This year marks the 60th anniversary of Older Americans Month, as President Biden wrote in his recent presidential proclamation on the occasion. Thirty-three years ago, President George Bush, Sr., observed that Americans age 85 and older constituted one of the fastest growing segments of our population and that 1 in…
I was contacted by a therapist to provide an assessment of one of his senior clients. When I spoke with the senior’s son, he told me that his mother was receiving terrible care at an assisted living community. He claimed that the care that had been promised had not been…
Guardianship is among the services that I have specialized training and experience to provide. Guardianship is a legal process whereby a court appoints a qualified individual the authority to make decisions on behalf of a person who is deemed to be legally incapacitated. The Guardian’s ward (the person I am…
I have repeatedly been asked in recent weeks whether a move to a senior living community at this time is “safe.” My answer? No, it is not as safe as we would hope, given the prevalence and the uncertainties of the coronavirus, CoVID10. While reported nursing home deaths related to…
The CoVID19 crisis has brought home crucial lessons for all of us who care about older loved ones and America’s senior citizens. Often, a senior has to be placed in a nursing home because of his or her medical conditions or financial circumstances. By their very nature as communal facilities…
A lively discussion about gun control with friends and siblings brought back a memory about an instance a case where an adult with dementia and other psychiatric issues endangered the life of his spouse of over more than 50 years. My client hired me because her husband had been hospitalized…
My client is the lovely granddaughter of a woman who was 99 years old when we met. They are of the Jewish faith. The granddaughter had contacted me over concerns that her grandmother was running out of money while living at home and paying for 24-hour caregiver services. The services…
The holidays can be a profoundly stressful time for a Person With Dementia (PWD) and his/her family members. To avoid even more stress and any potentially awkward or embarrassing situations, family members who don’t know about the PWD’s diagnosis should be made aware of it. That way, you will avoid…
The worst part of my business is that I sometimes have to say “Good-bye” to my favorite clients. In the past several weeks, I have had two favorite clients pass away, and one move out of state to be closer to her son. Today, I am going to share a…
My clients were a very pleasant, alert, 90 year old woman and her son. The son had been gainfully employed by a major corporation and had been transferred to a state out west. He liked the new location very much and remained there once he was retired. His mother had…