Caregivers, science, and technology bring a ray of sunshine for the elderly in a bad year.
2020 has been one of the most challenging years for humanity since the start of the third millennium and a most dangerous one for our senior citizens. According to the CDC, 80% of COVID deaths in the U.S. have been in adults 65 years old and older¹. AARP reports that more than 30% of COVID deaths occurred in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities². Indeed, seniors 75 and older are 220 to 630 times more likely to die from COVID than adults 29 years old and younger (the ones we often see partying).
For many of us the global pandemic meant having to work from home, skipping the gym, ordering in, not eating out much. For the older and most vulnerable members of society sheltering in place, meant long periods of social isolation, forced solitude, loneliness, accentuating problems which seniors often struggle with, especially those living alone at home. 2020 was bad news for seniors; but hidden by the dark COVID induced cloud we find bright good news most notably about caregivers and technology/science.
Caregiver Heroes
Caregivers have always been important for seniors, but in 2020 they have been their heroes. Every day we see stories about the front-line caregivers garbed in space suits and elaborate masks saving lives — mostly senior lives — at hospitals around the country. These caregivers are risking their lives, some have lost their lives, due to the aggressiveness of the virus and the inadequacies of protective supplies.
Beyond hospitals we find more heroes, front-line caregivers, aiding senior’s in their homes and institutions with health care, general support, empathy, and companionship essential to overall health and well being. They include family members, health aides, certified nurse’s aides, as well as a fleet of support aides who with often meager recognition, pay and benefits competently and compassionately support seniors day to day. These caregivers certainly deserve hero status for their service during the pandemic.
Biden’s 21st Century Caregiving Workforce
As a result of the 2020 election the Biden plan for mobilizing American talent and heart to create a 21st century caregiving and education workforce³, if implemented, is great news for seniors, caregivers, and families especially seniors living at home. The plan includes expanded access to dignified care for older Americans and those with disabilities. It supports informal caregivers, family members, or loved ones who do this work unpaid, including a $5,000 tax credit for informal caregivers and Social Security credits for people who care for their loved ones. It expands access to high-quality, affordable childcare and offer universal preschool to three-and four-year olds.
Biden’s broad-based plan substantially upgrades the infrastructure of care in the U.S. As well as making childcare more affordable and accessible for working families it makes it easier for aging relatives and loved ones with disabilities to have quality, affordable home- or community-based care. And the plan gives caregiving workers and early childhood educators a raise and stronger benefits.
Science and Technology Breakthroughs
Science and technology provided a raft of good news for seniors in 2020. Obviously, creating high potency vaccines in less than one year tops the list of the year’s glad tidings for mankind, especially its most threatened demographic. The pandemic accelerated the deployment of sensor and communications technology combined with artificial intelligence to the benefit of seniors.
That technology can now be found extensively in every step of senior care leading to better health and living for seniors. This includes home health monitoring (vital signs monitoring, medication management, …), assisted daily living (meal planning and ordering, shopping, financial management, …), safety (fall detection, detection of deviations from routine behavior, …), security (emergency response systems, home protection, …) , companionship (video conferencing, smart speakers, virtual visits, … ), and anti-aging research (disease monitoring, prodromal symptom detection, … )⁴.
Hospital at Home
Serious medical conditions can be treated at home. For example, this past Fall older adults living with cardiovascular disease and related co-morbidities in California have access to a package of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) services with Bluetooth enabled technology to monitor and manage their condition. It included a pulse oximeter, digital thermometer, blood pressure monitor, digital scale, portable heart monitor (ECG), and blood glucose meter. It’s the core technology of a hospital at home⁵.
The Hospital at Home concept has been around for several years and has seen major technology improvements over the years, but big news came in November when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced they will reimburse for acute hospital care provided at home as part of a new, innovative Acute Care at Home mode⁶. Indeed, the 2020 pandemic shocked the government into paying for much more senior care technology.
CMS has even begun authorizing Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to provide tablets or smartphones to patients under a non-health related social needs benefit⁷. In March telehealth got a boost when Medicare announce reimbursement for office, hospital, and other visits furnished via telehealth including in patient’s places of residence⁸. We expect even more progress along these lines in the future.
Alzheimer’s Discoveries
Science made considerable progress in 2020 perhaps the most important for seniors were two discoveries in Alzheimer’s. In May, several researcher teams announced blood tests that identifies Alzheimer’s before symptoms arise⁹. After 30 years of intensive research without a treatment or cure, in December clinical trial results indicate a drug, masitinib, appears to halt cognitive decline in patients with early Alzheimer’s¹⁰.
This is all very good news for seniors because 1 in 3 will die with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, killing more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined¹¹.
Senior Care Inflection Point
Indeed, 2020 has been a major inflection point in senior care. We celebrate caregiver heroes, Biden’s caregiving workforce, science and technology breakthroughs, hospitals at home, and Alzheimer’s discoveries. They and many other advances should give us comfort for a good news future for seniors, our largest demographic.
Bibliography
[1] CDC Your Health Older Adults — At greater risk of requiring hospitalization or dying if diagnosed with COVID-19 Dec 13, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/older-adults.html#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20your%20risk%20of,aged%2065%20years%20and%20older.
[2] AARP Family Caregiving Medical Four Months That Left 54,000 Dead From COVID in Long-Term Care December 3, 2020, https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/health/info-2020/covid-19-nursing-homes-an-american-tragedy.html
[3] Biden caregiving plan, https://joebiden.com/caregiving/
[4] CarePredict, https://www.carepredict.com/blog/how-is-ai-revolutionizing-elderly-care/ , and https://www.welbi.co/blog/5-ways-that-artificial-intelligence-will-impact-the-senior-living-industry
[5] Community Wellness Launches in California to Bring Remote Patient Monitoring Service to Older Adults with Cardiovascular Disease and Related Chronic Conditions, https://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-community-wellness-launches-california-bring-remote-patient-monitoring-/2020/10/21/9242516.htm
[6] Hospital in the Home, https://currenthealth.com/
[7] New Technologies Reshaping the Future of the Home Amid COVID-19, https://homehealthcarenews.com/2020/05/new-technologies-reshaping-the-future-of-the-home-amid-covid-19/
[8] MEDICARE TELEMEDICINE HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FACT SHEET Mar 17, 2020 Telehealth, https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-telemedicine-health-care-provider-fact-sheet
[9] Blood test is highly accurate at identifying Alzheimer’s before symptoms arise. When combined with age and genetic risk factor, test is 94% accurate, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190801162144.htm
[10] https://www.alzforum.org/news/research-news/positive-phase-2-results-claimed-masitinib-alzheimers
[11] https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures
