Jul 15 Long-term care costs vary greatly by state and type By Laura Santhanam, Megan Crigger It's not a surprise that long-term care can be expensive, but the cost differences based on location, level of care and comfort are staggering, according to recent reports. Continue reading
Jul 13 Officials propose new rules for nursing home care By Susan Jaffe, Kaiser Health News After nearly 30 years, the Obama administration wants to modernize the rules nursing homes must follow to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid payments. Continue reading
Jul 09 Once politically toxic, Medicare plans to cover end-of-life counseling By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Matt Sedensky, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Six years ago, a proposal for Medicare to cover end-of-life counseling touched off a political uproar that threatened to stall President Barack Obama's health care law in Congress. This week, when Medicare finally announced it would make the… Continue reading
Jul 06 How a chance encounter with ‘Hef’ led an aspiring journalist to become Miss October 1964 By Kathleen McCleery The last person you expect to meet at a Mexican nursing home is a Playboy centerfold. Continue reading
Jun 30 QUIZ: What do inspection reports reveal about America’s nursing homes? By Laura Santhanam A new database from the investigative non-profit news organization, ProPublica, tracks the quality of nursing homes nationwide based on government inspection reports. Take our quiz that draws on the database's findings and see if you can guess where America's nursing… Continue reading
Jun 19 What I wish my dad said before he died By Jack Ohman, The Sacramento Bee Growing up, Jack Ohman often saw his father with a drink in his hand and little energy to dote over his son. Decades of alcohol consumption left his dad with an entangled series of disabling health problems. In turn, Ohman… Continue reading
Jun 11 How to find care for LGBT seniors By Leah Eskenazi, Family Caregiver Alliance While LGBT seniors face many issues shared among all older adults and those who care for them, a number of specific factors should be considered. Continue reading
Jun 05 How to let go when a loved one is dying By Bonnie Lawrence, Family Caregiver Alliance Even after the conversations are held and legal documents completed, reaching acceptance that a person is dying is a difficult path for the individual who is ill as well as for their family members. Continue reading
Jun 04 Millennials make up substantial share of America’s caregivers By Laura Santhanam Nearly 40 million Americans offer unpaid care to an adult friend or relative, and of those, Millennials make up a major part of this group, according to a report issued today by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. Continue reading
May 26 The last time I went fishing with my dad By Jack Ohman, The Sacramento Bee Cartoonist Jack Ohman’s aging father was in no condition to go fishing, but when his dad said he wanted to go, Ohman spent days figuring out how to make the trip happen. Continue reading