In my conversations with people who are exploring their senior living options, I've had many people ask about which states have the best long-term care. The Long-Term Services & Supports State Scorecard for 2020 puts some objective numbers to this common query. The scorecard was produced by the AARP Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, and The [...]
We’ve all seen the images of loved ones separated by plexiglass (or using FaceTime) as they experience life’s important moments. Whether it be celebrating a birthday, graduation, or a wedding, or mourning a loss, the pandemic has forced us all to rethink how we support one another…from a distance. This issue is perhaps even more [...]
When someone is seriously ill, either with a chronic disease or an acute health condition, their loved ones are often tasked with making a series of difficult choices. Among these may be decisions about long-term care, which many times, they are unprepared to make either emotionally or because they lack good information. In such uncharted [...]
In a recent blog post, I shared the results of an interesting study out of Washington State University that found that where you live can influence your lifespan. It looked at people’s gender, race, and education level, as well as locales’ walkability, socioeconomics, and working-age population and tied it to the number of centenarians in [...]
A big part of the decision to move to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC or life plan community) has to do with security. Residents are making a large investment, and in exchange, they are given access to a continuum of care services should they need them in the future. As a result, CCRC prospects [...]
Is it possible that where you live could determine how healthy you are and how long you live? There’s mounting evidence that the answer to this question may be yes. I’ve written before about so-called “Blue Zones” — areas around the world that have a higher-than-average number of centenarians (people reaching age 100+). A recent [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every aspect of life with many people becoming sick, losing loved ones, losing jobs, and/or struggling with childcare. Throughout all of this, I have been mindful of how the pandemic is affecting people mentally, especially seniors who are in the highest-risk category for the virus. And I’ve also wondered [...]
While inquisitiveness is a trait found in many members of the animal kingdom, human intelligence leads us to learn about the world, at least in part, by asking questions. And it starts at a young age. In fact, researchers in Britain have found that children ask a daily average of 73 questions. For those of [...]
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” -- Fred Rogers (a.k.a., Mr. Rogers) There is plenty of bad news to go around lately. From news updates on COVID-19 to stories [...]
Many older Americans worked hard for decades, rarely taking time off. This is why one of the activities that people often look forward to with their retirement is having the freedom to travel. So that raises the question: Is it safe for seniors to be travelling right now? Or should seniors hit the breaks on [...]
