Eve Stern's Caregiving Blog

Ten Affordable Gifts for the Holidays: What to buy Mom or Dad living in Assisted Living

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:06:00 GMT

Finding the right gifts for family members is an annual challenge, especially this year when everyone is feeling economic uncertainty. Gift giving is more meaningful when you know that the item you’ve chosen will have personal significance to the recipient. I know I feel as if I am throwing away money when I rush to buy a gift for the sake of getting “something’ for the holiday pilgrimage and family gift exchange.

Savvy consumers may find slow housing market ripe for bargain hunting

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:24:00 GMT

Senior housing assisted living and independent living communities are not immune to the financial and real estate market downturn.

Senior Living Providers Respond to Economic Crisis with Creative Move-in Options for Families

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:47:00 GMT

It is no surprise that the slowed real estate market, failed financial institutions, dried up access to debt and plummeting stock market conditions have all contributed to all-time lows in assisted living stock market valuations.

Home remote monitoring

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:26:00 GMT

Our every-day responsibilities can make it difficult to be there for our parents when they need us, especially as their health begins to require more our attention more often. In response to this issue technologies have come about to help balance duties as a caregiver and life as a busy adult.

Get it in writing and read the contract carefully

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:53:00 GMT

Given the fact that both parents were in their 80’s with mild dementia and other chronic illnesses, we selected a new independent living community which initially represented that they would be adding assisted living within 6 months to a year of opening. When we gave them our down payment, they assured us they had applied for an assisted living license and were just waiting for the survey results.

The search for senior housing

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:11:00 GMT

We hadn’t a clue where to begin the search for senior housing. We started with a geographic search on Google for senior housing and found dozens of websites- mostly advertisements or placement agencies offering to help us find the best options.

Dreading the transition process

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:24:00 GMT

We are all busy people with active lives of our own. When the decision was made to put the folks’ house on the market and to use the proceeds to fund their rent in a retirement community, we wondered how we would downsize 3,000 square feet of lifelong possessions into a 750 square foot apartment.

Perceptions versus reality of the new face of senior housing

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:29:00 GMT

Despite the fact that I have a nursing background and had worked in a nursing home early in my career, I had no knowledge about alternative options for assisted living or residential care home that cater to older Americans.

Triggers for the senior housing conversation

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:32:00 GMT

It’s never easy to approach the discussion about the possibility of moving a loved one into senior housing. My own experience with my in-laws brought this issue much closer to home and lead to the development of a checklist to help others broach the conversation.

A bit of background from my life as a caregiver

snapforseniors@snapforseniors.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:24:00 GMT

We are called the sandwich generation - 34 million Americans like me caring for dependent parents. Just when I thought our four kids in their 20’s had reached a desired level of social and financial independence, we find ourselves experiencing the unexpected calling to care for our parents with similar needs to those of our children when they were young.