Here is an interesting method for watching over feeble parents from a distance. In some cases this strategy may be able to help an elder parent maintain independence at home. I share below a good friend’s strategy. After reading this consider contacting me if you would like to plan an advance insurance strategy for Long Term Care:

Deferring the Need for Long-Term Care

To help my elderly mother stay out of long-term care, I had to devise some strategies to check in on her more easily.

The strategy I first came up with is an iPhone and iPad that automatically answer phone calls, FaceTime calls, and Messenger calls. Now, the whole family has video call connections with her, and they love it, and she loves it.

The next level of being able to check on her to make sure she is ok is to install three security cameras—one in her living room, one in her bedroom and one with a view of her kitchen.  I can check for a few seconds to know that she has not fallen or is in distress.

Privacy issues have ensued with my siblings, which are easily solved by teaching them to put the cameras in Privacy Mode from the security cameras app when they visit, which is easy to do.

The only checks that are recorded are from activity notifications scheduled at night, so if she has a fall in these locations, it is recorded.

I have also installed HomePods in the bathroom and bedroom so that she can call from these rooms if she has a problem, as they activate the iPhone to call me on voice command.

If you have a feeble loved one, I suggest looking into these options as they have expanded my abilities to look after my mom while deferring her immediate need for long-term care.

Other safety steps that have been taken is to install a grab bar in her shower, a raised toilet seat and a bed rail that fits under her mattress to help her getting in and out of bed.

Another safety measure that we are taking, from a suggestion, is to buy her a non-rocking recliner to make it easier for her to get up from her chair it is the motorized type that can lift to help get out for the future when that will be more necessary.

We face a rapidly ageing population.

Since the 1920s, the ratio of seniors over the age of 85 has more than doubled. This number increases into the 2050s will be over age 85.

Who will care for you in your old age? When our health is fine, it is hard to imagine that we may, as many will, lose the ability to manage basic daily activities such as bathing, toileting, walking, dressing, feeding, or moving from our bed to a chair. Many also lose mental faculties that we often take for granted, such as memory, logical or conceptual thinking or referencing dialogue with others. Without assistance, it is near-impossible to function without these capacities.

Long-Term Care Insurance is an insurance contract with an insurer designed to provide care for our chronic illness, disability, or an accident, all of which have a higher potential of occurring as we age.

Some families are incapable of caring for a senior LTCI protects our families from the financial strain of providing long-term care, just as important as life and disability insurance protects the income of younger families. The question is, who will financially support long-term care for you? LTCI is not just for seniors but for those who become similarly incapacitated at any age.

Without a plan, your choices may be limited. It is essential to plan for our long-term care independently because our government healthcare budgets and initiatives are limited. They generally place people in government-funded facilities that have beds available. As we witnessed in the pandemic, many long-term care facilities had difficulty coping with the virus spread.

Most people entirely overlook the enormous expense of paying for a private long-term care facility (some cost up to a quarter of a million dollars for five years). Why are they so expensive? They offer 24/7 high-level nursing care in a highly secure environment. Note: Anyone can call a few private long-term care companies and inquire about their care costs.

Ageing baby boomers retiring will increasingly depend on long-term care insurance, either paid for by themselves, their children or professional health care services.

The need for Long-Term Care Insurance is increasing as medical intervention and medications keep us living longer.

• Every year, about 50,000 strokes occur in Canada. A stroke is the leading cause of a transfer from a hospital to a long-term care facility.
• Nearly 10% (1 in 11) of Canadians over age 65 are affected by Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.
• An increasing demographic (7%) of Canadians age 65 and over are residing in healthcare institutions.
• An additional 28% of Canadians age 65 and over receive care for a long-term health problem outside of a healthcare institution.

As the populace ages, more care for the elderly, such as respite care (additional home care services), will increasingly be needed to provide family members with the medical guidance and support they need to continue caring for their loved ones. With this in mind, are our families financially prepared to deal with peripheral costs associated with providing long-term care for loved ones?

• A study authored by Dr Marcus Hollander and Neena Chappell of the University of Victoria found that approximately $25 billion worth of unpaid care is provided willingly by family members and friends in place of paid care.

What does Long-term Care Insurance (LTC) offer? Long-term care insurance provides money to pay for the care that you both desire and need. With LTC insurance, you have:

• Broader choices about the quality and amount of care you receive.
• An increase of options when determining where you receive care and by whom.

Sources: Statistics Canada, Canadian Institute for Health Information, Alzheimer Society website, Statistics Canada