It is becoming common knowledge that 70% of people age 65 and older will require some form of long-term care assistance in life for various physical and mental conditions. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “The average long-term care resident, whether in a nursing home or assisted-living facility, is in his or her 80s or 90s and suffering from one or more serious physical or cognitive limitations.”
People can associate the need to enter a long-term care treatment program with a certain loss of freedoms and options they had when they were healthy in their younger years. However, a new project named the “Memory and Music Project” is bringing some of the outside world in through music and technology.
Meet Henry…
Henry is a long-term care resident who was recently featured on “Alive Inside”, a movie about the how the Memory and Music project is helping people in long-term care with technology. Nevertheless, when dealing with cognitive impairments and lack of technical savvy it takes more than just handing someone an iPad and expecting great results.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Aside from a few computer-savvy people, most of these individuals need help getting wired. In addition to the Music and Memory program, several other initiatives have begun using iPods, iPads and other tablets to bring sensory and cognitive stimulation to residents who are otherwise bored, restless or in search of some purpose in the moment.”
The article explains further by stating, “For example, a pilot study at the University of California, San Diego found that iPads were safe and effective in reducing agitation in patients with dementia. These same tablets are increasingly being used by family members to connect grandma or grandpa with distant family and friends via networks like Skype. Telemedicine and tele psychiatry make use of similar but more souped-up technology to bring specialists such as geriatric psychiatrists to the bedside of nursing-home residents in underserved areas.”
Although the Memory and Music program is finding creative ways to help cover the costs of adding technology in long-term care settings for residents, it is not without its limitations. WSJ says, “There are two barriers to wider introduction of these technologies into long-term care: costs and privacy issues. Even donated iPods require maintenance, troubleshooting and safeguarding, all of which incur staff time that is costly and not reimbursable.”
This is why it is becoming so much more important to plan early for your long-term care needs. When you plan early, you can imagine various possibilities and plan accordingly. It is very possible to have many comforts of home and be connected like Henry who was lucky enough to have technology donated to him by a caring and compassionate doctor. It only takes a few minutes to get information and start the discovery process to know all of your options.
California Long Term Care Insurance is here to help you make sure your plans include the comforts of home with the resources to make sure they are covered to your satisfaction.
Start your planning today with our no obligation review of your current long-term care plan. We can also help you develop one from scratch if you have been putting it off like many other people.
