I have had a copy of an excellent entry from Media Post’s Engage: Boomers blog by Lori Bitter printed out and on my desk for about a month now. Yes, I know even admitting that I printed this out is showing my age.

Well showing my age, or showing our age, is what this topic is all about.

The statistics behind the growing demand and cost of caregiving are staggering, and the demographics are the real life predictor that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

• 29% - percent of the population who spend 20 hours a week caring for a loved one
• $375 billion - the estimated annual value of unpaid, informal caregiving (the term informal caregiving is a topic for another day and another blog)
• $33.6 billion – lost productivity annually related caregiving

Caregiving Planning
If healthcare marketing professionals included caregiving planning as part of marketing and strategic planning, innovative, creative business driven solutions might just touch the hearts, the souls and the emotional needs of aging boomers in a real and meaningful way.

Media Post blog Engage: Boomers
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=137381

The Hidden Cost of Caring