Caregiving for an Aging Parent From Afar: Six Ways to Help
(Source: Time) — For my mother and my Aunt Lois, providing care to my elderly grandparents was a difficult and emotionally distressing experience for many reasons, but it was especially hard because of the geographical distance separating them. They both lived far from the southern Indiana farm where my beloved grandparents resided, and only one other aunt lived nearby.
Grandpa was the first to experience serious health issues and sank gradually into dementia. And though Grandma’s mind remained sharp until the end, her vision failed in her early 90s and she became homebound and frail, eventually succumbing to cancer. In the course of a decade, my mother and aunts managed the shifting stages of care for my grandparents. The heaviest burden of the day-to-day care fell on my Aunt Emily who lived nearby, while Mom and Aunt Lois visited often and helped with financial and legal matters. As distance caregivers, Mom and Aunt Lois often felt frustrated, constrained and helpless.
The National Institute on Aging estimates that there may be as many as seven million people providing long-distance care in the United States. Caregiving for aging parents from afar iscomplicated. In addition to the emotional aspects that come with the aging process and deteriorating health of a loved one, the financial aspects can also be complex. If you are living far from your elderly parent and he or she is in decline, what can you do to make it easier financially for you and your family? (more…)
Caregiver Lives Rerouted yet Enriched by Aging Parents
Many baby boomers are caregivers for elderly parents, and they have to adjust life plans accordingly.
(Source: CNN) — As the more than 76 million babies born in the “Baby Boom” of 1946 to 1964 approach and enter retirement, many thought they would finally be driving across the country in that decked out RV or spending more time spoiling the grandkids.
According to data from the National Alliance for Caregiving, an estimated 65 million people in the U.S. are unpaid family caregivers. Seven in 10 of those caregivers take care of someone 50 years of age or older, according to research done in conjunction with the AARP.
Caregiving for loved ones the ‘new normal’ for boomers
Sixty-one-year-old Karen Jones from Virginia Beach, Virginia, burns the candle at both those ends.
“I never thought I would be doing this,” said Jones. The retiree takes care of both her elderly parents, who are in their 90s and live two houses down from her.
At this point in Jones’ life, her previous retirement fantasies of traveling have been replaced with the reality of being a caregiver and on call, 24/7. (more…)
Q&A: Group aims to help families solve elder-care puzzle
(Source:SacrementoBee) — Nothing seems to overwhelm families of the elderly more than figuring out the issue of senior care: Who needs intervention? What kind? How much? How little? What’s available? When is it time to step in to help?
So hard is it to find answers, as new research from the University of South Florida School of Aging Studies shows, that nearly half of adult children have already seen significant impairment in their elderly loved ones before they seek help.
Melissa Marchwick – senior vice president of Sittercity, the Chicago online service that helps young families connect with in-home care for their children – is also general manager of a new, free online service, Years Ahead (www.yearsahead.com), which aims to help families solve the elder-care puzzle before a crisis occurs.
Young families understand from the get-go that they’ll need baby sitters, yet it seems to take people by surprise that their aging parents might need help. Why?
It’s a role reversal, but there’s a lot of connectivity between the two. If you find the right provider, it’s so freeing for everyone, including the senior, but it can be a really hard road going there.
We have scripts that are an important tool for people who want to start the conversation. It’s brand new, and people don’t even know how to start.
So they wait and do nothing?
It surprised me that 31 percent of people in the University of South Florida study have seen signs of the need for senior care but haven’t even raised the issue with their elderly parents.
It’s a hard topic for people. Nobody wants to think about it. Families are in denial. People say, “I don’t know what to look for.”
What are some of the areas they should take into account?
The top thing is forgetfulness, short-term memory loss. But you don’t go from zero to 24-hour care. You may only need someone to call and make sure you’re following your schedule for medications.
The second thing is the loss of balance and falling. A senior companion could just help them get into the car. And a big part of keeping seniors in the home are products like grab bars in the bathroom and elevated toilet seats.
The third-most-common issue is challenges with driving. It’s very difficult for people to talk about, but it’s one of the most common things for companions to help with.
Senior companions can help maintain their independence, rather than taking it away.
What kind of assistance does your website provide?
The children of aging parents come to our site and find the type of care they need. We guide them to that care.
We find that when most people start the process, they have no idea what’s involved. They don’t know what their parents need and what’s out there. They don’t even know the difference between assisted living and home care.
They can just search in their geographical area if they already know what they’re looking for. Or if they need more information, we provide a needs assessment on their elders’ mobility and cognition. And then we link them with providers.
We also have certified senior advisers on staff whom they can call.
In U.S. First, Surgeons Implant Brain ‘Pacemaker’ for Alzheimer’s Disease
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine in November surgically implanted a pacemaker-like device into the brain of a patient in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. (Credit: © Chariclo / Fotolia)
(Source: ScienceDaily) — Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine in November surgically implanted a pacemaker-like device into the brain of a patient in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, the first such operation in the United States. The device, which provides deep brain stimulation and has been used in thousands of people with Parkinson’s disease, is seen as a possible means of boosting memory and reversing cognitive decline.
The surgery is part of a federally funded, multicenter clinical trial marking a new direction in clinical research designed to slow or halt the ravages of the disease, which slowly robs its mostly elderly victims of a lifetime of memories and the ability to perform the simplest of daily tasks, researchers at Johns Hopkins say. Instead of focusing on drug treatments, many of which have failed in recent clinical trials, the research focuses on the use of the low-voltage electrical charges delivered directly to the brain. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
As part of a preliminary safety study in 2010, the devices were implanted in six Alzheimer’s disease patients in Canada. Researchers found that patients with mild forms of the disorder showed sustained increases in glucose metabolism, an indicator of neuronal activity, over a 13-month period. Most Alzheimer’s disease patients show decreases in glucose metabolism over the same period. (more…)
From Trauma to Dancing – Eldercare will Challenge Boomer Generation
(Source:NewAmericaMedia)–Nursing homes are often associated with the last chapter in people’s lives. But at least these days, involved families will consider making changes when they identify deficiencies in a nursing home’s care, are dissatisfied with placements made during hasty hospital-discharge planning, or see patient abuse.
Although change is difficult, given what we know about longevity today, caregivers can lobby for high-quality care and cognitive-enrichment programs or find a more suitable home.
At the Gerontological Society of America’s (GSA) 65th annual scientific meeting last month, presentations from experts on caregivers, longevity, long-term care and optimal aging were particularly poignant for baby boomers. As the next generation of nursing-home or assisted-living residents, the boomers will demand change for the better. (more…)
Guidance from Wyndmoor social worker – She matches aging parents with ‘elder care’ resources
Wendy Liebling, president of Liebling Elder Care, facilitates an Alzheimer’s Association support group on the third Tuesday of each month at the Center on the Hill in the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill. The next meeting will be on Dec. 18. More information at wendyliebling@gmail.com or 610-733-1473. (Photo by Barbara Sherf)
(Source: CHL) — After working for over 20 years as a social worker, Wyndmoor resident Wendy Liebling saw a need to help families find resources for their aging parents and disabled relatives, so two years ago she founded Liebling Elder Care.
Liebling, whose last position was as an ombudsman for the Montgomery County Office of Aging, finds her new role “very rewarding when it works.
“People often need guidance to various resources, and I have seen the quality of lives improve significantly with the introduction of psychiatric support or a community day program. Sometimes it just requires an objective eye to assess an individual’s needs and match the right resources,” said the 53-year-old, who started Liebling Elder Care by helping the families of friends. (more…)
Elder Care Community 