One of the most common problems we hear about from caregivers is that their loved one, often parents, will not accept any outside help, despite the fact that they are clearly having trouble with personal care or household tasks, are sick or frail and possibly at risk, or lonely. They may not be willing to [read more…]
Relocation
A Quick Guide to Explain Seniors Housing
There is an array of seniors housing options which caregivers and seniors confront as they begin to think about moving and downsizing. A good understanding of what these options are and what they offer can help you choose what is right for you now and in the future. It can also help you avoid some [read more…]
Crisis Day: When A Loved One Enters Care
On a call last month, the voice on the other end of the phone sounded fraught with anxiety.” I don’t know what to do, I can’t leave my mother in that place,” a woman’s voice said.” All the people are just sitting around in wheelchairs; they all look like they are drugged. My mother told [read more…]
Moving Stories: When Heart Trumps Head
The day before the Russians invaded in 1944, Margrit and her mother packed all they could carry into two small suitcases and, leaving everything else behind, fled their Baltic homeland, leaving everything else behind. At the docks they found a boat that would take them to a refugee camp. They were the lucky ones. Of [read more…]
Choosing Seniors Housing: A Note and Warning On Assisted Living
Seniors Housing is successful–both for the provider and for the residents–when the former successfully meets the needs of the clientele to whom they are providing housing. That calls for commitment. They cannot “go halfway.” Twice in the past few months we have had concerns about the response from senior personnel in two different Seniors residences [read more…]
Caregivers: When Is ” The Right Time” For A Move
People have often asked us during consultations or lectures when “the right time” is for someone to move to seniors housing. There is no easy answer, but generally, our response is that there are two right times to consider– one for the person who is receiving care and one for the person who is caregiving. [read more…]
Making The Decision To Downsize and Move
One of the most painful decisions a person may make in their lifetime is to leave their home. It is a question that Diamond Geriatrics has been assisting clients with since 1996, and we know how difficult it can be. So this month, Elder Voice talks directly to Seniors about what makes the decision difficult, [read more…]
Choosing Seniors Housing
Headliner: New Rates For Nursing Homes On October 8th, the Minster of Health announced new rates for residential care, beginning in January, 2010. While they emphasized that some rates will go down, those paying the higher rates will be paying close to 25% more. Rates will now range from $29.40 up to $96.40 per day. [read more…]
Hospital Discharge in 2009: What Families Need to Know
If you have a relative about to go into or be discharged from hospital, you should know that the experience is much different today from the way it used to be. Whereas care used to be mostly physician directed, today much of the decision making and planning, including discharge, are done mostly by a medical [read more…]
Preparing for Moves
by Susan Borax While most seniors want to remain independent in their homes, there comes a time when this may no longer be possible. Moving is considered to be the third most stressful life event after divorce and changing jobs. Downsizing a lifetime’s collection of documents, possessions and their associated memories, can be particularly wrenching [read more…]
