Whether you need full-time care, part-time care, or occasional respite care, choosing someone to look after your elderly loved one is a stressful process. You’re looking for a senior caregiver who can manage the details of the job — like cooking, cleaning, keeping medications organized. But caregiving is so much more than a list of household and helping tasks. It’s also an interpersonal role that demands compassion, patience, and excellent communication skills. 

One of the great unknowns for today’s senior is the cost of healthcare. Fidelity estimates that a recently retired senior couple will spend nearly $300,000 on out-of-pocket healthcare expenses — not including the costs of long-term care. That’s an alarming exclusion, given that long-term care is among the priciest and most commonly needed forms of senior healthcare. Statistically speaking, seven of 10 people will require some level of long-term care in their lifetime.

You want the best care possible for your elderly parent, but you don’t have the bandwidth to provide it around the clock. You’re not alone. Hundreds of thousands of families around the U.S. need some form of supplementary care to help with elderly relatives who have physical or cognitive impairments. If your parent isn’t quite ready for full-time nursing home care, adult day care might provide the support you need.

According to research by the National Institute of Health, there are about 1.5 million elderly adults above the age of 65 in nursing homes and 1 million in assisted living facilities. This population group of 65+ individuals is growing rapidly as 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 each day. In fact, the group has grown by 34.2% over the last decade and is expected to continue growing at a rapid pace meaning more and more people will require care in an assisted living or nursing home.