Few people anticipate the significant increases in care costs over time. When I recently compared the cost of a private studio in six Assisted Living communities with relatively similar base rates, I found a difference in cost between the lowest and highest of $56,760/year for those requiring the highest care level. To read the entire piece on WRAL, visit: https://www.wral.com/what-is-the-real-cost-of-assisted-living-/17908279/

There are so many reasons now that it is more infrequent than not that we don't get to say good bye in this way--we live far apart; parents fear the kids might be scared; we have so little time, we get lost and overwhelmed with all the chores a death requires--but there is a reason why this ritual has been in place for so much longer than it has not. To read the entire piece [...]

Recording conversations with your parents or grandparents need not be complicated or overwhelming. You might even be surprised at what can happen simply by turning your phone recorder on. To see what one neighborhood in Raleigh did, visit OakwoodProject.org To read the entire article, visit my series on WRAL: https://www.wral.com/recording-stories-the-oakwood-project/17892522/

There are few decisions as fraught as deciding whether, and if so, where and when to move one's spouse or parent with Alzheimers to a secure memory Care Community. Here are tips culled from Nurse managers who have helped dozens of families weather this transition. To read the entire article, visit my column on WRAL: https://www.wral.com/tips-for-making-the-move-to-memory-care-smoother/17875906/

I was called in not long ago to help find a landing place for someone after the family did an “intervention” for opioid addiction. I spent a day and night making calls to every wise person with the right expertise in my digital rolodex, trying to find just the right place with an open bed, an evidence-based approach, and experience with this specific kind of addiction. At the end of the day, the person who [...]

A client of mine was recently put on hospice. Because they were a fall risk and had considerable special needs, the hospice nurse recommended 24/7 care. It is hard to trust the care of a loved parent to strangers at any point, but especially when on hospice. In this case, until that point the client’s adult child had relied on private companions for her parent. It was incredibly daunting (impossible) to fathom the amount of [...]

It’s Sunday morning and still raining in Raleigh. Several inches of water pool on the surface of our back yard, nothing compared to the towns east of us. Our soggy Sunday paper is full of images of rescues of the elderly in New Bern and Swansboro, Wilmington, James City and Riverbend. And the waters are still rising. When will it stop? It is so hard to sit with the situations we cannot control. I’ve found [...]

In running around town yesterday, checking on old clients and looking for urgent placements for new ones, here are some notes from the field on how those working in the elder industry are preparing for Hurricane Florence. Yesterday, Windsor Point, a CCRC in Fuqua Varina, took in nine residents temporarily from a community in Swansboro as a precaution against the storm. To read the entire story, visit: https://www.wral.com/the-hurricane-s-a-coming/17838133/

Touring retirement communities is not so different from touring colleges: glossy brochures, enthusiastic tour directors, impressive benefits. Here are some tips on how to differentiate options. To read the whole article, visit: https://www.wral.com/tips-for-touring-prospective-retirement-communities/17832312/

Many people have an inaccurate impression of what yoga is. Howie Shareff, founder of You Call This Yoga, wants to correct that by bringing free yoga classes to many who might never have access to it. Shareff knows on a personal level the physical and mental benefits yoga can provide for anyone. To read the whole article, visit: https://www.wral.com/you-call-this-yoga-/17805154/