Blog - April 2018

     Hello, and welcome to the first Aging In The Comfort Of Home® blog post.  I wanted to start things off by talking a little about why we’re starting this blog and what we hope to achieve.  Of course, as the name implies, we are a company dedicated to helping America’s seniors and disabled persons live independent and comfortable lives wherever they choose.  People are living longer, healthier lives than ever before, and this has led to an explosion in the senior population.  As deaths from heart disease and cancer decline, conditions like Alzheimer’s are becoming more common.  Even those suffering from debilitating, chronic diseases are now living long, productive lives.

     This gives rise to some surprising statistics.  The population of Americans over the age of 65 is expected to double by 2060, according to a report by the Population Reference Bureau.  That’s almost 100 million retired people, which represents about a quarter of the country’s projected population.  The ratio right now is closer to 15%.  This is driven by an increase in life expectancy, which has grown from 68 years in 1950 to 79 years today.  

     This will place an enormous burden on existing health care and retirement systems that were never designed to support such a surge.  A 75% increase is predicted in the nursing home population, with over 2.3 million Americans in such institutions by 2030.  Complicating things further, a 2014 study by the Alzheimer’s Association indicates that roughly 15 million Americans will likely develop some form of Alzheimer’s or related dementia by 2050, three times the 5 million affected in 2010.  Hospitals also face a rising tide; according to the 2010 National Hospital Discharge Survey, adults over 65 are three times more likely to be hospitalized.

     Most Americans prefer the idea of growing old at home.  In fact, according to the AARP, nearly 90% of seniors want to stay in their own homes as they age.  Seniors aren’t the only ones affected, either.  AARP goes on to indicate that 88% of adults with parents over 65 are concerned about what to do.  Aging In The Comfort Of Home® was founded for precisely this reason; we want to take the stress and worry out of aging, and make sure that everyone has the opportunity to live independently and comfortably, wherever they choose.

     That is also the reason we have decided to publish this blog.  We will be providing information and resources for anyone looking to learn more about aging at home.  We will address issues that impact the elderly, the disabled, and their family care providers.  We will examine the various types of modifications and products that make a home more accessible.  We will share personal stories from ourselves and our clients.  More than anything, we will support the needs of the aging and infirm, and their caregivers and loved ones, with professionalism and expertise.  Thanks for reading, and come back next month when we examine one of the most important issues in aging, fall prevention.