Medicare covers short nursing home stays and some home health care
Kay Paggi has been the bearer of bad news more times than she cares to remember.
The senior-care coordinator has helped hundreds of Dallas families find long-term care for frail parents. Almost always, they think Medicare will pick up most of the tab, the same as it does for hospital stays and doctor visits.”They’re shocked when [...]
A year later, Mary changed. She became forgetful and confused
Mary and Harold Groves were like giddy teenagers when they married in Gatlinburg on June 24, 2002
Harold was 69 and finding new life, three years after the death of Margie, his wife of 43 years. Mary, a widow with two grown children, was 72.
Mary and Harold live in Jackson and loved to travel. In 2004, [...]
Americans are generally under the impression that they’ll be taken care of once they reach their golden years
Health reform has dominated the news lately, but many Americans are wondering what reform will actually entail for them.
According to a recent survey conducted by my firm, most believe that healthcare reform will provide coverage for longterm services and supports. These are medical services for people who can’t care for themselves for extended periods of [...]
Medicare is federal health insurance
Medicare is federal health insurance for persons over 65 and certain persons with disabilities under age 65. Most people over 65 who have been employed or married to or divorced from someone who was employed are eligible for Medicare. Others may be eligible to enter the program by paying a small premium or by meeting [...]
Read MoreFree health screenings to area senior citizens
A visit to the doctor’s office can often be intimidating.
In hopes of quelling this anxiety, the Kingsport Senior House — in conjunction with some local health care providers — hosted its sixth annual Fun Fest Healthy Seniors Fair on Friday, offering free health screenings to area senior citizens.
“Sometimes elders are afraid to go to the [...]
You can help aging parents get the assistance they need without burning through family finances
When Sue Dietz noticed her mother’s dementia worsening, she began spending every day at her parents’ house near Pittsburgh — making sure her mom was eating properly and taking medications. But the schedule became too much when Dietz’s daughter in North Carolina had a baby. “It wasn’t fair to my daughter that I couldn’t be [...]
Read MoreWho will take care of me when I need the help?
Question:I always read your column and find the topics very interesting. Often you talk about adult children or other family members as caregivers. However, there are many older adults who have remained single all their lives or who were married, but are now alone. What are people like me, who have no children, supposed to [...]
Read MoreA typical Assisted Living community has every amenity to care for your loved one.
Most of us one day will be faced with caring for a loved one. The daily chores that use to came easy for Mom or Dad, now are just too much for them do themselves. Maybe they are having problems cooking, walking, bathing or remembering. Aging is a process that is inevitable, and the trick [...]
Read MoreLong-term assistance requires specially trained doctors, nurses, nurses’ and physicians’ assistants, social workers, health aides.
Advocates of including long-term care services in health reform usually focus on two issues: How many Medicaid dollars should be spent on home care and whether to create a national long-term care insurance program, such as Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has proposed in his CLASS Act. But neither of those reforms would mean much without [...]
Read MoreA unique opportunity for seniors to live in comfort and safety
They won’t wear scrubs. They will cook every meal to order. You’ll never see one of their residents in a hospital johnny.
The managers of Spring Hill’s Guardian Home Health Assisted Living Facility say they value human dignity above all else. Proprietor Elaine DeCiutiis and her daughter, Assistant Administrator Paulamarie Aurigemma, said they run a high-tech, [...]