Losing more than 100,000 Americans in three months to a virus that wasn’t even known when 2020 began seems unfathomable. The New York Times illustrated the gravity of the pandemic with its arresting front page of the names of roughly 1% of those who di… Continue reading
COVID-19 is sweeping through nursing homes all over the country, bringing death and chaos in its wake. “If you had told me six months ago that this was the situation we were going to find ourselves in, I would’ve said you’re reading too much science fi… Continue reading
As modern living as we know it is drastically changing during this pandemic, so is assisted living. Already, many of us are facing difficult decisions about whether someone we know should stay in an assisted living facility or be taken out due to the c… Continue reading
As confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to spread across the U.S., concern for our own health and our loved ones’ health is understandably high. It’s especially worrisome for older adults, who are more vulnerable to this infection; fo… Continue reading
Medicare changed its payment policy for physical, occupational and speech therapy in skilled nursing facilities Oct. 1, 2019, moving to a new system called the Patient-Driven Payment Model (P.D.P.M.). It dramatically altered how companies that provide … Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This is the second story in a two-part series on how to cope with the eviction of a loved one from a nursing home or other long-term care facility. The first story is Nursing Home Eviction? Know Your Loved One’s Rights.) Sally Caldwell’… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is the first of a two-part series on how to cope with the eviction of a loved one from a nursing home or other long-term care facility. Next up: what to do if your loved one is being evicted from a nursing home.) Moving a lov… Continue reading
Here are two eye-popping facts: Someone turning 65 will have a nearly 70% chance of needing long-term care in the future. And the annual cost of a private room in a nursing home (national median) is over $100,000 a year, according to the recent Genwort… Continue reading
In the 1970s, many teenage boomers practically lived at the mall, trying on clothes at The Gap, eating pretzels at Hot Sam’s and buying albums at Tower Records. Little did they know that by 2029, they might literally be living at the mall. Converting s… Continue reading
Medicare paid for Betty Gordon’s knee replacement surgery in March, but the 72-year-old former high school teacher needed a nursing home stay and care at home to recover. Yet Medicare wouldn’t pay for that. So Gordon is stuck with a $7,000 bill she can… Continue reading