Blogs - Aging Parents Authority

Seniors Have Options!

In all the years that I have been working with seniors, I have found that each situation an adult child is facing with their parents is different. Parents many times are hesitant to make a change -- e.g. move to a senior community --after living in their house, in some cases, for 30+ years. It is difficult to make changes as we get older, and unless there is an emergency situation, many will say that they are not ready to leave their homes. So, how does an adult child get their parent to plan ah… Continue

Added by Diane Castro on November 24, 2009 at 1:38am — No Comments

Do You Know About Adult Family Homes For Seniors?

When families call me to help them find a care facility for their parent I often hear "I need to find a nursing home for my mother..." Well, what you may not realize is that there's a wonderful care option other than a nursing home. They're called 'Adult Family Homes' or 'Adult Foster Homes' which are licensed care facilities in a residential home setting that provides 24 hour care. All caregivers are required to have a Certified Nursing Assistant license and all home must have a Registered Nurs… Continue

Added by Tricia Edwards on November 18, 2009 at 6:52pm — No Comments

A common mistake when placing your parent into long term care

As a senior placement agent I help families everyday that are in the process of moving their aging parent into assisted care. It's natural that most people want to keep their parents as functional and independent as long as possible. But one thing that I try to help people understand is how critical it is to plan for the long term. More specifically, don't focus only on what your parent's needs are today but where they're likely to be 6 months from now or a year from now. I frequently get calls… Continue

Added by Tricia Edwards on October 5, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

SOS 4 Seniors -- a new resource and information lifeline for folks who need help with aging parent issues

My name is Diane Castro, and after working in the senior living business for over 7 years I have started my own information, resource and placement business called, SOS 4 Seniors that serves the San Francisco Bay Area (Northern California), mainly the Marin County area. If you or someone you know needs to find an assisted, independent or memory care community in the Marin County and San Francisco County areas...let me know. I can also help you find a quality homecare agency, senior designated re… Continue

Added by Diane Castro on August 4, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Generation X and Caregiving

I recently interviewed Ryan Malone, managing editor of Inside Assisted Living, on my radio program, Aging with Grace. I invited him to discuss his book By Families, For Families Guide to Assisted Living. During the course of the interview I couldn't help but be taken by his passion and commitment to make sure his mom received the best assisted living care that he could find and she could afford. His primary goal was to move his mother closer to him after she had a devastating stroke. He researc… Continue

Added by Patricia Grace on March 4, 2009 at 8:14pm — No Comments

Music soothes the soul and takes us back...

Recently I blogged on another site that listening to music was a wonderful activity for a person to share with a family member that is suffering with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia. Music like Alzheimer's takes us back to a memory that we associate with another time in our life. As a child growing up (I'm now 59) I always loved the soulful sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, Morgana King, Cleo Laine, Shirley Bassey, Etta James and Rae Marnie. Each of these great artist recorded a song that when… Continue

Added by Patricia Grace on February 24, 2009 at 8:28pm — No Comments

Help with Caregiving Responsibilities

What’s a good response to the statement, “Call me if you need me?” Despite the fact that family caregivers are drowning in responsibility or may be confused about what to do next, they find it so hard to ask for help. Even when help is offered, often they respond “no thanks”. Here are six steps to getting help… Recognize that care giving, like any job, is made up of lots of individual tasks, not all of which are of the same importance. Recognize that asking for help is a sign of strength and no… Continue

Added by Patricia Grace on February 21, 2009 at 11:27am — No Comments

Confessions of an Eldercare Specialist

My husband went to pick up my 87yr old mother and bring her to our home for Sunday dinner as he does every week. As they came in the front door, I hugged my mom as I always do. As I stood there taking an extra long hug (I do this now all the time because...well, I don't know if I will get the chance again) I saw my husband in extreme animation pointing to his eyebrows and then pointing to mother. It certainly appeared to be code for, "holy crap your mom has to much makeup on." As I broke, the em… Continue

Added by Patricia Grace on February 19, 2009 at 1:12pm — No Comments

Eldercare Issues: Beware of FREE referral, placement, and directory services

Eldercare Issues: Beware of FREE referral, placement, and directory services: They are not really free During these tough economic times, more and more stressed caregivers are gravitating to the web for help and guidance. With the plethora of "free" internet referral, placement, and on-line directory services for families in search of eldercare products and services such as homecare and assisted living, it is important to know exactly how these services make their money and how it might affect y… Continue

Added by Patricia Grace on February 16, 2009 at 7:50pm — 1 Comment

New Easier Cancer Test

There is a new and easier cancer test that should be out within the next two years. I wrote about this on Aging Parents Authority today because I think it's really good news for those of us who are caregivers. Have we have turned the corner with the "Spanish Inquisition" medical tests? Thanks to nano technology a new era may be dawning. Read… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on February 12, 2009 at 8:09pm — No Comments

My Ill Aunt's Cat

I visited my aunt again today. She is getting weaker, smaller and more frail. Each visit is a shock because as we've talked about before, the elderly can go down so fast. I brought back lunch from probably the best fried chicken place in town- and believe me, we've got some good ones in Nashville. It's called MacDougals and they have some really good mouth-watering chicken fingers with their own special sauce. They're located near Vanderbilt, and it's common knowledge the best places are around… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on February 4, 2009 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Aging in Place Remodeling Will Help Seniors Stay in Their Homes

We talked a little yesterday on Aging Parents Authority about aging in place and the new renovations seniors can do to their homes. Those of us who will be future seniors are also interested because it means we will be able to stay in our homes longer. Some of my closest friends just finished remodeling their home in Nashville and it is senior-ready. I have to say publicly, I didn't think it would look that good when they first started. I thought it would be just another run of the mill ranch… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on February 3, 2009 at 12:24pm — No Comments

Am I a Good Caregiver?

Nancy, who is one of our readers on Aging Parents Authority, wrote in about how we need to keep our caregiving in perspective, even while it gets devastatingly difficult. She makes some very important points... "You will not get a 'do over' on this task..." Our time is now. Our work is now. We certainly need to accept our responsibilities toward our parents. Nancy is also bringing out something more subtle. A… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on January 30, 2009 at 12:14pm — No Comments

Update on Family Members

Here's the latest news about my Dad and Aunt. Both are doing well, considering the circumstances. My cousin, her daughter and grandbaby, along with mother and I, had lunch with my aunt a few days ago. We celebrated my cousin's birthday a few days early. My aunt seemed in high spirits and insisted on setting the tiny kitchen table in spite of the cord from the oxygen machine. We all had a few tense moments when we thought she was going to fall over it. But everything turned out fine, and the bab… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on January 28, 2009 at 7:55pm — No Comments

I just read a report that older people tend to remember the good memories and not the bad ones. Tha…

I just read a report that older people tend to remember the good memories and not the bad ones. That's good news,espcially late at night when you're tossing in your bed worrying about something that had happened in your past. Also, older people get over more of their social phobias. Generally, this report that is being featured in the January issue of Psychological Science is good news and proves older people really do tend to mellow. I wonder if we can get over our phobias tha… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on January 24, 2009 at 8:01pm — No Comments

Prescription Medication Aids

We need some suggestions about how to improve prescription aids. My parents are in their 80's and anything that can help them with their medications would be a big improvement. For example, do you find your parents have trouble reading the labels on their prescriptions? Are the labels too small? Are the labels confusing? Please write in and let us know. Thanks Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on January 23, 2009 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Will Stress Age Obama?

The new president enters the Oval Office at age 47. According to aging expert, Michael Roizen, he will age two years for every year he spends as Chief Executive. Roizen has studied every American President since 1920, and has noted the accelerated pace in which all of them have aged. He gives Bill Clinton and George W. Bush as examples. Will Obama be able to stay youthful? The same advice Roizen gives for presidents holds true for any of us who are caring for our aging parents. Have friends, eat… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on January 20, 2009 at 11:44pm — No Comments

Death of the Kindly Watch Repairman

I'm grieving tonight for one of my dear elderly friends who has died. He was one of the sweetest older people I have ever known. This gentleman always smiled at you and made you feel good just being around him. A watch repairman by trade, he was patient and soft-spoken, and quiet by nature. As we're all too painfully aware of, some people move through their later years a little more smoothly than others. Some people are a pleasure to be around and others, well, to put it kindly, are not. I know… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on January 19, 2009 at 7:30pm — No Comments

Aging Parents Grieving Over Their Child's Death

A few days ago I wrote a post on Aging Parents Authority that received a lot of attention. It was all about aging parents who outlive their children and the grieving process they go through. The example was given of the older couple who had lost their 51-year old son. I read the comments left at a newspaper's site concerning this couple, and frankly, I was shocked. Some readers were not sympathetic… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on January 16, 2009 at 2:53pm — No Comments

Our Older Drivers Have Road Rights Too

Here's a very funny video I found about what can happen when a jet and jeep invade a little old lady's territory on the road. I debated about whether to put this video up or not because in the end the sweet little lady makes a not-so-nice gesture to the young man. I don't really approve of that and I hope it won't be offensive to any of our readers... but the video was one of the funniest and best I have ever seen on Youtube and that's the reason for putting it up. See… Continue

Added by Alice Stevens on January 15, 2009 at 11:35am — No Comments

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