Tag: Aging

What is a SNF?

“Nursing Facilities are for people who don’t have loved ones to care for them.” “Nursing Homes smell horrible.” “Once you go in a nursing home, you never leave.” “I would never put my mom in a nursing home.”

When In Doubt…Ask

Franklin, an 85-year-old retired banker, fell in his yard cutting grass and hurt his back.  He was taken, by ambulance, to the local hospital to be treated.  For the next three days, Franklin was in a hospital bed, getting tests, hospital food, and medications to help ease his pain. 

Life Begins in a Retirement Community

Mrs. Smith did not know that the call she was going to make to a retirement community this morning was going to completely transform her overall health and well-being. She is a very active lady that lives alone in a large home that she and her deceased husband have lived in for over 40 years. There are many memories and a lot of “stuff” that has accumulated over the years.

Welcome to the Club

On February 27 my Dad died, and I became a member of a club I had avoided for 63 years. I know hundreds, maybe even thousands of members of this club and have walked with many of them on their journey through the loss of a parent.

Senior Games

In January, my singing partner Cindy Ballaro asked me if I’d ever heard of the Senior Games or the Silver Arts competition. I had not heard of either one.  

Myths & Facts about Hospices

As a Strategic Account Manager for Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region I like to start many of my educational in-services and community events with a question: “What do you think of when you hear the word ‘hospice’?”  As you can imagine, depending on the crowd I receive a multitude of answers to that question.  Based on these answers I wanted to share some of the most common hospice myths and misconceptions that our staff must overcome when educating the Charlotte community about end of life care.

Money Follows the Person Changes Lives

Money Follows the Person (MFP) is a state project that helps Medicaid-eligible North Carolinians who live in inpatient facilities (e.g., nursing homes, intermediate care facilities) move into their own homes and communities with supports.

Home Care Activities for People with Dementia

Cognitive health is a person’s ability to think, learn and remember. The most common cognitive health issue facing the elderly is the loss of those cognitive functions, or dementia.