Long Term Care Planning For The People You Love
As a healthcare professional, I've witnessed seniors and their families struggle with long term care planning issues and the difficult, emotional decisions about it and other health concerns aging brings about.
Elders need easy access to expert advice on independent living support systems and assisted living alternatives. They need to know what a good nursing home is, and what it can provide. They need to know they aren't going to be abandoned to institutional incompetence.
Finding good home caregivers or long term care facilities often means making difficult family and financial decisions. It's important to plan ahead, to know your options, and to have access to reliable, up-to-date health care information about your community.
I wrote Senior Long Term Care Choices: How To Select The Best Plan For Your Whole Family as a guide to address these issues. It can help you create the "best" aging program for each of the loved ones in your life, and for yourself.
My book can provide you with the peace of mind that comes from knowing you've made sound decisions.
For more information, visit Senior Long Term Care
Doing Your Personal Best
Resources And Tools for Long Term Care Planning
"Anyone over the age of 65 now has a 40% chance of entering a nursing home. More than 9 million people over the age of 65 will need long-term care this year. By the year 2020, it will be 12 million." Janet O'Connor"Ideally, the sooner you begin a dialogue about long-term care with your loved one and the rest of the family, the better. By broaching the subject in advance, you can make decisions as a family before you are forced by circumstances to decide in haste." Janet O'Connor
HOT Senior Health Topics
What Are Your Biggest Concerns As You Age?
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Pain Management
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Alzheimer's Disease
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Senior Long Term Care Choices: How To Select The Best Plan For Your Whole Family
Years Of Experience, Research And Writing Went Into This Book
My new book, Senior Long Term Care Choices: How To Select The Best Plan For Your Whole Family, provides all the information and guidance you need to get your loved one set up in his or her "personal best" long-term care situation. Besides up-to-the-minute and meaningful information, you'll find a comprehensive list of resources you can access immediately. What's more, these contacts let you zoom in on your local area programs, facilities and resources. Under some circumstances, solving your loved one's care problem can be a monumental task. With the tools and information in my e-book, you'll be able to manage it well and completely. For more information, visit Senior Long Term Care
Health Benefits Available to VETERANS
Links To Get Information On Health Benefits For Veterans
American Legion
Disabled American Veterans
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Toll Free Phone: 1-877-222-8387
Veterans of Foreign Wares of the United States
Seeking Assistance for Our Loved Ones
Addressing The Principle Of Autonomy
"For many of us it is unthinkable that we or our loved ones might no longer be able to manage our own lives. The principle of autonomy is such a basic part of our culture that we often fail to see when the body or mind can no longer meet the demands of daily living. We cherish independence, and are therefore often blind to indications that help is needed. Though unconscious and unintentional, this kind of denial is pernicious, and can cost us or our loved ones irreparable damage before help is finally sought." -Janet O'Connor FREE Needs Assessment And Recommendation
FREE Evaluation Form & Recommendation
What kind of care does your loved one
need right now?
When I wrote my book, I created a helpful assessment -- a simple check list -- for you to use to see just how soon and how much care / help you or your loved one needs.
I've included with it a scoring sheet that tells you, based on your score, what type of care I recommend you look into at this time. I recommend redoing the evaluation every 3 months so you can see the progression of care needs and plan for future care better.
For a FREE copy of the assessment and scoring system (pdf file), click Assessement Forms
Personal Emergency Response Systems Can Save Your Loved One's Life
Product Review: Guardian Alert 911
An emergency can happen in a split second and when it does and your loved one need help immediately, a Personal Response System, the Guardian Alert 911 can come to their rescue. It is the only 2-way Emergency Pendant that connects directly to 911.How It Works:
Your loved one wears the water-resistant pendant around the neck, clipped to a belt or carried in a pocket. When an emergency happens, (1) they simply press the button on the pendant, which in turn (2) signals the Guardian Alert to dial 911.
They are allowed, no matter where they are in their home, to talk directly to the 911 operator - no waiting for an interim operator to dial 911. And since they talk directly to the 911 operator, this guarantees they'll get the correct service, (i.e. ambulance, fire or police) which can save precious seconds that can save their life.
Some Other Features:
* The system works 24-hour, seven day a week.
* Built-in speaker and built-in microphone
* Easy installation
* Phone shuts off after the 911 operator hangs up, or after 4 minutes of inactivity.
* 90-day trial period
* 100% money back guarantee -- no questions asked
* There are no monthly fees, no activation fee, no contracts
* Approximately $180
No matter what the emergency is: if they've fallen; are having a heart attack; or think they hear an intruder; the Guardian Alert 911 will get them the help they need, when they need it. And you can relax knowing they are as safe as you can make them.
For more information on the product go to First Street for Boomers & Beyond
Senior Magazines and Subscriptions Discounts
When You Need Something To Read
- Older Women real information - Older Women swicki - powered by ...
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- Online Senior Magazines
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- Online Magazines
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- 50 PLUS SENIOR NEWS magazine subscription. Business Magazine ...
- 50 Plus Senior News [MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION]. <?=50 Plus Senior News. Your Price for 1-year subscription: $ 25.00 Compare to Cover Price: $ 0.00 ...
Emergency Response System
The Medical Alarm System
According to the CDC, more than 33% of Seniors aged 65 and older are involved in accidents and falls at home each year.
A round-the-clock monitored Connect America Medical Alert System provides peace-of-mind because, if ever needed, live help is just the push of a button away.
Thousands of American seniors trust the medical alarm system from Connect America and now enjoy the restored sense of independence they deserve. (The equipment and shipping are free. The cost is the monthly fee service that runs approximately $30 per month.)
How The Medical Alarm System Works
1. HELP! I've Fallen..... (Push Button)
2. We Contact You
3. We Dispatch EMS and contact loved ones (if needed)
5 Minute Easy Set-up
For more information, click Medical Alarm System
Heart Monitoring Systems
Deciding On A Nursing Home
A Very Tough Decision
Full Time Care
It is not easy to take care of the aged in the home. Sometimes care is needed 24 hours of the day. It may be a reminder to take medication, taking her to the bathroom, or helping with bathing.Due to the enormity of the task it is sometimes necessary to place the person in a nursing home. This decision will probably be the most difficult you will ever take in your life. If you make this decision, you need to be informed on what a nursing home is before taking your loved one there.
Help With Daily Tasks
The need for a nursing home is often defined by an individual's need for 24-hour assistance. This assistance does not necessarily mean an individual needs a nurse to watch over them while they sleep, but rather that they might need help getting to the bathroom in the middle of the night, or a reminder to take medication in the morning.Finding The Right Nursing Home
Nursing homes come in different sizes and with different names. The number of beds in a particular nursing home can range from approximately 25 to 500; the average number of beds per facility across America is about 102.Nursing homes are sometimes located within a hospital or medical center. More often, they are distinct facilities separate from hospitals. Private individuals, for-profit companies, or by not-for-profit entities may own nursing homes
Make Sure You've Made a Good Choice
It is vital that you select a nursing home with a superior reputation, and one that you can be supremely confident for your loved one's care. You want your loved one to be happy and you want peace of mind. Both can be possible in the right nursing home.Because the selection of a nursing home is so critical, I devote a large section of my book to it and also provide a nursing home checklist to assist in the selection process. For more information on my book, Senior Long Term Care Choices: How To Select The Best Plan For Your Whole Family, click Senior Long Term Care.
Mobility Scooters
Pride Celebrity X 4 Wheel Scooter
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
This scooter is sturdy, reliable with easy-to-use performance and operation.
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Great Books On Senior LTC
Meet Sue Teller: Oxtogenarian And Hipster
Sue Teller's,called by AARP "An unlikely cross between Martha Stewart and rap star p. Diddy." But Sue Teller does not actually exist. She is played by an 88-yr-old actress, Dorothy Benson.
She teaches the latest activities popularized by teens. Check her out. She's fun! If you know of other videos of Sue Teller, add them here and vote for your favorites.
#1
Mashin' up with Granny Teller 2 points
#2
Do Your Own Adventure with Sue Teller 1 point
6 Tips To Keeping Cool
Thing You Can Do To Stay Cool
1. Wear loose lightweight, light color clothes.
2. Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated even when
you don't feel thirsty.
3. If you get warm, take a cool bath or shower.
4. Stay out of the sun.
5. Avoid caffeinated and alcoholic foods and drinks.
6. Pay attention to your local weather forecast so
you can prepare yourself.
Great Stuff on CafePress
Gifts For The Seniors In Your Life
Online Senior / Elder Care Resources
Some Resources That I Have Found Useful
- American Association of Retired Persons
- This organization provides member services, advocacy, and free information on aging issues. They offer brochures and other information on long-term care and housing options for elders.
- American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
- They offer free "Consumer Tips" for locating home and community based services, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and continuing care retirement communities. You can use the AAHSA website to find a range of long-term care housing and services by state or ZIP code.
- Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center
- This organization conducts and supports research about health issues for older people, and is the primary Federal agency for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) research. They offer free publications about AD and related disorders, as well as training materials for caregivers of AD patients.
- American Geriatrics Society
- This organization provides education on medical topics related to aging and caregiving for the aged. It also links to the website of the American Geriatrics Society.
- American Health Care Association
- They offer information about the different types of long-term care and how to select the level of long-term care that is right for you or your loved one.
- America's Health Insurance Plans
- They offer brochures and other information on long-term care insurance.
- National Institute on Aging
- This website offers the NIA Resource Directory for Older People, free exercise books, and a low-cost exercise video.
- National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification
- NRCSHHM offers information about in-law apartments and a directory of home modification resources. The mission of the NRCSHHM is to make supportive housing and home modification a more integral component of successful aging, long-term care, preventive care, and the development of elder -friendly communities. It includes an article about elegant home modifications that make a home accessible.
- Partnership for Long-term Care
- In some states Medicaid has formed a partnership with long-term care insurance companies to encourage people to self-insure. This provides better protection against impoverishment, while reducing costs for Medicaid.
- Long-Term Care Living
- This federal government site for seniors provides links to other federal and state agency sites. Includes information about seniors and computers, health and fitness, travel, and legislation.
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman
- The Long-term Care Ombudsman is an independent advocate for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The ombudsman mediates disputes between facilities and their residents. This website gives you contact information for your local ombudsman. Your local ombudsman can give you information about how to find a long-term care facility and what to do to get quality care.
- Long-Term Care On Medicare.gov
- This web page for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is the Federal government's primary resource for information about long-term care.
- National Center for Assisted Living
- You can see survey results for specific assisted living sites, and get a consumer guide to assisted living that contains a checklist for prospective residents.
- National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
- This organization provides information and leadership on regulatory policy development to improve care and life for residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
- National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
- These NHPCO websites offer consumer information about advance directives, caregiving, pain management, and grief support, as well as a Hospice Locator for hospices nation wide.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- HUD has two valuable resources for those needing long-term care. First is the HUD lender list search, which lets you locate various types of lenders (reverse mortgage, insurance, and rehabilitation) in your area. The second is the HUD list of housing counseling agencies. These agencies can give you advice on buying or renting a home, defaults, foreclosures, credit issues, and reverse mortgages.
- Veterans Administration
- This agency site offers information about veterans benefits, health, disability, memorials, etc.
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Long Term Care For People You Love
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More than 9 million people over the age of 65 will need long-term-care this year. Here you'll learn all you need to know to plan for your family's LTC needs -- everything from needs assessment, options, implementation and everything in-between. This...
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The Senility Prayer
Tongue In Cheek Humor
Seniors Just Want To Travel!
Senior Travel Informational Resources
- Senior Travel -- Your Guide to Senior Travel
- Senior Travel - You've earned your freedom, now is the time to enjoy it! Find out about senior travel bargains, discounts and deals and how to get the best ...
- Elderhostel: Welcome!
- Provides adventures for older adults through educational travel programs throughout the world.
- Senior Travel Web Sites
- Smarter Living's Senior Travel Web site, www.smarterliving.com/senior, encourages older Americans to travel creatively both domestically and abroad. ...
- Senior Travel Ideas. Senior Travel Mates. Senior Travel Tours
- Senior travel destinations with senior travel tips, senior travel bargains, senior travel stories.
- The Independent Traveler Travel Resources: Senior Travel
- For more information about senior travel discounts, the book "Unbelievably Good Deals & Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50 ...
- Travel Information for Senior Citizens
- Cruising -- Senior Citizens at Sea -- choosing the right cruise, destinations, questions & answers, saving money on your cruise booking. Tours & Travel ...
- Planning Tools and Strategies for Budget Travel
- Joan Rattner Heilman provides details for senior deals on airfares, hotels, trains, car rentals and other travel products. ...
More Resources
Caring For The Elderly
- Assisted Living Federation of America
- This organization represents non-profit and for-profit assisted living facilities. Their website includes a consumer section with a checklist for rating a facility.
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- On this website Medicare offers information of use to anyone seeking long-term care and Medicare/Medicaid financing. They also have a Nursing Home Checklist for use when evaluating nursing homes.
- Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
- This is an independent, nonprofit organization whose focus is to ensure that the care services you use meet your needs. CARF reviews and grants accreditation nationally and internationally by request of a facility or program. Its standards are rigorous, so those services that meet them are among the best available.
- FirstGov for Seniors
- This federal government site for seniors provides links to other federal and state agency sites. Includes information about seniors and computers, health and fitness, travel, and legislation.
- Healthfinder
- This website, offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, contains health-related consumer information from the Federal Government and its many partners. The site provides information about finding government and nonprofit health and human services on the Internet. See "Homes and Services for the Aging", which covers nursing homes, assisted living units, independent living units and community-based services.
- Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations
- JCAHO Also referred to as The Joint Commission. This organization provides accreditation and certification programs for health care institutions. The Joint Commission also has a toll-free hotline for patients and families to share concerns about quality-of-care issues at accredited health care organizations.
- Senior Outlook
- This website offers a Guide to Senior Housing, which allows you to search for senior housing of any type, anywhere in the U.S. It also offers a handy Glossary of Senior Housing Terms.
- Social Security Administration
- This website provides information about various Social Security benefits programs, such as retirement and disability, tax changes related to benefits, consumer alerts, and more.
- U.S. Administration on Aging
- This website has information on assistive technology, home remodeling, independent living, and nursing facilities. It also provides access to an on-line Eldercare Locator that links consumers to the information and referral (I&R) services of their state and area Agencies on Aging. These I&R programs can help you find services you need in the area where you or your loved one resides.
- MEDLINEplus
- This is a comprehensive and up-to-date site for health information, including health issues of interest to the aging.
- National Association of Geriatric Care Managers
- This site explains what a care manager is and provides names of professional care managers anywhere in the U.S. This is helpful if you are considering a private-pay care manager for an elder living at home.
- National Association for Home Care and Hospice
- The mission of this organization is to help ensure that senior citizens and other vulnerable groups are able to continue living independently in their homes, making institutionalization a last resort. They publish Caring Magazine, with news and in-depth analysis of home care and hospice issues. It includes articles on the latest home health care and hospice technologies and trends.
Tools for Long Term Care
Online Tools You Might Find Useful
- Benefits Check-Up
- Provided by the National Council on Aging, the Benefits Check-Up is an on-line service designed to help you determine what federal, state and local (both private and public) benefits for older adults (ages 55 and over) you are eligible for. The site also offers BenefitsCheckUpRx, a service that identifies public and private programs that can help pay for prescription drugs.
- Care Planner
- This is a decision-support tool for older adults and their caregivers. It is a project of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. When a user enters personal data into the CarePlanner, the program produces an individualized report that provides advice, information and tips to help users identify the kinds of care they need.
- Caregiver Self-Help Tools
- Developed for Pennsylvania seniors and their caregivers by the Penn State Gerontology Center, this website provides tools that are generic enough to be useful to almost anyone. The self-help tools are designed for those caregivers who prefer to work independently, or are not yet ready to seek assistance from a professional care manager.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Publications available from CMS include:
Choosing Long-Term Care
Medicare & You (updated annually)
Medicare and Home Health Care
Medicare Coverage of Skilled Nursing Facility Care
Nursing Homes
Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home - Eldercare Locator
- The Eldercare Locator is a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging. It links older Americans and their caregivers with state and local agencies and community-based organizations that serve elders and their caregivers.
- Glossary of Senior Housing Terms
- This is a handy reference when you are researching and planning long-term care for yourself or a loved one.
- Handbook for Long-Distance Caregivers
- This booklet, offered by the Caregiver Alliance, provides a road map for those new to the challenges of caring from afar for ill or elderly loved ones. Included: how to assess your care needs; develop a care team; hold a family meeting; access community organizations and private agencies; and how to balance work and caregiving.
Table of Contents
- Doing Your Personal Best
- HOT Senior Health Topics
- Senior Long Term Care Choices: How To Select The Best Plan For Your Whole Family
- Health Benefits Available to VETERANS
- Seeking Assistance for Our Loved Ones
- FREE Needs Assessment And Recommendation
- Personal Emergency Response Systems Can Save Your Loved One's Life
- Senior Magazines and Subscriptions Discounts
- Emergency Response System
- Heart Monitoring Systems
- Deciding On A Nursing Home
- Mobility Scooters
- Great Books On Senior LTC
- Meet Sue Teller: Oxtogenarian And Hipster
- 6 Tips To Keeping Cool
- Great Stuff on CafePress
- Online Senior / Elder Care Resources
- Featured Senior Lenses
- Health Articles I Recommend Reading
- PDR Guide To Drug Interactions
- More Senior And Health Lenses On Squidoo
- The Senility Prayer
- New Text / Write module
- Seniors Just Want To Travel!
- New Text / Write module
- More Resources
- New Text / Write module
- Tools for Long Term Care
- Please, Give Me Feedback
- Latest Long Term Care & Senior Health News - RSS FEED
Please, Give Me Feedback
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richgerman
thanks for your lens yeah we must have long care with our love ones. thanks for sharing this with us ! Posted July 16, 2008 |
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Reviews4u
Very thorough lens. I used to be an in-home care coordinator for senior and disabled persons and am now one myself, so I can really appreciate what you're sharing in this lens. Thanks! Posted June 21, 2008 |
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Janusz
What a fantastic Lens! Loads of information on a very important subject. Easy 5 stars and fav :) Posted June 02, 2008 |
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whitedot
Hei Janet, What a fantastic lens you have built here. The facts in this lens are very intriguing and informative. Plenty of tips to show our love and care on our aged parents. Great job. Thanks for sharing the information. Wheel Chairs are absolute necessary for our aged parents. I come across a good stuff site about Motorized Wheel Chair on Motorized Wheel Chair Please stop by to surf more information about Motorized Wheel Chair. Posted April 29, 2008 |
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annieforever
We are living in very fast world and it is really becomes difficult to think for our elders because we always running in hurry. Congratulation for lance it is too much resourceful And good stuff on it. Here is little good stuff about used wheel chairs which can be handy and useful. Posted March 29, 2008 |
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Long Term Care & Senior Health Care News
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