"Doesn't Anybody Stay in One Place Anymore..."

www .nia .nih .gov

Question: What is a geriatric care manager, and how can I find one? A friend of mine thought that having a professional “on the scene” to help my dad would take some of the pressure off me.

Professional care managers are usually licensed nurses or social workers who specialize in geriatrics. Some families hire a geriatric care manager to evaluate and assess a parent’s needs and to coordinate care through community resources. The cost of an initial evaluation varies and may be expensive, but depending on your family circumstances, geriatric care managers might offer a useful service. They are a sort of “professional relative” to help you and your family to identify needs and how to meet them. These professionals can also help by leading family discussions about sensitive subjects. 

When interviewing a geriatric care manager, you might want to ask:

• Are you a licensed geriatric care manager?

• Are you a member of the National Association of Professional

Geriatric Care Managers?

• How long have you been providing care management services?

• Are you available for emergencies around the clock?

• Does your company also provide home care services?

• How will you communicate information to me?

• What are your fees? Will you provide information on fees in

writing prior to starting services?

• Can you provide references?

The National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, www.caremanager.org, can help you find a care manager near your family member’s community. You can also call or write the Eldercare Locator for recommendations. In some cases, support groups for diseases related to aging may be able to recommend geriatric care managers who have assisted other families.

Everything is a Reflection of Everything

Faith is my acceptance of His acceptance of me. 

And because He accepts me, I accept me 

And because He accepts you, I accept you.

There is something important here 

But I just can't put my finger on it.

We are told we have all the answers, all that we need, inside of us. 

God lives inside of us and He knows. 

If He is in us and He knows, then somewhere in us, we know too.

I think I am not supposed to take 

Your inability to give me what I need and desire personally, 

But I don't know how to do that.  

If you're the one for me, why is this so hard? 

Love, 

Sarah

The upcoming book, "It's All About You" 

You Can't Change Your Destiny

Welcome to Tarot.com
Scorpio Horoscope for Today

Tuesday.
Circumstances appear to be pushing you into a corner today, but the lightning bolt of awareness strikes just when you start to feel hopeless. Your new perspective changes the rules of the game. You're not restrained by old patterns any longer if you can see yourself in a different light. Ironically, the external situation may stay the same for a while, but at least you are now free to explore alternative options before deciding what to do next.

Medicare & You

Medicare 2011

Everything you might need to know

Call Elderplanning if you want help sorting through the maze.

Plan Long Term Care Coverage

Article: PLAN LONG-TERM-CARE COVERAGE.

Medicaid is a government program which provides assistance to those who cannot afford to pay for their own care out of their income or assets. Many in the community don't apply for benefits because they don't know they qualify.

We often read about how much Medicaid and Medicare programs are struggling. Both programs are going to have to clamp down to find a way to survive, and they will start asking more questions and making more applicants and recipients accountable for their actions. They have no choice if they want to be around for the taxpayers who are currently feeding the funds.

The best planning for Medicaid is done ahead of time. There is nothing wrong with creating a trust as part of an estate plan. There is nothing wrong with transferring or gifting assets to those you love. Don't wait until the unexpected day you are admitted to the nursing home or are told you need 24-hour supervision to put a plan in place.

Start looking at the possibilities as you face your retirement and are doing your long-range planning. Set up that revocable or irrevocable trust ahead of time. Transfer assets to your children - for their future or yours - ahead of time. Take a look at long-term-care insurance, part of a successful long-term-care plan.

The more dollars you have, the more options you have. If you are reading this and are facing care costs and decisions now, you still may have options you don't know about.

Contact a reliable, objective, honest professional to assist you in the proper planning techniques. Care managers will help you sort through the maze of options and costs and help you choreograph a plan that works best for you. Ask if he or she can explain the "penalty period" to you. If he or she can't, he or she is not the right one for you.

Planning ahead with the right advisers will help you avoid disputes at a time when it may be all you can do to get through another day of sickness or disability. We all make better decisions when we are unpressured, healthy and resilient.

Don't waste any more time saying, "It will never happen to me." Hope for the best, plan for the worst, and you will be prepared for the future.

Kate McGahan is executive director of CNY Elderplanning and author of "The Medicaid Primer: What You Need to Know to Apply for and Receive Benefits in New York State."

Elderplanning Testimonial

"Kate McGahan's skill, experience, and availability were invaluable to me in getting my recently widowed mother the care that she needed. My mother unrealistically wanted to continue living alone in her own home, and I did not have the wherewithall to convince her of the clear need for an assisted living arrangement in short driving distance of where I live.

Kate skillfully navigated Mom through a comprehensive three-hour interview to learn of her current situation, needs, and concerns. Kate's professional but relaxed, concerned, attentive manner helped my mother to relax and consider making significant changes that she never would have accepted directly from a family member, even if I had known what to propose and how to say it, which I did not. Kate built such a rapport that Mom asked after her in the days following the interview.

Kate's follow-up written assessment was clear, pointed, balanced, and invaluable to me when taking my mother to new doctors and her new residential care apartment near me in an adjacent state. Her timely, professional assistance illuminated for us the future path my mother needed, and elicited from my mother cooperation that I never would have gotten without Kate's help. Finding Kate was for me the single most important and valuable step in an urgent and critical process."

~George DeVore

Koldin on Pet Trusts

New York State enacted legislation which permits you to provide for your pets after your death. Under this law, you can set aside funds to be held in a Trust to maintain the health, welfare and comfort of your pets.

Under this Pet Trust law, you decide the amount of funds you want to set aside and designate someone (Trustee) to manage the funds and provide for your pets pursuant to the requirements you set forth in the Trust. The Trustee cannot use the funds for any purpose other than to care for your pets.

The Trust must end on the earlier of the death of your pets or within twenty-one years after the date of your death. You designate under the terms of the Trust who inherits the remaining balance of your Pet Trust at the time of termination.

A Pet Trust can be written as part of your Last Will and Testament or as part of the beneficiary provisions of your own Revocable or Irrevocable Living Trust.


Thank you to the Koldin Law Firm in Kirkville New York for this information