Another trend in long-term care is the use of assisted living facilities. A 1999 survey found that more than 800,000 people age 65 and older were living in assisted care facilities, and more than half reported no chronic disability.
“We're in totally unchartered territory,” Dr. Jonathan M. Evans, chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, said in an interview. One of the biggest concerns is that there will not be enough paid caregivers in 20 years or so to meet the needs of the older population, based on current projections. “We will have to fundamentally rethink the way care is provided,” Dr. Evans said.
But it could be an opportunity, he said, to get family members and volunteers involved in providing care within nursing homes and to make nursing homes a part of the community.
The report is available online at www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p23-209.pdf