Historically, when older adults and disabled persons in the U.S. needed care, they relied on family members who became informal caregivers. When skilled care was required, the only option was to live in a nursing facility. More options became available with public programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, but each has limited funding for long-term care. Consumers needed help to identify and apply for these benefits.

Those of us in the aging network have worked to improve access to long-term care supports and services. We have added challenges because of current demographic factors and economic conditions.

Today, Americans are living longer. People over age 85 are the fastest-growing segment of the population. Medicaid spending outpaces the general rate of inflation. A nursing facility costs about $150/day; in 20 years, with inflation, costs could be $280/day. The looming question is, What resources will the early baby boomers have in 20 years when they’re 80 years old?

Many early boomers are seeing family resources dwindle because of the cost of long-term care. As aging parents deplete their savings, many adult children are contributing to their parents’ prescription, medical and housing costs. In the process, they are depleting their own reserves for the future.

Policymakers and consumers must find out how to pay for long-term care, maximizing home and community-based services that cost less than institutional care. A more streamlined long-term care system will then benefit all.

The Detroit Area Agency on Aging (DAAA) triggered some policy changes with our landmark study, “Dying Before Their Time.” Then, with recommendations from Detroit’s Dying Before Their Time Task Force, we provided ammunition to the Medicaid Long Term Care Task Force in 2005. This task force, with a representative, bi-partisan group of stakeholders and consumers, made recommendations to Gov. Granholm for an integrated system of long-term care in Michigan, including a single point of entry for long-term care.

In Detroit and Wayne County, you know the single point of entry as the Long Term Care Connection. A proposal from DAAA resulted in funding to create the Detroit entity, one of four demonstration sites in Michigan. Like DAAA, the new local organization serves Detroit, the five Grosse Pointes, Highland Park, Hamtramck and Harper Woods. DAAA and Long Term Care Connection (LTCC) services are focused on seniors, age 60 and up and disabled adults age 18 and up. LTCC, does not provide direct services; rather, it is a one-stop shop for information, assistance, referrals and one-on-one counseling about service options.

Since its inception, LTCC has raised awareness of long-term care, particularly the need for financial planning to offset potential expenses. With its expansive resource database and trained options counselors, LTCC can find and coordinate services among different providers, navigating the existing long-term care system. It begins with one telephone call: (866) 652-6482.

The executive director of the Long Term Care Connection in Detroit and Wayne County is Earlene Traylor Neal, who has a diverse background in state government, aging services and long-term care. As an employee of DAAA, Earlene was responsible for a number of programs, including Project Care for minor home repairs and Nursing Facility Transition Services to help nursing home residents return to home or community settings.

In addition to her professional background, Earlene has personal experiences that uniquely connect her to the consumers she serves. Like many in the long-term care system, she has lived with physical disabilities. After surgery in 1990, she developed peritonitis, an abdominal inflammation that left her with the disabling short bowel syndrome and malabsorption. Left untreated, she could have died.

Earlene had to leave a position with the Michigan Women’s Commission, and while on disability she pursued a master’s degree in gerontology at the University of Michigan. Degree in hand, she joined DAAA.

Like many early baby boomers, Earlene also played a major role in caring for her aging parents, who died within twelve weeks ago, six months of each other. Earlene is the first to admit that her gerontology degree didn’t ease her caregiving responsibilities. When it comes to family and matters of the heart, informal caregivers face the same challenges in meeting the needs and preferences of their loved ones, no matter what their background.

Now, with a team of professionals, the Long Term Care Connection works in tandem with providers and stakeholders, including the Detroit Area Agency on Aging, to expand long-term care options. But most of all, the LTCC team navigates the long-term care system on behalf of individual consumers to find solutions to care needs. If you need help, call (866) 652-6482 (866-MICH-LTC) or visit www.michltc.com.

Tune in to “Senior Solution” on WGPR 107.5FM every Saturday morning at 10 a.m., hosted by Paul Bridgewater, president/CEO of Detroit Area Agency on Aging. The Detroit Area Agency on Aging is located at 1333 Brewery Park Blvd., Suite 200, Detroit, MI 48207. Call (313) 446-4444 or visit www.daaa1a.org.