Posts Tagged With ‘ Carolyn Rosenblatt ’

Can you imagine your aging parents losing their independence? It might be the conversation they don’t want to have with you. Will you, the adult child bring up this subject? What we see here at AgingParents.com is that when no one talks about it, the sudden costs of caring for them can overwhelm all but the most financially secure. Parents are unprepared and their adult children become very uncomfortable with the prospect of having to help support their aging loved ones. Sudden costs happen when a parent falls, or has a stroke and becomes disabled. Anything unexpected can trigger the need for... Continue Reading

You’ll hear it all the time, that resolution to do more exercise with the new year. People may start out the first week, but then it’s back to old habits of a sedentary life. TV may be more tempting than putting on those walking shoes, if they even have the shoes. And the excuses are rampant: it’s too cold, it’s too hot, I don’t have time, or I just don’t feel like it. What is this doing to our elders’ health? In short, the sedentary lifestyle is seriously damaging people’s chances for a longer, healthier life. And some say they don’t care, they’ll accept living a shorter life... Continue Reading

Here at AgingParents.com, we see clients who have a loved one who must go to a nursing home. They’re worried, and with good reason. It’s probably the absolute last choice of where to go for any impaired elder in need of some care. The average age of a nursing home resident is 86. Many folks are there because they have no other option. About 60% of the 1.4 million residents receive Medicaid as their only payment source for living there. All kinds of professionals and stakeholders are in agreement that the nursing home industry is broken. This is not new news. As a 19-year-old nursing student,... Continue Reading

The Justice Department recently announced an expansion of its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force to fight against financial abuse. We applaud its efforts. However, no matter what the expansion puts into better transnational law enforcement, the heart of the problem and the worst of elder financial exploitation does not come from international crime rings. It is essential that foreign-based scammers be called to account. The theory presumably is that better law enforcement will deter criminals who steal millions every year from vulnerable elders. But according to the National Center on Elder... Continue Reading

Let’s face it, some elders are not just stubborn, they’re flat out dangerous to themselves. They insist on independence. They refuse when you offer to step in and help. They think they are fine when everyone around them can see they’re not. And the aging parents who live alone, have poor balance, falls, and still refuse to move or let someone live with them are the worst. Is there anything concerned family can do to prevent disaster? Sometimes yes, but sometimes there is no option but to wait for the inevitable crisis. When you can, you can let the aging parent know that if something goes... Continue Reading

As many as 11 million people over 60 have some form of macular degneration. It’s an irreversible condition and it can cause gradual and total loss of sight. This could include your own aging parents. Many elders learn to get by, adapt and manage with some kind of help. What if they could just call a number and ask someone to find something for them? Now they can. Yes, there’s an app for that. I learned about Be My Eyes from my own daughter, Jessi, who is a volunteer for answering calls generated on this app. I was very impressed with the use of technology to quickly solve everyday problems... Continue Reading

Families are frustrated. When someone thinks a person is taking financial advantage of an aging parent, the public message is an urge to report to Adult Protective Services, or equivalent. APS, sometimes called by other names, is a local government entity tasked with investigating complaints about elder abuse and neglect. After I hear families describe their distress over the abuse itself, they complain of another frustration. No prosecution of the perpetrator happens. The crime of financial abuse of elders is rampant and growing. People are living longer and they become more vulnerable with age.... Continue Reading

Scams targeting our aging loved ones never seem to stop. Now that thieves can spoof the recipient of a call by showing a “real” number on caller ID, it’s easier than ever for them to intimidate your aging parent. The way this evil game works is this: the caller has your aging parent’s telephone number and knows your parent to be at least of Social Security age. They buy this data. The caller immediately tells your loved one in an authoritative voice that her Social Security number has been blocked. Of course, this draws the expected reaction from most people. What should I do? They are... Continue Reading

When an aging parent is diagnosed with dementia of any kind, it can be devastating and confusing to the family. For some, there is denial: “It’s not that bad, I don’t see anything wrong with her, and let’s just let things stay the same for now.” For others, there is overreacting and trying to push the aging parent into a care facility before that may be needed, just because of assumptions about dementia. Family fights over these things, such as we address at AgingParents.com, are not unusual. As the disease affects each person in an individual way, it is impossible to generalize much... Continue Reading

Holidays are a notorious time for financial fraud. Scammers capitalize on the generosity of their targets, particularly seniors. What can families do to give their older loved ones, especially aging parents a greater measure of financial safety? If you are getting together with aging parents during the holiday season, consider these tips. The World Health Organization estimates that one in six older adults worldwide is a victim of elder abuse. As an example close to home, I saw scammers repeatedly go after my mother in law, in her 90s. She was with it enough to fend them off until she was about... Continue Reading