Senior Living Blog
Caregiving Is One of the Most Challenging and Underappreciated Jobs
I honestly believe being a family caregiver, or an independent caregiver, is one of the hardest and most challenging jobs there is, and it’s one of the most underpaid and underappreciated position in America. Caregiving for an aging person is much different than...
The Top Two Consistent Regrets Seniors Have Voiced
Throughout my career in the long-term care field, whether it was as an administrator, a consultant or as a caregiver, I usually would hear our seniors voice their biggest regrets in life, and two of them have been voiced consistently. Most of the seniors that I have...
Solitude Versus Isolation When It Comes to Seniors
When I meet with clients and their families, I am sometimes pulled aside by the children wanting to discuss the client’s state of wellbeing. They will explain that their loved one is spending too much time alone, not socializing as much as they used to, or they are...
Are Adult Children Obligated to Care for Aging Family?
As I meet families during my consultations the one emotional topic that usually gets brought up is aging parents voicing that it’s their children’s responsibility to care for them as long as they can. This topic usually is brought up when there is already a negative...
The #1 Lawsuit in Senior Living Communities is Lack of Communication
During the years I was a licensed long-term care administrator, I was required to attend several state and national conferences for my continued education and license. One of the subjects that was consistently presented to administrators, directors of nursing and...
Can Self-Sufficiency Be a Double-Edged Sword?
Self-sufficiency is described as able to provide for one’s needs without outside aide. Many facets in our society promote self-sufficiency, such as social media and entertainment, family values, religion and/or spirituality, Corporate America mindset, sports teams,...
Springtime + Senior Communities = Incentives
The birds are chirping, the sun is out, trees are blooming, the temperature is getting warmer, and senior living communities are wanting to increase their census. If you have been debating whether to begin looking at senior living options, springtime is one of the...
A Season for Grieving
We all know at least one person in our life, possibly ourselves, that has encountered a loved one dying. Death is inevitable and is part of the circle of life. Death affects all of us differently including length of time to mourn and grieve. The grieving process is...
Believe or Not Believe Someone with Dementia
Working in healthcare for 15 years I have had a lot of encounters and firsthand experience of directly and indirectly working with people that had/have dementia. One of the learning curves that I had to learn early on as an administrator in long-term care was when to...
What is In-Home Care?
Before the pandemic, the senior population were moving into senior living communities, mainly due to needing assistance with personal care and/or no longer able to take care of their home. When the pandemic hit, most if not all, senior communities were on lockdown;...
Holiday Gathering & Aging Family Members
With many families that have children and siblings that live out-of-state or not nearby, the holiday season is a great time of bringing families together. It is also a nice time to check-in with aging family members and notice if they need more help in the home or...
LGBTQ+ & Senior Living Communities
As a previous nursing home administrator, I have been asked at different times if senior living communities are permitted to discriminate towards LGBTQ+ seniors. I realize the general population does not thoroughly think about what LGBTQ+ seniors have faced in his/her...
Validation Therapy and Alzheimer’s Go Hand In Hand
Most of us have experienced firsthand of a loved one with dementia or at least know of someone that has the disease. An estimated 6.5 million Americans 65 years or older have Alzheimer’s. Caregiving for someone that has the disease can be quite challenging and...
Safety Is Key to Remaining in Your Home Longer
There are many reasons why seniors move from their home into a senior living community; sometimes it’s by choice and other times it is required for the person’s wellbeing. Most of us want to continue to live in our homes if possible. One of the most common factors of...
What To Do After You’re Discharged from a Hospital
If you or someone you know has been admitted to a hospital due to an injury or illness, sometimes you’re eligible for rehabilitation after being discharged. Before you’re discharged the hospital’s social worker/discharge planner will discuss two options; one being the...
Springtime = Great Time to Move into a Community
If you’re contemplating of when is a good time to begin researching and touring senior communities, springtime is the best season. Senior living communities typically have incentives and discounts for move-ins. The reason why is because typically the winter season is...
Estate Planning Requires Proactivity
When clients call my company to discuss long-term care options, one of the questions I ask is if the client has completed their estate plan. I have had clients that either have not done an estate plan, or they only had done a Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) for...
Do’s and Don’ts with Alzheimer’s
When I made the decision to leave my nursing home career to assist family of taking care of my grandma that had Alzheimer’s, I gained a new perspective of Alzheimer’s. I received firsthand experience of what it takes to care for someone with dementia. Grandma was...
Self-Care Is Vital to Avoid Caregiver Burnout
Before I made the decision to leave my nursing home career in Kansas and move back to Springfield my mom was working full-time in a management position while taking care of my grandma. She was taking care of my grandma after work and on weekends. It got to the point...
Our Body Is Meant to Move
When I was an executive director in senior living communities, I noticed a frequent topic was discussed between rehabilitation therapists (physical and occupational) and the resident (senior living communities refer seniors as “resident”); that topic was to educate...
What is the Difference Between 55+ Communities Versus Independent Livings?
As you may have noticed, the 55+ communities are booming throughout 417 land. The fliers you have received in the mail or seen on social media show these properties to be upscale maintenance free condos/apartments. If you have inquired about pricing, most of them are...
Think You Won’t Need Long-Term Care Insurance…Think Again!
I had a wonderful coffee talk with one of my referral partners this morning. He is a trusted financial advisor in the Springfield area. One of the subjects I brought up was long-term care insurance policies. As a previous nursing home administrator, I am familiar with...
The Word Grace is Synonymous with Hospice
Lately I have been reading the book, The Grace Awakening, by Dr. Charles Swindoll. The book explains in-depth of what the word ‘grace’ means from a Christian standpoint, how it is given to us by God, and how we as Christians should show grace to others. I have always...
Should I Move into a Senior Living Community During the Pandemic?
I am aware many seniors are currently receiving fliers in the mail about moving into a senior living community while it is a seller’s market in the real estate world. My family received a few fliers in the mail of local senior living communities offering special...
Proactive = Less Worry/Better Decisions
As a prior administrator, caregiver to clients and family, I have learned a lot about the long-term care industry as well as estate plan documents, long-term care policies, insurance coverages, what services in town can provide what service and for how much, the...
The H Word!
I want to discuss a program that is part of the long-term care industry and that seems to not get the recognition for how beautiful it is; that program is called Hospice. I have seen families wait too long to get their loved one on hospice, for various of reasons, so...
Holidays Are a Good Time to Discuss Long-Term Care Options
As families are traveling and gathering with their loved ones during the holidays, this is a special time to possibly initiate the discussion of long-term care options for older parents/grandparents. Families that live out of town or out of state and come to visit...
What Does Senior Living Guidance Look For While Touring A Community?
There is a lot to take in when you are touring a new community and asking questions; the experience can be quite overwhelming. While I was touring majority of the Greene and Christian County communities, at the end of each day I was having difficulty keeping...
What is Skilled Nursing (SNF)?
What is skilled nursing? Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) (how do you say SNF?…sounds like ‘sniff’) are for individuals that need short-term rehabilitation (physical, occupational or speech therapy and nursing services) after being discharged from a hospital. The...