Many veterans’ caregivers qualify for compensation with a little-known Veterans Affairs program. When Kathy Parker became the primary caregiver for her husband, an Army veteran with stage-four kidney failure, she felt confused, scared, and alone. She didn’t know exactly how to take care of him and felt she wasn’t getting the help they needed from […]
When staffing shortages impact patient care, advocates look out for patients’ best interests, says former nurse and current patient advocate Teri Dreher. Caregiving Magazine is committed to publishing a diversity of opinions. The opinions expressed in this guest essay are the author’s own. A son in California called me last month to help his Chicago-area parents. […]Read More
Caregiver travel grants offer respite and adventure to those caring for others. At 61 years old, Yolanda Sampan accomplished something that her mother had always dreamed of for her daughter: She earned her U.S. citizenship. Sampan knew in that moment last August that she wanted to return to Washington, D.C., to see the cherry blossoms […]Read More
Experts help families navigate tough situations Betsy Calkins and her siblings recently faced a daunting situation. They noticed their mother, who at the time was in her 90s, was beginning to have challenges living alone in her Mount Prospect home. But with Calkins and two of her siblings living out of state, the responsibility to […]Read More
Seeking intimacy with others when a spouse or partner has dementia Lino Darchun began “practice dating” two years after his wife, Sydnee, was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. “I would ask a woman out for lunch or dinner just to have the experience of sitting with a woman and talking intelligently,” says Darchun, who lived […]Read More
End-of-life midwives ease the final passage with compassion On Saturdays, Don Meints found special pleasure in baking bread, especially with his four daughters. He loved working out any stress from his job as a teacher by kneading his frustrations into dough and turning it into cinnamon rolls, kolaches, and scones. “It was a variety of […]Read More
9 tips to keep your loved one eating well with dementia When you think about side effects of dementia, eating probably isn’t one of the first issues to come to mind. But for a disease that impacts every area of a person’s life, mealtime definitely takes a hit. Over time, dementia may cause changes in […]Read More
People’s beliefs about aging have a profound impact on their health, influencing everything from their memory and sensory perceptions to how well they walk, how fully they recover from disabling illness, and how long they live. When aging is seen as a negative experience (characterized by terms such as decrepit, incompetent, dependent, and senile), individuals […]Read More
No one wants to end up in the hospital. But each year in the United States, adults 65 and older have about 13.2 million hospitalizations, according to a 2021 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. A sudden hospital visit can be stressful. One of the easiest ways to prepare is to have […]Read More
Winter in Chicago is a challenging time for many people. But for older adults, it is especially fraught with risks from falls, hypothermia, and isolation. Check out these winter safety suggestions from caregiving experts at two local agencies about how to keep your loved ones toasty and safe this winter. Winter safety tip #1: Keep […]Read More
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