Special year-end opportunity – Alzheimer’s Association

As the end of 2013 approaches, the Alzheimer’s Association has an exciting opportunity.

Two anonymous donors from California will collectively give $225,000 to the Alzheimer’s Association if we raise that same amount by December 31, 2013.

Their generosity will not only enhance local programs and services, but also fuel our New Investigator Research Grant program (NIRG), which aims to accelerate breakthroughs by supporting early-career scientists as they explore innovative concepts that have the power to change the field.

When you make your gift today to this special challenge match, your donation can have twice the impact and support our mission to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.

Your tax-deductible year-end donation of $50 can become $100, or a gift of $100 can become $200. Any amount you give by December 31, 2013 can help us continue to work toward our vision of a world without Alzheimer’s.

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Foundation Grants Seniors Lifetime Wish
The Wish of a Lifetime Foundation helps seniors to fulfill their often life-long wishes. These older adults have overcome tremendous challenges in their lives and had to put off their dreams. Now they are discovering that it’s never too late.Click here to read more.

For most of her life, Alma’s wish was to visit Graceland. Through a lifetime of struggles, including efforts to desegregate San Diego schools, Alma, now 87, found peace by listening to Elvis. Thanks to the Wish of a Lifetime Foundation (WOL), Alma got her wish, touring Elvis’ home last April.

WOL’s Wish of a Lifetime Program helps make wishes come true for senior citizens, who often are not able to live out their dreams. The program aims to create opportunities to ensure these wishes come true.

WOL’s mission goes beyond granting wishes through their program, “Wish Connect”. It hopes “to inspire an entire generation and to create a cultural shift on how we view aging. Our belief is that growing older doesn’t mean you have to stop dreaming and living a life of purpose. By granting lifelong wishes to seniors who have overcome tremendous challenges in their own lives, our foundation is able to spread its inspirational stories of hope.”

For more information about the Wish of a Lifetime foundation and its wish recipients, visit www.seniorwish.org

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Lifelong Learner Gets Fifth Degree at Age 82
After getting degrees in electrical engineering, manpower management and real estate over his lifetime, Terence Sutherland went for his lifelong love: a master’s in studio art at age 82. Click here to view article.

Terence “Terry” Sutherland first became interested in painting when he was just a boy. But it’s taken a whole lifetime to return to his passion. At 82, he just got his master’s degree in studio art.

Before he reached his last achievement, Sutherland earned several degrees in very disparate fields. First, as a naval officer in 1948, he got what is the equivalent of a marine engineering degree followed by a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy. After 25 years in the Navy and a stint in the Merchant Marines, he switched fields and got a master’s in manpower management. After he retired, still eager to learn new things and keep working, he earned a degree in real estate through the Veterans Administration. To round out his achievements, he also got his pilot’s license.

But there was still one goal Sutherland hadn’t met. As a boy, his grandfather taught him how to paint. “My grandfather was a Western and cowboy artist in Colorado. Grandpa would take me out in his shop and show me how to paint; that’s what he did. From then on, I was interested in painting and I’ve been painting ever since off and on.”

But it wasn’t until his wife urged him to attend the University of West Florida that he turned his lifelong hobby into something more serious. “My wife asked me to go up here to UWF. And I thought she sort of wanted to get me out of the house mostly. And so, I went up there.”

A resident at Azalea Trace Retirement-life Community in Pensacola, Fla., Sutherland is a firm believer in learning. “Excursions into other challenges are what keep your mind young. And as far as your body, well, it tends to give out as time goes by, but that is the least of your worries.”

At the university, the younger students sought him out. “I play the rent-a-grandpa type. Kids will come up to me and tell me stories they wouldn’t tell other people,” Sutherland says. One bit of grandfatherly advice: “There’s no substitute for those two four-letter words: hard work.”

He credits his energy to giving up smoking and drinking. “It breaks my heart, but [drinking’s] really not good for your health.” His only exercise is physical therapy for a specific health problem. “But my day starts at 6 a.m. and I do a lot, so I feel like I’m always moving. I run the art room here at the retirement community.”

For his 75 credit hours of school, he’s got a lot to show. “If you ask me what I’m going to do with these some 100 paintings I’ve produced over the last three years, I’ll be doggone if I know.”

Sources: “Angels in Our Midst,” WEAR ABC Channel 3 and “Meet an 82-Year-Old Grandfather Who Just Picked Up his 5th College Degree” Huffington Post.

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How to Make Downsizing Less Stressful
Whether you are moving into an apartment, a smaller house or assisted living, there are ways to simplify and expedite the process. Start slowly and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Click here to view article.

The kids are gone, the house is too big, the lawn takes too much work; or maybe you want to move closer to the center of town or be part of a community of older adults. For most older adults, there comes a time when you need or want to downsize.

The easy part may be packing up your possessions. The harder aspect is saying good-bye to what may be a lifetime of memories or choosing what is essential for you. What can you give away or give up? Who or what should be the recipient? What should you keep?

For adults over 60, only a spouse’s death and divorce rank as more stressful than moving to a nursing or retirement home, according to the Social Readjustment Rating Scale—the Stress Scale.

Tips for Downsizing

Start slowly: It will be emotionally easier to tackle one room or part of a room at a time, giving yourself some breaks in between. (Consider distracting yourself with a movie or dinner with friends). You can start with an easier room, like a bathroom, that has less emotional impact. Once you’ve emptied one larger room, use it to organize the rest of the house or apartment. Be easy on yourself.

Organize: Figure out exactly how much space you will have in your new home, including storage in the kitchen, closets and cabinets. How many dishes, clothes, books and so forth will you have room for? If your new space is half of what you have now, you know how much you have to get rid of. If you have more possessions than space, you can always rent a storage locker, but it can be expensive over the long haul and may just put off the hard decisions of what to keep and what to get rid of.

To stay organized, create piles for things you want to keep, give to family and friends, sell/donate or throw away. To make letting go easier, take photos of what you’re leaving behind. To help with the decision-making process, it’s sometimes easier to ask, “What do I absolutely need” or “Which is my favorite piece” and then see how much room is left for anything else.

Get help: Because downsizing can be a painful process, both emotionally and physically, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s an opportunity to go down memory lane with friends and family . At the same time, you can give away possessions to your loved ones, including items you may have been planning to give them after your death. Passing them on now means you can tell the story behind the gift or reiterate your affection for the person—whether your childhood best friend, your granddaughter or your favorite walking companion.

Paperwork and pictures: Because going through old papers, personal notes, documents and photos is time-consuming, and because they often don’t take up a lot of space, you can pack these items and deal with them after you move. But if you do have time, it’s better to get rid of the papers and photos that no longer have any meaning. Make sure you shred any documents with personal information, account identification and especially Social Security numbers. You can digitize (on your computer) documents and photos you want to keep but don’t have space for computer (see sidebar).

Selling or Giving It Away

After sorting and packing possessions, you arrive at the big task of getting rid of the stuff you chose not keep.

If you think an item is worth money, there are several approaches: auction houses, antique dealers, consignment shops, garage sales, eBay or Craigslist. Each has advantages and disadvantages, including varying costs. You can use an appraiser to determine the value, but you need to have enough items to make the appraiser’s visit worthwhile. Auction houses want to sell things at the highest prices and will therefore often offer you more than antique dealers, who want to purchase items at the lowest price.

Whatever you can’t sell, you can give away. The main donation outlets include Goodwill, the Salvation Army, AmVets and Purple Heart. You can also find charities that might be more in line with your values, such as the Humane Society or a hospital/hospice outlet.

Before you donate, it’s a good idea to check online or over the phone to see if your chosen charity has any restrictions on what it accepts: for example, no furniture or electronics, or only clothes and housewares. Also find out if they are willing to pick up larger items.

You can target certain items for certain places; for example, take musical instruments to schools or old tools to auto repair shops. Nonprofits or local schools can use old magazines for art projects, and homeless shelters or abused women shelters can take unused toiletries. Even worn-out items, such as towels and blankets, are welcome at animal shelters.

To get rid of other items that don’t seem reusable, try Freecycle; you never know; someone might be looking for a broken lawn mower to use as part of a backyard sculpture. Freecycle Network is a nonprofit group with members dedicated to recycling. Items are posted online for anyone who wants them. If nothing else works, set items on the curb with a sign that says “Help yourself.”

Getting Professional Help

With the population of older adults growing, it’s no surprise that businesses catering to all aspects of helping seniors move are increasing. The number of local companies registered with the National Association of Senior Move Managers has grown from 30 to more than 800 since 2002, according to the group. Companies such asCaring Transitions can help manage the process and carry out your wishes.

Senior move managers specialize in helping older adults with both the emotional and practical dimensions of late-life transitions. Managers can arrange estate sales, locate and deliver items to storage facilities or coordinate donations to charities (“New businesses help unload the stress of moving seniors,” USA Today). Hourly rates range from $30 to $90 depending on location.

Sources

“7 Helpful Tips for Downsizing Seniors’ Homes,” Home Helpers

“20 Tips to Help You Get Rid of Junk,” Caring.com

“Downsizing Tips for Seniors,” Senior Care Homes

Preserving Documents and Photos

If you have boxes of old photos and documents (your college paper on Darwin or the kindergarten note from your daughter) that are too bulky to keep around but are still meaningful, one option is to digitize them. Not only can you get rid of the storage boxes, but the documents and photos are instantly accessible on your computer.

You can either scan the paper products yourself or use a service that will do it for a fee. Most flatbed scanners or multifunction printers will scan photos, but if you’re looking for quality and speed, you should buy a device that’s only for scanning photos and/or old slides.

If you don’t have time for scanning, websites such asGoPhoto, SnapFish and ScanMyPhotos will digitize your photos. These services can often edit the photos, as well as provide a DVD or CD. You’ll pay anywhere from 8 cents to 44 cents per photo. For preserving and turning videos and films into DVDs, online services such asScanDigital.com or local places such as Walgreens are available to help (“5 Simple Tips to Digitize and Organize Old Photos,” Mashable).

You can store your photos online or on your computer, although an online backup for treasured pictures is a good idea. Sites such as Shutterfly, Photobucket, Flickr,SmugMug and Google’s Picasa provide storage space, which is sometimes limited. You can purchase more space for a nominal monthly fee, often as little as $2. Facebook is another free and popular option. If you don’t trust the Internet, an external hard drive that attaches to your computer is another good choice.

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How to Find the Right Assisted-Living Facility
There can be many benefits to moving into assisted-living communities, particularly if you need only a minimum amount of care. But because such places are not as well regulated as nursing homes, you need to be careful when choosing one. Click here to view article.

Marcia recently moved from her townhouse to an assisted-living facility. “I got tired of being alone. It was hard to stay social,” she says. At her new residence, she can eat meals with others, join the book club, attend movie night or socialize with others in the communal space.

More than 900,000 Americans live in about 39,500 assisted-living facilities, according to estimates (“How to choose an assisted-living facility,” July 2013, Consumer Reports).

What They Encompass

Assisted-living facilities are defined as residential units that often include a kitchen or kitchenette, housekeeping, meals, transportation to doctors and activities, and various levels of personal assistance.

They are a bridge between living independently at home and needing comprehensive care in a nursing home. Assisted-living facilities are a popular choice because they are less expensive than a nursing home but offer access to care and services if needed. For a list of services generally offered by assisted-living facilities, see the sidebar.

The national average monthly base rate for an assisted living unit (which includes room, board and some personal care) was $3,550 last year, according to a survey by the MetLife Mature Market Institute (Consumer Reports). In comparison, the median monthly cost of private nursing home care was $7,000 in 2013, according to Genworth’s 2013 Cost of Care Survey (Money, cnn.com).

Besides being more affordable, assisted-living facilities can end the isolation of living alone and provide a community of older, often active individuals. Said one resident about her new residence: “I got tired of going to fitness clubs where everyone was younger and more athletic than me. Here, we’re all at the same level, and it feels more comfortable.” Many facilities offer a range of social and recreational activities.

Assisted-living facilities also are good for those who are tired of the responsibilities of maintaining a house and yard. Many facilities even provide transportation, which can make it easier for those who have mobility issues or don’t wish to drive.

Regulations Vary from State to State

However, assisted-living facilities are not regulated as strictly as nursing homes, which the federal government oversees. Instead, control is left to states, and regulations vary widely from state to state, including requirements for licensing procedures, inspections and ratio of staffing to residents. In addition, each state sets its own definition of assisted living, including “residential care,” “board and care,” “adult home” and “retirement residence.”

(To find regulations for your state, go to the National Center for Assisted Living State Regulatory Review.Published in March 2013, this report offers a state-by-state summary of assisted living regulations covering 21 categories, provides contact information for state agencies that oversee assisted living activities and includes each agency’s website address.)

A recent investigation into assisted-living facilities found a pattern of problems across the country. ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism, reported in a Frontline documentary, “Life and Death in Assisted Living,” allegations and citations for a lack of staffing and training, and medication errors. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) survey revealed a pattern of deficiencies in most of the homes sampled in four states. According to the report, frequently identified problems included failure to provide sufficient care to residents after an accident, unqualified or insufficient staff, failure to provide medications or store medications adequately and failure to follow admission and discharge policies required by state regulations (“Abuse in Assisted Living Facilities,” Nursing Home Abuse Center ). The GAO blamed inadequate staff training and high staff turnover for the problems.

Issues arise when people who need greater care, more consistent with that of a nursing home, remain in assisted-living facilities. In fact, in some states, caregivers in assisted-living facilities are not required to have any training, which has resulted in poor care of people with dementia or other serious health problems. More than 40 percent of assisted-living residents have the diagnosis of dementia (“10 things assisted-living homes won’t tell you,” March 4, 2013, Market Watch).

Unless contractually required to move, many people stay in assisted-living facilities rather than move to nursing homes, even when their health worsens, not only because the facilities are cheaper, but also because keeping residents adds to the bottom line. While 82 percent of assisted-living facilities are run by for-profit corporations, only 68 percent of nursing homes are owned by corporations. Libby Bierman, an analyst with Sageworks, says that much of that profitability is due to decreases in staff. Payroll fell from more than 45 percent of sales in 2004 to 38 percent of sales in 2012 (Market Watch).

However, the regulatory environment is improving. Since January 2012, 18 states reported making regulatory, statutory or policy changes affecting assisted living/residential care communities. At least nine of these states made major changes, including Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Washington (National Center For Assisted Living).

Finding the Right Facility

When starting to look for an assisted-living facility, make sure you’re getting what you want and an institution that will be safe and secure. Consumer Reports suggests how to go about your evaluation.

To start the search, you can contact a geriatric-care manager, who is knowledgeable about the assisted-living option, including facilities’ financial strength (and who charges a fee for the service). To find a manager in your area, go to the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers website or get recommendations from family doctors or local senior centers. You can also find information about local facilities on websites such as SnapforSeniors senior housing locator, a nonprofit advocacy group, and NewLifeStyles.com. Your local Area Agency on Aging is a good resource also. To find the agency that serves your region go to the website for theNational Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Your local senior housing guide will likely have information, also.

Once you have a list of places, make calls to inquire about availability, cost and so forth. Once you have a short list of three or four places, visit the facilities. When touring a community, notice the physical appearance (but don’t be deceived by the fancy lobby, which may have been decorated to impress prospective clients). Is the facility clean and well lit? Does it have safety features like grab bars on all the walls and nonslip flooring materials, especially in the bathrooms? If possible, have a meal there and pay attention to the quality of the food.

Check out the activities to see if they interest you; for example, inspect the fitness equipment, entertainment options and social groups.

Find out how many employees are assigned to each resident and if the facility has a licensed nurse on duty or on call at all times. Ask about the staff’s training in such areas as safety, emergency care, first aid, mental health, residents’ rights and medication administration. Observe the interaction between staff members and residents. Is it cheerful and respectful? Do staff members seem genuinely interested in the residents? Talk to staff members and ask residents what they like best/least.

Make sure you get a copy of the admissions contract and the residence rules. The facility’s contract outlines fees, services provided and residents’ rights, and the appeal process if a resident is asked to leave. Unlike nursing homes, assisted-living facilities don’t have an industry-wide process for appealing evictions, and assisted-living facilities can evict a resident for any reason, including if the resident goes on Medicare (Market Watch).

The contract should also specify whether a resident is allowed to return to the same unit after a hospital stay. Nursing homes are required to hold a room for Medicaid patients, but many assisted-living facilities are not.

After the initial visit, Consumer Reports suggests returning unannounced several times to your top two or three choices, this time avoiding the “official” tour.

When you’ve narrowed the field to one, review the fees and costs for any extra services, policies regarding the return of a deposit or down payment, costs involved during hospitalizations and the possibility of unexpected rate increases. If you need more assistance than the level covered in the base rate, the costs could add up. For example, if more help is needed with what are known as instrumental activities of daily living, such as medication management, the average additional fee is $347 a month, according to the MetLife survey.

Unbiased information can be hard to come by. Only a handful of states post records online for inspections, fines and violations, and state inspections can be rare. In comparison, nursing home ratings and deficiencies are available for every facility in the country, at Medicare.gov. You should ask an assisted-living facility for its record of fines and violations, which should be on file and available to view in person.

The best source for finding out if the assisted-living facility has had complaints or infractions is your local long-term-care ombudsman, who acts as an independent resident advocate. You can find your state’s contact information through the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center at www.ltcombudsman.org or by calling 202-332-2275.

Finally, have the contract reviewed by an attorney before you sign it. You can find one in your area who specializes in elder-care issues on the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys .

Services at a Typical Assisted Living Facility

• Three meals a day served in a common dining area
• Assistance with eating, bathing, dressing, going to the bathroom and walking
• Housekeeping services
• Transportation
• Access to health and medical services
• Round-the-clock security
• Emergency call systems in each resident’s living space
• Exercise and wellness programs
• Medication management
• Laundry services
• Social and recreational activities
• Staff available to help with scheduled needs, as well as unexpected issues

Source: HelpGuide.org

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