If you’re caring for an older relative, you’ve probably experienced it. You ask your loved one to do something. It could be anything: get dressed, take medicine on time, anything. Your loved one refuses.
Why does this happen? There are as many reasons as there are people. Fear of death, worries about being forced into a nursing home (if they’re not already there), dementia, frustration at the losses that come with advanced age, and depression over those losses are a few examples.
What is an advance directive? Why is it so important? Why do people put off creating them? We posed these questions to Jessica Greene, a Certified Elder Law Attorney at Walters & Galloway, PLLC, a Life Care Planning Law Firm in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Jessica has more than a decade of experience helping families address these delicate issues.
If someone you love needs Medicaid to help pay for long-term care in a nursing home, one Google search will reveal that there’s no shortage of traditional elder law attorneys who are ready and willing to help. But is a traditional elder law attorney, one whose practice focuses solely on getting older adults qualified for public benefits, really the best choice if your loved one needs long-term care?
When you care for a person with dementia, it doesn’t take long before you hear someone whisper the expression, “he’s sundowning.” What does this mean for a person with dementia and their caregivers?
Sundowning is a syndrome and a label given to a group of symptoms commonly experienced by people with dementia in late afternoon or evening. The symptoms can vary but typically include worsened confusion, anxiety, and aggression as well as pacing or wandering.
By Rachel Kabb-Effron
Like many, the pandemic has led to a lot of TV watching for our family. One of our favorites has been World’s Toughest Race – Fiji. It documents 66 teams in their desire to compete or merely finish a grueling 417-mile course over eleven days. My husband and I sit and watch in awe as the participants do this for their strange idea of “fun.” We also ponder whether we would be strong enough in our relationship to be on a team together.
Every attorney who finds their way Life Care Planning has a different story to tell.
For some, the journey starts when they realize that clients need more help than they can provide. That’s how it was for Jason Penrod, attorney and founder of Family Elder Law, a Life Care Planning Law Firm in Lakeland, Florida.
How has COVID-19 changed things for older adults and the families who love and care for them? We posed this question to Kyra Clements, one of the elder care coordinators at Elder Law of East Tennessee, a Life Care Planning Law Firm with offices in Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee.
Kyra says that lockdowns have created some of the biggest problems. “One of the hardest things has been helping people feel connected,” Kyra said. “Many seniors are feeling the effects of isolation, including depression and weight loss. It’s hard on everyone.”
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, a part of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than one in seven Americans age 65 or older will need to spend at least one night in the hospital each year. Some of these hospital stays are planned in advance, but many are not. If you’re a family caregiver, you’ve probably already experienced the chaos associated with unplanned trips to the ER.
