Staff

Do You have your Power of Attorney Yet?

Submitted by Jeffrey W Schmidt, Schmitz & Schmidt

Signing a Power of Attorney is critical to manage the possibility that you might become incapacitated. Horror stories are everywhere, but in most cases the Power of Attorney is not abused. In most cases, the Power of Attorney proves to be an invaluable tool when disability strikes.

A Power of Attorney is a private agreement signed by the “Principal” who shares financial authority to the “Attorney-in-Fact.” Often this is a trusted loved-one who always acts in the Principal’s best interests. The law not only requires the Attorney-in-Fact to act in the Principal’s best interests but gives the Principal power to revoke the Power of Attorney at any time. Without a Power of Attorney, a Court names a Conservator through an expensive, time consuming and public process.

Legal Posted by Staff 14 Apr 2013 / 0 comments

Put More Happiness in Your Life

Submitted by Jodi Melsness, Home Care Solutions

Here are some quick and simple ways to put more happiness into your life.

Choose Your Attitude and Invest in Yourself

Practice appreciation. It is the purest form of love.
Make your own choices. Freedom brings happiness.
Lead with your strengths. Cultivate what you do well.
“Talk yourself happy”. Words affect our emotions and energy.
Invest in yourself. Balance work, health and relationships.

Health Care Posted by Staff 14 Apr 2013 / 0 comments

Creating a Personal Record Book

Submitted by Kathy Green, A Little Help

Consider this: you are in a serious car accident. You end up in the hospital hooked up to all sorts of tubes and learn that your rehabilitation cannot be done at home. In a flash, your life is turned upside down and you are unexpectedly away from home for several weeks.

How about this: you have been caring for your aging parents. Your mother becomes dizzy one day and falls. Your father, in struggling to get your mother up off the floor, collapses from a stroke. Several hours later you stop in to see that everything is o.k. Obviously, their lives and yours have been changed in an instant.

General Posted by Staff 14 Apr 2013 / 0 comments

Finding a Way to Keep Your Older Loved One at Home

Jodi Melsness, Home Care Solutions

A fall that breaks a hip or an ankle, forgetting to take medication on time, needing assistance with bathing and grooming might mean your elderly family member shouldn’t be living alone anymore. You do know that she is far too healthy for a nursing home and has always wanted to stay in her home.

Senior advocacy groups call it “aging in place”—staying in comfortable and familiar surroundings even if aging diminishes your ability to perform the tasks of daily routines that once came so easily.

Health Care / Housing Posted by Staff 14 Apr 2013 / 0 comments

Avoiding the Next Hospital Readmission

Written by Chris Austin, My Life LLC

Most adults over the age of 65 don’t relish the idea of being admitted to the hospital. What’s worse is the thought of having to be readmitted again within a short period of time. Unfortunately, for many Medicare recipients over the age of 65, this is a common phenomenon that healthcare professionals kindly refer to as ‘the revolving door’.

Until recently, little data existed to track the prevalence of avoidable hospital readmissions in the United States. However, last year a study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine that set federal regulatory agencies to the task of fixing what has now become a nation-wide healthcare problem. According to the study, 1 in 10 Medicare recipients over the age of 65 is avoidably readmitted to the hospital within 30 days after their discharge. And the chances for an avoidable readmission increase over time.

Health Care Posted by Staff 14 Apr 2013 / 0 comments

Using Geriatric Care Management

Written by Chris Austin, MA, BS, LSW, CSWCM and

President of My Life, LLC Professional Geriatric

Care Management

While the concept of Geriatric Care Management has been around for the past 20 years or so, it is becoming a rapidly growing senior service. Geriatric Care Management is the art of supporting an elderly individual to remain in the least restrictive environment for as long as possible while anticipating future needs and preventing crisis situations. A Geriatric Care Manager is a professional who assesses the physical, cognitive, social, spiritual and economic needs of an aging person, and coordinates a network of services to address those needs. This ultimately reduces or eliminates unnecessary costs and improves quality of life for seniors and their families.

Health Care Posted by Staff 14 Apr 2013 / 0 comments