Senior care falls on shoulders of 'sandwich generation'

by Sheila Krempges

SBJ Contributing Writer

sbj@sbj.net

As parents age, their middle-aged children often fill the role of helping them financially, physically and emotionally.

Valerie Griffin, coordinator of St. John's Older Adult Services, said the average age of those children is 47, which places them in the "sandwich generation."

People in their 40s and early 50s are often raising their own children when they realize their aging parents need more attention.

Their attention is diverted from other responsibilities, and more stress is added to their lives, said Dr. Bradley Fisher, director of the gerontology department at Southwest Missouri State University.

"The people that are sandwiched basically run themselves ragged trying to live their own lives and help their parents," Fisher said.

Approximately 40 percent of all working women have to take a significant amount of time off in order to care for an aging parent, he said.

Taking a toll

The cost of growing old is taking a toll on families, said Tony Kriner, administrator of Greene Haven, a skilled nursing care facility. Kriner said that much of the aging population eventually uses Medicaid to help cover the costs of medical bills.

"About 60 percent of seniors in the state are dependent upon Medicaid money," Kriner said.

Many elderly women have depleted their savings, and many do not receive a pension because it wasn't offered by their previous employment, or because they did not work outside the home.

"At highest risk right now are women, and they live the longest," Griffin said. Women often suffer from chronic illnesses whereas men are often stricken with acute illnesses, she said.

Due to improved health care and today's modern lifestyles, people are living longer, Griffin said.

"The largest growing segment of the population are those 80 and above; the frail elderly," she added.

There is a myth that everyone who is old lives in a nursing home, Griffin said.

In reality, as many as 95 percent of the elderly live in their own homes, she said.

Those who are in nursing homes usually have no family support or they have chronic illnesses.

For the 5 percent of the aged who live in nursing homes, and for many living at home, the most expensive health care occurs during the last two months of life, Griffin said.

Prescriptions

Diana Richards, information and assistance director for the Southwest Missouri Office on Aging, said recent federally mandated cutbacks are also affecting seniors on Medicaid.

"I bet if you polled 10 seniors, at least eight would say that they'll have problems (with prescription drug costs)," Richards said.

However, she added that the state of Missouri has addressed the issue and developed its own pharmaceutical plan. The Missouri SenioRx program includes an increase in Medicaid income guidelines to 80 percent of the federal poverty level. The program also calls for covering the needs of the Department of Mental Health.

Richards said Missouri is ahead of the game in attempting to alleviate problems Medicaid recipients could face in light of the cutbacks.

"Only three other states in the nation have done this, so we're really on the cutting edge," she said. She added that the since the program is in its first year, it is still being fine-tuned.

Nursing home costs

Lawsuits and subsequent increased liability insurance have become a problem for long-term care facilities, especially in southern states such as Florida and Texas, Kriner said.

"This is going to affect the seniors in many ways," Kriner said. For example, as a not-for-profit corporation, Greene Haven's rates would have to increase in response to increased insurance costs, he said.

Minimum monthly charges at aging care centers in Springfield vary from $1,100 to as much as $3,500, according to information compiled by the St. John's Seniors program.