Preparing Your Home for Hospice If the loved one we care for is in the advanced stages of a disease and we’ve decided that we would like them to be in as much comfort as possible in familiar surroundings, home hospice may be the right choice. However, arranging a loved one’s home or our own for a hospice stay takes some thought and preparation. We likely don’t want the place to look like a hospital, but we need to have all of the necessary equipment the loved one we care for requires. Read more
Coping Strategies for Caregivers After the Death of a Loved One Everyone grieves in their own way after the death of a loved one. There is no normal timeline for grief. We may feel sadness, frustration, guilt or even failure and anger. We may want to be loud or quiet; alone or surrounded by community. We may experience insomnia, loss of appetite or even have difficulty breathing. There are a lot of normal reactions to grief, both physically and mentally. We should give ourselves permission to express our grief however we are feeling it, whenever we are feeling it. Grief is messy, but as we navigate the grief of losing a loved one, it is important to connect with resources that can help us through this time. Read more
Preparing for Taking on Caregiving Responsibilities When preparing for big life events, many families like to come up with a plan. But when it comes to caregiving, many families are not as proactive, even though over 34 million Americans provide unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older. In fact, many families wait until a crisis happens to begin important discussions, which can leave them scrambling to figure out care options. When planning for our future caregiving responsibilities, or preparing our loved ones to take on our own care as we age, we should hold discussions about finances, as well as values and preferences to help develop a successful caregiving plan. Read more
The Financial Fatigue of Caregiving Are you feeling the financial strain, or emotional and physical stress that comes along with caring for a loved one? This workshop will give you the tools needed to alleviate those stressors and help you to navigate your way around the additional expenses that caregivers endure. Read more
Social Isolation and the Holidays During the COVID-19 Pandemic Isolation has been a common theme of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the early days, we were encouraged to “socially isolate,” and while doing so is challenging for many of us, it is still considered to be a positive action for the good of our communities. But social isolation has a negative side, one that has existed long before the pandemic. Read more
Caring for Your Older Loved One’s Pet When the loved one we are providing care for has a pet, chances are we will provide care for their pet as well. While this can add to the time we spend and amount of tasks we manage as caregivers, it can also provide us opportunities for self-care and a way to begin difficult discussions with a loved one. Read more
Social Isolation and the Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic may have changed some normal family traditions this year. Not being with family and friends over the holidays may exacerbate feelings of social isolation and depression among older adults. Tamar Cooper, LISW-S, LICDC-CS, Associate Director of Behavioral Health Services, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, and Kerstin Yoder, MSSA LISWS, Social Worker/Mental Health Day Treatment Group Facilitator, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, share some tips for helping a loved one cope when you can’t be together, and learn how to help yourself let go of feelings of guilt you may be experiencing at this time. Read more
Coping with an Older Loved One’s Sleep Issues While chronic health conditions and medication interactions may also affect the sleep patterns of older adults, living under the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic has further added to these challenges. Activities and finances have been disrupted, isolation has made people feel depressed, many are less physically and mentally active, fears around health and contact with others dominate public thinking and uncertainty has filled every aspect of daily living. Read more
What to Consider When Helping an Older Loved One Choose a Medicare Plan With Medicare’s Annual Open Enrollment ongoing from October 15 to December 7, you may have already begun discussions with your loved one on the basics of Medicare, such as differences from Medicaid and what the different plans and options are. But before such an important decision is made, it’s important to go more in depth by preparing the right questions with your loved one to guide the conversation and exploring the different points of consideration that will help determine which plan is best for your loved one’s individual needs. Read more
Having Difficult but Crucial Conversations with Loved Ones with Cognitive Impairment When conversations have a specific purpose beyond just small talk, the message we convey becomes even more important. All the people involved in the conversation will have a stake in its outcome. Will the message be received as intended? Will the messenger provide thoughtful and welcome insight? Who will come away not feeling like a winner? These are the crucial conversations we face as caregivers that may be necessary, but difficult to begin. Read more
