Mark Turner's Elder Care Blog

Just in the last two months we have received calls from two former borrowers who had been targeted for a new scam. It seems that there is a new way to try to separate borrowers from their money and at this time we don’t know if it is aimed specifically at Reverse Mortgage borrowers or all borrowers, but since the borrowers calling us are all homeowners 62 and over, we know they are targeting senior borrowers for certain.

Visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net for more assistance with an aging loved one in your life.

Here is a very helpful article that I found and wanted to pass along to you.  For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net. 

By LESLEY ALDERMAN

TWO years ago my father, then 83, became very ill. Until then, he had been living alone in a pleasant one-bedroom apartment on the Hudson River, an hour’s drive from my home in Brooklyn.

After a couple of months in the hospital it became clear that my dad, Harvey Alderman, could not return to solo living. He was fragile and forgetful, and there was no way he could keep track of the 14 or so pills he had to take each day.

But where would he go — and how would we pay for it? Could he stay in his apartment if he had regular visits from an aide? Or should he go to an assisted-living facility where there would be more services available for him?

So began my family’s crash course in caring for an aging parent in declining health.

If you’re in this predicament, you know already there is no simple answer. Older people each have unique medical and emotional needs. And finances often dictate how far you can go in creating the ideal situation for them.

That is what Linda Chase, a lawyer in Reston, Va., realized after running the numbers on what it would cost for home care for her mother, who has dementia and needs round-the-clock attention.

“We couldn’t afford private home-health care, so the only option for us was assisted living in a facility with dementia care,” Ms. Chase said.

Below, I offer guidelines and considerations that can help you make an informed — if not always easy — decision about what type of housing will support your parent’s needs, without bankrupting the family in the process.

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Here is an article that I found and wanted to pass along to you.  For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net. 

Here is an interesting article on Alzheimer’s that I found and wanted to pass along to you.  For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net. 

I found this good article and wanted to pass it on to you.  For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net. 

(ARA) – If you’re older than 65 and take multiple medications, you should be aware of potential interactions between your drugs. These interactions can cause unwanted side effects, reduce the effectiveness of your medicine, or even lead to hospitalization. Studies show that up to 30 percent of hospital admissions of elderly patients are linked to harmful effects of medications and other related problems.

Many people not only take more than one medication, but also may see more than one doctor. It is important to inform all your doctors – especially your primary care physician – about all the medications you take to avoid potentially dangerous drug interactions.

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Here is a great article on eye care that I found and wanted to pass on to you.  For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net. 

(ARA) – Growing older and getting reading glasses seem to go hand in hand, just like getting gray hair or wrinkles as you age. But that doesn’t have to be the case if you take steps to care for your eyes as you age.

Presbyopia, a natural effect of aging, happens to just about everyone around the age of 40, even if you have had laser eye surgery. As you age, the lens in each of your eyes begins to lose its ability to change focus quickly on an object or page of text, causing blurred vision at reading distance. Chances are that you know several people who have this condition, and you may develop it yourself, now or in the future.

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As people reach old age, they become more vulnerable. Too often, they are taken advantage of. It’s not only strangers, but also family members who exploit an elderly person’s defenselessness. In addition, the caregivers who are trying to take care of their elderly parents often find themselves in sticky legal situations.

Here are some horror stories from the AgingCare.com message boards about the legal trouble that elderly people and their family caregivers have had:

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For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net.

Trying to persuade older family members to give up their car keys isn’t just an emotionally fraught chore. Increasingly, it is a financial issue, too.

Cars can be expensive to maintain for an elderly person on a fixed income. The cost of auto-insurance claims in later life—even for fender benders and accidents without injuries—can quickly add up.

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For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net.

Here is an interesting article that I found and wanted to pass on to you.  For more information and assistance with an aging loved one in the Fairfax, VA area visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net. 

A growing body of evidence links exercise and mental acuity

I do some of my best writing on the run. I mean literally. When the words won’t come, when the syntax doesn’t feel right, when I just can’t figure out what angle to take on a column, I’ll often go for a good, hard run.

And usually it works. With the sweat pouring and lungs working overtime, the mental fog lifts. I make connections I hadn’t seen earlier. How to be clear becomes, well, a little more clear.

If you work out routinely, I bet you’ve had the same experience. Three researchers I interviewed for this story say they have achieved it regularly, on a treadmill, on outdoor runs and on a bicycle, respectively. A couple of studies seem to confirm it.

The tantalizing question for those of us in middle age and beyond (I am 52) is whether this short-term cognitive benefit can be replicated over the long haul. Can exercise help keep our minds sharp? And if so, can it help delay or prevent the truly terrifying mental deterioration of dementia, most commonly seen as Alzheimer’s disease?

Researchers studying both animals and humans increasingly say the answer is yes.

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Here is a helpful article that I found and wanted to pass on to you.  For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.nova.rightathome.net.

How do you know when in-home care is required for your parent?

Carol Bradley Bursack

Most of us want to take care of our own families, so arriving at a decision to hire a stranger to come into the home to help with the care of a loved one can be difficult. Still, once people find a good home care agency and regular caregivers to help care for a loved one, they often wish they’d taken action earlier.

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