Luke Rosiak's article in the Washington Times describes the fear most developed countries face: the imbalance between the graying of a nation to its workforce. If it weren't for immigration and higher birthrates among minorities, the lower fertility rates in America would have already seen a more disastrous effect.

In locations where seniors clients dominate businesses and hospitals, young people find themselves relocating to "hip" areas with night life and other entities that seniors tend to not frequent, thus separating young and old geographically. Suburbs were once considered ideal for retirement but now the solitude and need for younger workers to provide labor for them such as in hospitals has made living in relative isolation from the cities risky. Although a younger workforce is ideal in areas like Palm Beach County, South Florida, the jobs they would get would most focus on aging services. 

In the meantime, home healthcare agencies are common place throughout South Florida (Palm Beach County, Broward County) for elders to find quality home care  and other services for the disabled. Perhaps the following generations of booming minorities in the US could help offset this issue but that's a different story. If you have thoughts on that, please feel free to comment for us. A Family Member HomeCare agency has been on top with bridging the gap between quality home care and seniors who want to age in place in South Florida.

For more on this article: As Florida goes, so goes nation of aging communities.

With the help of Virginia Tech, the MedCottage was developed as a solution for the growing number of older Americans that need to find living arrangements. After installation, a MedCottage (12 foot by 24 foot- about the size of a master bedroom) can cost about $125,000. Compared to the assisted living costs of $40,000 a year, a MedCottage could be a bargain. Of course, one would need the space or the land to install such an addition. It was interesting to me, coming from New York City, that the family described in the article would have such land to implant a cottage but they didn't already have the extra space in the actual house. Perhaps moving forward, architectures and landscapers would take the aging issue into consideration when constructing small family homes in Virginia.

Although what really interests me about the MedCottage is the innovative floor material that would allow an egg dropped from seven feet above to simply "bounce" off, I'll just continue with the general importance: that the savings acquired from installed a MedCottage onto a family's property along with the achievement of the elder's acceptance to live in one can have amazingly beneficial effects for all involved. A couple could still retain the comfort of their family size inside the house, the elder could benefit from the small grant of privacy, costs would be kept low, the family is still kept close together, etc.

For more information about MedCottages, you can follow the original article here:The "Granny Pod:" High-tech dwelling could change elder care.

Family caregivers and senior home helpers would actually find themselves relocated to these situations more often in the future as our elders are moved into MedCottages. Having family so close to the senior could actually help monitor a caregiver's need for respite as well as the senior's moods in the case he or she feels homesick of lonely.

Still, not enough criticism was granted in this article. What downfalls can you see about MedCottages, especially if this were granted in South Florida? Or is there not many? 

It is a great thing to have such material available for everyone. Anyone who cares for a person with dementia related disorders can benefit from this. 

Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Disorders - October 19, 2012, Webinar Recording

Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Disorders - Supplemental Materials

• PowerPoint Slides (PDF Format)
• Webinar Handout
• Q & A (coming soon)