Emerging Trends
All who serve the healthcare and human services needs of older adults are bracing themselves for what is anticipated to be a veritable "tsunami" of demand for such services as the population in these age groups reaches previously unseen levels. These population changes will be accompanied by a number of significant sociological changes in the general characteristics of America's older adult population, some of which will place new expectations on the long-term care industry in terms of both the medical/nursing care offered to those who enter a nursing home, as well as the expectations this population will have for the quality of life they may experience as residents of these facilities. The nursing home industry in North Carolina is alert to these important transitions in the volume and nature of expected care likely to come with a rapid growth in our older adult population, many of whom will have lived healthy and independent lives until much older than their ancestors, have enjoyed a much longer period of "retirement" after full-time employment, and who will have needs for specialized medical and nursing care at a point when they are no longer able to manage their life situations through family and self-care.
Among the transitions already taking place in nursing home care in our state are those related to the physical and spatial characteristics of these facilities, changes that will make possible a wider array of personal choices in terms of living arrangements, as well as options for dining and other aspects of daily personal care. In addition, changes are taking place in the way in which nursing and medical care are coordinated and arranged to meet the personal needs of individual residents.
Activities of daily living are being made easier and more feasible through the adaptation of various forms of technology, including assistive devices of various types, special spa-type bathing facilities, dietary and nutritional service, and electronic medical records that can assure the highest levels of medication and therapeutic care.