Minnesota has the highest rate of volunteer in-home caregivers in the nation. No where else are there as many people caring for their loved ones as there are in our own backyard. As our population ages and there are fewer of us to available to volunteer to take care of our elderly, this has huge implications for both our work force, health care resources, and availability of senior services.
Here's one of the best reports I've seen from the National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare. One result of the survey is surprising. Caregivers who co-habit with the one they are caring for spend more on caregiving than those that do not live with the one they are caring for.
This is an important consideration...in addition to providing volunteer time and services, just how much of elderly care is being absorbed by our volunteer force by volunteer time and monetary donations?
How much more will the boomer generation spend on senior services than their parents as a result of fewer volunteers? And, will boomers end up actually leaving their homes earlier as a result of not having the same volunteer force their parents had?
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