Care for the Elderly Today

America's aging population challenges welfare and public policy officials to find innovative solutions for the care of America's elderly citizens. Elderly citizens would, at one time, receive care from their extended family or enter an old age or nursing home when they could no longer live independently. Today, society recognizes that each older individual has her own care needs that different types of facilities may address.

Instructions

• 1

  Review foster care options. Foster care homes for older individuals enable elderly citizens to live in a foster home and receive needed care and assistance while maintaining whatever level of independence that their physical and mental state allows. A quality foster care home will have access to public transportation lines or a transportation service that can bring the residents to local community centers, shopping areas, religious institutions and medical facilities. State departments of social services or human services license foster homes for the elderly and supervise the homes' physical facilities, staffing and available medical care.

• 2

  Contact Medicare's PACE program. Many elderly citizens wish to remain in their own homes, but their physical or mental state necessitates care. Medicare's Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provides necessary supplementary care to the elderly who live at home. PACE manages the medical, social and rehabilitative services that elderly citizens need to remain in their homes and communities while maintaining their quality of life. An interdisciplinary team assesses the individual and suggests the services that the person will need, including primary care services, social services, personal care, restorative therapies, nutritional counseling, recreational therapy and meals. PACE provides its services in adult day health center settings as well as in-home care.

• 3

  Consider home care. Social service professionals often search for the least invasive framework possible that can meet the needs of elderly individuals who are dependent on some measure of outside physical assistance. Home care fulfills this function for many individuals. Professionals, including medical staff, therapists and aides, come to the elderly person's home to provide care and services. State Departments of Public Health regulate home health care businesses that send staff members to elderly individuals' homes to help them with personal and medical care. The Department of Public Health in each individual state contracts with home health care businesses to provide care to elderly clients in the client's home.

• 4

  Visit a nursing home to assess its suitability. Nursing homes provide physical care for elderly individuals from simple assistance to complete care for invalid people. Nursing home facilities include social activities for people who wish to participate. Staff ensures that the nursing home residents receive food and necessary physical care. Elderly individuals who fall under the guidelines of Medicare and/or Medicaid may obtain nursing home care through these bodies.