Qualicare Helps New Generations of Aging Parents Maintain Healthy Relationships with their Children
Caregivers answer the call to accompany individuals in their twilight years as the number of aging adults living alone booms
In past generations, aging adults moved in with their children when they became isolated, and needed more help. But these days, more people don’t have children, and the people who do, often do not want to ask their children to take on more responsibility. Fortunately, Qualicare has met this generational shift by easing the burden on families, and allowing parents and children to maintain healthy relationships.
Linda Larson, a Nurse Manager at Qualicare San Diego and Qualicare’s home office, said that many people do not want to have to provide nursing, and personal hygiene services for their family members. Larson remembered a memorable client’s quote, “I would lay down my life for my mother, but I’m not giving her a shower!” Larson said the client’s mom agreed with her son.
In addition to the work of caregiving, oftentimes children are the main social connections for their parents, which creates an emotional burden on the relationship. A significant aspect of Qualicare’s caregiving, said Larson, is how it improves the social and emotional lives of patients.
“When we first bring in a caregiver to a new patient, I always say to give it two weeks and they’ll be best friends,” Larson said. “Sometimes they say ‘my caregiver is like family’ and they do all these fun things together! I had a client who told me that her mom used to call her several times per day. But after getting a caregiver, now she has to be sure to call her mom at a time that’s good for her, since she and her caregiver are often off doing fun activities.”
Risks of social isolation
According to a 2022 article in the New York Times, Gen X and Baby Boomers are living alone more than any previous generation. Between 2020 and 2022, the demographic of Americans over the age of 50 who live alone spiked from 15 million to 26 million. And, the article cited that of people over 55, one in six didn’t have any children. In Canada as well, according to 2022 governmental statistics, older adults comprise the largest demographic of the population living alone.
Social isolation and loneliness, according to research findings in a 2019 article in the National Institute on Aging, comes with risks including high blood pressure, heart disease, a weaker immune system, obesity, anxiety, depression, Alzheimer’s and death. Loneliness, according to a study published in the Journal of Perspectives on Psychological Science, can be as deadly as tobacco smoke or obesity, as cited in this 2015 Time Magazine article: Why Loneliness May Be the Next Big Public-Health Issue.
Caregivers help seniors re-discover their purpose
“Universally, when I talk to spouses and kids, they say that the person who needs care has lost purpose in life,” Larson said. In some cultures, seniors are integral members of society, but in the U.S. and Canada, retired people can lose touch. Larson said that Qualicare’s caregivers have an eye out for how they can give people that sense of purpose again, and something to work on if they’re alone.
Larson said that she has a client who sews dresses for children in Haiti with her caregiver. Another client, who is now deceased, created “bedazzled” pages in a booklet with messages like “you’re awesome.” Larson said that when the patient died, she got the book. Now, Larson gives the pages away, and has been thrilled to see the sparkly pages hung up on people’s professional walls. A caregiver also recently told Larson that she and her client started doing their daily exercises to Motown music. The caregiver said they were looking forward to it every day, and that the patient was doing better, because they were having fun together!
“That’s the benefit, we can bring patients so much quality of life through the social aspect of things,” Larson said. “I had a client say: ‘I think my mom’s last years are going to be the best years of her life.’”
Qualicare helps clients find affordable healthcare resources
From the first connection with a client, Qualicare helps individuals and families find services that are affordable to them, even if they’re not going to benefit Qualicare’s bottom line. Larson said when a client calls and can’t afford Qualicare’s service out of pocket, they don’t say “we can’t help you,” but rather, the team helps people figure out how they could pay for services, even if those services don’t end up including Qualicare.
Qualicare teams are experts in knowing how to connect clients with available resources. In Canada, governmental support is fairly robust for senior care, and Larson said that she’s working with Alberta on a new system where clients can choose their own provider. In the United States, Larson said that her team helps clients identify ways to pay through long-term care insurance and veterans initiatives. If those programs won’t help with in-home caregiving, Larson said that she will send clients to financial advisors who can help seniors identify assets that could be used to pay for services. A client of theirs, she said, did a reverse mortgage on her home, and was able to use the money to pay for in-home care in her 90s. And, if the person is low income, they’ll send them to PACE, an organization that helps to provide access to health care. No matter what, if a client calls Qualicare, they’ll find the answers they need.
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