When you care for a person with dementia, there are many things to be concerned about, not least of which is their safety. Early in the condition, people with dementia begin to lose safety awareness. Their perception of what’s safe and what’s not in the world around them is altered by the changes to their brain. You may find that they wind up in situations that both surprise and scare you.

How can you help keep a person safe? A great place to start is to be proactive and create a comprehensive dementia safety plan that protects them, their home, and their finances.

By Robin Lacrimosa

On May 6, 2022, I did something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I completed the Virtual Dementia Tour (VDT®), a ground-breaking, evidence-based, and scientifically proven method of building a greater understanding of dementia.

What is the advantage of having an elder care coordinator at a Life Care Planning Law Firm involved in preparing you for care conferences at your loved one’s nursing home? We posed this question to Michelle Russo, one of the elder care coordinators at Anderson Elder Law, a Life Care Planning Law Firm in Media, Pennsylvania.

Should you ever blow off a care conference for your elderly loved one at the nursing home?

Kim Gizzio says no.

Kim speaks from experience. With a master’s in social work and as one of the elder care coordinators at Anderson Elder Law, a Life Care Planning Law Firm in Media, PA, Kim has seen what happens when family members don’t bother to attend these important meetings. “If you’re new to the world of long-term care, you may not realize what’s happening and why it’s so important for you to attend,” she said.

Family caregivers often get a crash course in elder care once they begin looking after elderly relatives. The biggest lesson many learn initially is that organization is key, especially when an older relative develops a need for urgent medical care.

Many families struggle to convey important medical details to health care staff. That’s where creating an emergency packet of medical information can help. This information can be given to paramedics, emergency room staff, and urgent care clinicians.

Here’s how to build your own emergency medical packet.

If you’re looking after an older relative whose health is in decline, and you are experiencing chaos, it might be because your plan for elder care is reactive. An attorney at a Life Care Planning Law Firm explains in Part 2 of this series.

If you want to delay a loved one’s application for Medicaid benefits to pay for nursing home care, there are plenty of ways to do it. This article, the first in a multi-part series, explains two common ways people mess up.

What are the most common mistakes people make when attempting to qualify an elderly loved one for Medicaid? We posed this question to Matthew Bravette, one of the attorneys at Bratton Law Group, a Life Care Planning Law Firm with offices in the Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia areas.

If you’re looking after an older relative whose health is in decline and you are experiencing chaos, it might be because your plan for elder care is reactive. 

What are the most common signs that you’re taking a reactive approach to elder care? We posted this question to Bailey Schiermeyer, a Certified Elder Law Attorney at Elder Law of East Tennessee, a Life Care Planning Law Firm with offices in Knoxville and Johnson City.