Recently, Gina’s mother told her the devastating news that her Uncle Jack had been diagnosed with dementia. When Gina’s husband got home from work, she quickly told him about her uncle’s “Alzheimer’s” diagnosis. Gina, her mother, and her husband began using the terms “dementia” and “Alzheimer’s” interchangeably, as if they meant the same thing, where […]
CMS Finalizes Commitment to Person-Centered Care for Nursing Home Residents
Q. My father has Alzheimer’s, and he is no longer able to live safely on his own. Since my mother died, I have been his caregiver, and although trusting his care to strangers isn’t going to be easy, I know a nursing home is the right place for him at this time. My husband and […]
Questions to Ask at a Nursing Home Interview
Dear Baxter, My husband and I are evaluating nursing homes for his mother. We set up several tours. We are wondering if you could suggest questions to ask at these meetings? Thanks for your help! Wanda Fine-Darytwan — Dear Wanda, When you visit a nursing home to check it out, it’s important to be prepared. […]
Hospice Care for Healthier Patients. . . Something Isn’t Right!
Linda Rodgers was shocked to see her father in so much pain when she visited him at his hospice facility. In a letter she wrote to the editor of USA Today, she described how her father had his pain controlled by medication while in the hospital, before admission to hospice, but was in severe pain […]
Who Will Be There for Me if I’m Aging Alone?
Q. I am currently 82 years old, and I live by myself in the home I purchased 40 years ago in Northern Virginia. Most of the people I know have grandchildren and evengreat-grandchildren. Throughout my life, I put my career first, and I never got married or had any children. I don’t have much family, […]
Caregiving: Where Clinton and Trump Stand
According to a recent AARP study, approximately 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the prior 12 months. Nearly half of these caregivers provide care to someone 75 years old or older (47%), and in most cases, the main reason their recipient needs care includes “old age” […]
What Medicare Won’t Cover
Q. When my mom turns 65, she will enroll in Medicare, as most seniors do. My understanding about Medicare is that Part A is hospital insurance and Medicare Part B helps pay for doctors’ services and other medical services and supplies that are not covered by Part A. My mother seems to think that Medicare […]
Overcoming Emotions: Moving Mom to a Nursing Home
Q. My aging mother has lived in her home since I was a child. My family loved the neighborhood so much that we never moved, and when I got married and had my own family, we bought a house a few blocks away. Now, dad’s been gone for many years, and mom has had home […]
Nursing Home Preparation
Dear Baxter, My father will be moving to a nursing home next month. What do you suggest we do to prepare for this big move? Thanks! Bea Forehegos —— Dear Bea, The move to a nursing home is more like a journey than an event, for most residents, caregivers, and families. After you have chosen […]
I Am Nearing Retirement- What to Consider
Dear Angel, The day I have been dreaming about for most of my adult life is almost here. In fact, at work yesterday, I met with human resources and my boss and started planning for my last days at work. With all this excitement comes some stress. As I near retirement, what are some things […]
Discriminated Against for Having the “Wrong Type of Illness”
Long-term care services, whether provided in institutions or in the community, are essential to the well-being of many elderly and non-elderly people with limitations in performing daily activities. In the United States, in particular, long-term care is disastrously expensive. And, when it comes to benefits, some people are discriminated against simply because they have the […]
Muhammad Ali’s Vision Was Realized
For more than 20 years, Rachel’s father has had Parkinson’s Disease. When she first moved to the DC area in 1998, her father walked with a cane, and although his hands shook a little, he was still able to dance with her at her wedding. Rachel knew that this was only the beginning, and as […]
Special Report: Long-Term Care Around the World
Part I: The Cost of Long-Term Care and How it’s Paid For Long-term care services, whether provided in institutions or in the community, are essential to the well-being of many elderly and non-elderly people with limitations in performing daily activities. In the United States, long-term care is disastrously expensive. Medicare, the public health insurance system […]
Long-Term Care Insurance: Yes or No?
Q. Long-term care is a subject we’ve been avoiding for years, but as we are getting older and less able to do things for ourselves due to physical ailments, my wife and I finally sat down to talk about it. At first, long-term care insurance policies that help pay the costs of extended nursing care […]
Is There a Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Option?
Dear Commander Bun Bun, I am 58 and still working. I understand that long-term care insurance through insurance companies is expensive, and that there are risks involved. I was wondering if there is government solution to long-term care insurance. I remember reading something about the CLASS act, which was part of Obamacare, and was signed into a law. Do you know […]
Seniors Decide: What’s Important in the Presidential Election?
Q. Thank you for your recent articles about where candidates stand on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans benefits. In reading them, and in watching the debates on TV, I am still trying to figure out other critical issues seniors and baby boomers are evaluating when voting for our next president, and why I haven’t heard much from any candidate about long-term care. Unfortunately, […]
Will Medicare Cover Telehealth?
Laura, age 72, suffers from Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, and diabetes. On a snowy afternoon, she sits on her bed watching her favorite court television programs. At 3:30 p.m., it’s time for her wellness appointment. Laura turns on her iPad (supplied by her doctor’s office), and sees her physician’s face smiling back at her. The doctor […]
Bring Your Mom to Work: On-Site Elder Day Care at Workplaces
Karen spent many years in school to get her PhD, followed by years of work to become a tenured professor at a university, and eventually a department head. She and her husband delayed starting a family, and when she was in her mid 40’s and at the peak of her career, she had her […]
A New Era of Human Longevity
Happy Birthday Irene Ciuffoletti! Irene Ciuffoletti, a nursing home resident in Pennsylvania, celebrated her 113th birthday last week with other residents, enjoying cake and music. A widow for more than half a century, she has outlived all but one of her five sons. She was already a centenarian when she arrived at the nursing home […]
Is it the End for Observation Status?
Q. Late last year, you answered a question about a woman who spent a week in the hospital and was seen by doctors and nurses, given every kind of test imaginable, operated on, transferred to another room for recovery, and then to a nursing home for two weeks of rehabilitation. Subsequently, she received a […]
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