Whatever you think of Martha Stewart, you must agree that she has had more lives than Madonna, and in that sense, she is an inspiration to us all.

Now she's turning her big burners on philanthropy as founder of Martha Stewart Center for Living at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City, which specializes in eldercare. She has a terrific post over at Huffingtonpost today about the challenges facing boomers as they age, and midlife women as they care for elderly parents. Who knew?

Here's a taste:

With the increase in the elderly population comes a concomitant increase in informal caregivers. Because around-the-clock home care runs as high as $150,000 per year (not including rent or food) and, depending on where you live, residence in an assisted living facility can easily cost $4,000 per month (none of which is covered by Medicare), more than 75 percent of Americans receiving long-term care rely solely on family and friends to provide assistance. The vast majority of these caregivers are women, most of whom devote an average of 19 hours a week to their caregiving role, often while also holding down a paying job. Many are caring for young children and their aging parents at the same time. And many more, surveys show, have used all of their savings or cut back on their own health care spending in order to cover the cost of caregiving for their relative.

Ok, we're guessing she had someone write this for her, but never mind. It's a good thing that she's getting on the case.

                                                                    --BJ Roche