Granny Dumping Is Becoming An American Humiliation

Stories have been surfacing in the news about families who have experienced something called ‘granny dumping’. They have become overwhelmed when a parent or grandparent has been diagnosed with Dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc. or have just become too much of a burden. For whatever reason the children of these senior citizens have chosen to take their family member out somewhere and leave them. It is a heart wrenching reality. They simply can’t afford the mounting medical bills, the financial strain has become too much and this is what they feel is their only option.

The middle of this century the elderly(65 and older) has risen from the 1 in every 25 that it was in 1900. That was 3.1 million then. A sharp rise has occurred in middle aged Americans due to mortality and fertility rates over the last few years.

Middle age used to be 20 in 1800 but has risen to 34 in 1994 and 50 or so in later years. By 2050 the elderly population will triple from what in was in the mid 90’s. The average annual growth in the elderly population will go from 2.8% from 2010 to 2030 to 0.7% in 2030 to 2050. 1 in 5 could be elderly.

By 2050 those 85 and older could be as many as 19 million. That would make the older elderly 24 percent of the elderly population and 5 percent of all Americans.

The life expectancy is rising too. American men in 2014 had a life expectancy of 76.60 years. In 2017 that went up to 79.13. In most industrialized countries life expectancy continues going up.

In the most recent Census data shows that approximately 7.5 million senior women and 2.6 million senior men live alone. This can become a problem when they start having health problems and can no longer care for themselves. They may fight changes and family members can be hard pressed to get them into senior living quarters or nursing homes.

The cost of assisted living is high depending on personal needs and their location in the US. Assisted living does cost considerably more than living at home. It can cost anywhere from $70 to $350 perday to live in a assisted living facility. That can run from $2,100 to $10,000 a month. For some families this is not something they can budget into their monthly expenses. Depending on the families assets or lack of they become desperate. They may have issues of their own and this added burden is more than they can handle.

The term “granny dumping” has begun being used when children of the senior might take them to the hospital with such supposed ailments as confusion or just not eating. When hospital personel try to reach the family members the phone number given is not good or the familie’s address is fictitious. Even some nursing homes may transport seniors to the emergency due to supposed chest pains but when the hospital is ready to send them back the nursing home explains that their bed has been taken usually by someone more able to pay. Some families are even dropping their elderly relatives off at hospitals on Friday and not picking them up until the following Monday. This needed respite is understandable.

In 2006 the The Lifespan Respite Care Act(HR3248) was signed into law. The Lifespan Respite Task Force is responsible for doing the work on this law. Many organizations, crisis care coalitions, community social services, faith, mental health, care giving and support groups from the aging community and child advocacy are responsible for doing work in this task force. This law includes funding for developing local and state lifespan respite programs, care giver training, emergency or planned respite care services, recruiting respite care workers and volunteers. Funding for this law is pending in some areas. A person wanting to find out about repite availability in their area can check at this link: https://archrespite.org/respitelocator