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Victorian Home Care Newsletter
May 2009
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The Aging Brain: Use It and Improve It
Searching
for solutions, the Linden Center at Ithaca College in New York is
exploring and trying to understand how older people can continue to
flourish creatively and remain engaged in life and society.
The findings are that "It's not 'use it or lose it' - it's use it and improve it."
Research
shows, among other things, that staying engaged in creative activities
gives people a sense of mastery, significantly improves overall health,
and improves scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale and the
Loneliness Scale.
Read more about their creative approaches here.
Take the Geriatric Depression Scale test here.
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Pick a Sandwich, Any Sandwich!
It's
estimated that over one-third of the population is in a caregiver role
for the elderly. Many of these caregivers also provide care for
children as well. In light of the ever growing population of "sandwich"
generation folks (those who are sandwiched between caring for adults
and children) a new group of defining terms has been cooked up to
describe the group's demographics:
- Traditional Sandwich:
Those sandwiched between aging parents, who need care and/or help, and
their own children who still need them. This sometimes includes elderly
aunts, uncles and in-laws with no other resources.
- Club
Sandwich: Those in their 50s and 60s sandwiched between aging parents,
adult children and grandchildren; or, those in their 30s and 40s, with
young children, aging parents and grandparents.
- Open-Faced Sandwich: Anyone else involved with elder care.
What kind of sandwich are you? What about your friends, co-workers and colleagues? Find more information here.
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Greetings!
Are you "age aware?" With an aging society come many changes that will
affect all. By 2050, for the first time in history, seniors will
outnumber children and youth with 40 percent of the U.S. population
over the age of 50. By 2030, those people aged 65 years of age and
older are expected to hit 20 percent, whereas in 1900 it was a mere 4%.
At the same time, birth rates have declined. While the population of
individuals over the age of 50 will grow by nearly three-quarters over
the next 15 years or so, the population of those under 50 is expected
to increase by a mere 1 percent during the same period.
What
does this mean for you? An increased need in services pertaining to the
aging. At the far end of the aging spectrum, America's eldest
population group grows the fastest. Americans age 85 and up numbered
some 4 million in 2000. That number is expected to pass 19 million by
2050. No one knows what changes these demographic shifts will create,
but you can rest assured that life as we know it will change. Let's
make it for the better!
As always, we send this newsletter in a
spirit of sharing and community. We hope you will find the included
news informative and beneficial.
Thank you,
The Team at Victorian Home Care
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Growth Spurts in Need for Long-Term Care
 A
new analysis found that nearly 30% of long-term care costs are paid
out-of-pocket--a full 10% higher than amounts reported in widely used
previous estimates. The previous analyses did not include spending on
assisted living, which is a key component of long-term care. The
findings revealed that individuals and their families contributed an
estimated $64 billion of their own funds out-of-pocket towards
long-term care services in 2006. In addition, families and communities
played a central role in the nation's long-term care system by
providing unpaid care valued at $350 billion. Private health and
long-term care insurance played a much smaller role, contributing a
little over $16 billion.
The long-term care need among
individuals 85 and older is nearly four times as high (36 percent) as
the need in the age 65 to 84 population (10 percent).
To access the full report, click here.
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Finally, Increased Aid To Those Who Served
 There
are 23.5 million veterans of all ages across the nation. Many elderly
veterans and surviving spouses whose incomes are above the
congressionally mandated legal limit for a VA pension may still be
eligible for the special monthly Aid and Attendance benefit if they
have large medical expenses, including nursing home expenses, for which
they do not receive reimbursement.
In 2009, the Veterans
Administration increased its payment in the Veterans Aid and Attendance
Pension Benefit. A veteran is eligible for up to $1,644 per month from
the VA; a couple can qualify for up to $1,949 per month. A surviving
spouse is eligible for up to $1,056 per month. To qualify, claimants
must be incapable of self support and in need of regular personal
assistance.
The basic criteria for the Aid and Attendance
benefit include the inability to feed oneself, to dress and undress
without assistance, or to take care of one's own bodily needs. People
who are bedridden or need help to adjust special prosthetic or
orthopedic devices may also be eligible, as well as those who have a
physical or mental injury or illness that requires regular assistance
to protect them from hazards or dangers in their daily environment.
The best way to find about the Aid and Attendance Program at the VA is to call your local office. You can also go here for the Aid and Attendance or Housebound Examination.
Visit the VA website here.
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Home Care: An Untapped Tax Break?
 In-home
services required to assist with the activities of daily living such as
bathing, dressing, feeding, medication and ambulating may be deductible
as medical expenses if they are of the nature of the services which a
nurse would perform. The services do not have to be performed by a
nurse as long as the services are of a kind generally performed by a
nurse.This includes services connected with caring for the patient's
condition, such as giving medication or changing dressings, as well as
bathing and grooming the patient. These services can be provided in the
patient's home or another care facility. If the caregiver also performs
personal or household services, unrelated to the medical care of the
client, these may have to be apportioned since they are not deductible.
For details, see Maintenance and Personal Care Services here and Home Care here.
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About Victorian Home Care:
For nearly 30 years Victorian Home
Care has been providing superior home care and geriatric care management
services to seniors or people with physical and/or mental disabilities in Monterey,
Santa Cruz, and San
Benito Counties. Care, compassion, integrity, and exceptional customer service are Victorian's
guiding principles, employing only carefully selected caregivers who are
the most dedicated and qualified and strive to ensure the same kind of care
family members would provide. Victorian Home Care services include
assistance with activities of daily living, personal care, transportation,
respite care and medication management. For
more information visit www.victorianhomecare.com
or call (831) 655-1935 in Monterey
or (831) 662-3093 in Aptos.
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