Steve Jaberg, CEO of one of the largest retirement communities in the nation, came to speak to a much smaller community last week. The Plaza at Highlands Crossing hosted a presentation entitled the Changing Face of Health Care.
Cedar Communities serves 1,100 people in West Bend, Wis., and is made up of several campuses that offer independent living, assisted living, rehabilitation and skilled nursing care.
Jaberg, who started with the organization as an assistant administrator in 1984, has seen many changes and expects to see more.
There will be fewer traditional nursing homes in the future, he said.
It's not uncommon for an older person to make their children promise, "Don't put me in a nursing home," he said.
That promise will be less necessary as services move out to where patients are living. Home health care agencies and companion services are flourishing, he said.
Also, life care communities like Cedar Communities that offers a range of care to residents are becoming more common and more affordable.
Hospitals also will decline, he said. Today, there are few hospital stays that last for more than a couple of days.
While it was common for people to spend weeks in the hospital not long ago, now that's the exception.
Private hospitals will start to close, with the large health care corporations taking over.
Nationally our demographics are changing. The population is aging with more than 3 million people turning 65 every year.
However, he said, there's some good news on the health care front.
The numbers of people dying from both heart disease and cancer are dropping, but the bad news is that Alzheimer's disease is growing.
Not only is the number climbing, many physicians believe that Alzheimer's is actually under diagnosed.
There should be more research on cognitive disorders, Jaberg said.
Jaberg said national health care reform will be helpful for much of the population that was uninsured or underinsured, but he believes it will end up looking more like Medicare.
Most people who are covered by Medicare are happy with it, he said.
General News on 04/16/2014