Letter from the Publisher
What do you do when your 97-year-old father, while looking at antique figurines of Chinese soldiers on horseback, repeatedly insists that the stir-fry in front of him is horse meat and needs to be cleaned of poop? What do you do when he becomes agitated during a very animated conversation with the departed and insists […]
Documenting Caregiver Experiences
A Q&A with anthropologist Rebecca Berman, PhD, who interviewed dozens of caregivers about what it’s like to care for a loved one For our recent cover story, “Once Upon a Caregiver”, we partnered with AgeGuide and AgeOptions, two Chicagoland Area Agencies on Aging, to share stories from caregivers — their challenges, triumphs, and daily insights. […]
Tool Makes Advance Care Planning Easier
End-of-life care isn’t easy to talk about — not for patients or the health professionals who provide patient care. “It’s a difficult conversation, but it’s incredibly important, especially with COVID-19,” says Ann Hollander, founder of Options for Aging, a geriatrics care management practice based in Wilmette. Social workers, case managers, elder law attorneys, financial advisers […]
Create a Contract for Family Care
Kiplinger Retirement Report When the caregiver whom Amy Goyer, of Phoenix, hired for her 93-year-old father seemed particularly tired recently, Goyer realized she had been so busy she wasn’t aware her employee needed a vacation. As it happens, that caregiver is also her sister. “A loved one who provides care can get burned out, too, […]
Knowing When to Decide
Aging in a New Home By Megy Karydes LaManda Joy comes across a tiny wooden box in the back of a drawer and realizes it contains flowers from her parents’ wedding in June 1945. Her mother’s home is like a time capsule, she says, and moving her from it to a long-term care situation has […]