Abstract
Over the past few years, the country has recorded an unprecedented increase in the number of long-term care organizations. A vast majority of business moguls are now investing in nursing homes due to the ever-increasing elderly population within the country. Today, long-term care is being viewed as among the most lucrative and profitable business opportunities. Long-term care is described as an array of medical and social services that are provided to the elderly. Essentially, the primary objective of long-term care organizations isto support the elderly population and the people living with chronic illnesses (Giacalone, 2015). The long-term care organizations perform a plethora of activities so as to improve the living standards of the elderly and chronically ill victims. Additionally, long-term care organizations are widely known to provide acute care services as well as a wide range of health care services.
Long-term care is a necessity to individuals who require the help of another person in order to perform most of the basic daily activities of life. These individuals tend to either require physical or emotional help for an extended period of time as a result of a certain chronic illness, injury, disability or due to the frailty of old age (Freeman et al., 2017). A vast majority of investors have responded to the alarming increase in demand of long-term care services by establishing different long-term service care organizations within the country. This paper is thus written to discuss the business operations of some of the long-term care organizations and their benefits to society.
Three main long-term care organizations in USA
Long-term care is classified into two broad categories: the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) (Giacalone, 2015). Some of the services provided to victims in the ADLs category include getting in and out of bed, bathing, dressing and eating. On the other hand, the IADLs category entails services such asproviding medication, preparing meals, financial management, doing light house work, getting in and out of home and making telephone calls.
Several long-term care organizations are being established amid an increase in the elderly and chronically ill population within the United States. Some of the most popular long-term care organizations existing within the country include the American Cancer Society, California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, and the Alzheimer Society – Long-term Care.
The American Cancer Society is a renowned long-term care organization that was established in the year 1913 (Singh, 2014). Located in different states within the Country, the American Cancer Society aimsto reduce the high cancer mortality rates. Over the past years, the American Cancer Society has created programs that are meant to create greater cancer awareness amongthe general public. Additionally, the organization works to provide the necessary monetary assistance required as part of the medical expenses for the cancer patients. The non-profit organization also relies on donors and well-wishers who assist in providing funds that are then used by the organization in fulfilling its goal of eliminating cancer (Rowe et al., 2016).
Over the past few years, the health ministry has recorded a devastating high number of Alzheimer cases. As a result of the alarming increase of people suffering from Alzheimer’s, the Alzheimer’s society long-term care was established with the key intent of attending to the needs and wants of the Alzheimer victims (Giacalone, 2015). The organization exists in different states so as to reach a wide population of those suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. The organization is equipped with facilities, medical experts and care providers who are well trained to handle and manage quality lifestyle for those suffering from Alzheimer’s (Singh, 2014).
California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging is a non-profit organization renowned for providing long-term care services for the elderly population. This organization provides nursing homes for the weak elderly population who are always at risk of getting ill because of their low immunity levels. The organization thereby works to ensure that the elderly are under the best care.
SWOT analysis on Alzheimer Society Long-term Care Organization
| Nursing Homes | ||
| Strengths | Weaknesses | |
| 1. Trained staff who provide expert medical attention | 1. Expensive as many people cannot afford to pay for constant care. | |
| 2. Ensure proper nutrition for optimal health | 2. Can provide below standard care | |
| 3. Sense of community to patients as they can participate in social activities | 3. Can increase sense of isolation and loneliness amongst patients with dementia. | |
| 4. Ensures loved ones stay safe since the homes are always evaluated by Medicare(Singh, 2014). | 4. Homes that are far away from patient’s relatives pose logistic challenges of them travelling to visit the patient | |
| Opportunities | Threats | |
| 1. Subsidize costs to affordable rates for the patients | 1. Use of mobility devices can enable adults navigate their homes with minimal to no supervision. | |
| 2. Enhance comfort and confidence of patients to recover in patients | 2. Expensive hence patients may prefer home care | |
| 3. Improve on service delivery based on change in demographics and the need for services | 3. Lack of freedom due to schedules in the nursing home and the old may decline to be taken to the nursing homes(Giacalone, 2015). | |
| 4. Identify and address potential resident care problems and deliver an individualized care plan for the patients | 4. Bad publicity due to neglect, abuse or mistreatment of the patients. | |
Market position of the organization
In the year 2015, the worldwide long-term care organization market size value was estimated to be $705 billion (Giacalone, 2015). This value is expected to shoot up owing to the continuous increase of the elderly population, chronically ill patients, and disabled victims (Rowe et al., 2016). Due to the increase in life expectancy, there has been a dramatic increase of the elderly population, most of whom are weak, ill or disabled.
In conclusion, the establishment of long-term care service organizations has led to a significant improvement in the quality of life of elderly individuals. Most of the victims who include the elderly, chronically ill patients and the disabled are nowable attain affordable proper living standards as provided by the erudite, well-trained healthcare providers (Rowe et al., 2016).
References
Freeman, E., Knapp, M., & Somani, A. (2017). Long-term care organization and financing.In
Quah, Stella R., (Ed.),International encyclopedia of public health(pp. 469-476). Oxford, UK: Academic Press.
Giacalone, J. A. (Ed.) (2015). The US nursing home industry.New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
Rowe, J. W., Fulmer, T., & Fried, L. (2016). Preparing for better health and health care for an aging population. JAMA, 316(16), 1643-1644.
Singh, D. A. (2014). Effective management of long-term care facilities. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.