An Introduction to U.S. Eldercare

 Background

Between 2010 and 2030, the population over 65 will increase by 73%. Seventy million people (One out of every five Americans) will be over 65 as stated by the 2008 American Medical Student Association

http://www.merck.com/mkgr/mmg/sec1/ch2/ch2b.jsp

Between 1900 and 2000, the total US population increased 3-fold, but the population of people 65 years old increased 10-fold. Near the end of this period between 1990 and 2000, there was a 13.2% increase in size of the total population but only a 12% increase in size of the 65 population. This led to a reduction in the percentage of those from 12.6% in 1990 to 12.4% in 2000. Nonetheless, the growth rate for the population 65 years old is expected to outpace that for the total population during the next several decades, especially when baby boomers begin to reach 65 in 2011. By 2040, the percentage of those 65 is projected to increase to about 20%. In 2000, the number of people in the US  65 was nearly 35 million. This number is estimated to reach 55 million by 2020 and 80 million by 2040.

In The New Old Age, Jane Gross, a New York Times journalist explores this unprecedented intergenerational challenge:

Thanks to the marvels of medical science, our parents are living longer than ever before. Adults over age 80 are the fastest growing segment of the population, and most will spend years dependent on others for the most basic needs. That burden falls to their baby boomer children, 77 million strong, who are flummoxed by the technicalities of eldercare, turned upside down by the changed architecture of their families, struggling to balance work and caregiving, and depleting their own retirement savings in the process.

 The Vision

 U.S. Eldercare, is a nascent company, whose mission is to provide a central virtual location for the elderly and their caretakers to receive information and assistance with many of the hurdles that face an aging population. It will strive to enable its audience to communicate, gain access, and receive much needed guidance with compassion and understanding. The Company’s goal is to provide a platform for seniors and their caretakers to have access to information and related services needed to improve the quality of life of an aging population.

Its vision is to establish U.S. Eldercare as a central facility utilizing the tools available on the internet to help identify senior needs and provide direction for assistance to senior citizens and their caregivers. The Company is being established to provide accurate information, that relate to the many and complex issues that arise as our population ages.

U.S. Eldercare will be a source of communications and education while providing an instructional “road map” to resources, services, eldercare programs and help source and provide products that assist with geriatric care management. By utilizing the internet and and enabling the elderly and their caregivers to communicate in an open forum.  Emotional, financial, medical, and social issues facing a larger aging population will be addressed in a central location, so that it can make life more manageable for the elderly.

The Company

A Resource Guide on the site is growing and  is geared to provide a road map, with the aide of its experts in our US Eldercare community, to many of the questions that arise from seniors and their caregivers.

The following are among the categories of information that might arise.

Our community of geriatric care specialists will help seniors and their caregivers navigate through sources of information, providing a referral service in addition to the above.

American Council for the Blind............. 1-800-424-8666
American Diabetes Association.............. 1-800-342-2383
American Diabetes Foundation............... 1-800-232-3472
American Heart Association................. 1-800-242-8721
American Lung Assoc. (Northeast New York).. 1-800-586-4872
Arthritis Foundation Information Line...... 1-800-283-7800
Brain Injury Association of New York State. 1-800-228-8201
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.... 1-800-669-4000
Gray Panthers.............................. 1-800-280-5362
Grief Recovery Institute................... 1-800-445-4808
Help for Incontinent People................ 1-800-252-3337
Hill-Burton Help Line...................... 1-800-638-0742
Leukemia Society of America................ 1-800-955-4572
Lighthouse Center for Vision and Aging..... 1-800-334-5497
Medicare and Medicaid Services Helpline.... 1-800-MEDICARENational AIDS Help Line...... 1-800-342-2437
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI Help Line).................. 1-800-950-6264
National Cancer Institute.................. 1-800-422-6237
National Caregiving Foundation............. 1-800-930-1357
National Center on Elder Abuse............. 1-202-898-2586
National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform  ...... 1-202-332-2225
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol & Drug Information .... 1-800-729-6686
National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare ...... 1-800-966-1935
National Eye Care Project Helpline......... 1-800-222-3937
National Health Information Center......... 1-800-336-4797
National Hospice Organization.............. 1-800-658-8898
National Institute on Aging................ 1-800-222-2225
National Institute on Deafness & Other Communication
Disorders Information Clearinghouse……………... 1-800-241-1044
National Institute of Mental Health Information Center ...... 1-800-421-4211
National Institute of Neurological & Stroke Disorders...... 1-800-352-9424
National Insurance Consumer Helpline....... 1-800-942-4242
New York Council on Problem Gambling....... 1-518-427-1622
Parkinson's Disease Foundation............. 1-800-457-6676
Patients' Rights Helpline.................. 1-800-333-4374
Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with
Disabilities Center (TRAID)........... 1-800-522-4369 (Voice and TTY)
Verizon LifeLine Service................... 1-800-555-5000
Verizon Center for Individuals with Disabilities 1-800-974-6006 (Voice and TTY)

Conclusion

The platform established for U.S. Eldercare strives to promote interaction that can be utilized by seniors and their caregivers: It can provide access to a larger audience due to accessibility through the internet.

 Consequently, it is expected that seniors will be have the benefit of being able to anticipate their needs, deal with problems, plan for living transitions, interact with others in similar positions, have access to information, and have access to the appropriate professionals that can provide assistance and guidance.