Page 100 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2023

GOLDEN YEARS
THE IMPORTANCE OF
NOVEMBER
MONTH
November is National Family Caregiver’s Month, which is meant to raise awareness for the approximately 53 million caregivers in the United States. They may help clean the house, assist their loved one with bathing, or just give them someone
to talk to. Financially, physically, and emotionally, this can be taxing on the caregiver’s personal and professional life.
Celebrating the everyday heroes
in our life is important. Make sure to let the caregivers you know that they are appreciated. If you yourself are a caregiver, take a break and do something for yourself.
story by Victoria Snyder
You may think there’s plenty of time to think about what you’ll do when you get older, but it’s never too early to plan. Roughly half of people 65 and older will need some kind of long-term care that they have to pay for, and many are unprepared for this reality.
Many think that their insurance or the government will help cover costs from this, but the situation is more complex. There is long-term care insurance, but it only pays for some of the costs. Medicaid can pay for care as well, but you have to qualify for the program first.
Long-term care is not temporary. Care can last for months or years and the patient is not expected to live without it. It’s a range of both medical and personal services that are intended to help people who have lost the capability to live independently.
There are many kinds of long-term care services. If you want to stay at home, there are types of home-based services that keep you in the surroundings you know. Depending on the severity of the situation, there are communities to move into with 24/7 care, like skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, and more.
Making these kinds of decisions is understandably difficult. Talk to your loved ones, health providers, and anybody else you think may be helpful in making this decision.
You never know if you’ll need long-term care. You may not ever need it, but it’s always best to be prepared for a sudden accident, sickness, or injury that might change things.
Planning ahead provides time to research local options and their costs. It enables you to decide on crucial matters while you are still capable of doing so. People with serious medical conditions or cognitive impairments should start making long-term care arrangements as soon as possible.
100 | November 2023
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