The truth of the crisis is real; if an aging adult is in need of care, chances are good that the family ends up being burdened with the responsibility of caregiving, whether physically or financially. And the toll is high.

Providing care in a home-like environment, adult foster homes (AFH’s) provide peace of mind and support to families in such a way that families can become family members again and step away from the role as caregiver. The benefit is not only to the new resident of the AFH.

 

Many families are unable to afford the high cost of senior care, so the burden often falls on unpaid family caregivers, some of whom give up jobs to care for loved ones. Meanwhile, some of those who might be able to afford professional care might have a harder time finding it because Hawai‘i isn’t meeting the demand for long-term care workers such as certified nursing assistants, registered nurses, home health aides, case managers and drivers.

So many times, either as part of the natural aging process, early onset dementia or just plain not understanding, seniors visiting doctors come away with incomplete comprehension of their treatment plans, or worse yet, not being adequately treated for the primary reason to their health care professional to begin with. This is a great initiative. While not many foster homes are able to tap into this level of resources, we have been able to retain or commission longstanding caregivers who have been with us for many years to do much the same as what this group does.

 

Out of concern that her clients aren’t being heard by their doctors, Eugene-based Senior Resource Advisors sends them to appointments with nurses who will advocate for them.

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