Yvette Nicole Brown on the ‘heartbreaking, guilt-ridden’ choice to place dad in care home

Yvette Nicole Brown recently made the tough decision to place her father, who is living with Alzheimer’s, into a care home. For the past 11 years, Brown has been her father’s primary caregiver, a role she embraced without hesitation when he was diagnosed with the disease over a decade ago.

In an interview with People, the actress shared how she rearranged her entire life to look after her father. “But it was the easiest decision I made because in my mind, he taught me so much. How can I not step up and be there for him in his moment of need? My dad comes first,” Brown said.

This commitment even led her to request being released from her contract with the TV sitcom “Community” because the long hours on set were incompatible with her caregiving responsibilities. However, after her father experienced a severe fall and broke his hip a few months ago, Brown found it necessary to make the heart-wrenching choice to move him to a care home.

“He’s now at a place where he can’t be with me in the house anymore because he no longer walks,” Brown explained. “Releasing him to the care of other people was a very difficult thing to do and a very heartbreaking, guilt-ridden choice to make. But the goal was to get the best care for him and that’s no longer me.”

Now that her father is in an assisted living facility, Brown visits him several times a week. “So now it’s shifted to me stepping into less of a daily caregiver role and more of just his daughter. I have not been able to be just his daughter in 11 years,” she added.

Brown’s story is not unique. The United States, much like many other countries around the world, is facing an aging population and an eldercare crisis. The U.S. population is older today than it has ever been, and the number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to increase from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050, according to the Population Reference Bureau.

While many older adults remain healthy and active for longer periods, a significant number will still require some form of care services. The U.S. Administration for Community Living reports that 69% of adults who reach the age of 65 will, at some point, need long-term care services for an average of three years. Additionally, 20% will need care services for more than five years.

Compounding the issue, the U.S. has at least 600 fewer nursing homes than it did six years ago, according to a 2023 Wall Street Journal analysis. With fewer care homes and increasing eldercare costs, many baby boomers and geriatric millennials will have to rely on family members to provide the necessary care.

A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found that 23% of U.S. adults are now part of the “sandwich generation,” a term used to describe those who are caring for both their aging parents and their own children.

Brown’s complex emotions and her ongoing commitment to her father’s well-being reflect a broader societal challenge. As the population ages, the demand for quality eldercare services will continue to grow, necessitating widespread support and better solutions for caregivers and their families.

A representative for Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Source: People, Population Reference Bureau, U.S. Administration for Community Living, Wall Street Journal, Pew Research Center