In this generations throw away society we've begun to develop this unspoken rule about tossing an item if its lost its initial use. A blouse with missing buttons, a ripped sheet, a stained blanket. I'm no angel myself I've done the same things. It's easier to us when we just say 'we'll just buy a new one' instead of figuring out how to fix the problem. We seemed to develop scarily similar rule terms of our nations elderly population. A rule about our nations elderly being tossed away too.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who loves their grandparents, but how often do we visit? Call just to see how things are? I know it seems like its not a big deal, you think they'll always be fine. Often times, however that's not the case.
Our nations elderly are spend a lot of their time left alone with their thoughts. That can lead to depression among other things. Close to a fourth of our nations elderly woman lived alone in 2014; according to a study done by the population reference bureau. That number rose to 56 percent in woman over 85. Even people who take great care of their bodies can decline in health quickly when you tack on the mental stress/physical toll of being alone.
If they live in a nursing home or assisted living building they have the added benefit if nursing care which provides not only medical assistance, but a caring ear to listen. That care is provided by some amazing people, however more often than not the nurses are given an unrealistic case load. Excess patients makes even the best nurses and CNA's worn out to the point of making mistakes. We need to shine a spotlight on this problem now while we can still manage it. The population bureau also stated that “The aging of the baby boomer generation could fuel a 75 percent increase in the number of Americans ages 65 and older requiring nursing home care.”
Also, the number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to more than double from 46 million today to over 98 million by 2060. This means if nothing is done, millions of people will be displaced, making living conditions unbearable for many.
We would all like to see our elders cared for, but it takes action to make that a reality. We need to stand up for the people who cant speak for themselves. These people were teachers, welders, business owners. Now that they have out grown their usefulness to us we toss them aside? We need to recognize the problem so we can do our best to solve it before it gets out of control.