce, and the numbers are growing at an enormous rate every single day. Sadly, we have undervalued the importance of the direct care workforce and ill prepared the critical need to provide quality of life and quality of care training. It's time to change the paradigm.
Each May, the Administration for Community Living champions the national observance of Older Americans Month. "Communities of Strength" is the theme for 2021.
I can think of no other time in that this theme could be more appropriate as we have witnessed one of the most challenging years in history. Older Americans have proven to be our source of wisdom, strength, perseverance and a model of overcoming difficulties. And I will add that the communities that support older adults have risen to the challenges of creating new ways to engage and build even stronger communities in the face of unprecedented challenges brought on by a global pandemic.
The health and well being of older adults, especially is grounded in connecting with others. It is paramount to the health and well-being of everyone, but especially as we age.
Aging Services providers are screaming from the mountain tops about the workforce crisis. Could it be that policy makers are finally listening?
The workforce crisis is about the inability of aging services providers to fill open positions and the lack of competitive wages.
Most definitely, a hopeful headline announced President Biden's plan investing billions to build an aging services workforce.
The time is right to seriously discuss the value of quality Elder Care in the United States. In addition, it is imperative that we intensify advocacy for improvements to strengthen services and supports for consumers. Moreover, we must enhance jobs for 4.6 million home care workers and nursing assistants.
According to estimates from the National Alliance for Caregiving, during the past year, 65.7 million Americans (or 29 percent of the adult U.S. adult population involving 31 percent of all U.S. households) served as family caregivers for an ill or disabled relative. That is 65.7 million family caregivers who are desperately needing education, training, support and help with finding available resources. We must do a better job as these numbers are increasing drastically with our aging population.
April marks Parkinson's Awareness Month and the theme the Parkinson's Foundation has chosen is #KnowMorePD to help elevate the public's awareness of the disease and to share the resources available to those who are diagnosed with PD and their families
Parkinsons's Disease (PD) is a complex movement disorder with symptoms that vary from person to person. Some of these symptoms may include tremors, slurred speech, a masked face, slow movement, and unsteady gait. Because PD is largely misunderstood by the general public and even healthcare professionals, it's often frightening to see a person struggle with these symptoms. And when people don't understand what is happening, they generally react by becoming fearful or avoiding that person.
