The population of the United States is graying. That statement sounds funny to most of us; the truth is the larger portion of our population is over the age of 50. This makes us a nation of graying population. Let's just think of the ramifications of this phenomenon. For the first time in our history our economic dollars will go toward the needs and desires of an older generation rather than a generation not out of high school.
The bulk of funding for nation, state or county funding is now changing from the nuclear family to the functioning of a one or two person household with needs for those few. We focus on single unit dwellings for one or two people, while we were for so long seeking large homes with three and four bedrooms and matching bathrooms, also country kitchens and large family rooms. Our health care which has been driven by children’s medicine (think of the vaccines and sports medicine) to now looking at maturing adult heath care; with research and drug companies following right in line.
So now we know where the caregiving role is going. Along with all the professions in the past there will be more need to have focused on quality. We will see more focus on licensing and background checks, which are only made easier by the internet. Our caregivers will become specialized just as our history has been with the educational roles. Certainly we are all headed on a road we recognized and will adjust to quickly. There is a new horizon for our parents and us. Moving toward an economy of adjusted care and maturing markets. If you have a good caregiver treasure, acknowledge and praise them. It will not be long until this quality of care is much sought after. And keeping the caregiver you have may cost more.
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