Do Not Resuscitate Orders Taken Too Seriously?

Do you have a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) in your medical file? DNRs are legal forms instructing health care providers that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other measures should not be performed in the event that the patient’s heartbeat stops. Typically, DNRs are signed by individuals of advanced age or with chronic illness who don’t want [...]

Where’s My Mom?

Physically, she’s probably sitting at home on the couch watching HGTV or The Biggest Loser. But the mommy I once knew is gone. My mother is battle-tested, and battle-scarred. But that never held her from moving us forward. The last couple of years haven’t been a crystal stair. Hell, neither have the last 40 years. [...]

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 [...]

Use Family Reunions to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Family reunions offer a chance to bond with relatives, learn about your heritage, share recipes, and celebrate with your whole family. When learning about your heritage, it is also important to find out if type 2 diabetes runs in your family. Having a family history of type 2 diabetes increases your risk for developing the [...]

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 [...]

Finding Ways to Care for Your Parent at Home

For many Americans, placing an aging parent or relative into a nursing home is simply not an option. Adult children feel a responsibility and obligation to provide home care for aging or ailing parents or relatives. In addition to working a full-time or part-time job and caring for their own children, these adult children caregivers [...]

August is National Immunization Awareness Month

If you’ve got kids, make sure they have their necessary shots before starting the school year. Adults, we’re not completely off the hook either. August is recognized as National Immunization Awareness Month. The goal: To increase awareness about immunizations across the life span, from infants to the elderly. Parents are enrolling their children in school, [...]

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