Friday, August 28, 2009

Sign Up For Medicare at 65

About three months before turning 65 is when it is advised to sign up for Medicare. You can read more about this in my article on Suite101.com. Open enrollment is coming up soon. You can only make changes once a year now to Medicare choices. Here's another article that may help you understand. It was written a couple of years ago, but the basic information and the info in the links will give you some ideas of what you need to consider. See the Medicare site for the latest information.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Confused About Health Care Reform?

Worried about health care reform? Need some plain simple language to tell you more about the FACTS and not the rumors about losing everything or death panels for seniors? Here's a link to some very basic information in plain simple language.

Medicare and Medicaid will still be there for you...

Friday, August 21, 2009

Medicare's Site for Caregivers


Medicare has a web page just for caregivers with a long list of links to help answer some of your basic questions about caregiving for your aging parents.

With Open Enrollment coming up in a few months this may be a good time to begin exploring options if your loved one's Medicare plan isn't meeting their financial needs. There's several links on this web page to help you understand the options and find information to compare choices.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Phone Solutions for the Hard of Hearing


If your loved ones are experiencing difficulties using the phone due to hearing loss, I would sincerely suggest investigating this phone. The Clarity/Ameriphone XL50 offers some terrific options such as the big number pad. It also has the ability to adjust the tonal quality of the voice which is really important in moderate to severe hearing loss. It's like an equalizer that filters out the tones the person can't hear as well and amplifies those s/he can hear. It also has a volume adjustment and a Boost function. The Boost can be set to be on continuously, or as needed by pushing a button while listening.

Being unable to hear well on the phone can be such an isolating thing for anyone, but especially for the elderly who rely on the phone for socialization. This product can help them get back into circulation.

We recently bought one for my mother-in-law who is severely hard of hearing and has hearing aides. It's going to work out really well. She's not technically adept and this phone is easy for her to manipulate. She has to adjust it slightly for my voice versus my husband's and she was able to do this on her own. It's too loud for my father-in-law, but he doesn't use the phone a lot and can use an extension phone.

More information and reviews are available on Amazon.com.


Friday, August 14, 2009

Beyond Coping The Joyful Art of Caregiving 2009 Telesummit

This telesummit ends TODAY, but you can still get the information by clicking on the registration link below....

I am participating in an important FREE telesummit sponsored by The Eldercare Support Group for anyone caring for an aging patient, friend or family member such as parent, grandparent, in-law, etc.
(UPDATE: My presentation was on be Saturday Aug. 8 at Noon ET)

TELESUMMIT SCHEDULE AND FREE REGISTRATION

WHEN: Aug 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 2009
EXPERTS: Tonia Boterf, Denise Brown, Barbara Freisner, Andrew Mayoras, Danielle Miller, Kathy Quan, Hueina Su, Shelley Webb, Brian Willie, and Jason Young

To learn more about this virtual event, its speakers and how to register, visit:
Beyond Coping The Joyful Art of Caregiving 2009 Telesummit

Once you register, all the details about attending the calls will be emailed to you.

CAN'T ATTEND AT THE SCHEDULED CALL TIME?

That's not a problem because all the calls will be recorded and each will be available for 24 hours after it is completed. You'll also be able to RElisten in case there was something you wanted to hear again.

We also understand that you may want to listen several times or have the information available for family and friends to listen, so besides recording the calls, we are also going to turn them into MP3 audio recordings, CDs and transcripts. You'll be able to purchase them at a very affordable price at the time of registration.

But again, the sessions themselves are all FREE to attend.

Won't you join us?
Again, here's the link to register:
Beyond Coping Telesummit


Welcome to About Aging Parents

Welcome to About Aging Parents. I'm Kathy and I am the author of The Everything Guide to Caring for Aging Parents which offers tips, resources, information and how-to's for those facing the task of caring for aging parents, grandparents, in-laws, etc.

I have been a nurse for over 30 years and the majority of my experience has been in home health care helping patients, caregivers and family members learn the art of caring. The vast majority of my patients have been aging parents and it has been about helping families cope. I drew from my professional as well as personal experiences to write this book as a guide to navigating this stage of your lives.

I hope this site will be helpful to those of you who are just beginning to face this issue as well as those who have been dealing with these issues for some time now. My own mother just turned 82 and my in-laws are in their 80's as well so in addition to my professional experience, I bring my own perception to the table as well. I helped to care for my father who died from the complications of diabetes at the age of 57. We learned to navigate the Medicare ESRD system (end stage renal disease) and Medical (that's California's version of Medicaid).

Together we can navigate this journey, and hopefully make it a more pleasant time for all of us.