Caregiving

Why can’t families easily compare the quality, staffing and safety of the place where they may spend $6,000, $8,000 or $10,000 a month? In a recent Sixty and Me article about ownership of senior living communities, one reader was shocked that few if any regulations exist in assisted living…

The call comes and everything stops. My mother has been in the hospital twice in six weeks. Sepsis both times. I live far away, and I have been doing what I suspect many of you do. I have been future-tripping. Running through every possible scenario. Trying to think my way to an outcome I cannot control…

You learned this one early, and you learned it as praise for somebody else. A neighbor sat with a dying woman for three weeks, or an aunt took in her sister’s children, and the adults said it about her while you were in the room. It is usually a compliment, and a compliment asks nothing of you, so there was no reason to hold it up to the light…

Six months ago, I helped my parents leave the home they had always said they would never leave. At the time, I had no idea how much strength this season would uncover. From across the country, I had been watching subtle changes for years. Our Sunday Zoom calls slowly faded, and without seeing them face to face, it became harder…

The desire to “age in place” has become more than a preference – it’s now the dominant expectation among older adults and their families. According to a recent McKnights’ article, 53% of family caregivers prefer in-home care over senior living, citing independence, familiarity, and emotional comfort as the..

Life is shaped like a horseshoe. Or maybe a parabola, depending on how you did in high school math. Either way, there’s a point in life when we start looping back to something that looks suspiciously like our college years: living in a small, safe space where someone…

This past week marked a moment of profound significance: a symbolic passing of a crown, radiant in its beauty, from one generation to the next. The choice of the word “passed” is deliberate, reflecting that the crown was not simply handed over…

You chose a care residence believing your loved one would live with dignity – not become content for someone’s viral clip on TikTok. Yet a recent national review shows a startling reality: direct-care staff in nursing homes are posting videos of residents being humiliated…

Human nature is that we don’t pay attention to things around us, until they happen to us personally. For example, if you were pregnant, you didn’t notice all of the pregnant women around you until you were pregnant yourself. Or you never noticed all of the drivers with vehicle X (pick one) until you…

If your aging parents need help to stay safe and healthy, you’re probably feeling unsure about what to do. Focusing on something concrete helps you feel more in control of the situation. Use these seven steps to turn…