In 2018, it is estimated that there were 112.3 health care workers per 1,000 adults over 75 years old within the sector of home caregiving. If you break that math down further, that is less than one person for every adult. While home healthcare is not the primary care option for much of the population, it is the most beneficial for a patient that has special needs in their daily life. As the healthcare system becomes strained and more complicated for those in need of its services, the need for funding is apparent. Disability programs and the support of whole person services within funding opportunities and the legislature is instrumental for those living with a disability and the growing elderly population. Ageist discrimination will meet an opposition when an estimated 20% of the U.S. population will be over 65 by 2030. What is the solution then when the need for health services is overloaded with a severe lack of funding?
With the improvements in the healthcare industry, it is becoming increasingly apparent that traditional medical practices are not meeting the needs of the elderly and disabled patients. The healthcare system is reactionary, in that it is treating patients after an event, episode, or injury. According to the statistics provided by medical centers, every 11 seconds an elderly patient is treated for an injury related to a fall. This fact demonstrates the need for a preventative approach to their quality of life. An option for the improvement of this industry is the utilization of home health aides that engage in Whole Person Care, or the coordination of physical and behavioral health paired with the accessibility to social services, specifically with the needs of the individual patient in mind. Personal care services allow patients to stay in the comfort of their own home with the medical help that they need to improve their quality of life.
Elderly care and disability services are integral to the formation of a beneficial healthcare system, which is certainly not gaining support in the legislature. Home services, day habilitation, and personal care services are methods through which the elderly, veterans, and disabled can gain footing to live without barriers. As the U.S. needs to realize, the care for these demographics is important to the fabric of the country. They are people too and deserve to live a life outside of a cold hospital room to actualize their aspirations and freedom.