Archive for January, 2009
Caring for Your Parents: PBS Caregiver Handbook
The Public Broadcasting Company (PBS) provides the public with some fantastic resources for preparing yourself to begin caring for your parents. First of which is the “Cargiver’s Handbook.” PBS recognizes that as our population ages, more and more adult children will be “grappling with an unprecedented social, cultural, economic, and personal revolution as they transition [...]
Tips on Helping Manage Prescriptions
First, let’s get the disclaimers out of the way. We’re not doctors, or pharmacists, and if you’re not either, you should always rely on a doctor and/or pharmacist for a final opinion on anything to do with medicines or supplements. In fact, many pharmacy chains offer a number of caregiver tools on their sites, including [...]
Fall Prevention
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2006), “more than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year in the United States.” They further report that “in 2005, 15,800 people 65 and older died from injuries related to unintentional falls; about 1.8 million people 65 and older were treated in emergency [...]
Good Info on Hiring Home Health Aides Via: NYT
There are three good posts on The New Old Age Blog at the New York Times about hiring home health aides. Never having been though the process, but thinking I might someday, I found these posts helpful. Home Health Aides: Why Hire From an Agency? – This first of a three-part series of interviews with [...]
More Tips on Avoiding Scams
After writing the post last week, Tips on Avoiding Scams, I came across a number of other sites with good resources. Seems like two posts on an important topic are twice as good as one. Please note that two of them are in Adobe Acrobat PDF. I’ll mark them with (PDF) so that you’ll know [...]
Dr. Klapow on Caring for Children and Aging Parents
Dr. Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist, was a guest speaker on Oprah & Friends’ “Meet the Peetes”, a program featuring Holly Robinson Peete and her husband Rodney Peete. Dr. Klapow and The Peetes spoke about the Sandwich Generation and the struggles they face juggling the care of their aging parents while raising their children. [...]
The Sandwich Generation
Are you currently busy raising children; all the while, caring for the needs of an aging parent? If so, you are not alone! CBS News reported in May of 2006 that, “An estimated 16 million Americans – more people than live in all of New England – find themselves “sandwiched” between two generations, struggling to [...]
Top Ten Things for Caregivers to Start Doing for the New Year
Today’s Caregiver Magazine online has a good set of tips for caregivers to help get a little more organized for the new year. It looks like a good list of new years resolutions. Some of the great tips include keeping complete records of medicines/interactions, doctor appointments and medical information… which is a better way of [...]
Tips on Finding the Long-Term Care That You Need
If you’ve just started looking for long-term care for yourself or a loved one, it can be difficult to know where to start. Everyone’s needs are different and the options in your area may vary widely. When I started my search for a place for my parents, I assumed that there would be very little [...]
Tips on Avoiding Scams
There are always people looking to take money from the elderly and with the economy worsening, the scammers are likely to become more aggressive while the potential victims are more vulnerable to the hope of economic salvation. The best way to protect yourself, or a family member, it through education and a healthy dose of [...]