There鈥檚 nothing quite like confronting your mortality with some stark truths about aging, and that was Eldercare Consulting Group founder Justin Levi鈥檚 plan when he spoke Feb. 6 at The Community Shul.

鈥淭he odds are very high your parents, your grandparents or yourself are going to need some sort of outside care as you age,鈥� Levi said to about 40 people who came to learn about the key issues involved in caring for aging parents.

Levi, who has been in the eldercare industry for 11 years and is also the president of The Community Shul, said he wanted to hammer home the importance of the myriad issues surrounding eldercare and how it affects everyone. He said there is a built-in assumption as we get older that our longevity expands 鈥渁nd we can put off the time we experience age-related conditions 鈥� but it doesn鈥檛 happen that way.鈥�

He noted that when Social Security was enacted in the 1930s, the average life expectancy was less than the current retirement age. 鈥淭oday we are living longer but living sicker, and that鈥檚 the most blunt way I can put it,鈥� he said. He noted that once-terminal diseases are now chronic diseases, which creates a greater burden on families and society.

Although Judaism emphasizes caring for aging parents, moving them into your home is not always possible nowadays, Levi said. His mention of that issue then provided the perfect segue into what he called the elephant in the room: dementia.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something many people don鈥檛 understand and can鈥檛 handle,鈥� Levi said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult even for the professionals. The old notion of 鈥楳om can come live with us when she gets older鈥� simply doesn鈥檛 work anymore.鈥�

In the case of a parent with dementia, Levi said, 鈥測ou are not going to be able to take care of them alone. You鈥檒l need outside help to prompt your loved one to eat, to bathe, to supervise them.鈥� Finding the right care is crucial, he said.

鈥淚 have met so many people who did not prepare financially, emotionally or practically for their parents or grandparents or themselves getting older.鈥� 鈥� Justin Levi

Levi then spoke of the different types of outside care facilities or services available:

Independent living 鈥� A nonlicensed senior community facility

Assisted living 鈥� A residential care facility licensed by the state

Skilled nursing 鈥� Commonly known as a nursing home, it is licensed for short-term rehabilitation

In-home care 鈥� A professional caregiver, home health care service or a hospice-licensed nursing agency that sends nurses and other professionals to the home to perform certain services (e.g., physical therapy). Hospice care is for people in the end-stage of a disease or condition when treatment is stopped. Medicare funds hospice care.

Learning the best option for your loved one is only part of the hurdle, Levi said, citing a conservative estimate that, by 2030, California will need at least 1 million beds for assisted living. 鈥淩ight now in California we have 186,000 beds, which is less than 20 percent of what鈥檚 currently needed,鈥� Levi said.

In addition, in-home care has become 鈥渂asically a service for wealthy individuals,鈥� Levi said. 鈥淚f you need round-the-clock care, you could be paying around $13,000 or $14,000 per month. On top of that, there is also a current caregiver shortage.鈥�

Coming back to his opening remarks, Levi said the secret is in planning ahead. If there was one thing he wanted the attendees to do right now, he said, it was to immediately take out long-term-care insurance because 70 percent of people over the age of 65 will need it.

鈥淢any people have homeowners insurance,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou spend all that money on a thing 鈥� granted, it鈥檚 the biggest thing you own 鈥� but you could be putting that money away for a person instead. I鈥檓 not saying you shouldn鈥檛 have home insurance, but you should start planning ahead financially and start saving now.鈥�

And while Levi made it clear he was not a rabbi and therefore could not speak to specific halachic issues, he said it was important to check into unique 91传媒 issues.

鈥淔or instance, there are very few facilities that are kosher,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 get into a kosher facility, you鈥檒l need to order food from a kosher caterer. And that gets very expensive.鈥�

Hospice issues regarding rules about the treatment of and removal of treatment from a dying person also need to be discussed with a rabbi, he counseled.

鈥淚 have met so many people who did not prepare financially, emotionally or practically for their parents or grandparents or themselves getting older,鈥� Levi said. 鈥淪o know what鈥檚 out there. Get educated. This is heavy stuff. It鈥檚 not pleasant and requires a lot of research. However, if you do things the right way, you can avoid problems by planning ahead.鈥�