Eldercare Locator Announces "Home for the Holidays Senior Action Plan"

A Five Point Plan to Address the Demand For Senior Services that Increases Immediately After the Holiday Season

Washington, D.C. - The Eldercare Locator, a nationwide, government funded directory assistance service that provides older adults and their loved ones with access to information about senior services, announced today a "Home for the Holidays Senior Action Plan." The Eldercare Locator traditionally sees a spike in the number of calls it receives from people in need of senior care following the holiday season. This holiday season, the Locator encourages Americans to look for warning signs that their older relative may need assistance by utilizing the newly released "Home for the Holidays Warning Signs Guide," which is part of the five-point action plan.

Many older adults will show signs of stress from feeling isolated and lonely in anticipation of the holidays coming to an end and after returning home to their regular life away from their families. The holidays may also be a period when families discuss the difficult decisions about the care of an older relative, and where to find qualified providers. Eldercare Locator is a service designed to guide older adults and their families through the dizzying array of senior providers and identify those trustworthy local support resources that will give them the information to remain living independently and in their own homes.

Over the past five years, calls to the Eldercare Locator have increased on average over 25% between December and January. The Eldercare Locator, which has access to more than 4800 state and local information and referral service providers across the country, has taken action early this year to help Americans prevent the possibility of "Post-Holiday Blues" from affecting their older relatives and assist families in connecting their older relative with support services.

"As the older population continues to grow in America, more families and caregivers are facing the challenge of caring for their aging relatives," said Josefina G. Carbonell, Assistant Secretary for Aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "By raising awareness about the issues that older people may face, such as loneliness and isolation, we can prevent situations from occurring. The Eldercare Locator Guide is the type of educational tool that can prevent unnecessary stress for millions of older Americans and their families in this country."

According to the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP), all people feel sad or unhappy at times during their lives, but persistent sadness may be depression, a serious illness affecting 15 out of every 100 adults over age 65 in the United States. Depression is not a normal part of growing old but rather a treatable medical illness that impacts more than 6 million of the more than 35 million Americans over age 65. Moreover, as our society gets older, the number of Americans facing the possibility of experiencing Post-Holiday Blues is increasing, putting more pressure on our senior providers to meet the growing demand. In 2003, the number of Americans expected to be seniors will be over 35 million, representing 13% of the total population.

"As the baby boomer population ages, and more families are living apart, it is now more important than ever for Americans to help protect their older relatives from the holiday blues," said Dr. Allen Anderson, M.D. of AAGP. "Depression that occurs during the holidays can be prevented if families are equipped with the proper information and are aware of the services that are available to older adults."

In anticipation of the high volume of calls, the Locator staff spent the last few months preparing a Five Point Action Plan for this year's Holidays.

• Publication of a "Home for the Holidays Warning Signs" Guide: The Locator, in consultation with doctors and psychiatrists, has prepared the first-ever "Home for the Holidays Warning Signs Guide" for families on the Post-Holiday Blues signals to look out for and will be using a nationwide network of senior and health organizations to distribute the manual.
  [View the Manual]



• Targeting Senior Care Hot Zones: The Eldercare Locator will specifically target the ten states that have been identified through research as being "senior care hot zones" when it comes to senior care issues during the Holiday Season and in the immediate period following by dedicating additional resources, staff and training, outreach and support services. Over the last year, these states have accounted for 71,271 calls for assistance, representing 62% of all the calls the Eldercare Locator Service received during this time period. Those ten states are: California, Florida, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, and Arizona.



• Issuing of Senior Alerts: The Locator has sent out network alerts to states and area agencies to prepare them for the high volume of calls and to see who may need additional assistance;



• Increased Staff: The Locator has increased the number of staff on alert to assist the information specialists at the call center so to be in a position to handle the expected high volume of calls;



• Post-Holiday Blues Training: The Locator has provided isolation and loneliness-specific training and talking points for the call center specialists to ensure that callers understand that the Post-Holiday Blues are treatable if the proper steps are taken.

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