Reader comments
At-home elder care touted

This is something that should have started years ago. There is no reason why an elderly person cannot be cared for at home until that home care is no longer possible. I have an elderly mother and she was in a nursing home and to tell you the truth, she was getting better and more loving care at home, where she is now again. I would hate to see her go back and would do all I can to maintain my mother at home with her family and where she is most comfortable. It's time the government give assistance to those elderly who are able to stay home with family looking over them. Outside nursing care is not only expensive, but there are too many patients for too little personnel for our loved ones to get the care they need - not just the medical, but the love.

Home care is the way to go. Keeping your roots safely planted in familiar ground will be more fruitful and appreciated by the recipiant and their families...as well as the ability to pay.

At-Home care will be cheaper in the long run. My mother needed more care, but because in-home care is not covered by insurance or by medicare, we had to place her in a care center. It was double what we could have paid home care to help. Because we were too poor to carry the cost ourselves, the government is paying 5,000 to 6,000 per month, instead of 1,000 - 2,000 per month.

Some of the info in this article is inaccurate although I do agree with some of what was said. First, apples to apples, it costs a lot more than $3700 to care for a loved one at home. Add up caregivers, nurses, accomadations, etc. Trust me, been there done that and still doing that. The fact is that Medicaid covers hardly anything at home therefore "it is cheaper" because they don't cover all the same services you get in a nursing home.

Secondly, nursing homes/transitional care/short-term stays are essential. It costs the state a lot less to give services (i.e. therapy, I.V.'s, wound care, etc) in a nursing/rehab center than in an acute hospital, about 1/3 less. So you can't do away with "nursing homes" but you can address the long term care patient that can be cared for at home. This dialog is good.

Has anyone given any thought to how much of a burden this puts on the families? Sure, it's nice to have mom or dad at home where you know they are not abused. But the day finally comes when it is just too much for a family member to handle, even with in-home nursing assistance. I know because I have been there. Now, months later, I am still recovering from the caregiving and the ensuing hospitalization and passing. There are nursing homes out there with decent people running them. I personally know of one couple who bought and run a nursing home because they had their own first-hand experiences with their family members being treated poorly. You need to find a home where the owner is on-site, every day, and where they have 24/7 visiting hours. No locked doors, ever.

While I want to stay at home, there are several problems that need to be considered that will make this work better.

1. Some houses are not built so that someone with limited mobility can get around. We can start now in our building permit process by requiring things like wider doors fo the home will be suitable for such use.

2. I do not have any family and it is difficult to find someone to provide care, even if you have a downstairs apartment for them. The prices that I have been quoted are closer to $50,000 a year (more than I ever made) than to those in the article.

3. In talking to potiential caregivers here they make it clear, "I don't do windows" ... and other such "demands" that get you right back in to the "spend down" and apply for assistance.

Mine is the voice of 2007 EXPERIENCE in Utah, I hope that as the aging problems are considered, that some of these items are included in the analysis and solutions.

Personally I think we have major problems for aging and it is not limited to the cost of long-term care facilities.OK for stay-at-home, BUT.

In-home care is a trend that is increasing exponentially nationwide, however, Utah is lagging behind. I had to close the doors of my in-home care business because people here have not prepared or they do not want to spend the funds for private pay care. The big question was "Who's going to pay for this? We can't afford private pay" And of course the kids don't want to see their inheritance going to take care of their parents. In-home care is the future of elderly care, even in Utah.

I have worked in the eldercare field for 17 years. I think that in-home (or adult day care) is the best option for SOME people. And for some Assisted Living Centers are great options and for others Skilled Nursing Facilities are the best option. It is hard to make a one size fits all reccommendation. Each individual and family is unique and sometimes it is the caregivers health that has to be considered. (Many caregivers die before the person they are caring for.)
There are programs available through the county aging services to help low income elders stay at home. Like the previous poster mentioned, sometimes the problem is the children don't want to see "their" inheritance go towards mom/dads care and so they look for cheaper, but not necessarily better. Part of the problem is the entitlement mentality, which says that the gov't is responsible for taking care of this. We need to be more responsible in our own planning and understand the costs associated with aging and plan better. There are terrible nursing homes out there and there are some pretty good ones. There are bad home care agencies and good ones. You have to look.

I am puzzled about the average in-home cost of $3,700. Can anyone tell me what this includes? It seems pretty low.

My elderly father is presently in a retirement community, but has decided he'd like to move back into his home. Unfortunately, neither my brother or I (his only children) live in Utah county any longer. I have urged him to consider moving in with my family, but he is not very happy about having to leave his familiar neighborhood and friends (let alone the state, since I now live in Texas). Does anyone have experience with live-in housemates? Any advice on how best to go about searching for an appropriate housemate?