The Four Steps of Long Term Care Planning

According to some sources, 60% of us will need long term care sometime during our lives.  It is important for all of us to prepare for that day when we will need to help loved ones with care or we will need long term care for ourselves.

We may prepare financially for unexpected disasters by covering our homes, automobiles and health with insurance policies.  Bot no other life event can be as devastating to an elderly person's lifestyle, finances and security as needing long term care.  It drastically alters or completely eliminates the three principal retirement dreams of elderly Americans.

What Is Long Term Care?

The need for long term care arises when an individual requires, from someone else, assistance with medical care, daily living activities, comfort, supervision or advice.  This need for care may be caused by an accident, disease process, or frailty.  Such conditions may require help with the ability to move about, dress, bathe, eat, use a toilet, medicate, and avoid incontinence.

Also care may be needed to help the disabled person with household cleaning, preparing meals, transportation, shopping, paying bills, visiting the doctor and answering the phone.  Oftentimes, long term care in the form of supervision or confinement is needed due to cognitive impairment from stroke, mental retardation, depression, dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease and so on.  Most long term care is provided at home by family members

In our next post we will discuss understand the nature of care, care settings and government programs.

Employer Support for Care Giving Employees

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that in the year 2010, 54% of workforce employees will provide elder care for a parent or parents and that nearly two-thirds of care givers will experience conflict between demands at home and demands from employers.

Today's employed babyboomers are the care giver generation for their parents.  They are finding themselves juggling care responsibilities around their employment obligations.  Sometimes employees find they have no option but to take leave from work or use sick time to meet their care giving demands.

Businesses that don't offer benefits or address elder care wind up paying for them.  A recent study by the MetLife Market Mature Institute and the National Alliance for Care Giving states that U.S. companies pay between $17.1 billion and $33.6 billion annually, depending on the level of care giving involved, on lost productivity.  That equals $2,110 for every full-time worker who cares for an adult.

Typically, human resource departments work with employees on many issues that may affect their work productivity.  There are programs for drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, illness,, absenteeism and child care but help with elder care issues is not normally provided.

The HR Department of a business in Utah, invited the Salt Lake Elder Care Planning Council to present a brown bag lunch and learn during their employees' lunch hour.  In 30 minutes those who attended learned how the services of a Care Manager, Home Care Provider, Elder Attorney, Medicaid Planner and Financial Consultant can help with care giving decisions.  Problems were discussed questions answered and employees left armed with information and the names of professional people they knew could help them.