Nursing Home Eviction? Know Your Loved One’s Rights

(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

How a ‘Care Ecosystem’ Supports Dementia Patients and Caregivers

In recent years, we’ve seen a greater awareness in the U.S. and the world about the increasing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. And we’ve learned a lot more about the emotional and financial difficulties their family membe… Continue reading

Years Caring for His Wife Transformed This Doctor’s View of Health Care

Caring for someone with a serious illness stretches people spiritually and emotionally, often beyond what they might have thought possible. Dr. Arthur Kleinman, a professor of psychiatry and anthropology at Harvard University, calls this “enduring the … Continue reading

7 Things You Can Do to Reduce Your Risk of Dementia

  During the last Alzheimer’s disease support meeting I attended at my mother’s assisted living center, I sheepishly asked if anyone else was worried about their own risk for the disease A lot of hands went up. At age 65, your risk of being diagnosed w… Continue reading

Why It’s Best to Involve People With Early Stage Dementia in Care Planning

(Editor’s note: This article is part of an editorial partnership between Next Avenue and the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, a Cleveland-based nonprofit whose mission is to advance support for older adults and caregivers.) Receiving a diagnosis of ea… Continue reading

VIDEO: How an Art Program Brings Joy to People With Alzheimer’s

(Editor’s Note: This video and transcript were previously published by PBS NewsHour.) Nearly 6 million Americans currently live with Alzheimer’s disease, and the number continues to rise. For many, this terminal diagnosis represents the start of a life… Continue reading

Alzheimer’s Experts Express Cautious Optimism About New Drug

Do people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families dare hope that a drug which delays the start of the disease or slows its progression will actually be available soon? Or should they manage expectations — based on 20 years of false starts — when it… Continue reading

Study Finds Way to Catch Signs of Cognitive Decline in More Women

Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t happen overnight. Symptoms appear gradually, starting with a condition called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). People with MCI may have a cluster of mild problems but can still function on their own. They might forget appoin… Continue reading

Rural Social Worker Develops Internationally Known Anti-Frailty Program

Janice Lundy knew she had to do something. As a social worker at Perry County Memorial Hospital in rural Missouri, she watched too many older residents end up in nursing homes more quickly than they should. She was also concerned about the number of me… Continue reading

How to Be a Friend to Someone Who Is Lonely

Hope Reiner has more than 30 years of experience working in the fields of geriatrics and dementia as a certified practitioner. But it was the time she spent caring for her own mother during her journey with Alzheimer’s disease which made Reiner fully r… Continue reading