My blog post about the personal journey I have been on with my siblings and parents as they are aging struck a chord with many friends and colleagues, both here and in Sweden (as evidenced both in many personal and moving e-mails and comments to the blog post http://hrnow.net/?p=224&cpage=1#comment-154). Thank you all for sharing your touching stories and perspectives. In a strange way it is comforting to know that we are not facing this challenge alone?

I had some twenty HR executives from a very eclectic group of companies here in the Pacific Northwest respond to an informal poll about eldercare workplace practices. In broad terms, companies responded as follows:

· Almost all companies provide some flexibility in hours to support employees dealing with eldercare issues and also offer flexible spending account for dependent care.

· A majority of companies offer eldercare counseling services, mostly as part of an EAP program.
Almost without exception, none of the companies polled pay for in-home care for an employee’s family members. One company provides long-term care insurance for free to all full-time employees.

HR Executives varied in their perception of how critical the issue of providing support for employees that care for aging parents is or is likely to become. About half of the respondents felt it is an issue that will become more critical. Only one company reported being engaged in an initiative to roll out an aggressive program in the near future, including the possibility of a “benefits account” with an a-la-carte menu (for example, if an employee received medical benefits through a spouse’s plan, they would have the option of using account funds to purchase long-term care for a family member). One executive felt aging parents of employees is a BIG issue, but an issue that’s underground – while HR execs may hear about day care issues for sick kids on a daily basis….they rarely or never hear about eldercare…..there may be a “pride thing” going on. Is there a stigma attached to admitting you are caring for an aging parent?

Interestingly, when asked to give an example of a local company that has good best practices in the arena of eldercare support, not a single one of the respondents could come up with a specific suggestion, though many were very interested in learning more about options/possibilities and best practices. Do you know of a company that is progressive int eh eldercare arena?

Do you think this poll reflects reality in the US? How do you think healthcare reform will impact eldercare?