The Need for Home Care Services in the Lehigh Valley

The global aging population has been on a steady rise with baby boomers signing up for home care services. Unfortunately, most of those with home care needs cannot afford to pay for these services anymore. As people begin to age, their lifestyle gradually changes. Some people are able to manifest this change in their life while others aren’t. Some of these lifestyle changes include sadness because of declining health. For instance, when they retire and are moved to a nursing home from their homes, some elders can start feeling sadness due to this life-changing event. This sadness can be expressed in form of anger and might be directed to those around them, either caregivers or their family members. Another change associated with aging is memory lapse. Upto10% of those over the age of 65 and half of the people over 85-year-old will develop dementia. Stroke is also associated with aging as well as drug use

Lehigh County has a total population of about 374,000 of whom about 226,000 are elders. The seniors make up about 60,000 of the total population. The gender ratio in Lehigh County is 95 men to 100 women with a total gender population of 174,200 men and 183,613 females. There are 9, 403 more women than men in this county.  In 2019, the county had a median age of 39 and a median household income of $65, 667. There are 2.6 persons per household with 59% married couples, 38% male who never married, 33% female who never married, 51% male who married, 49% Female who never married, 8% divorced male, 10% divorced female, 2% male who are widowed and 8% female who are widowed. The county boasts of 90% of high school graduates, 29.9% holding bachelor’s degrees or postgraduate. 10% of the population never attained any education while 35% have high school diplomas. 25% have gained some college-level education and 19% possess bachelor’s degrees while 11% have obtained their post-graduate certificates. Lehigh County has a total of 180,400 gainfully employed and just about 9,700 unemployed. The unemployment rate in the county is 5.1%. 

As people begin to age, their lifestyle gradually changes. Some people are able to manifest this change in their life while others aren’t. Some of these lifestyle changes include sadness because of declining health. For instance, when they retire and are moved to a nursing home from their homes, some elders can start feeling sadness due to this life-changing event. This sadness can be expressed in form of anger and might be directed to those around them, either caregivers or their family members. Another change associated with aging is memory lapse. Upto10% of those over the age of 65 and half of the people over 85-year-old will develop dementia. Stroke is also associated with aging as well as drug use.

The State of Pennsylvania has several provisions that enable the elderly to sign up for some benefits through Medicaid and Medicare. The requirements are very strict and most often leave out a huge chunk of the population that would otherwise benefit from these public resources. There’s a very long waiting list before anyone can get approved for healthcare services through Medicaid and some applicants have actually passed away while waiting for this approval. The fee for service that most providers charge is too high for a middle-class American to afford. For instance, some providers charge as high as $50 per visit for private home care services which last for only an hour or two. The State on the other hand only pays between $18 -$19 per hour to the healthcare providers for services offered to the seniors who have signed up for government assistance through Medicaid or Medicare. 

Based on the above analysis, there is a need to provide home care services to the elderly in Lehigh valley County. From the profile described above, there’s clear evidence that the elderly population is increasing and that the available public resources are limited. For instance, when elders start experiencing memory lapse and mood swings due to gradual changes of their lifestyle or health condition, they need caregivers to provide them constant care, specialized and professional services around the clock. Most elders have no relative or family members who can provide these services and even if they did, most are not trained and licensed to provide the services

BENEFITS OF HOME CARE SERVICES.

• Cost Effective – Consumers do not have to worry about paying extra fees for nursing homes and institutions accommodations.
• Homecare services offers the privilege of getting personalized services at the clients convenient location and time. 
• Consumers feel more comfortable knowing that they are receiving services from the comfort of their home where family members are actively involved.