Why is Elder Care awareness a hard sell to the general public?

July 5, 11:29 AMPittsburgh Elder Care ExaminerDavid Lindberg

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Writing about elder care issues and raising the general public’s awareness of the need for more support from everyone in the forms of funds, political backing, research and support for more resources and salary for those who care for our elderly is a really hard sell! Even as these issues gain more visibility because of social networking, the plain fact seems to remain that the elderly are just not on the mind of the public, with the exception of those who are directly dealing and caring for them.

We all know the plain truth of youth and it’s natural feeling of foreverness. We all were young and can acknowledge the fact that youth is about discovery, knowledge through making mistakes and the beginnings of learning about life. Being consumed by these thoughts does not preclude involvement into what is happening with people who are “old”. It is natural in our culture for the young to not think about the issues of the elderly. This is not done with purpose, but just that old age is not the focus of youth. That is to be learned as one nears old age.

This all makes for a hard task to raise a general alert to everyone that, as the largest segment of our country’s population has one foot in the door of the elderly phase of life, healthcare and elder care will be a major issue of our country and culture, and will soon be approaching our economy with the speed and force of a runaway freight train!

Hopefully, through the use of the Internet, social networking and media sources such as Examiner.com, there will be a movement of more and more of the general public giving a bit of time to read and support issues that face our elderly citizens now.

It is the hopes of this Examiner to gain readers of all ages who will see the need to learn more about what the elderly are going through. We all have parents and we all will face dealing with their health and age issues sooner or later. In fact, we all are here because “they” brought us into this world, cared for us, provided food, shelter and nurtured us along until we discovered our “wings” and took flight. It’s time for us to turn around and look back at our parents and see if they need our help....“They Do!”