Caregiver Shortfall: Immanant Or Changable

The Situation

When thinking of healthcare ones first thougths do not usually go straight to those who perform day to day care giving. When looking into any type of needed care whether it be long term, home health, hospice or some assistance with activities of daily living, people run into the dilemma. They must first define what type and how much care is really necessary. Some people need more care than others but the bottom line is that choosing the right person to provide the best possible care is the ultimate goal.

What happens if one day you are searching for a caregiver to come to your aid and there is no one there to help you? That is not only a reasonable question but one that deserves concern and immediate attention.

There is not only a shortage of people willing to do this kind of work but combine that with the rate at which baby boomers are hitting 65, their rising healthcare needs, the needs of our soldiers coming home from war, and the fact that the compensation for such jobs just does not match the demands that caregiving holds.

The Problem

Care giving is not all about feeding, bathing, clothing, changing depends and making sure that your loved ones are happy. The job of a care giver can also include wound care, ambulation, range of motion excersies, housekeeping, grocery shopping, doctor appointments, prescription refills and medcation administration.

The job of a caregiver is never really over. Whether they are working in a nursing home with ten residence or they are working one on one with a client in their home, they get attached. That attatchment is what makes them good at what they do. Caregivers are instructed not to get attached to people but at the same time if they didn't, wouldn't that take the love and compassion out of their job. No one wants to have someone who doesn't care watching after their family member. So what is being done to ensure that the caregiver is well taken care of? The answer to that is pretty simple, not much.

The Facts

It has been predicted that the rate of demand for in home care givers will increase 62 percent by 2010. That is only taking into account that the population is getting older. It does not take into account the disabled that will need care as well.

The wage for caregivers average out at $10 an hour and is among the lowest paying careers in America today. With the rise in demand and the lack of adequate compensation goes the fact that people are willing to pass this job to go on to another. The turn over rate ranges from 40 to 75 percent due to poor wage increases and job demands in other fields.

Is There A Solution

The common thread in all of this is that there is so much work to be done by so few. If the wage increases were better regulated than turn over rates would not be so high. There would be a set incentive to keep people on the job. If every state were made to cap the number of residents an aid could care for at one time, the aids would not be so over worked and let down. If there were a system set in motion to ensure that our caregivers were being taken care of themselves with benifits, they might be more able to keep working. If respit programs were offered to give caregivers much needed breaks from the services they provide, they could return refreshed rather than burnt out.

These are all possibilities that should be explored, discussed and reviewed by everyone. People need to recognize this as not just a problem in the healthcare system but a silent problem that is threatening the way we as a nation views healthcare as a whole. Caregivers are an intricate part of our society and do we really want to find out what we would do without them?

To learn more about this and how to help please visit:

http://www.whowillcare.net