Pandemic Leads Families to Care for Loved Ones at Home

On May 6, 2021, in The New York Times, Reed Abelson wrote an article entitled, “Covid Forces Families to Rethink Nursing Care.” Of course, nursing homes are not assisted living facilities; nevertheless, the lessons to be drawn from the nursing home experience with the pandemic are going to apply to both.

The thrust of the article comports with the drum beat we have been hearing the last two years about the increasing decisions of many families to keep their loved ones at home and care for them. The largest impediments to this choice are the cost of home assisted care and the probable and eventual lack of capacity for necessary medical care which can be provided in a nursing home. But this thinking can apply just as easily to a member of the family who is somewhat physically challenged or simply cannot live alone and is thinking of moving into an ALF.  The pandemic it seems was a tipping point for many to keep their loved ones at home for as long as possible.

President Biden’s program, if passed, furnishes substantial funds to increase coverage for home care costs, and would presumably accelerate the trend. It is a possibility worth watching.