History Repeats Itself

In the late 70s and early 80s, large numbers of women returned to the workplace on a full time basis. This led to a boom in the child care industry as many facilities popped up across the United States to fill the need for two income families. The child care industry increase from just under 300,000 child-care workers in 1985 to just over 800,000 workers in 2007.

History is repeating itself but this time around, the increase is in the amount of senior caregivers and facilities across our nation. According to Home Instead Senior Care, it appears that the senior care industry is following the trends of the child-care boom. Personal and home care nurses and aides are expected to grow by more than 50 percent between the years 2006 and 2016. This is an increase in jobs from 767,000 to 1.5 million according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Personal aides who help seniors at home with meal preperation, light housekeeping and general companionship is the second fastest growing occupation in the industry.

Boomers have been the key in fueling both industries. It was their children that boomed child-care and it is now their parents that are creating the need for new services and regulations for the elderly. This "sandwich" generation is the stimulus for industry growths and declines. Who knows if we will ever see this type of history repeat itself with future generations.

One Step Away

When creating the Fenway Medical web site, I was aiming for a specific target audience of baby boomers who are now taking care of their elderly parents at home. During the process though, I have learned first hand that caregivers are not only tending to the needs of an older loved one.
My best friend in life has recently been overcome by frequent panic attacks and mild depression. Always a traveller and someone who has a zest for life, the past few months have taken their toll. I have been thrust into the caregiver role. Due to uncertainty about public places, I now am in charge of tasks such as shopping and picking up carry out. Frequent tiredness has required that I take on additional responsibilities around the house and in our friend circles.
I have learned several things during this experience. The first is to respect what your loved one brings to a relationship and the little things that they offer every day. Second, you need to take care of yourself. My site has published frequent advice on the health of the actual caregiver and how you need to also look after yourself. Maybe I didn't fully buy into this when just writing the words but now I understand. You may not feel that you have enough time in the day but as a caregiver you need to remember to care for you. And, if you are not currently a caregiver, keep in mind to look after yourself if you are given these responsibilities as we are all just one step away from being the rock that they look to for guidance.

Seniors and the Internet

I read an article today that stated that only 7% of the population 65 years and older utilize the internet daily. This number is going to change in the next decade as the baby boomers will move into this demographic. It is expected that 35% of "seniors" will be utilizing the web but this will be the equivalent of 65% of teens due to the larger amount of elderly in the nation's population. Fenway Medical has designed our site keeping this demographic change in mind. We feature products that many will need to utilize for loved ones or themselves. We have also installed a font changing tool on our site and hope in the near future to develop a virtual shopping cart to ease each transaction. Visit us often at www.fenwaymedical.com to watch how we change as our population changes.