The Story:
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines “aging in place” as “the ability to remain in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level.” It is a much lauded ideal in the world of eldercare. Too many families have the experience of having to arrange the move of an older loved one from one facility to another, from family home to assisted care facility to nursing home, perhaps repeatedly thereafter to a hospital and then back to the nursing home, as his or her medical and assistance needs change.
Significance:
“Aging in place” is an ideal because of its contrast to that negative reality.
In Pill Form:
Although many assisted-living communities themselves have adopted aging-in-place as a goal and work to provide various types and levels of care at different stages of a retiree’s life, the same idea is also behind a contrary (even a competitive) trend: the expanding market for in-home care, including often live-in caregivers, who provide a range of services including laundry, meal preparation, toiletry and incontinence care, and so forth. With the familiar surroundings of the home a client may have lived in for decades before such arrangements became necessary, in-home care may be a sound alternative to even the best run assisted living facility.
