Health & Well-Being » Summary
Why It's Important
Healthy Aging is a positive concept of wellness based on evidence that attitudes
and lifestyle behaviors can enhance the body's maintenance of functional ability
and assist in recovery from decline secondary to illness and disease. Positive lifestyle
behaviors, prevention by regular evidence based screening practices, and appropriate
management of acute and chronic conditions all play important roles in achieving
the goal of healthy aging. In turn, the issues of accessibility, affordability and
the need for providers with adequate training in the care of the elderly are also
critically important factors in healthy aging. The importance of health and well
being of our aging population are reflected in such different and vital areas as
demand on the health care services, housing, transportation, and the individual's
ability to contribute to society.
See Data By: Richmond MSA | Virginia
| National
How Richmond Is Doing
According to Genworth's Cost of Care Survey, 2009, except for home-based health
care, the costs of long-term care also are poised for steady increases.
- The cost of labor is a key factor driving the price of care at facilities, though
that has abated somewhat because of the availability of workers as unemployment
has risen and because of higher retention rates.
- In Richmond and Roanoke, the cost for a private room has risen 8 percent a year
since 2005 and 5 percent a year in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach region.
- The median annual cost for a private nursing home room in Richmond is $78,658.
- In Richmond, costs for a private room in an assisted-living facility rose even faster,
increasing 16 percent a year over the past five years to a median annual cost of
$37,752.
- A bright spot in the company's survey is the relatively flat cost of in-home care.
The hourly cost for in-home care for non-Medicare-certified workers rose a half-percent
to $18.50 from a year ago and increased 1.7 percent annually over the past five
years.
- In Richmond, however, the median rate is $19, which represents an annual growth
rate of 5 percent since 2005. The cost ranges from $15 to $21 in Virginia.
(GENWORTH, COST OF CARE SURVEY, 2009)
How Virginia Is Doing
- Four in five (79%) Boomers rate their health a 4 or 5 on a 1 to 5 scale (ODP RESIDENT
2008)
- Three in ten (30%) say their health is "excellent" (ODP RESIDENT 2008)
How the U.S. Is Doing
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER):
- 60 percent of 51- to 56-year-old Boomer men born from 1948 to 1953 had chronic health
problems, compared with 53 percent of the cohort born from 1936 to 1941 at the same
ages.
- National Family Caregivers Association & Family Caregiver Alliance provides
an estimated prevalence and economic value of caregiving by state.
- In 2004, there were an estimated 27 million caregivers (according to SIPP) and 30.7
million caregivers (according to NSFH). The average of these two estimates was used
to arrive at a mid-range estimate of the number of caregivers nationally -- 28.8
million.
Estimated Pevalence and Economic Value of
Family Caregiving by State
|
State
|
Number of Caregivers
2004
|
Caregiving hours per year (millions)
|
Annual market value
(millions of dollars)
|
Virginia
(Ranked #12)
|
740,402
|
793
|
$7,868
|
|
United States
|
28,827,766
|
30,880
|
$306,333
|
(NFCA & FCA, ESTIMATED PREVALENCE AND ECONOMIC VALUE
OF FAMILY CAREGIVING BY STATE, 2006)
Data & Information Sources
Atlas of Community Health
http://vaatlas.vahealthycommunities.com/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/
Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics
http://www.agingstats.gov/agingstatsdotnet/main_site/default.aspx
Genworth Financial, Cost of Care Survey, 2009
http://www.genworth.com/content/products/long_term_care/long_term_care/cost_of_care.html
Health Finder, US Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.healthypeople.gov/healthfinder/
Medline Plus
http://medlineplus.gov/
National Bureau of Economic Research, 1990
http://nber15.nber.org/bookcv_chicago/9780226116099_web.pdf
National Family Caregivers Association and Family Caregivers Alliance, Hours and
Economic Value of Family Caregiving, Updated State-by-State Analysis of
2004 National Estimates by Peter S. Arno, PhD. Kensington, MD, 2006
http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content/pdfs/State_Caregiving_Data_Arno_20061107.pdf
ODP, Residents' Study, 2008
www.olderdominion.org
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/
US Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.hhs.gov/
US Food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/default.htm
Virginia Department for the Aging, 2004 Health Conditions, Disability and Mortality
Estimates, 2004
http://www.vda.virginia.gov/2000hcde.asp