Dear Editor:
Missourians are getting older! The most recent census report tells us that the fastest growing segment of the population in Missouri was people between the age of 60 and 64, up by 46 percent over the last decade.
The population of seniors over the age of 85 grew by 15 percent. According to a survey conducted by AARP, seniors are concerned about health care and their ability to remain in their own homes. Today's seniors are generally healthier, more mobile, independent minded. They definitely don't want to be forced to live in a nursing home or at a child's home only because the services they need are not available to them at home.
Bureaucratic rules often block access to home care services, leaving seniors no real choice other than nursing home care. Sadly, after decades of planning the LTC system is still slanted towards nursing home care rather than home care. A "Home Care First" approach is needed and fast!
The good news is that home care providers in Missouri are responding to both the rapidly aging population and their desire to receive care at home. Home care companies work with consumers and families to help delay or prevent the need for nursing home care altogether by designing the right package of home care services and locating available funding sources.
Informed consumers who know what home care is and what services are available make informed voters who demand a "home care first" philosophy from elected officials. This will lead to a system that is able to meet the challenge of making sure the nation's growing senior population can remain at home where they want to be.