All Caregiving Articles

Media Contact: Emily Buenting, ThirdAge Inc. (617) 285-4052 emilyb@thirdage.com October 16, 2009 (New York, NY) Expressing gratitude for a loved one seen as a benefit amidst the challenges The Internet is playing an important role in the lives of Baby Boomers who care for sick or elderly loved ones according to an Read more...

LOS ANGELES -- A surprising number of frail, elderly Americans in nursing homes are suffering from futile care at the end of their lives, two new federally funded studies reveal. One found that putting nursing home residents with failing kidneys on dialysis didn't improve their quality of life and may even push them into further decline. The other showed many with advanced dementia will die Read more...

NAPLES, Fla. -- AgingCare.com, a website dedicated to adult children caring for their elderly parents, has gathered the top ten issues that affect caregivers. These issues are the most popular topics on the AgingCare.com community forum (www.agingcare.com/Community), where caregivers connect and communicate with one another. 1. Getting paid for caregiving. Oftentimes, adult children have to Read more...

PHOENIX -- A longer life expectancy has led to an increased demand for family members to serve as caregivers for older adults. Caregiving can be a demanding, stressful and seemingly thankless job, but really it is an amazing gift to allow a loved one to "age in place" rather than in a clinical setting. SCAN Health Plan Arizona, a private nonprofit Medicare Advantage Plan, offers Read more...

At 105, Eddith Moehr is on the cutting edge of a trend. When she moved in with her daughter, 76-year-old Doris Beresford of North Natomas, at the end of 2007, Moehr became one of the 3.6 million older parents sharing living quarters with their adult children -- a number that U.S. census figures indicate has increased 55 percent since 2000. "I got a new roommate for my birthday in Read more...

NEW YORK -- "As our fathers age, they want to remain independent, not be a burden, and -- no offense -- they usually don't want to move in with their children," says Dr. Dan Tobin, Founder and CEO of Care Support of America and a nationally recognized expert on eldercare and family caregiving. "Helping your Dad safely age at home can be the best gift -- and the best Father's Read more...

If you're one of more than 70 million people who provide unpaid caregiving for a family member or friend -- either in that person's home or in your own -- you know that the time and energy burden can be enormous. In fact, you may have cut back or given up your paying job. Your smaller (or now nonexistent) paycheck may be pinching you hard. If so, it might be possible for you to get a small but Read more...

CHICAGO -- The health care costs of Alzheimer's disease patients are more than triple those of other older people, and that doesn't even include the billions of hours of unpaid care from family members, a new report suggests. Compared with people aged 65 and older without Alzheimer's, those with the mind-destroying disease are much more often hospitalized and treated in skilled-nursing centers. Read more...

Visiting a family member in the hospital? Take a few moments beforehand to consider how to make sure you have a positive impact, says an Olmsted Medical Center nurse. Brenda Ziegler, director of maternal and neonatal services, said the area of a hospital you visit can make a difference in patient needs, and in the type of gifts you might bring. Keep your visit short and don't be Read more...

With approximately 52 million Americans serving as caregivers today, the need for fast, useful information has never been higher. While there are dozens of sites that offer good caregiving information, here are a few I've found to be particularly helpful. AGIS.com: Short for Assist Guide Information Services, this is a fabulous Web resource for caregivers. At www.agis.com, you can get Read more...

The question of cost drives many aspects of life; it even can play a role in choosing a hospital for end-of-life care.Want to fight the grim reaper with every weapon at your disposal, and no expense spared? In Miami, Westchester General Hospital is the place for you. New Yorkers should head to NYU Langone Medical Center, and in Savannah, Ga., patients will want Candler Hospital.But if you prefer Read more...

Sue Martin does her best to be a dutiful and loving daughter. So when her 84-year-old mother finally retired from a family electronics business -- at age 82 -- Martin bought the small three- bedroom ranch house next door to her own home in Claymont, Del., and moved her mother in. It hasn't been easy. Martin, who's divorced, had planned to retire next year from her job as a legal assistant at a Read more...

Here are primary contact names, phone/fax numbers and e-mail addresses for care of your loved one: Personal Information My loved one's home address and phone number: Drivers license number: Armed Forces ID number: Social Security number: Medicare number: Medicaid number: Other health/life insurance policies: Emergency Contacts Primary care Read more...

QUESTION: A few years ago, my dad was diagnosed with a fatal degenerative disease. My parents moved down South because the warmer climate helps dad's condition. Mom takes care of him, and every second of the day, she's very stressed.My siblings and I live in the Northeast and don't get to see them as often as we'd like.A year before dad got sick, my parents seemed to go through a positive midlife Read more...

By Leslie Haggin GearyBankrate.com Staying home or cutting back hours to raise children or to tend to an aging parent is a loving and noble thing to do. But it's also expensive.It's not only income you're losing. Retirement benefits -- from employer-sponsored savings to Social Security -- take a hit as well. If you're married, a working spouse must work extra hard to make up funding gaps, while Read more...

Even with her body full of painkillers, she doesn't have the strength to sit up.So Mary Flanagan stretches her withered arms out to her daughter at her bedside.Dee Toole cradles the family matriarch, raising the 85-year-old woman upright.Toole kisses the gray strands on top of mother's head.For the second time in a week, Toole has brought her mother, who has Alzheimer's disease, to the North Read more...

Three recent books offer help for families and insights for professionals caring for an elder with dementia. Navigating the Alzheimer's Journey: A Compass for Caregiving by Carol Bowlby Sifton (Health Professions Press, 2004) Although this volume is bulky, it is very readable and chock full of well-organized information for family caregivers and professionals in health and aging. Sifton, Read more...

Denise M. Brown, Professional Caregiving Coach and Publisher/Editor of Caregiving! newsletter and Caregiving.com, offers the following tips, which she calls "The Three Be's of Caregiving: Be Prepared, Be Honest and Be Well." Be Prepared Once a family member needs intense care, time is spent managing one moment to the next. It's hard to carve out the time needed to really explore and Read more...

Caring for an elderly loved one afflicted with Alzheimer's disease (one form of dementia) is often one of the most difficult journeys a family will ever have to take. However, with a little insight the road can be more bearable. And by implementing some creative behavioral techniques to reduce caregiver stress, the experience can become quite rewarding.   I have learned these lessons the hard Read more...

See also: Alzheimer's, caregiver, dad, dementia, elderly, feelings, mom, parents, reminisce, validate