How are today's elderly benefiting form the baby boom generation they produced?

The number of family caregivers in the United States is 60 million today and approximately 1 in 5 families have an elder living in their home. It is a return to an older value that our grandparents had. This traditional way of caring for our elderly skipped a generation, but now, the baby boomers are bringing their parents home.

We have seen  such an increase in medical technology and better medication and awareness. Family caregiving is really a value that is coming back. Our elders are staying alive much longer and are in better health. The average life span for males and females had evened out and is now up to 77.8 years of age. It is very common to have 80 to 90 year old parents. The baby boomer generation is fortunate,  the generation before them lost their parents when they were in their 60's.  

Although many elderly have moved away to warmer climates and are no longer in the same cities as their children. Do you see them moving back to Chicago?

No, I don't see that happening. The only way that I see people moving back is when the physical condition of the parent has declined to a point where they can no longer live independently. It is more about the children wanting the parents closer, rather than the parents wanting to return. Most of the adults I see in Florida are happy to be there and their children come to visit. In cases where someone is experiencing dementia, a move is not especially recommended. Many of the elder parents are staying where they are, but as their health declines, the children are bringing them closer to home.

What will happen as these elderly individuals age, require hospitalization or have a catastrophic incident?

Then I believe the adult children come in and meet with the physicians and determine the best place for the provision care. Does the elder go from assisted living to a skilled nursing center? If the person doesn't go to skilled nursing care, then I believe the parents would be coming home to where the children reside. But if skilled nursing care is required, I have clients who are flying back and forth to Florida to see their parents once a month.

What happens when the parent is living in their residence for the past 40 years and now they need to move to a place where they can get some assistance. How do you prepare them and help them find the right place?

As a care coordinator, my job is to do a good assessment of the family system and the elder's house to determine what their personal wants and needs are. I believe an elder should be respected and that their care plan should be as close as possible to what they want, while meeting their individual needs. So if that means that help comes into the house a while longer, then we arrange that. If is means that it's time to move, then we can help find the appropriate place for them to live where they will feel the most comfortable and a place where their children and grandchildren will want to visit. The main thing to do is to get the input from the elder and put an appropriate care plan together for them. I also talk to the adult children as a family so that the right decisions can be made for the elder.

Grandchildren are now an integral part of the decision making process and they help determine how best to care for the grandparent. They may be driving the grandparent to the drugstore or to get to appointments, and they are assisting in the care of that individual. Elderly people today are very fortunate because not only do they have their son or daughter to help them, they also have grandchildren they can rely on for assistance.

The issue really is what does the elder want. In almost every case, the answer is that the elder doesn't want to be a burden to their children. The best way to do that is to get the family together and talk about the elder's needs and wants. It's best to listen to everyone and let the elder explain what they envision for themselves.