Posts Tagged With ‘ nursing home ’

Read Dr. Mara’s December 2023 Newsletter right HERE!     Now that we’re heading into the end of another year and preparing for a new one, it’s time to look back on 2023, in order to gain some perspective on this crazy year, in the rearview mirror. 2023 was filled with high highs, as well as low lows for many of us…and certainly, we can see that same pattern in the world at large. We have witnessed beauty, and we’ve experienced pain.  We each have our personal and unique stories to illustrate these highs and lows, while we also have many shared experiences as citizens of this world.Now,... Continue Reading

The types of long-term care located in various communities are largely driven by what their oldest residents can afford. This has created stark differences in what’s available to White and minority retirees, a new study finds. Assisted living facilities, despite the high cost, have been the fastest-growing part of the long-term care industry over the past 20 years. In the cities and suburbs, where the vast majority of Americans live, more of these facilities are located in predominantly White communities. Adult day care centers, at less than half the price of assisted living, have also expanded... Continue Reading

COVID has moved from a central place in our lives to a risk that, while still important to heed, has moved out of the foreground. One thing we will not forget, however, is COVID’s toll on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, where the virus has killed more than 200,000 older Americans and staff. The tragedy also played out in nursing homes in Canada, where the deaths received high-profile coverage in the news media, just as they did in this country. A survey of Canadians at the end of 2020, while COVID was still raging, indicates that the pandemic caused major changes in their thinking... Continue Reading

When nursing home care uses up a widow’s savings, the federal Medicaid program will kick in and cover her bills for care. But it’s more complicated for couples. If one spouse moves into a nursing home and the bills start piling up, the person who is still living in their home can face serious financial hardship and even poverty. This is a significant risk facing the one in three married people in their early 70s whose spouse will eventually wind up in a nursing home, researchers at RAND found in a study on the financial impact on couples rather than individuals. It’s not unusual to pay roughly... Continue Reading