Grand Rapids area SarahCare events

Monday March 21, 2011  Adult Children caring for Parents Group at Cornerstone Church (84th and Kalamazoo) 7-8pm

Thursday March 24, 2011 7-9  SarahCare Support Group - The Memory Loss Tapes and discussion to follow - A great documententary if you have not already seen it!

Thursday April 14, 2011  10am-11am  Alzheimer's Support Group at St. Paul's United Methodist Church on Breton Ave.  

Kendra S. Schumaker MSW, LMSW (Executive Director)
SarahCare Adult Day Center, Metro Health Village
2024 Health Drive, Suite B, Wyoming, MI 49519
Phone: 616.530.6700

Elder Life Planning Seminar with a COMPLIMENTARY Italian Dinner

WHERE: Pietro’s Italian Restaurant - 2780 Birchcrest Dr SE Grand Rapids (off 28^th St)

DATE: Wednesday, January 26, 2011

TIME: 5:30 – 7:00 pm

The evening’s topics include:

· Elder Law Solutions

§ Estate Planning Documents

§ Medicaid/Medicare Planning

§ Social Security - Disability and Retirement

§ Tapping into Government Benefits

§ Caregiver Contracts & Long Term Care Solutions

· Why Updated Powers of Attorney are More Important than Ever

· Tax Strategies for Today’s Seniors

These topics are a growing concern for many people. Please join us for a delicious dinner and important life planning information. ALL AT NO COST, BUT YOU MUST RSVP--ATTENDEE SPACE IS LIMITED!

This event will be held in Pietro’s exquisite private Garden Room and includes a complimentary Italian dinner (salad, breadsticks, pasta, beverage) and a drawing for a FREE Simple Estate Plan which includes a Will, Power of Attorney and Designation of Patient Advocate – a $695 value!!

For Reservations Contact: Jeremy Johnson Phone: 616-458-3994 jjohnson@pmalawpc.com

Home Or Nursing Home: America's Empty Promise To Give Elderly, Disabled A Choice

There's been a quiet revolution in the way the elderly and young people with disabilities get long-term health care. A new legal right has emerged for people in the Medicaid program to get that care at home, not in a nursing home. States, slowly, have started spending more on this "home and community based care." But there are barriers to change: Federal policies are contradictory and states face record budget deficits. As a result, for many in nursing homes — or trying to avoid entering one — this means the promise to live at home remains an empty promise. National Public Radio

Don't miss out on early bird registration

Early bird discounts for the LIFT Caregiver Conference end September 30. Save $5!

Movie: Make Way for Tomorrow

This sensitively rendered and sentimental movie, shown recently on Turner Classic Movies, explores themes that will resonate with the "sandwich generation."

A devoted couple faces the harsh economic realities of growing older. Four of the five children of septuagenarian couple Barkley and Lucy Cooper gather to learn that their parents have lost their house. Expecting the children will soon find them a permanent home, Barkley and Lucy each go to live with a different child. Lucy unwittingly disrupts the home life of her well-meaning son George and his wife Anita by interfering with Anita's career as a bridge teacher and causing George and Anita's reckless daughter Rhoda to stop bringing her male friends home. When Rhoda's promiscuity leads the family to the brink of scandal, Anita convinces George to investigate the possibility of putting Lucy in a home for the aged, as efforts to unite Barkley and Lucy in the home of daughter Nellie Chase have foundered on the resistance of Nellie's husband. Three hundred miles away, Barkley's presence has so distressed his mean-spirited daughter Cora that she distorts a doctor's report to convince the family that Barkley must live in California with his daughter Addie. Resigning herself to permanent separation from Barkley, Lucy agrees to enter a home for the aged. The couple spends five joyous hours together in the city before the train to California separates husband and wife forever.

In this issue of Right at Home

• Home Care Helps Seniors Manage Painful Conditions
• New Book Examines Issues of Caregiver Siblings
• Drowsiness, Staring and Other Mental Lapses May Signal Alzheimer's Disease
• When Measuring Medicines, Not All Spoons are Created Equal
• On the Horizon: New Technologies to Keep Seniors Safer, Healthier

Get to Know: Elder Care Connect

Elder Care Connect is dedicated to providing commendable, quality home care in a respectful, affectionate and compassionate manner whenever and wherever it is needed, to allow individuals to live a healthy and peaceful life with dignity, privacy and comfort. Subscribe to receive a free elder-care tips ebook.

Editor: Just got the free ebook. It's related to resources specifically in the Philadelphia area.

Get to Know: In-Law Suite

In-LawSuite.com can help you find the answers to your questions about elder care at home, help guide you to solutions that are right for you and your loved one, and help you take the first steps toward piece of mind for you and independence for your loved one.

First Steps for Elder Home Care, Part 1

What are the warning signs that may indicate that your loved one may need some extra care? What are the benefits that elder home care can provide? What steps do you need to take once a decision has been made regarding senior care? In-Law Suite; Part 2

Guide to Dementia Care and Alzheimr’s Care at Home, Part 1

Caring for a parent, grandparent or other aging loved one who is mentally and physically healthy can be challenging at times. Add Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia to the equation and the task of providing elder care becomes particularly daunting. There are many things that can be done, however, to make home care less difficult. In-Law Suite; part 2

What Is a Caregiver Contract?

It is essentially an employment agreement with one’s children. It may seem odd to put an employment agreement in place with family members, but it puts all the issues on paper when there is no crisis, so the entire family can work together and understand what the parents’ wishes are. Learn more.

Taking care of parents without going broke

About 30 percent of adult children in the United States contribute financially to their parents’ care, according to the Pew Research Center. This article describes how to begin to take advantage of the hundreds of government and nonprofit programs and services geared to the elderly throughout the country. NY Times

Proclaiming the Gospel by Caring for Our Elderly

As Tertullian wrote roughly 1,800 years ago, “it is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ” What better opportunity to demonstrate how this new life in Christ has transformed us—reorienting our priorities away from self to others—than by how we care for the aging within the community of God’s people? In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he stresses this responsibility toward the elderly and widows in particular. Such care is not merely a nice option if it’s convenient or affordable but a serious and universal command. Center for Christ & Culture

Son confesses: I killed my mum

Sean Davison published a book last month about his 85-year-old mother's final days, without disclosing the role he played after his mother summoned him home to Dunedin to help her die. However, a copy of his original manuscript, supplied anonymously to the Herald on Sunday this week, contains the incriminating details that were deleted from the book. Davison, 47, this week verified the manuscript's authenticity, and said he did not fear police charges. New Zealand Herald

Get to Know: Caring.com

Caring.com provides "the practical information, easy-to-use tools, and personal support you need during this challenging time. Our seasoned executive team, editors, and technical staff have decades of experience producing award-winning health and family publications. But perhaps more important is that nearly all of us have first-hand experience as caregivers. We know well the day-in, day-out concerns of care giving, and we're dedicated to offering you advice from trusted experts in geriatric medicine, legal matters, finances, housing, and family issues, as well as community support from caregivers like you."

Get to Know: AgingParents.com

AgingParents.com is where you can get legal and healthcare information in one location from an experienced nurse-lawyer psychologist team.

Get to Know: GeriatricCareManagement.com

Has someone suggested that you hire a geriatric care manager to help you care for an older adult? Browse this site to learn more about the services a geriatric care manager can provide and how to go about hiring and preparing to work with a good one. GeriatricCareManagement.com is a place for those who have questions about this topic.

Get to Know: Move Seniors

MoveSeniors is a national resource for certified professionals qualified to assist 55+ clients and their families with late life home transition and relocation. MoveSeniors hosts only certified and insured specialists to help with downsizing, organizing, packing, moving, real estate, resettlement, age-in-place home design and more! Search our database for the nation's only secure registry of senior move managers, home modification specialists and senior relocation services! See also Right Sized Living.

Bookmark These: Some help for the sandwich generation

They're the sandwich generation — usually in their 50s and helping to manage life and finances for aging parents as well as children. If there's time, "sandwiches" may try to manage themselves, too. JWR

Why I am opposed to euthanasia after 14 years of caring for mum

Multiple myeloma is an aggressive form of cancer of the plasma cells, and sufferers have an average life expectancy of between two to four years. At 37, I've had to put my career as a travel presenter and poetry writer for TV and radio on hold so I can devote my time to her. I believe it's worth fighting for every moment of life - which is why I was so dismayed to hear in the past few days that there are 800 British people on a waiting list for Dignitas, an organisation in Switzerland that helps ill people end their lives. Daily Mail