(This is a personal essay by retired pastor Larry Patten, who now works in a Fresno, Calif., hospice facility.) Answering the innocent question of what I do for a living can kill a conversation. I work in hospice services, and have visited people in th… Continue reading
I handled all the household finances and bills throughout my 32-year-marriage to my husband, Dale. But when he suddenly died of a massive heart attack at 57 last year, I was so traumatized by the loss, I couldn’t think clearly about managing his life i… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a series for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) When was the last time you felt truly satisfied with a health care experience? If you’re lucky, maybe you live in a state or an area with exceptional access to the hig… Continue reading
When my mom passed away, having established guidelines for my early grieving process was a relief, giving me concrete steps to take and tasks to do. Several years on, my grief is different — less sharp, but still punctuated with unexpected moments and … Continue reading
The world turned upside down 10 years ago for Chanel Reynolds, a Seattle-based digital strategist, when her husband José Hernando, then 43, died in the hospital, a week after a bicycle accident. But the tumult involved far more than becoming a widow wi… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a series for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Health care is a huge priority for Next Avenue — always, but especially right now. Specifically, how health care can do a better job serving older Americans, and how o… Continue reading
When I worked as a professor of business management, my mentor, Elmer Burack, once told me, “The world is full of baby boomers who will be leaving their careers. Once boomers leave the workplace, they won’t know what to do with themselves. You can help… Continue reading
On the March afternoon when her wife Sandy Swanson died of cancer, Liz Mattern knew who to call. A few hours later, two technicians arrived to remove Swanson’s body. As planned, her remains were bequeathed to a medical school through its whole-body don… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This content is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation, a Next Avenue funder.) As you get older, your medical care can ripple across every aspect of your life. It might be a prescription that makes you too tired for dinner with the… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a series for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Dr. Subhechchha Shah recently saw an 80-year-old patient with a long list of medical ills, including chronic pain from multiple back surgeries, Parkinson’s disease and… Continue reading