Thirty million American households provide some form of caregiving for adults over the age of fifty.[1] Like many of you, I currently take care of my parent with the help of two other family members. If you don’t already, then chances are you will in the near future.
Do you find it stressful? Sometimes. Is it better than putting them in a nursing home? Evidence suggests yes. Understandably, not everyone can accommodate their parents to the degree that they want to. In other cases, unfortunately, some children will opt immediately for nursing homes.
Nursing Home and Senior Statistics
Shocking Nursing Home Statistics:
Over 40% of residents have reported abuse and more than 90% of them reported incidents of neglect.
A 2010 study showed that up to half of all nursing home caregivers admitted to elderly abuse and neglect.
Of all Certified Nursing Assistant’s, half admit to having verbally abused, yelled at, and used foul language with senior residents.[2]
In 2014, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the US had 15,600 nursing homes and about 1.7 million licensed beds.[3]
Now consider the fact that by 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of sixty-five, which is equivalent to seventy million people.[4]
What this means is that the rapidly increasing senior population far outweighs the facilities and resources that will (or won’t) be available to them.
AARP did a study in 2015 and revealed that 90% of seniors preferred to age in their own homes. Interestingly, only 4% of those seniors prefer moving to a relative’s home. But whether they can live independently depends on their quality of health and available housing features.
Many seniors value safety features such as of non-slip floors (80%), bathroom grab bars (79%), emergency alert systems (79%), entrance ramps (77%), and wider doorways (65%) to list some. Sadly, most senior homes do not include a lot of these safety features.[6]