ENTRY Steps If you or someone who visits you often uses a walker, lengthen the run of your steps to a depth of at least 30 inches. This deeper run allows you to place your feet and your walker on each step before you begin to negotiate the next one. Mark the edges of your steps with reflective or bright, contrasting colored tape or paint to make them clearly visible. KITCHEN: FIRES Fire Prevention To reduce the danger of fire, keep broiler ovens and ventilation ducts and hoods free of grease. Wear close fitting or short sleeves when you cook,…
Joyce Clark, 82, takes pride in cooking her own meals and living independently. Clark cites volunteer work and voracious reading for keeping her sharp. It also helps that a home care worker spends about five hours a week cleaning Clark’s Topeka apartment, doing her laundry, and helping her with grocery shopping. But funding meant to keep seniors like Clark out of nursing homes by offering them in-home services soon will be cut. It’s one of the steps the state is taking to eliminate a $151 million shortfall in the state’s $16 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July…
It’s one of the worst fears we have for our parents or for ourselves: that we, or they, will end up in a nursing home, drugged into a stupor. And that fear is not entirely unreasonable. Almost 300,000 nursing home residents are currently receiving antipsychotic drugs, usually to suppress the anxiety or aggression that can go with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia. NPR story on over-medicating of nursing home residents broadcast Monday 12-8-14, click here to watch. Part 2 to come. David Wingate is an elder law attorney, and practices in Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland. The elder law firm…
The graying of the American homeowner is upon us. The question is: Will communities be ready for the challenges that come with that? The number of households headed by someone age 70 or older will surge by 42 percent from 2015 to 2025, according to a report on the state of housing released last month by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS). The Harvard researchers note that a majority of those households will be aging in place, not downsizing or moving to retirement communities. That will have implications for an array of support services people will…
At the turn of the 20th Century, the average life expectancy was about 47 years. Now in the 21st Century, life expectancy has doubled that. As a result, we face more challenges and decisions in our life than those who came before us. One of the major transitions people face is the change from independent living in their own home or apartment to living in a long-term care facility or nursing home. There are many reasons for this while the transition is so difficult. One is the loss of home; a home where the person lived for many years with…
Most long-term care services begin at home with the help of family or friends until the burden of caregiving becomes too much of an emotional and financial hardship. The next step is generally to hire a paid caregiver to help with ADLs and IADLs. Unfortunately, many people cannot afford to pay for such care even when it is delivered by the unskilled, unlicensed, or unsupervised. More costly care by paid professionals is simply out of the question for most. Given the extraordinarily high cost of long-term care services, it is not surprising that few people are able to amass these…
While a frank and informed discussion about present and future medical and personal needs can secure the most suitable type of long-term care at the right time, many people find the topic discomforting. Others are in outright denial about the possibility of requiring long-term care. While the aging population, longer life spans, rising health care costs, and an ever-increasing strain on government services ought to compel all those over the age of 40 to prepare for the possibility of long-term care, that’s not the case today. Most Americans have not seriously considered or planned for the emotional and financial consequences…
People may suddenly need long-term care after a crisis occurs, but for many, the need develops gradually. Older individuals are the primary users of long-term services, because functional disability increases with age. In 2008, about 9 million Americans over the age of 65 required LTC services. By 2020, that number will increase to 12 million. However, while most people who need long-term care are 65 or older, such services can be necessary at any age. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the risk of needing LTC is fairly high. About 70 percent of individuals over age…
Long-term care recipients can be of any age. Conditions that may lead to the need for long-term care include disability, mental decline or illness, AIDS, stroke, and simple frailty. The need for long-term care is primarily measured by assessing limitations in performing or managing tasks of daily living, including self-care and household tasks. Obviously, the likelihood of needing long-term care assistance increases with age. The aging of Americans will only increase the need for quality long-term care options. The growth in demand will be driven by increases in the numbers of elderly as a result of the aging of…
With the aging of the baby boom generation and the cost of health care on the rise, the issue of long-term care (LTC) is of major importance to both consumers and policymakers. While some individuals will be able to rely on friends and family in the event they need extended care and help with the activities of daily living, many others do not or will not have such a support system. These individuals must determine how they will meet the potential need for long-term care and how they will fund costly and extended home health services, assisted living, or a…
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