Parentgiving: Powers of Attorney Explained

A Power of Attorney allows one to designate another person or organization to act on one’s behalf to handle financial, legal or medical if one is unavilable or unable to do so.  The person designated is known as the attorney-in-fact.  There are many types of powers of attorney, including general power of attorney, limited power [...]

Parentgiving: 5 Tips to Prevent Medical Errors

The “July Effect” is a very real phenomenon in teaching hospitals across the country. This is the time when graduates, fresh out of medical school, begin their residencies. It is also when there is a 10 percent increase in preventable, accidental medical errors in hospitals. Researchers from UC San Diego and UCLA did a recent [...]

Does Dad Have Dementia? Ten Symptoms to Watch For

The onset and development of memory loss and dementia can be your biggest concern as a child and caregiver for your parent. Sometimes taking care of the physical and organizational aspects of your parent’s aging process are tiring, but the idea of losing that person cognitively can be almost unbearable. Unfortunately, many of us have [...]

Advance Directives For Health Care Explained

Advance Directives is the term given to legal documents that detail a person’s preferences regarding health care treatments and decisions, should he or she be unable to make those decisions due to such conditions as unconsciousness or loss of mental capacity. Advance directives typically include at least two documents: the living will and the durable [...]

Caring for Aging Parents: Family Meeting

Coordinating family caregiving responsibilities for aging parents The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving is dedicated to providing family caregivers with the support, training and resources they need to ensure quality care for their aging loved ones. Yet, most caregivers continue to enter the caregiving process with little or no knowledge of what comprehensive geriatric care [...]