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90% of Seniors Face Barriers to Aging in Place: What the 2026 Survey Reveals · Home Care Powered By AUAF

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Home Care Podcast.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: So imagine you're meticulously tuning a vintage car engine like every single day.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Right, making sure it runs perfectly.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Making sure every valve and spark plug is pristine, but then you realize uh all four tires are completely flat.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's unpack this because that is exactly how we are approaching senior care in this country right now.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: The engine is running, but you aren't going anywhere.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: And today we're doing a deep dive into a newly released 2026 survey from Alignment Health and looking at how non-medical care agencies like home care, powered by AUAF in Chicagoland, are, you know, trying to inflate those tires for families.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: And what's fascinating here is how the data in this survey really lays bare the um the reality of aging in place right now.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell It really does.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: They pulled over 2,200 older adults, right now.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Over 2,200.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And they found this staggering statistic.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: 90% of seniors now face at least one social barrier to healthy aging.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell 90%.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's I mean, that's almost everyone.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell It is.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And furthermore, nearly 70% report struggling just to remain safely in their own homes.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell And that's up, what, four points from 2025?
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Right, a four-point jump.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: So the trend line is, well, it's definitely moving in the wrong direction.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell And here's where I get a bit stuck, honestly, because when you dig into the survey details, it notes that over one in four seniors skipped necessary medical care last year.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Ross Powell Right, specifically because of access or mobility issues.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell But wait, I mean, we live in this era of ubiquitous telehealth appointments and you know on-demand ride sharing everywhere.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, yeah.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: So how are mobility and access still preventing a quarter of seniors from seeing a doctor?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Ross Powell Well, because we often mistake uh technological availability for practical accessibility.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, say more about that.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, like a ride sharing app is great, but it doesn't help an 80-year-old safely navigate a steep flight of stairs.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Right, or even getting dressed.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: It won't assist them with putting on their shoes to just leave the house.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And telehealth is fantastic, assuming the patient has defined motor skills to operate a tablet.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Or the cognitive bandwidth to troubleshoot a dropping Wi-Fi connection.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: We've totally optimized the medical side, what the industry calls home health care.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Which is clinical, right, like physician-directed.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right, like a visiting physical therapist or a nurse.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: But we completely neglect home care.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Meaning the foundational non-medical support.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: The tire inflation, basically.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus Precisely.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about um getting groceries, prepping nutritious meals, lighthousekeeping, basic personal care.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what people are missing.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: According to the survey, 38% of seniors report lacking precisely that foundational support system.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Which makes total sense when you think about the mechanics of how medical emergencies actually happen in the home.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, 100%.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like if a senior trips over a pile of laundry because they couldn't bend down to pick it up, they break a hip.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And suddenly a purely non-medical gap creates a catastrophic medical emergency.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: Just because they needed someone to do the wash?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that mechanism is entirely preventative.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: When a senior has someone helping with, say, meal preparation or simply giving medication reminders, their overall clinical health stabilizes.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell Because the daily routine prevents the crisis from ever happening.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: So for you listening, especially if you're quietly dreading that logistical nightmare of managing an aging parent's daily life, this is the crux of the issue.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: You can't just rely on doctors.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: You have to bridge that non-medical gap.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And figuring out how to actually do that is where things are shifting, especially locally.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you really have to look at local solutions.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like take an agency like Home Care powered by AUAF.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: They've been operating across Chicagoland for over 30 years.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right, and not just the city itself.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, places like Arlington Heights, Evanston, Schaumburg, and Skokie, specifically to solve this exact logistical hurdle.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell And you know, what's genuinely fascinating about how an agency like AUAF operates on the ground is how they tackle another massive barrier from the survey.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, the isolation part.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Profound isolation.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just about physical help with errands, it's about brigging communication gaps.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell Because AUAF staff isn't just English speaking, right?
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: They provide caregivers fluent in Arabic, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Assyrian.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: See, I read that list in the source and initially just thought, well, okay, that's great.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Localized customer service.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, it sounds like a nice perk.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: But then looking closer at the psychology of aging, linguistic isolation actually accelerates cognitive decline.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: It absolutely does.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: It is a recognized phenomenon that many aging adults kind of um revert to their native language over time.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow, really?
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: So placing a caregiver who speaks that specific language in their home, I mean it fundamentally changes the care dynamic.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: That makes so much sense.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: The mechanism is really twofold.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Psychologically, the senior doesn't feel invisible or isolated.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And clinically, they can actually articulate subtle changes in how they feel, like a dull ache or a dizzy spell.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Things they might otherwise lack the English vocabulary to explain.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: It really is the difference between merely surviving in a house and actually aging with dignity.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: It really is.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: And for the family, I mean, understanding this distinction between medical and non-medical care is massive.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it lifts such a huge burden.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell Right.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: The burden of trying to be both a medical coordinator and a daily hourly caregiver.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: It significantly delays the need to transition a loved one into a nursing home.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell Recognizing that you can formally outsource the daily, non-medical side to licensed professionals, it's a huge paradigm shift.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: It really reduces the chronic stress for the entire family unit.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: So what does this all mean for the future?
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: As our population rapidly ages, I have to wonder, will society soon view non-medical home care?
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, things like running errands, folding laundry, or simple companionship in someone's native language, not just as some optional convenience, but as a critical, formally prescribed branch of healthcare.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a systemic blind spot we just can't ignore much longer.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: If we want the engine to keep running smoothly, we're absolutely going to have to start paying attention to the tires.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Something for you to mull over until next time.