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3 <br />Lang Term Care Community Forums <br />October 21 & 28, 1969 <br />A FORLMI EVALUATION AND RECATION REPORT <br />submitted by <br />The Orange County Long Term Care Advisory Committee <br />THE ISSUE <br />To many people "Long Terro Care" means only one thing - -a <br />ri l_trs i ng home. In reality, however, many community options do <br />exist to serve those who may need help over a prolonged <br />period of time. Simply stated by Horace B. Deets, Executive <br />Director of the American Association of Retired Persons, <br />"Long Term Care refers to a comprehensive range of medical, <br />personal, and social services developed and coordinated to <br />meet the physical, social and emotional needs of chronically <br />ill and disabled persons." Long term care services are <br />delivered in three settings: in a person's home, in a <br />community facility, and in an institutional facility. Most <br />care needed is non medical such as assistance with eating, <br />bathing, dressing, or Just getting around. <br />The need for long term care in America and in Orange <br />County is becoming more and more a family crisis. While long <br />term care is needed by the young as well as the old, it is <br />predominately an aging issue because of chronic health <br />problems to which the elderly are susceptible. As much as <br />90% of the care that allows .frail and fragile elderly to <br />remain in their homes is provided by family members. Almost <br />three - fourths (72 %) of the caregivers are women, and 57 years <br />is the average caregiver's age. Approximately one- folArth of <br />all Americans 65 years or older have a chronic health problem <br />requiring help from others. In Orange County, where the 65+ <br />population is 9,308 as of 1990, this statistic translates <br />into 2,077 needing long term care. Sooner or later, <br />practically every family or, individual (if they live lung <br />enough) will have to come to grips with this critical issue. <br />THE COMMUNITY FORUMS <br />In order to assist the community in better understanding <br />the many long term care issues and their impact on Orange <br />County, two community forums were held: one on October 01 <br />in Chapel Hill at Binkley Church and another on October 28th <br />in Hillsborough at Orange High School. The theme for the <br />forums was Lona Term Care Choices for the 1990's...Not Just a <br />Nursing Home. (Brochure attached) The Saturday morning <br />forums designed to serve consumers, caregivers, and concerned <br />citizens, focused on four key questions: What does <br />long term care mean? What options are available for planning <br />long term care in Orange County? Where do you go to get <br />help? and What about costs for long term care? <br />