LONG-TERM CARE AWARENESS MONTH

LONG-TERM CARE AWARENESS MONTH

Long-Term Care Awareness Month is an annual designation observed in November. Today we are asking everyone to show support to those giving and receiving long-term care. Here's a list of statistics surrounding long-term care.

#LongTermCareAwarenessMonth

Did you know that 70% of men and women over the age of 65 will need some kind of long-term care services? This kind of care can be very expensive, and can take a toll on the family as a whole as they try to figure out payment, roles of family members, and other logistics of making long-term decisions for a loved one. When taking care of someone long term, it usually means feeding them, helping with personal care, bathing them, and helping with other daily tasks.

Important Long-Term Care Facts

• 78% of adults who are getting long-term care at home rely solely on family and friends for their assistance

• The average caregiver is a woman around 46 years of age

• On average, the caregiver spends about 21 hours per week assisting their patient or family member

• Over 90% of family caregivers had to alter their work schedule permanently due to caring for their loved one

• Around 40% of caregivers have had to switch from working full-time, to part-time.

• Close to half said they had to skip vacation and other personal activities in order to take adequate care of their loved one

• 29% had to use their own money in providing care

• More than 10% had to move in order to be closer to their family member in need of care

• Around 10% had to take a pay cut at their full-time job

CELEBRATING #LongTermCareAwarenessMonth

Use #LongTermCareAwarenessMonth to post on social media. Raise awareness about long-term care and acknowledge anyone you know that is or has been a caregiver before. The more we understand the emotional, physical, and economic toll that long-term care can take on loved ones, the more we can prepare for our own futures so we don't become a burden to the people we love the most.

Another way you can honor Long-Term Care Awareness Month is by looking into getting long-term-care insurance. This would mean that rather than having a family member come and take care of you, a nurse would come to take care of you every day. If you choose this route but don't have insurance, you will likely pay around $140,000 out of pocket on average. Only a little over 7 million Americans have this type of insurance.

HISTORY

Long-Term Care Awareness Month was founded in 2001 by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. Their goal is to get people to focus on long-term care awareness, and have a plan ready for themselves as they near age 65 or so.