Category: Living Arrangements (Page 2 of 2)

House Calls Provide Better Care and Save Money. Why Don’t More Use Them?

October 1, 2019 / drussellcfp

At least 2 million older adults would benefit from home-based primary care, according to Health Affairs. Because these patients have difficulty getting to an office visit, they frequently end up in emergency rooms or hospitals.

Per-patient savings range from $1,000 to $4,000 annually through reduced hospital and nursing home stays, emergency room trips and specialist visits, according to research cited by the American Academy of Home Care Medicine.

According to the American Academy of Home Care Medicine, the CMS Independence at Home Demonstration, part of the Affordable Care Act, estimated that Medicare would save $10 to $15 billion total over a 10-year period if home-based primary care were extended nationally to those on Medicare who are homebound.

Source: House Calls Provide Better Care and Save Money. Why Don’t More Use Them?

Estate Planning Pitfalls for Older Couples Living Together.

September 16, 2019 / drussellcfp

An increasing number of Americans ages 50 and older are in cohabiting relationships, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of the Current Population Survey. In fact, cohabiters ages 50 and older represented about a quarter (23%) of all cohabiting adults in 2016. One reason could be the adult children’s rejection to their older parent’s marriage, especially if the relationship formed soon after the death of the other parent. Approximately 23% of cohabiters over age 65 are widowed.

However, as with many things in life, what seems simple — living together — is often quite complex. Unmarried couples, of all sexual orientations, can face a variety of problematic and emotionally difficult issues because estate planning laws are written to favor married couples.

Unmarried partners need to consider the following issues related to estate planning and living together:

Medical incapacity: In the absence of a durable power of attorney for healthcare, non-married individuals may be treated as “legal strangers” and unable to make healthcare decisions on behalf of their partner.
Living arrangements: If the wealthier partner dies or becomes incapacitated with no provision for the other partner to remain in the home (by a will or title) the other partner can be forced from the home by blood kin.
Dying without a will: Intestacy laws (state laws that determine where a deceased’s property goes when there is no will) are not favorable to unmarried partners.
Employer Retirement Plans: Plans like 401k’s, profit sharing, and pension plans, as well as group life insurance plans are governed by a federal law known as ERISA. This law requires that a spouse be the beneficiary of these plans in the event of the employee’s death unless waived by the spouse. No such protection is afforded unmarried partners unless the partner is listed on the Plan’s beneficiary form.

For more, see Brad Wiewel, The Legal Dangers of Living Together, Next Avenue, August 28, 2019.

Why Aren’t More Women Working? They’re Caring for Parents

September 5, 2019 / drussellcfp

A recent New York Times article profiles the lives of women who have no other option than to drop out of the work-force to care for an aging parent, at significant cost to the economy.

The burden of care for aging relatives is reshaping the lives of millions of others. About 15 percent of women and 13 percent of men 25 to 54 years old spend time caring for an older relative, according to the Labor Department. Among those 55 to 64, the share rises to one in five Americans. And 20 percent of these caregivers also have children at home.

Yes Virginia…This is a Holiday Inn

September 4, 2019 / drussellcfp

According to a study released by the U.S. Census Bureau, more Millennials are living with their parents more than in any other living arrangement, with one in three 18-34-year-olds living at home. Add to this the fact that according to The National Alliance for Caregiving, about 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the last 12 months, and you have the classic description of the sandwich generation.

Among the findings from the Census Bureau study:

In the 1970s, 8 in 10 people married by the time they turned 30. Today, not until the age of 45 have 8 in 10 people married.
In 2005, the majority of young adults lived independently in their own household, which was the predominant living arrangement in 35 states. A decade later, by 2015, the number of states where the majority of young people lived independently fell to just six.
More young men are falling to the bottom of the income ladder. In 1975, only 25 percent of men, aged 25 to 34, had incomes of less than $30,000 per year. By 2016, that share rose to 41 percent of young men. (Incomes for both years are in 2015 dollars.)
Between 1975 and 2016, the share of young women who were homemakers fell from 43 percent to 14 percent of all women aged 25 to 34.

And the one that really sticks out to me…

Of young people living in their parents’ home, 1 in 4 are idle, that is they neither go to school nor work. This figure represents about 2.2 million 25- to 34-year-olds.

Reminds me of this classic commercial.

Nursing Home Staffing Reports for all 50 States

August 29, 2019 / drussellcfp

The Long Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving quality of care, quality of life and dignity for elderly and disabled people in nursing homes, assisted living and other residential settings.

LTCCC focuses on systemic advocacy, researching national and state policies, laws and regulations in order to identify relevant issues and develop meaningful recommendations to improve quality, efficiency and accountability. In addition to providing a foundation for advocacy, LTCCC uses this research and the resulting recommendations to educate policymakers, consumers and the general public. Consumer, family and LTC Ombudsman empowerment are fundamental to our mission.

LTCCC’s work is grounded in its organization as a New York State based coalition of consumer, community, civic and professional organizations, bringing together these different stakeholders to identify & address the systemic issues that affect quality of care and dignity in long-term care.

Click on the links below to download easy-to-use files for each state. Each file includes information on: Each facility’s direct care RN, LPN, and CNA staffing levels; Staffing levels for important non-nursing staff, including administrators and activities staff; and The extent to which the facility relies on contract workers to provide resident care.To facilitate

Source: Nursing Home Staffing 2019 Q1 – Nursing Home 411

Caregiver Burnout

August 28, 2019 / drussellcfp

What is caregiver burnout?

Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion. It may be accompanied by a change in attitude, from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned. Burnout can occur when caregivers don’t get the help they need, or if they try to do more than they are able, physically or financially. Many caregivers also feel guilty if they spend time on themselves rather than on their ill or elderly loved ones. Caregivers who are “burned out” may experience fatigue, stress, anxiety and depression.

What causes caregiver burnout?

Caregivers often are so busy caring for others that they tend to neglect their own emotional, physical and spiritual health. The demands on a caregiver’s body, mind and emotions can easily seem overwhelming, leading to fatigue, hopelessness and ultimately burnout. Other factors that can lead to caregiver burnout include:

Role confusion: Many people are confused when thrust into the role of caregiver. It can be difficult for a person to separate her role as caregiver from her role as spouse, lover, child, friend or another close relationship.
Unrealistic expectations: Many caregivers expect their involvement to have a positive effect on the health and happiness of the patient. This may be unrealistic for patients suffering from a progressive disease, such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.
Lack of control: Many caregivers become frustrated by a lack of money, resources and skills to effectively plan, manage and organize their loved one’s care.
Unreasonable demands: Some caregivers place unreasonable burdens upon themselves, in part because they see providing care as their exclusive responsibility. Some family members such as siblings, adult children or the patient himself/herself may place unreasonable demands on the caregiver. They also may disregard their own responsibilities and place burdens on the person identified as primary caregiver.
Other factors: Many caregivers cannot recognize when they are suffering burnout and eventually get to the point where they cannot function effectively. They may even become sick themselves.

What are the symptoms of caregiver burnout?

The symptoms of caregiver burnout are similar to the symptoms of stress and depression. They include:

Withdrawal from friends, family and other loved ones
Loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed
Feeling blue, irritable, hopeless and helpless
Changes in appetite, weight or both
Changes in sleep patterns
Getting sick more often
Feelings of wanting to hurt yourself or the person for whom you are caring
Emotional and physical exhaustion
Irritability

Source: Caregiver Burnout | Cleveland Clinic

Senators slam abuse in nursing homes; criticize CMS over reporting requirements

August 15, 2019 / drussellcfp

If there’s anything that will bring a bipartisan group of U.S. senators together, it’s the topic of abuse in nursing homes and a hearing Tuesday was proof yet again.Abuse deficiencies cited in nursing homes more than doubled in four years, increasing from 430 in 2013 to 875 in 2017, a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday found. The most common physical and verbal abuse was by staff, at 58%, investigators said.

Source: Senators slam abuse in nursing homes; criticize CMS over reporting requirements – McKnight’s Long Term Care News