Villages: A Cost Effective Solution

“Experts believe some type of village model could help fill the growing need for affordable housing and services for our rapidly aging population.

‘People who join Villages are planners,’ notes Elinor Ginzler, senior vice president for livable communities at AARP. ‘The notion of either delaying or avoiding institutional care is exactly why these folks joined.’

Aging-in-place systems are cost-effective. Consider this: The median monthly cost for nursing home care in 2009 was $5,243 — more than five times that for seniors living at home, according a study published in the 2010 issue of Health Affairs.”

“Aging in Place–A Graceful Living Option for Seniors,”
The Fiscal Times 2010

 

 

“According to the National Aging in Place Council, in 2008, the average cost of a home health aide for a single person was $19 per hour. Assisted-living facilities fees were about $3,008 per month while nursing homes ranged from $169 to $192 per day. By comparison, village living costs range from free (all volunteer-based with no revenue) to around $1,000 per year.”

“Village Concept Promotes Aging in Place”
“Aging in Place…It Takes a Village”

 

 

“The ‘village’ concept is taking off in small and big cities and suburbs across the country as the percentage of elderly rises while the share of the working-age population that supports them declines. The percentage of people 65 and older is projected to climb from 13% today to 19% by 2050, while the share of adults age 20 to 64 is expected to drop from 60% to 55%, the Census Bureau says.”

“Villages let elderly grow old at home,”
USA Today 2010

 

 

“Businesses, too, are stepping up to confront the parallel challenge of a rapidly aging population: how to support workers juggling full time jobs with their duties as caretakers of elderly relatives. According to a study by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, an estimated 21 percent of all U.S. households are providing care for an adult family member. Increasingly, employers see the toll that takes on their own employees’ health and productivity.

As the MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Costs reports, workers caring for an older relative are more likely to report health problems like depression, diabetes, hypertension or heart disease — costing employers $13.4 billion annually.”

“Aging in Place–A Graceful Living Option for Seniors,”
The Fiscal Times 2010

 

 

“‘For the first time, seniors are taking matters into their own hands and challenging providers to help them remain in their own homes,’ said Len Fishman, former president of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. ‘What we’re seeing is the death of the old long-term-care system. Something new is being born. It’s offering seniors and their families many more opportunities.'”

Boston Globe, “A self-help way to assisted living,”
August 2003

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