Minding Our Elders

The background is a wooden slat bench or deck. Foreground shows various tools spread about including a hammer, pliers, screwdriver and more.

How Hiring a Handyman Can Help Your Older Parents

Years ago I saw a van whose driver was letting teenagers off in front of the local high school, where I was doing the...

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Why Caregivers Shouldn’t Feel Guilty About Calling Hospice

A billboard in my city carries a simple message: “Most families say, ‘Why did we wait so long to call hospice?’ “ When I...

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Geriatric Care Managers Can Help Busy Caregivers

Geriatric care management is a rapidly growing field in the elder care industry. As most caregivers know, researching and coordinating all the care options...

Image background is a green house with rows of flowers. Foregound is a middle-aged couple. The gray haired man is tall and wearing a brown sweater. He's embracing a woman with long brown hair drawn back showing gray hair at the temples. She's wearing a brown and white print summer dress with off-the-shoulder ruffle.

Accepting Alzheimer’s Diagnosis Hard, Yet Capacity for Joy Remains

Dear Carol: Six months ago, our lives changed when my husband, age 58, was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He has good doctors who...

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Should Your Elderly Loved One Move in With You?

Decades ago, it was fairly common to have grandparents living with family and it often worked well. It did for my family. My parents...

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When a Person Living with Dementia Says, ‘I Just Want to Go Home’

Update: Some current thinking is that the emotion behind this sad lament is more about finding a level of emotional comfort than thinking back...

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Elders Who Abuse Their Family Caregivers: Yes – It Happens

Most of us have seen evidence of people being harder on those they love than they are on strangers or even people they don’t...

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Coping when Both Parents Have Dementia

“My mom and dad both have dementia. I am all alone taking care of them since. I have no one to help me. I...

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Choosing Senior Housing and Care Based on Your Parent’s Needs

As our population ages and more of our national focus is on senior care, we can find ourselves in a muddle over confusing choices....

The rear gate of a truck lowered to the ground and load with moving boxes sealed with red tape. In the background you see a white two story building with many windows that look like appartments.

Specialized Moving Services Ease Transitions to Senior Living Communities

When an aging parent transitions from their home to assisted living, independent living, a nursing home, or a relative’s home, it can be a...