As we age and reach our senior years, our health will decline, and our vision is among the first of the senses to become impaired. While many people can continue to drive until they reach their 80s or 90s, others have to face the reality of giving up their licenses sooner. This is becoming known as “driving retirement,” and it’s an issue that we all have to eventually face.
No one wants to deal with the concept of having to give up their driver’s license, which is why many seniors resist it until they’re compelled to give up their licenses. In rare cases, seniors drive until a court or the Department of Motor Vehicles takes an official action by either revoking the license or declining to renew it. More commonly, a senior’s family members will convince them to give up driving before they do get into a serious accident. This isn’t an easy conversation to have and it can lead to family disputes, but it’s important to face this issue before it leads to a tragedy.
Depending on where a senior lives, their driving retirement may lead to unexpected mental health problems. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently completed a study with Columbia University, which found the rate of depression was doubled among seniors who gave up their driving privileges versus those seniors who continued to drive. The loss of freedom that driving provides combined with more limited access to stores, doctors, and other essentials affected the ability of seniors to maintain healthy relationships and interactions with those outside the home. While ridesharing services, such as Uber, can restore some of that mobility, seniors still feel limited without access to a vehicle of their own.
Taking these issues into consideration, it’s important for families to plan out an elder parent’s driving retirement well in advance. When you can plan for that individual’s transportation needs and help them be as mobile as possible, their driving retirement will only seem like a minor inconvenience. In time, they’ll adapt to life without a driver’s license and find that they can be just as free by making use of the other opportunities open to them. Additionally, they won’t feel the added stress that driving in heavy traffic and risking an accident represents.
Published by paulbergsten
Paul Bergsten is a man with almost 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, a passion that was planted when he was just 15 years old. “I started out working in the kitchen of a nursing home when I was a teenager. From there, I knew what I wanted to do — I wanted to help.”
While the seed was planted before he could even drive, Paul’s career started back in 1996, when he joined the Carriage Inn of Dayton. As Assistant Environmental Services Director, he aided in the management of 3 separate departments and the related staff. It was here that he developed a foundational understanding of nursing home management. Within two short years, Paul displayed a firm understanding of the business, and moved into the full director role. As Environmental Service Director, his responsibilities grew to encompass multiple buildings and their related departments. He revitalized the role, enacting several retention programs in order to increase the revenue of the company.
His passion for management and the nursing home grew as he worked, and he found himself wanting to implement more programs to aid in the efficiency and effectiveness of nursing homes. In 2000, Paul Bergsten Became Administrator-in-training for the Walnut Creek Nursing Center. Over the course of a year, his administrative skills and understanding grew through this hands-on experience. While learning, he displayed ingenuity and initiative by heading safety grant programs, overseeing the construction of assisted living and independent living buildings. Having completed his training, in 2001 Paul moved on to the role of Administrator of Carington Health Systems, where he continued to improve the scope of his role and the capabilities of the homes he managed. Most notably, he oversaw the transition from assisted living to skilled beds, streamlined therapy services, and continued to implement cost control methods.
In 2003, Paul Bergsten moved to the Crestwood Care Center where his administrative experience eased a transition of ownership and improved the facility’s earnings. Here, he continued to develop his experience, learning the ins and outs of working in a union facility. In 2004 and 2005, he was the top financial earner for the company and was elected to the Board of the Ohio Academy of Nursing Homes where his expertise was welcomed.
The Crestwood Care Center operated under the Communicare umbrella of companies, which allowed Paul to transition to Executive Director of Regency Manor, which was also a part of Communicare. This transition occurred in 2006, and expanded the scope of Paul’s oversight to a facility of more than 250 beds. He was responsible for record revenue numbers in the facility, growing the number of beds to 275.
Paul’s network of administrative peers also grew during this time, consulting with numerous compatriots as he continued to improve on operational efficiencies.
In 2007 Paul Bergsten moved on from Regency Manor in order to become administrator of Villa Angela Care Center. While here, he found himself wanting to build a better connection with the workers who kept the companies functioning as needed. In 2007, he founded NP Insight in order to better partner with healthcare providers such as nurse practitioners. This group allowed Paul to reduce healthcare costs while improving worker morale and quality of care.
Paul Bergsten’s current venture is Hillstone Healthcare, which he founded in 2010 and continues to operate as CEO to this day. The full-service nursing home consulting and management company seeks to improve upon the care provided at 17 nursing homes across Ohio. Paul actively seeks to work with these homes in order to improve quality of care, quality of living, and capitalize on opportunities for growth.
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