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ElderCare Update in South Florida...ElderCare Update in South Florida...ElderCare Update in South

An Aging Population Will Require More Resources for Caregivers

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s risk their own physical, emotional and ation of the Caregiver Coalition of South
2017 National Population Projections, financial health. ALICE (Asset Limited, Florida, a grassroots effort whose mem-
by 2035, older adults will outnumber Income Constrained, Employed) families bership includes AARP, Broward Health,
children for the first time in U.S. history. take the hardest hits as savings are Humana and Vitas Healthcare, among
Here in South Florida, it is estimated that exhausted and they may have to pass up others.
nearly one in four people will be at least promotions or leave jobs that that cannot On June 22, SoFIA and the Caregiver
65 years old by 2040. provide the flexibility needed. Coalition of South Florida will host the
As we age, we are living longer: the The economic costs are substantial: second annual Caregiver Symposium at
Social Security Administration projects • The average caregiver dedicates 29 the H. Wayne Huizenga College of
that men and women reaching 65 this hours per week to caregiving activities; Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova
year, can live until the respective ages of • Caregivers miss, on average, 10 days Southeastern University. Moderated by
84 and 86. One out of every four will live of work each year to handle care respon- CBS WFOR reporter and anchor Rick
past 90 and one in 10 will celebrate a sibilities; Folbaum, the symposium will focus on
95th birthday. BY PETER KALDES, ESQ. • These missed days represent a stag- improving the quality of life for care-
The aging population will affect health gering $38.2 billion dollar productivity givers and offer educational lectures, net-
care in the increasingly important role of loss to the American workplace annually. working opportunities and breakout ses-
caregiver. In a paper entitled “What is programs for home care; The South Florida Institute on Aging sions covering such issues as technology,
the Physician’s Responsibility to a 5. The low-pay, high-turnover nature (SoFIA) is the only provider of volunteer caregiving and policy. Award-winning
Patient’s Family Caregiver?” published of home health care which diminishes caregiving services in Broward County journalist and author Chris Farrell is the
with his co-author Mark J. Yaffe, M.D., in the likelihood of a stable home health and we see firsthand that demand for featured guest speaker and Senator Nan
the May 2014 issue of AMA Journal of care workforce. local caregiving services is outpacing the Rich will be one of the participants.
Ethics, Dr. David Barnard noted five sys- To which I would add a sixth factor: supply of volunteers. We also know that While policy makers debate the effect
temic factors contributing to the increase the projected shortage of home health the supply of caregivers is lessening, of rising oceans, we must all prepare to
in adult family caregivers, which I have care aides and personal care aides in a namely because of our aging region, lack understand and prepare for what we
paraphrased below: field which will need to add 1.2 million of younger family residents and larger know is a certain to come: a silver tsuna-
1. The shift toward outpatient care and workers between 2016 and 2026, accord- geographic separation. mi headed our way.
deinstitutionalization; ing to the U.S. Department of Labor’s With the support of regional and
2. Economic pressures for early hospi- Bureau of Labor Statistics. national partners, SoFIA develops inno- Peter Kaldes is the President and CEO of
tal discharge; From scheduling appointments and vative ideas and services to support the South Florida Institute on Aging, a
3. Reliance on hospitalists who are less household chores to performing wound South Florida’s aging community and “Think & Act Tank” focused on economic
likely to be familiar with the home situa- care and managing medical machinery, serve as a national model. Last summer, and social research, policy and programs to
tion to which they will discharge a adult caregivers are becoming an increas- we brought together business and com- support South Florida’s aging community.
patient; ingly common component of a patient’s munity leaders to identify the top issues He may be reached at
4. The patchwork of fragmented social care team. Caregivers themselves often facing caregivers which led to the cre- pkaldes@thesofia.org and (954) 484-7117.

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South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com June 2018 15