I have been hired to find an assisted living community with a memory care component for a client in southern Cook county or Will County in Illinois. Defined in general terms, assisted living with memory care is an extension of assisted living that caters to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or…
There are many seniors who prefer to stay in the comfort of their own homes rather than move to a retirement community. Non-medical home care agencies will send a private caregiver to your loved one’s home to assist with activities of daily living (bathing, dressing,walking, transferring, toileting, eating), light housekeeping,…
My friends and prospective clients who have parents who aren’t ready for senior housing placement often ask me questions about non-clinically licensed home health caregivers. The question I’m most often asked is, “Why can’t I just hire the nice lady from across the street to take care of Mom/Dad? It…
I recently worked with a family whose Dad contracted an infection in his foot. The infection lead to further complications coupled with the fact that he had mid-stage Alzheimer’s disease. He was using his Medicare days in a nursing home. His wife was very dissatisfied with the care he was…
The cost long term care can be exorbitant. Aside from the typical ways of paying for long-term care (private pay, long-term care insurance, Medicare, Medicaid; some of which may not apply to all of the above), there is a little known benefit provided by Department of Veterans Affairs. It is…
I recently experienced one of the most difficult placements since the opening of my business in 2006. Members of a family contacted me to place their elderly relative who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and disruptive behavior disorder. My prospect was 88, frail, ambulatory, prone to slapping other residents at the…
One of my prospective clients asked me if any of my placements had ever not worked out. I responded, “Yes, only once–early on in the years I have been conducting placements.” Here’s what happened. My client was a baby boomer whose part-time occupation required intermittent air travel during the week.…
My client is one of a large number of siblings who were searching for a high end continuing care retirement community for their mother. Mom was in her early seventies, living independently, and driving. She owned a second home where she lived during the winter months. She could afford an…
My prospects were a 45 year old baby boomer and her mother. Her mom lived in her own home where the neighborhood wasn’t changing for the better. The mother was 78 years old, totally ambulatory, mentally alert, and had Parkinson’s disease. The daughter lived in a suburb that was a…
I have so many fond memories of my dad and his dry but delightful sense of humor. He wasn’t athletic and once managed to pitch a hard ball through a picture window while practicing baseball with my brother. He told my mom, “Well, I never told you that you married…