As I write this column I do not know the results of the Tuesday, Nov. 5 presidential election or of the multiple races for Senate, House of Representatives and statewide and local positions throughout the country. Regardless how these turn out, though, there will be issues to be confronted as a nation. Hopefully they will be met by elected officials and the country as a whole in a thoughtful, creative and cooperative way. The issues are still there. Here are some.
— The Nation Has An Aging Population and We Are Not Well Prepared to Deal With It.
When I first began my practice as an elder law attorney the concept of “old” was probably 75 years old or so. Today, I have had more than one client aged 100 or more. My oldest client is 105. Some of this is due to advances in medicine. When people recover from a serious illness or survive because of surgeries or medication previously unknown or unavailable what measures can be taken to help them survive and recover better?
If families are expected to be the “backup” caregivers how can they handle the added responsibility especially when caught “in the middle” where they are dealing with younger children and aging parents and/or grandparents? Vice-President Kamala Harris has suggested using Medicare as a possible means to begin to provide help for caregivers at home. Whether this will work would need to be explored but there clearly are not enough “guardrails” to help caregivers now.
— “Old” clients are not necessarily “old.”
It sounds like a contradiction but I know people who seem to age before their time — maybe because of attitudes, stress, loneliness, life experiences or physical condition. I have also met clients who, despite everything, bounce back and move on. We need to discover their secrets.
My Aunt Fran and Uncle Lue died at 92 and 90 respectively. My aunt never lost her memory and reminded me of things to do I had forgotten. What was her secret? Maybe it was because she always stayed active. My uncle, her husband, survived pneumonia and kicked-off the respirator to recover and join and walk with us down the shore. They both kept their special gift, a sense of humor through everything. Can we rediscover this and pass it out — a genuine sense of joy and a sense of humor?
I had special clients as well. One much older woman cared for two disabled children herself. She was definitely independent and I wonder sometimes how she is doing now. Are there ways we can encourage that active approach to life? How can we make life easier for people who are struggling? Do we laugh enough today?
— Disabled individuals are living longer despite their disabilities and some need accommodations to help them to live productive lives ideally in the general population.
Some accommodations have come almost naturally as technology improves. We see stories about this frequently on television or in the news, especially as physically disabled persons are able to speak or to walk or compete in athletic events. “Sixty Minutes” as one example, has often featured technological improvements that enable disabled persons to perform in ways thought impossible in the past. Still, there is a cost and what works for one person may not for another. One issue from a legal perspective is that our systems of determining disability are inconsistent and do not really deal with circumstances where there is partial disability especially under the Social Security Disability system. This could be examined.
— Maternal care in the U.S. is worse than in most of the progressive modern world and signs have not indicated improvement. If anything the restrictive laws passed recently have made it worse.
Discussions during the election on pregnancy brought into focus the dismal results in this country regarding prenatal and child care especially in some areas of the country even without dealing with abortion.
— We need to develop some consensus regarding goals. What do we want as a nation?
It is obvious there will always be differences of opinion but things are easier if we know what we are reaching for. This requires cooperation among people who do not always (or maybe do not ever) agree on end results or their importance. To forge a more perfect union we need a better sense of cooperation.
Janet Colliton, Esq. is a Certified Elder Law Attorney approved as a specialty under the American Bar Association and the Pa. Supreme Court and limits her practice to elder law, retirement, life care, special needs, and estate planning and estate administration with offices at 790 East Market St., Suite 250, West Chester, 610-436-6674, [email protected]. She is a member of the National Academy and Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, co-founder of Life Transition Services LLC, a service for families with long term care needs.
