"Tech for a New Age" Shares Data and Perspective on Aging with Technology
11/16/2015
The technology company Philips offers "Tech for a New Age," a microsite posted on The New York Times that has a wealth of interesting information for Boomers. According to data shared by the site, 10,000 people turn 65 every day and by 2030, 18 percent of the population of the U.S. will be at least 65.
The site suggests that technology can be an enabler for keeping seniors more independent as they age:
" 'Technology can help people stay as healthy as possible. It helps people stay in their homes and out of nursing homes and hospitals,' says Brian Carpenter, an expert on aging and professor at Washington University in St. Louis. 'There’s tremendous financial incentive to keep people in their own homes. It’s where people want to be, and it’s much cheaper than the alternative.'
"The average annual cost of assisted living is $3,600 a month, while a private room in a nursing home is $7,750. The average cost of hospitalization for a fall — a common accident that affects one out of three older adults each year — is more than $35,000."
Check out the site for more information about the costs of senior home care, data concerning aging, and examples and stories about how various technology innovations are helping seniors as they age.
My career was in healthcare, hospice work for 10 years, and the baby boomers, I'm one of them, should educate ourselves on the options available when illness strikes. Since we are living longer, many of us will have chronic conditions and will want to manage them at home, and not in a nursing home, and a program to help is call Palliative care. And, when one receives a terminal diagnosis, hospice care is available to everyone and is covered under Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance.
Posted by: Therese Crutcher-Marin | 11/16/2015 at 11:28 AM