Commentary

Who Will Care For The Boomer Caregiver?

by Derek Dunham , Columnist, October 26, 2015

As the population ages, Boomers are shouldering more and more responsibility for overseeing their parents’ care. According to a study by MetLife, nearly 10 million people over 50 care for their aging parents. The caregiving often falls to one sibling, and it’s typically undertaken out of a sense of love, caring and duty. However, the caregiving role can take a toll in many ways.

A personal story: My neighbor is in his late 50s; his parents are in their early 80s. They have five kids, but he’s the only one stepping up to help Mom and Dad. He lives down the street from his parents, and as they’ve slowed down, he’s become caregiver-of-all-trades, cutting their grass, chopping wood, driving them to doctors’ appointments, grocery shopping, picking up their prescriptions. Anytime something breaks in their house, Mom and Dad call him. He’s under a lot of stress, but he feels like he can’t say no. After all, they’re his parents. However, he’s become frustrated with siblings that don’t pitch in. He’s helping a lot, and no one is helping him.

Like my neighbor, many Boomers are not only making sure that their parents eat right and take their meds, but they are juggling finances, scheduling, housekeeping, maintaining the home, grocery shopping, meal planning and more.

These overwhelmed caregivers have many needs that marketers can fill, but some aren’t sure what they need. Can you provide a way for caregivers to assess their situation? Can you give them tools to help them stay organized and on-schedule? Can you help them keep the rest of the family in the loop? What about respite care and support groups to combat burnout? Caregivers often put their loved ones’ needs ahead of their own, which adds to the toll their role takes on their own lives and health.

Caregivers have so many disparate needs that bundled services can be a huge stress-reliever. Rather than hunting around for a support group here, a handyman here, and financial planner over there, it’s helpful to find many services in one place. For instance, a senior living community might also offer home care, respite care, adult day care and online caregiver resources. Examples of the bundled approach:

Home Helpers: A program that offers home health plus sitter services, household help, respite care, high-tech monitoring devices, automated medication dispensers and vital signs monitoring

Lotsa Helping Hands: An online calendar that enables friends and family to sign up for tasks that provide respite for the caregiver, including meal preparation, rides to medical appointments, visits and more. It also provides message boards, photo sharing and storage for health, financial and legal information.

Needs in this category are going to continue to climb. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, the 65+ population will increase to 71.3 million in 2050, and unpaid family caregivers will continue to be the largest source of long-term care services in the United States.

What can your company do to improve the lives of seniors and those who care for them? Can you support caregivers? Can you help family members get on the same page? Can you bundle several services together to make life easier for everyone?

4 comments about "Who Will Care For The Boomer Caregiver?".

Check to receive email when comments are posted.

David Baker from Cordial, October 26, 2015 at 10:49 a.m.
Great Post Derek,
Reply

Ann Simanis from Road Scholar, October 26, 2015 at 11:26 a.m.

Not-for-profit Road Scholar is committed to giving Cargivers ages 50+ a much-needed respite from the emotional and physical demands of being a caregiver with Grants to attend our educational travel programs in the United States. http://www.roadscholar.org/n/caregivergrant

Terrence Morgan from Caregiver Omnimedia Inc, October 26, 2015 at 11:38 a.m.

So corrrect. We have been studying and providing marketing services to help organizations reach it for over 10 years. THe average caregiver (according to the EverCcre study) spends over $5000/yr of their own money helping their loved ones. And influences the spending of much more. Hence it is a huge market for medial supplies and services as well as non medical spending (including pet care for companion animals). It represents roughly 25% of the adult population. A large market but with significant challeges. It is diverse and includes children to older adults. It does not congregate at any one place. Many do not identify as caregivers but simply consider themselves daughters and sons, spouses , friends etc. Yet with careful targeting and planning it can be worthwhile for both the marketer and family caregiver.

Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, October 26, 2015 at 8:38 p.m.

You are saying what so many people are ignoring. Not all parents have 5 children either. Adult commuities are very expensive, into the thousands per month and usually rather far from their doctors and medical care. New places being built lack public transportation and people feel trapped, far from their families and friends. Sorry to say, but $5000 year help will not be nearly enough and with political pushes to cut social security and medicare with insurance companies allowed to get greedier, there is a tsunami coming. Assisted Living = $5000 a month, not year. Nursing home = $9000 a month, not year. For dementia patients, it's more with less facilities. Keep in mind, too, that help is paid $7.25/hr means less people are willing to do it, certainly not professionals.