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SANDY — She is bruised on the left side of her face, but sound asleep at the Sandy Health & Rehab Center. A team of nurses surround 77-year-old Peggy Gottschalk while her daughter looks on.
Knowing her mother is in good hands is a weight off Karla Peck's shoulders.
"She had shingles," Peck said. "It was awful to see her face like that, the sickness and illness."
She and her husband Randy flew in from California on Tuesday, one of their few trips each year, to be by her mother's side.
"These ladies always call me. They took her to the hospital," said Peck. "These ladies take her to the store, for walks, to her church, to dinner. They're with her all day long. They take her to doctors' appointments."
Peck says she'd like her mother to live with her in California, but "she's happy here and I want to keep her as independent as possible" while her mother resides at the independent living facility with her team of nurses – who are also helping her recover from shingles.
At roughly $8,000 a month, the level of care for Peck's mother is a luxury most people can't afford.
"We're paying this out of our own pockets. It's costing a lot of money," said Randy Peck. "And it's potentially going to get more expensive."
As more Utahns begin to age, the need to find caregivers increases and that has aging experts concerned for several reasons.
"Utah is among the top four states in the country with a population growth of people age 80-plus," said Peter Hebertson, program manager at Salt Lake County Aging & Adult Services. "We have good health, so we live longer."
This longevity means fewer people to care for the elderly.
"I don't think we are at a crisis level yet. The problem is, there's some consistency issues. There's some training issues," he said. "We really are on the precipice of a potentially large expensive crisis if we don't start dealing with it."
I don't think we are at a crisis level yet. The problem is, there's some consistency issues. There's some training issues. We really are on the precipice of a potentially large expensive crisis if we don't start dealing with it.
–Peter Hebertson
Part of the problem, said Hebertson, is low wages are scaring off potential caregivers. He said these are people who are doing a lot of heavy lifting and managing personal care for patients who have illness or have very difficult health needs.
"We're talking $9-$11 an hour to start and that's for someone who's a certified nurse's aide," he said. "People in that income range are saying, 'Do I do that or do I work at a store that's going to be less demanding.'"
Experts who care for elderly residents said lower wages means fewer skilled workers and an increased risk that elderly residents will be abused.
"It takes a lot of patience," said Sam Davis, a franchise owner for Home Instead Senior Care Utah. "It's not just a job. You can train people. You can give them the skills, but you cannot give them the heart."
Davis said it's more expensive to pay for elderly relatives to live in a care facility than keeping them in their home.
"It can be anywhere from $50 a day to $300 to $400 a day," she said.
Davis also said people can save money caring for elderly loved ones by learning about preventive measures before a crisis hits.
"We have found that when seniors go to the emergency room, most of the time it is because of dehydration, nutrition, and medication," said Davis.
Davis believes the government can do more to educate families about the programs available to help care for elderly residents. It's a responsibility Davis said individuals can take on as well, if they know where to find the information.
At this point, caregivers are telling Utahns to encourage lawmakers to provide more funding resources to care for Utah's rapidly aging residents.
For more information about resources for elderly care, call 385-468-3200.
