Caregiver support group aims to reduce elder abuse

In 2010, 5.9 million children were reported as abused or neglected in the United States. The Nurse-Family Partnership, or NFP, arranges for registered nurses to make regular home visits to first-time low-income or vulnerable mothers, starting early in their pregnancies and continuing until their child is 2.

A few adult children have found that the simplest arrangement can be found in an apartment at the same retirement community, as it enables them to care for their elderly parents efficiently.

More retirement and nursing homes are asking college students to move in, an arrangement that benefits everyone. Students stay free of charge in exchange for volunteering to help the seniors.

For individuals with developmental disabilities in Washington, D.C., inclusion’s uphill battle, while still happening, has shown results. After the practice of institutionalization ended decades ago, there was a shift to group home living, nonprofit advocacy groups, and job placements. Challenges remain though, like slow-moving bureaucracy, funding, and those still fighting inclusion, but moves toward inclusive jobs and living continue.

These days, most rural communities in the U.S. are elderly communities - 15 percent of Wyoming’s population is over 65 and a high percentage of them live on ranches in small towns. New caregiver programs allow seniors to continue living at home and to keep doing what they are able, with assistance provided if needed.

Through the Burbank Senior Artists Colony - a community created by EngAGE - low-income seniors learn how to become artists. The recreational classes hosted by the community keep people feeling phsyically and mentally young, allowing them to focus on recreation instead of financial hardship.

The U.S. prison population is aging, which is costly because older inmates need more care. Some states have responded by creating special wards, having the young inmates care for the old, or building nursing homes.

*Medical research has done wonders to rid populations of diseases; however, the U.S. health care system has failed to appropriate the right resources to Medicare patients with one or more chronic conditions. Health Quality Partners in Doylstown, PA enrolls Medicare patients with at least one chronic illness and hospitalization and sends a trained nurse to see them on a routine basis, whether they are healthy or sick. As a result, the HQP program has reduced hospitalizations and cut Medicare costs.

New mothers who live in poverty are faced with fewer resources to help them with their physical and mental health as well as the health of their babies. In New York City, the Nurse-Family partnership matches nurses with economically poor first-time mothers. Different studies have shown that women in the program have healthier pregnancies and children.

Living alone can be tough for seniors, for those without family nearby to check on them no one will know if they suffer a medical emergency. Hundreds of suburban and rural police agencies in the US are offering seniors a free automated phone call every day which they will follow up with a house visit if not answered.