YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
by Clarissa A. French
SBJ Staff
The aging of America's population is resulting in billions of dollars in losses for the nation's businesses. Employees are becoming caregivers for their aging family members, and businesses are seeing the impact in absenteeism, lost or diminished productivity and turnover.
The bad news? It's going to get worse.
A panel of health care professionals gathered Sept. 21 at Manor Care of the Ozarks to address some of these issues in "Our Aging Population: The Cost to Your Business," a Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce health care forum.
According to Cathy Mulford, of Manor Care of the Ozarks, "Only one in five seniors in need of long-term care receives care in a nursing home. The majority are cared for at home by family members" family members who are also members of the work force.
Besides her work at Manor Care, Mulford faces elder-care issues on a personal level caring for her parents, who are in their 80s, and her grandmother, who is 102.
Like more and more American workers, she has had to take time off from her job to take her parents to doctors' appointments and provide home care after hospitalization. She also deals with ongoing issues, such as filing insurance and Medicare claims.
This problem, already costly to business, will reach Titanic proportions with the aging of the baby boom generation.
Patty Ingle, executive director of the Alzheimer's Association, said a recent study indicates an estimated 70 percent of Alzheimer's patients receive care at home, care that is by necessity around-the-clock.
The cost of this care to businesses is estimated at $26.2 billion, including $7.8 billion in losses associated with absenteeism, and $13.2 billion in lost productivity, according to the study, conducted by Dr. Ross Koppel of the University of Pennsylvania. The cost in employee turnover is estimated at $3.59 billion per year.
On average, Ingle said, the primary caregiver for someone with Alzheimer's misses 23.82 days of work per year because of care-related issues. Between 10 percent and 20 percent of caregivers leave work altogether to provide full-time care for a family member with Alzheimer's.
These figures, Ingle added, are only related to the primary caregiver[[In-content Ad]]
Springfield event venue Belamour LLC gained new ownership; The Wok on West Bypass opened; and Hawk Barber & Shop closed on a business purchase that expanded its footprint to Ozark.