An article today in the New York Times on home care for an aging population focuses on the age of the care workers themselves - an interesting slant, although any slant in Canadian newspapers would be welcome, I'm sure. Our country seems to want to avoid this topic - is it too unpleasant, or just typical of our media and our government to wait until it is right on top of us before paying attention?
Another article caught my eye today - '10 years needed to fix health care: expert' - published in the Montreal Gazette. I'd like to know why it's taken so long for the media, the medical system, and the government - to become aware that the age of our population is increasing, that the actual numbers of the old are growing. I started learning about this in the early to mid 1990's while a student in classes taught by Ingrid Connidis at the University of Western Ontario. I learned, I wrote, I did research on aging, and I tried to get work in this field. Maybe I was just too old to start out in this career, but it did seem as though it was more often younger people (women) who were getting the research jobs at universities I applied to, or in positions in the community, in policy or work on the more practical side of gerontology and aging in general.
There are some interesting comments on the article in the NY Times, there for anybody wanting to look them over. I worked in homecare when I was a university student, 20 years ago, and met some great people and some who would have been better off living a hundred years ago in the southern United States. I worked in homecare again a couple of years ago, despite having two university degrees. Newly returned to Canada in 2007, as a stranger and with a resume that lacked a decent-looking work history, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and it did enable me to pay the rent.
Some people who have caregivers come into their home seem to be looking for a slave. Others may really need someone to listen to their concerns and not just to do the home care. Some families may want another person in the home to take the brunt off the stressful relationship with the older person. Perhaps in some cases the home-care worker stopping by has the additional purpose of ensuring the health of the aged person is still stable. Home care workers have to be able to deal with all these situations.
A Graying Population, a Graying Work Force
By John Leland
New York Times
April 24, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/us/25care.html?th&emc=th
10 years needed to fix health care: expert
By Charlie Fidelman
Montreal Gazette
April 24, 2010
http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/years+needed+health+care+expert/2945390/story.html (No longer available through this link).
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2010_Apr_10YearsNeededFixHealthCare.doc
links updated Apr 11, 2012
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