As the baby boomer generation continues to reach retirement age each day, long-term care facilities and organizations are expecting an exponential increase in the need for services, according to the Nashville Business Journal. The need for skilled long-term home care nursing professionals as well as caregivers is becoming a well-known problem.
“As the baby boomers age and the demand for long-term care is expected to increase, long-term care organizations will have to prepare for that expected influx,” Jay Moore, director of communications for Nashville-based Tennessee Health Care Association, told the news source.
Not only are certain organizations taking the time to hire more skilled professionals, but they are getting ready for the growing number of senior citizens in their town, the media outlet reports.
“The long-term and post-acute care profession has improved in nearly all meaningful quality measures in recent years, including staff and customer satisfaction,” Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association, told the news outlet.
According to the National Family Caregiver Alliance, there were approximately 10 million Americans who need long-term care in 2000. Even though the majority at 63 percent was seniors aged 65 and older, the remaining 37 percent were those with chronic conditions, traumas or illnesses that require long-term care. It is estimated that the number of those who are using paid long-term care in some facet will likely double from 13 million who were using the services in 2000 to 27 million by 2050.
Long-term care is on the forefront of many people’s minds. Those who want their loved one to age in place can do so by hiring a home care professional who comes into the person’s house to help out rather than moving the parent elsewhere.