It is not unusual for a health care professional to come across a situation where a patient may have a durable power attorney for both health care and financial matters, but not an advance care directive. In other situations, those documents may be in place, but have not been updated which can complicate situations in the event of a medical crisis.
ElderCarelink Blog
Approaching conversations about advance care directives
by Kathryn Kilpatrick, M.A. CCC/SLPJune 30th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Caregiving never really ends
by Judy KirkwoodJune 29th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Although my mom passed away 3 months ago, my sister is back in the caregiving role after her 28-year-old son’s motorcycle accident. My nephew sheared off the front part of his right leg between knee and ankle. In the beginning his leg looked like a bomb had gone off on it. We were all horrified, yet aware of how lucky this young man was that his injuries were not worse.
4 ways to support your parents’ long-term care planning
by Isabel Fawcett, SPHRJune 29th, 2011 at 8:16 am
Are you ready to support your aging parents? If you are, there are things you need to be looking at sooner, rather than later. One primary area of concern? Long-term care insurance. Do your parents already have a long-term care insurance policy? What will it mean to you and your parents financially, if they do not have a long-term care insurance policy? The shortfall in long-term nursing care has to come from somewhere. Out-of-pocket costs can be unsettling and continue to increase each year.
Gold Alert for missing seniors making headway
by Carol Bradley Bursack, Editor-in-ChiefJune 24th, 2011 at 9:00 am
According to the Wall Street Journal, New York has joined other states including Illinois, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Texas in this effort that gives searching for missing seniors with disabilities the same urgency as searching for missing children.
Setting the stage for important discussions with elders
by Kathryn Kilpatrick, M.A. CCC/SLPJune 23rd, 2011 at 3:00 pm
How do we bridge the gap when it comes to helping loved ones navigate the road of aging, particularly when health and financial concerns begin to emerge? Have we had any kind of in-depth discussion on the topics of most concern to them at this point in their lives? Based on the patients I have been seeing for decades–unless family members live nearby or have made a point of exploring options for aging loved ones–it is unlikely these conversations have occurred. Even if they have designated their power of attorney, many people live life one day at a time, not necessarily planning for the next decade of their lives.
