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The Challenges of Recognizing Dementia
The Challenges of Recognizing Dementia Introduction How can you tell when someone is showing signs of declining brain wellness? It’s not like physical wellness where we might run the same distance each year to measure our speed or endurance. Solving the same puzzle...
Harvey, Irma, and how elders cope with the threat of natural disasters
Whatever the cause, there have been a lot of severe weather events lately. Severe weather is disruptive and catastrophic for everyone but for older adults the impending doom can be paralyzing. Sometimes denial kicks in. Sometimes it is genuine apathy for their own...
Apples vs. Oranges: Home Care vs. Nursing Home Care
It is common for an elder with a need for supervision or hands-on care to complain about how much it costs. This can lead families to address the complaint by moving mom or dad to a less expensive setting, such as a nursing home. But often money really isn’t the issue – they are really complaining about losing their old life. And moving to a nursing home puts her even farther away from that old life.
What Will Your Old Age Look Like?
Most people make financial and legal plans for retirement based on the experiences of others with whom they are familiar. This small sample size can lead most people to aim their retirement plans in the wrong direction. It is better to be ready for anything than to aim and miss at a specific target.
Lesson 2 from 2011
Just because an elderly person is known for outrageous accusations and for crying "wolf” doesn’t mean they aren’t going to be accurate some of the time. One of our caregivers spent 10 hours Monday through Friday with a particular client. They each felt they had gotten...
Planning Ahead Leads to Happier Family Events
December is a time to look back on what we learned during the year and what events stood out. My 2011 included several lessons, many from unlikely sources. One lesson from 2011 is that if you have a big family event planned and want to include an elder, especially...
Downsizing In Place
Downsizing usually means moving to a smaller, more efficient space that costs less to maintain and provides a safer environment. It also often means moving to where you can receive services such as meals, maintenance, and housekeeping. For older residents, downsizing...
Why does care cost so much?
My last blog post generated a number of comments, mostly on the websites where I posted links, such as LinkedIn.com. Unfortunately, most commenters – all, in fact – did not also post to this blog website. Whenever possible, please comment here so that other readers...
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