More than five million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's disease. It takes an average of 30 months from the time family members notice the first symptoms of dementia until the person is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. There are several reasons for this, but one of the principal ones is that family members hesitate to take their loved one to a doctor, fearing that the diagnosis will in fact turn out to be Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is, above all, an insidious illness. It begins with very mild symptoms — things we all do from time to time, such as forgetting to turn…
There is no easy way for a family to deal with a senior grappling with a cognitive mental disease like dementia or Alzheimer's. Like any health problems faced by loved ones, a family's initial reaction is to try to get the senior the help they need. However, at our Elder Law firm we understand that cognitive conditions are tricky, because the injury is not physical and often the senior may not be fully aware that they are even suffering from the problem at all. One elder law advocate recently discussed this challenge in response to a reader question explaining her…
Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects everybody it touches—husbands, wives, children and grandchildren—they all bear witness to their loved one’s slow demise. Sadly, emotional stress is not the only stress that accompanies Alzheimer’s disease; those loved ones serving as caretakers may carry a huge amount of financial stress as well. The cost of caring for an Alzheimer’s patient can run anywhere from $64 a day to over a $100,000 a year, and because Alzheimer’s disease can be such a long-lasting disease (a person can suffer from Alzheimer’s for up to 20 years) the costs of care can end up being…
If you are a Caucasian woman, aged 35 or older, possibly married, very likely working full or part-time—then there is a good chance that you are also (or will soon be) serving as a caregiver for an aging parent or relative. At least this is what a recent report released by the National Alliance for Caregiving, AARP, and MetLife indicates. The entire report, entitled “Caregiving in the U.S., A Focused Look at Those Caring for Someone Aged 50 or Older” is 73 pages long, but you needn’t read the entire thing to get an insider’s peek at the state of…
The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Maryland Chapter’s Awareness Video Take the first step to a world without Alzheimer’s Sign up for the Alzheimer’s Walk to end Alzheimer’s Disease.
The Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s™ is the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Walk to End Alzheimer’s unites the entire community — family, friends, co-workers, social and religious groups and more — in a display of combined strength and dedication in the fight against this devastating disease. While there is no fee to register, each participant is expected to fundraise in order to contribute to the cause and raise awareness. The Alzheimer’s Association provides free, easy-to-use tools and staff support to help each participant reach their fundraising goal. When you…
For millions of Americans, the heartbreak of watching a loved one struggle with Alzheimer's disease is a pain they know all too well. Alzheimer's disease burdens an increasing number of our Nation's elders and their families, and it is essential that we confront the challenge it poses to our public health. — President Barack Obama National Alzheimer’s Project Act On January 4, 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), requiring the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the National Alzheimer’s Project to: Create and maintain an integrated…
Alzheimer's disease represents a significant threat to the security and enjoyment of our retirement years. According to some experts, by 2050 the number of Americans with Alzheimer's could be as high as 10 million, and the related health care costs may exceed $1 trillion per year. But lately there's been good news in the fight against this deadly disease. The Obama administration announced a plan to find effective treatments by 2025 and to improve care for Alzheimer's sufferers. The White House also said this month that it would devote $50 million in 2012 to Alzheimer's research and seek an additional…
CBS reports, America, we have a problem that needs your attention: Millions of overweight, out-of-shape, diabetic, heart-clogged boomers are lurching toward their retirement years, thinking they're entitled to trillions of dollars of medical care in their retirement years from a nearly bankrupt Medicare system. The simple truth is that we — individuals, employers, and our government — just won't be able to afford the looming avalanche of bills for the medical and long-term care these boomers will need in the years to come. Noted author and gerontologist Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., recently summarized the financial challenges we face in his excellent…
With the ballooning older adult segment of the U.S. and of global population, we are just at the beginning of the Alzheimer's epidemic. It’s an epidemic that is as huge for its health and social impact as it is for its fiscal consequences, which will explode beyond the $604 billion or 1 percent of global GDP now in play states the Fiscal Times. This may explain the mention by Dr. Margaret Chan in her forward for the new book launched at Davos last month, Global Population Aging: Peril or Promise. She says of Alzheimer’s: “If we do not adapt, [population aging]…
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