How is technology allowing seniors to age in place?
Conventional wisdom is that seniors are unable to stay at home after a certain point because it is too dangerous. Most articles agree that technology is helping seniors stay at home—even by themselves—for a great deal longer than ever before. At Physician’s Choice, we think that just because your parent is living alone, doesn’t mean you have to leave that parent on their own. Read more
How can I make sure my parents have their “affairs in order?”
What does it mean to have your “affairs in order?” What do you do about your elderly parents affairs? It’s a delicate conversation and one we’ve helped families with for over a decade. Here are some resources you’ll find valuable if you have to engage in such a conversation. Read more
How to Talk to Parents about Getting their Affairs in Order
As your parents age, you want to be sure that you can spend as much quality time with them as possible. You also want to make sure that you are not so overwhelmed with financial and legal matters that you are too distracted to enjoy this precious time.
Unfortunately, many adults find themselves blindsided by the red tape involved in caring for their parents. In many cases, they incorrectly assume that their parents have all of their affairs in order and everything has been taken care of in advance.
There are a number of reasons why an aging parent or other relative fails to get their affairs in order. Many people simply don’t want to accept the fact that they may become incapacitated someday. Read more
What will happen when your parents can no longer take care of themselves?
Conventional wisdom is that most people put off getting their affairs in order because it is a hard subject to talk about. This means adult children will have a difficult time when they need to take over the care of their parents. Read more
Caring for an Aging Parent without Going Broke
Most adult children would like nothing better than to care for their aging parents. After all, these are the people who raised them and worked hard to give them the best lives possible.Most adult children would like nothing better than to care for their aging parents. After all, these are the people who raised them and worked hard to give them the best lives possible.
The reality is, however, that many adult children are understandably concerned about taking on the financial responsibility that comes with caring for their parents. Medicare generally doesn’t cover long-term stays in a nursing home and even if a family has Medigap, private health insurance won’t cover many expenses. Read more
The Cost of Taking Care of Elderly Parents at Home
Robert Lang – Getty Images
The most common questions we get at Physician’s Choice Private Duty are around cost. Specifically, if our parents want to stay at home in their later years, how can we afford to make it happen? For your reference, here are some atrticles on how to pay for keeping a parent at home.
It is only natural that adult children would want to do what is best for their aging parents. After all, their parents raised them and worked hard to give them the best life possible.
In light of this fact, many adult children are taken off guard when their parents react negatively to any talk of providing them with assistance as they age. And instead of thanking their children, these parents instead seem insulted at the idea that they would need to be taken care of. Read more
What to Do When an Aging Parent Won’t Listen
This month we’re focused on the communication challenges that happen when an adult child tries to help a parent. It’s a real issue and since most of us only get to have these conversations once or twice, it’s hard to develop any expertise on your own. Use these resources to learn more and if you still have questions, call and talk to us. We’ve helped hundreds of families in Omaha and we might be able to help. Read more
Convincing an aging parent that it is time for them to stop driving is never an easy thing for an adult child to do. Unfortunately, it’s a conversation that most people will have to have at one time or another.
So why is it so difficult? The truth is, giving up the keys to the car is less about transportation issues for an aging parent and more about coming to grips with the loss of independence. Trips to the doctor’s office, grocery store, church or a friend’s house will now require assistance. And even if you are more than willing to drive your parent everywhere they need to go, the realization that they are now dependent on someone else to get around can be devastating. Read more
What Do I Do If I Live in Omaha and My Parent is Resistant to Giving Up the Car Keys?
Omaha, Nebraska is blessed to have a Center for Successful Aging at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. They have a wealth of resources available including a nice article addressing the question, what do I do if my parent is resistant to giving up the car keys? What resources do I have in the Omaha area?
As our director said when we asked her about the topic, “As soon as the adult children notice problematic driving practices, they should address them with their parent. Don’t wait until the day before taking the license away to tell the parent the plans. The more time the parent has to think about what is going to happen–the better. Remember they are losing a main source of independence. Be patient, kind, and understanding!” Read more