BY BILL HOLDOM, THE DAILY NEWS JUNE 8, 2012 Canada.com

Two Nanaimo Daily News themes this past week - the aging of Nanaimo's population and the need for immigrants - struck me as two sides of the same demographic coin. To put it bluntly, we need young immigrants to care for the elderly.

This point hit home recently when my brothers and I had to decide how our 94-year-old mother should be cared for after a "heart episode" and a stay in hospital. Although the staff stabilized her condition, she was clearly too weak to resume her previous semi-independent lifestyle in her own home. So we were faced with the choices familiar to many families.

Public care facility? A long waiting list. Private facility? Very expensive. Take her in to one of our residences? None of us had the skills to provide the care she needed. Mom herself just wanted to go home. So we focused on in-home care.

Read the whole article...