If your loved one requires a Medicaid bed in the Chicago metropolitan area and the payor source is Public Aid Pending (PAP), you may be in for a difficult encounter. What do I mean by Public Aid Pending? It means that an individual needs the support of the Medicaid program…
I have been receiving a fair number of requests to assist families with the placement of loved ones who have psychiatric issues. Many of them have had episodes with violent behaviors. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions to these types of placement problems, and under no circumstances do these placements…
As a senior living advisor, I recommend that my clients who are at the independent living or assisted living level take a trial stay at a long-term care community before they make a commitment to move in. This will allow a senior to sample the food, try the activities, socialize…
A recent article published in the Washington Post portrays a very biased picture of assisted living communities. The writer is a former Zen monk and journalist. I encourage you to read the article and take note of the facts that were left out of his side of the story. The…
There are approximately 44 million Americans who are caring for an elderly loved one. A recent article written by Terry Savage and published in the Chicago Sun Times cites that between one and two million people over the age of 65 have been abused by someone who cares for them.…
I have been hired to find an assisted living community with a memory care component for a client in southern Cook county or Will County in Illinois. Defined in general terms, assisted living with memory care is an extension of assisted living that caters to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or…
There are many seniors who prefer to stay in the comfort of their own homes rather than move to a retirement community. Non-medical home care agencies will send a private caregiver to your loved one’s home to assist with activities of daily living (bathing, dressing,walking, transferring, toileting, eating), light housekeeping,…
My friends and prospective clients who have parents who aren’t ready for senior housing placement often ask me questions about non-clinically licensed home health caregivers. The question I’m most often asked is, “Why can’t I just hire the nice lady from across the street to take care of Mom/Dad? It…
I recently worked with a family whose Dad contracted an infection in his foot. The infection lead to further complications coupled with the fact that he had mid-stage Alzheimer’s disease. He was using his Medicare days in a nursing home. His wife was very dissatisfied with the care he was…
The cost long term care can be exorbitant. Aside from the typical ways of paying for long-term care (private pay, long-term care insurance, Medicare, Medicaid; some of which may not apply to all of the above), there is a little known benefit provided by Department of Veterans Affairs. It is…