Posts Tagged With ‘ elderly ’

“Is it medically necessary for a person to be able to chew?” Dr. Lisa Simon, a physician and dentist at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, asks. This is a serious question for older Americans in fragile health. I know a 93-year-old man whose teeth problems make it extremely difficult for him to eat meat and many other foods on the dinner table. Two-thirds of retirees do not have dental insurance, which means they may decide to forgo getting expensive dental care. The importance of dental care to nutrition and health is also an equity issue for older Blacks and low-income retirees, who are... Continue Reading

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

Hannah Boulton defies the stereotype of the lonely retiree longing for companionship during the holidays. But after two-plus years of a pandemic, even this dynamic former nurse who’s lived on three continents started feeling a little isolated. Ally Brooks and Hannah Boulton Then she met Ally Brooks, a high school senior, through the Sages and Seekers program at the senior center in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in September. The program, modeled on a national nonprofit’s workshop, paired up seven retirees with seven high school seniors. It was such a success – the program was Boulton’s’ idea... 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

This is a nationwide effort to raise awareness that falls ARE preventable. These national trip and fall statistics are startling.  And what is even more jarring is that most of these are preventable!  There are many ways of reducing the risk of trips and falls in a home and using the Silver Spaces Home Safety Assessment is one of them. Why the Silver Spaces Home Safety Assessment is such a valuable tool! The major goal of the Silver Spaces home safety assessment is to identify and mitigate trip and fall risks around a home.  This unique inspection provides a 360-degree evaluation of the interior... Continue Reading

Learn Important Information About Trips and Falls September is National Fall Prevention Month.  So the spotlight now is recognizing the cause of these injuries and how to reduce the incidence of occurrence.  One of the most devastating and costly injuries an older adult can incur is a trip or a fall.  The consequences can be irreversible and sometimes deadly. Recognizing this, there are now fall risk reduction prevention programs available across the nation to address the issues that cause trips and falls in the first place.  But there is other information to consider as well. The Journal of... Continue Reading

Grab bars.  Two simple words that one may assume describes a common solution to stabilizing a body position movement.  While that is still true, the solutions to that stability have drastically changed in the last decade. What I find interesting is how little most people actually know about the “realm” of grab bars.  For instance, I have clients who may need them, but say they don’t want them installed because they are fearful they will be seen as “old” people.  This tells me they have not seen how this former “tube” has changed dramatically, not only in form and function, but... Continue Reading