I’ve written before about the struggles family caregivers in the US go through to pay for home care or provide it themselves. I want to share some interesting articles I’ve run across recently about home care in other parts of the world.

First up is this article about Germany paying more than $1.4 billion next year to Holocaust survivors. Germany’s reparations effort has been ongoing for many years. The interesting twist this year is that $890 million will be dedicated to help pay for home care. Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany agreed that home care is becoming critical as Holocaust survivors age. Their action this year is intended “to help survivors live in dignity, decades after they were persecuted and lost loved ones and property.”

Germany is not the only country recognizing the importance of home care. This article has an interesting summary of what is available in various countries, mostly in Europe. It mentions that “the United States ranks quite high on national polls when it comes to long-term elder care, but the system is mostly dependent on an individual’s ability to afford quality care.” This is a sore point with many people, and rightfully so. The article’s conclusion is spot-on: “What America does not have is a federal family care infrastructure. The complexity of managing different, mostly inadequate systems adds not only to the enormous administrative cost but also to the confusion for everyone involved, from providers to patients.”

Assisting Hands strives to be a resource to help our clients and their families navigate the Senior Care world. We don’t have all the answers, but we constantly use our community connections to assist our clients to get as much care as they need.

We provide quality Home Care, and we can help find great providers of other services such as Palliative Care, Hospice, Assisted Living, and even legal and financial planning services. Please call us if you have any questions! 720-780-7755