The best thing you can do when caring for parents is to prepare in advance so you understand your parent’s wishes and are well-educated about community resources that can help you provide your parents with the best possible care. However, many adult children just aren’t prepared, have no idea where to start looking for help and maybe aren’t even exactly sure what kind of help they need. If you fall into that latter category, don’t worry. Take a deep breath, exhale and read on. read more >

We all cherish our independence and like the old adage goes, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Want to stay put at home as long as humanly possible? Prevention is the key. Understanding how accidents happen to most people is the first step to making sure they don’t happen to you. read more >

David’s words of wisdom for caregivers who are currently taking care of their own family members in their home. Some of this insight can also be applied to caregivers working with other families as well. Hopefully you are able to get some encouragement and support by reading this. read more >

I don’t need to tell you that taking care of a loved one is physically and mentally exhausting. It certainly wouldn’t be a stretch to say that care giving is the hardest job many of us will ever have. And while it’s important not to overlook the benefits of care giving – the selfless giving of oneself to care for someone you love – there may come a day when your loved one needs more help than you are able to give. That’s where long-term care comes in and there’s no better time than the present to start planning. read more >

The primary goal of a professional caregiver is to provide the best possible care and the highest quality of life for the care recipient. Finding the right care seeker-caregiver match will put you well on your way to making this happen. read more >

The emotional and physical demands of caring for someone 24/7 are far too overwhelming for one person to handle alone – at least they are if you want to maintain your health and sanity. It’s not uncommon for the stresses of care giving to take a serious toll on our physical and emotional well-being. Studies link high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, depression and other health ailments with care giving. Respite care could be your saving grace. read more >

As many as 5.3 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s. That figure is expected to increase significantly as baby boomers reach the age of 65 and our country turns grey. The responsibility of caring for those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s typically falls on female family members. read more >

One of the many indicators of a quality caregiver is one’s ability to ask questions in order to get a better understanding of the situation. If you are doing a phone or in-person interview with a potential caregiver, think about how important is for this potential caregiver to get to the bottom of what your family’s situation is…they need to know exactly what is going on in your life so that they can formulate an approach to meeting your needs. read more >