Caregiving: The next challenge for business

Like many other states, Nevada is facing an aging population along with a huge increase in the demand for home care services. As these major trends impact the nation, more adults are taking care of their aging parents and are increasingly assuming the role of caregiver.

According to a University of Nevada, Las Vegas Center for Democratic Culture 2005 report, the senior population (age 65-plus) is proportionally the fastest-growing age group in Nevada. This age group accounts for 11.3 percent of the total population, and by 2030 is projected to increase more than 260 percent over the year 2000.

The challenges of an aging population are already starting to have a major impact on our communities socially, economically and culturally. A quick poll of your employees or co-workers would probably reveal that a majority of their parents don't even live here in the Reno area. It would also likely reveal that many of those with aging parents face the difficult challenge of juggling caregiving with work, family and other obligations. Chances are, the caregiver is also female.

The National Institutes of Health describes a caregiver as "someone providing care for an elderly, ill or disabled family member or friend in the home," and the number of caregivers in America is now estimated at more than 50 million.

Although there are signs that more men are starting to take an active role in caregiving, research shows that most caregivers today nearly 70 percent in fact are women. In the absence of a spouse, the family member most likely to have responsibility for an aging parent is: first, the daughter; second, the daughter-in-law; third, the granddaughter and, fourth, the son. These women face the prospect of juggling work and child rearing along with caregiving duties. And, much of what we experience here in northern Nevada is a microcosm of changes taking place nationally.

The Caregiving in America report from The Caregiving Project for Older Americans recently found that more than 15 million people use home-based caregiver services in the U.S., and that number is expected to double by 2050. The report also revealed that eight in 10 adults who receive long-term care at home get their care from family, friends and volunteers.

Federal efforts aimed at dealing with the looming caregiving crisis are underway, including efforts by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration on Aging (AoA), which is guiding the work of The National Aging Services Network to develop systems of support for caregivers. Still, the AoA notes that families are the mainstay of long-term caregiving in the U.S., and private sector, professional caregiving services will play the most important and impactful roll in meeting the increasing demand for home care, easing the burden of family caregivers and improving the quality of life for their loved ones.

There are also several ways that businesses can help employees faced with the challenge of caring for an aging parent. A good place to start is by simply being more flexible. For smaller companies, these options may include allowing variable work hours, enabling employees to work from home more often, or temporarily reducing an employee's hours during particularly difficult times. These options often involve little or no direct cost to the employer, yet allow employees to manage family duties without jeopardizing their financial situation or job security.

Larger companies with more resources have actually incorporated caregiving programs aimed at the overall health of the employees themselves. Although getting the employee back to work and productive in a timely manner are certainly important considerations when a family caregiving crisis develops, corporations are now focusing on easing the stress of caregiving to help keep employees happy and productive over the long term. Some gerontology and eldercare services at both private and public companies offer caregiver support groups and actually help their workers find caregiving services, provide on-site training in caregiver issues and offer long-term care insurance.

Another major trend related to caregiving and an aging population is backup care. That's because adult children of aging parents have increasingly found themselves caught in the difficult situation of having to care for their parents and raise their children while holding down a full-time job. Employees who are part of this "sandwich generation" often find themselves facing last-minute caregiving emergencies when their normal caregiving arrangements fall through.

Recent studies have discovered what many businesses and employees already know. The 16th annual CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey (http://hr.cch.com/news/hrm/102506a.asp) found that the rate of unscheduled absenteeism in 2006 climbed to its highest level since 1999, costing some large employers an estimated $850,000 per year in direct payroll costs.

The cost to U.S. business overall from the lost productivity of working caregivers is now estimated at more than $33 billion per year, according to the MetLife Caregiving Cost Study (www.caregiving.org/pubs/data.htm). The study, done in conjunction with the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, found that personal illness accounts for only 35 percent of unscheduled absences, while 65 percent of absences are due to other reasons, including family issues and personal needs.

Fortunately, backup care services are now available to organizations ranging from the largest corporations to small businesses. It's also not unusual for labor unions to offer some type of backup care options for members. Backup care and home caregiving businesses are even offering local, customized programs tailored to small businesses (under 500 employees) and the communities they serve.

Such services give small businesses the flexibility to choose the backup care options that best meet their needs without putting an undue financial strain on them. For example, some home caregiving companies offer businesses a range of options, from fully funding a backup care program for employees, to offering special pricing discounts that can be passed on to employees.

Although not all companies can offer comprehensive caregiving and backup care services, we've found that giving employees options when it comes to today's caregiving challenges is what makes the biggest difference in employees' lives and the communities in which they live.

Ed Orsua owns the Reno franchise of Homewatch CareGivers, a firm that provides home care services. For more information, visit www.homewatchcaregivers.com.