Shannah Koss, EVP of Community Development
I got an email from the National Institute on Aging with this heading that sends you to NIA’s web page with information on planning for long-term care. It highlights the importance of planning ahead. It notes that we all prefer to stay in our homes; however, “The fact is that for some illnesses and for some people, professional health care in a long-term care facility is the only reasonable choice.”
While I cannot dispute this statement, the entire industry including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) are seeking home and community-based alternatives that are more affordable. We all know we should plan ahead. If you’ve already been a caregiver, you know it is difficult to influence the people we love to do advance planning. It is even difficult to do our own advance planning due to a combination of procrastination, denial and fear. The need is even more urgent for people with dementia.
The number of individuals living with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia is projected to more than double over the next 30 years from 5.8 million to >13 million. Caregiving for people with dementia is documented as often more stressful and difficult. Individuals over age 65 diagnosed with Alzheimer’s survive on average 4-8 years, but potentially 20 years; an average of 40% of the time is a severe state of dementia[i]. Very few individuals and families can afford facility-based care of $60,000 per year or more for the average amount of time anticipated, let alone prolonged living with dementia.
At Livpact we think about these challenges every day for individuals in need and their informal caregivers. Our approach is to recognize that caregivers have a wide range of needs. They cycle through crisis, recovery and new normal during all phases and they have varied amounts of resources, time and energy to do planning on top of day-to-day healthcare and living tasks.
Livpact focuses on making whatever tasks you and your extended care team are trying to get done, on a daily, short-term or long-term basis, be easily accessible, accomplished and tracked. You can manage and coordinate all activities in one place and securely share information when and where you need it.
When it comes to the more sustained support needed for people with dementia combined with a desire to keep your loved one in an environment where they are most comfortable and familiar, Livpact helps you find community services that can help you with services in your home and local community.
We are working with several thought leaders in Alzheimer’s
and dementia to make sure our platform will evolve to meet the additional
challenges that caregivers for people with dementia face in caring for their
loved one and caring for themselves. If you, like many caregivers, are trying
to manage the health and daily affairs for someone else and still have time for
yourself, try out our platform, the first 3 months are free.
[i] 2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures Alzheimer’s Association pp.26-28