Senior Living Essentials: Understanding Long-Term Care Insurance Have you ever heard the term “long-term care insurance?”  Some people will tell you they have never heard of it.  Does it have something to do with my home insurance?  Others may tell you they have heard of it but thought that it was only for older … Continued

  The Perfect Season for Family Fun Fall is a wonderful time of year. The temperatures are getting cooler, and the leaves are turning beautiful shades of red and orange. The kids are excited for Halloween and before you know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be following close behind.  The fall season brings families together … Continued

  Senior Care Solutions Until You’re Ready for Senior Living A fact of life is that all people age. There are times when aging and the life changes that come along with it can be stressful. Frequently older adults or their adult children need to make decisions about care options as their needs change. Should … Continued

  The Paw-sitive Impact of Pets on Senior Adults Let’s take a moment and think back to childhood and remember your first pet. You simply knew that you wanted a pet, whether it was a cat or dog, you just wanted a pet.  Your parents reminded you of the responsibilities of pet ownership. You had … Continued

  Simplifying Your Transition to Your New Home People move for many reasons. Possibly a new job, or military reassignment.  Sometimes people move into a larger home when they are growing their family or as people retire they are choosing to downsize into a condo or move to a retirement community. Regardless of the type … Continued

  Exploring Care Levels in a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) You deserve to live in a place that sees you as an individual with your own unique circumstances, requirements, preferences and desires. But before you get too far along your path to senior living, it’s important to understand what care levels are available and … Continued

  Breaking Down the 6 Major Types of Memory Issues With so much information floating around about Alzheimer’s and dementia, it can be hard to know where to turn. Many people don’t understand the difference between the two and believe that Alzheimer’s and dementia are either the same thing or only two memory issues. Actually, … Continued

  Quality Senior Adult Care is Always the Goal Five-star quality is always the goal.  You’ve probably experienced how hard it is to find these days.  Quality is especially important when it comes to senior living.  If you’ve ever looked at senior living, a nursing home, or a short-term rehabilitation, you may have been overwhelmed … Continued

Building a Strong Financial Future Starts Early What do you think when you hear the word retirement? It means so many things to different people. Some may think of traveling while others may want to take new classes or spend more time at home. Maybe you want to spend time with the grandkids or do … Continued

Balancing Caregiving and Personal Well-Being Taking care of yourself is one of the most important things you can do as a caregiver. Caregiving is not easy — not for the caregiver and not for the person receiving care. It requires sacrifices and adjustments for everyone. Often, family caregivers must juggle work and family life to … Continued

Boosting Senior Adult Independence and Confidence with Assistive Devices What are assistive devices?  Some common devices that might come to mind are canes or walkers, but there is so much more. Assistive devices are adaptive tools designed to help bridge the gaps in mobility and ability to perform activities of daily living , such as dressing and … Continued

Keeping Your Summer Vacation Stress-free and Safe Here we are in the middle of summer and there’s still time to take that special vacation.  Whether traveling alone or with your extended family, for a weekend or longer, the excitement starts with the planning. Planning a stress-free, delightful experience, requires some thoughtful preparation to ensure it’s … Continued

Understanding Dementia-Related Behaviors Behavior is a powerful form of communication and is one of the main ways people with dementia communicate their needs and feelings as the ability to use language is lost. Some of these behavior changes can present real challenges for caregivers to understand manage. As a caregiver it is important to join … Continued

It’s Time to Get Active! Are there days when you wake up, look at everything that you need to do and wonder how exercising will fit into your day? For your health, it is important to make exercise a priority in your life, regardless of your age. A recent study found that physical activity was … Continued

What is Medicare and Medicaid? During your lifetime you have probably had several different companies that provided you medical insurance. If your insurance was provided by your employer, often they determined what insurance policies you had with limited options. Fast forward to your retirement years and now you have to determine what type of a … Continued

Senior Living Communities in the Modern Age Most of us have our own ideas about what senior living communities are like. Many believe that a senior living community is interchangeable with the term nursing home, but they are in fact two very different options for older adults. While many leading senior living communities do provide higher level healthcare services … Continued

Staying Safe from the Heat This Summer While we all enjoy the warm weather summer brings, too much heat exposure is not safe for anyone! It is even riskier if you are older or have health problems. It is important to be cautious and get relief quickly when you are overheated. Otherwise, you might start … Continued

Ensuring Independence with Comprehensive Care Have you ever heard the acronym CCRC and wondered what people were talking about? CCRC stands for continuing care retirement community. A CCRC provides older adults the opportunity to “age in place” or live in one location for as long as they need. This allows families and residents peace of … Continued

The Importance of Nurturing Brain Health For anyone who’s had to search their mind for a word or a detail, it may be a surprise to hear that, according to brain health experts, memory isn’t everything. So why is it the first or only thing we worry about? “People don’t really care about performing better on … Continued

You’re Ready. Now It’s Time to Talk to the Family More often than not, families tend to stall conversations about moving to a senior living community. It’s understandable — the topic brings up other more difficult ones like selling a childhood home or acknowledging that we are all growing older. The reality is that while … Continued

From Sale to Sold: Less Stress and More Success Are you an older adult who’s ready to sell your house — but your house may not be quite ready to be sold? Or maybe you’re ready for the possibilities of a more carefree future at a senior living community — but you’re not quite ready to let go of … Continued

It’s Time to Take a Tour Finding the right senior living community is a big decision, and the touring process can be overwhelming. Transitioning to a senior living community is a big move that requires thorough planning. The best way to ensure you find the perfect fit is to conduct research and schedule visits to … Continued

Taking Care of Yourself and Preventing Burnout Taking on the caregiver role for a loved one is not easy. Over 54 million people provide care for an aging loved one. The ongoing demands of taking care of someone else can strain even the most resilient person. That’s why it’s critical for caregivers to ask for help … Continued

Blue Zones: Embracing the Power 9® for a Vibrant Life If you are asking yourself what Blue Zones are, you are not alone. The term “blue zones” was first introduced by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Explorer, Fellow, and journalist, during an exploratory project in 2004. After an expedition to Okinawa, Japan in 2000 to … Continued

Let’s Get Downsizing Downsizing your home can be overwhelming. Sorting through your belongings and deciding what to keep and what to part with is a time-consuming task that many of us avoid. However, downsizing before a big event like a move will help you feel more organized and make the unpacking process so much easier! … Continued

Social Bonds Enrich Our Lives No one wants to think about the years when the country dealt with Covid. If there is one thing that everyone learned it’s the need for socialization. People aren’t meant to live in a vacuum. Nearly three in ten older adults live alone. While maintaining your independence is important, it’s … Continued

Understanding Stress Did you know that April is Stress Awareness Month? Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension and is something everyone will encounter at some point in their life. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, upset, or nervous. Stress is your body’s reaction to a challenge … Continued

Pet Therapy and Senior Adult Wellness At any age, the connection between people and animals is very special. It’s no surprise that the bond between person and animal, in the form of pet therapy can provide legitimate benefits to the person’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Pets are more than just adorable friends. Pet therapy is … Continued

It’s Spring and Time to Clean Everyone loves spring when the flowers are blooming, and the temperature is climbing. It’s now time to enjoy your favorite outdoor activities until someone says those two words that no one wants to hear, “spring cleaning.” The key is to take it step by step, room by room, or … Continued

Fueling Your Golden Years National Nutrition Month is an annual nutrition education and information campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign, celebrated each year during the month of March, focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. Good nutrition is important, no … Continued

Unlocking the Secrets to Lifelong Hearing “Ear and hearing care for all! Let’s make it a reality.” The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) supports the World Health Organization’s World Hearing Day, on March 3rd. World Hearing Day promotes ear and hearing care across the world and raises awareness of how to prevent deafness and hearing loss. … Continued

Discover New Beginnings Community doesn’t just describe a physical place.  It’s a state of being in which we are stimulated, inspired, delighted, and enriched by our sense of connection to our neighbors, to our natural surroundings and to the world around us. It’s what truly makes life special with exciting possibilities. Independent living communities are … Continued

Understanding Caregiver Burnout What would happen to a car that, day in and day out, simply never stopped running? We all know that it would break down. This is what can happen to caregivers when they don’t stop and take care of themselves. More than 40 million adults in North America are taking care of … Continued

Keeping Your Heart Healthy February is here and that means it is American Heart Month. Heart Health Month is a time when everyone is encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health. Let’s take a look at common heart-related health issues and prevention tips for keeping your heart healthy.   Understanding Heart Disease and Its Symptoms … Continued

Avoid the Flu this Winter Have you ever had the flu? If you have, you most likely told yourself, I don’t ever want to go through this again. Influenza, commonly called flu, is defined as any of several virus diseases marked especially by respiratory or intestinal symptoms. Common symptoms are fever, fatigue, nausea, and aching … Continued

Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Now that the winter weather has set in, many people are currently making changes to their daily routines to adjust to the cold temperatures and short daylight hours. If you live in an area that experiences harsh winters, it’s not unusual to spend more time at home or to feel … Continued

Setting Attainable Goals for 2024 As you welcome in 2024, you can guarantee that someone will ask “what are your New Year’s resolutions?” New Year’s resolutions, do I make them or do I not?  If I make them again this year, will I do any better at keeping them than I did last year and … Continued

Making a Difference for a Healthier and Happier You Did you know that older Ohioans give more than 1.5 million hours of their time each year helping people of all ages? Even as the number of volunteers continues to grow, so does the demand for them. Volunteerism is the act of contributing free labor to conduct … Continued

Holiday Fun for Everyone The Holidays can be a wonderful family time, but the season can also be difficult for some families. Questions can arise. What are we going to do with our grandparents?  What activities would be fun for the whole family? Besides simply having fun, social connections and interactive activities have been linked … Continued

Gifts That Bring Holiday Cheer Shortly after Thanksgiving you start hearing the comments, “what am I going to get Aunt Mary, my hairdresser, or my grandmother for Christmas.” I don’t know what they need or would like. Sure, you can buy the gift card and hope that the recipient remembers where they put it and … Continued

This Holiday Keep an Eye Out You may wonder how you’ll know when an aging parent or loved one can no longer safely live alone. It may seem like it will be hard to tell, but asking yourself these four questions can help. As you visit your aging loved ones this holiday season, consider these … Continued

Staying Upright and Safe No one likes to think about falling but it can happen to anyone. Maybe you fell on snow or ice, or perhaps you got your foot caught when stepping on the rug in your bathroom. Regardless of the reason, falls can be dangerous. The potential for injury is a real worry, … Continued

Making Brain Health a Priority As we age, the brain can start to lose volume and blood flow, leading to memory lapses, forgetfulness, and the other frustrating, but common parts of aging.  We frequently think of exercise as walking or doing aerobics, but exercising your brain can strengthen it to help you stay sharp.  The … Continued

Keeping Healthy and Active In the last census baby boomers, those 65+, accounted for 13% of the population. Aging is different now than it was for our parents and grandparents. Today, there are more people living longer than at any other time in our history. Baby boomers will number 78 million by 2030. More senior … Continued

Downsizing Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult Downsizing your home can be overwhelming. Taking the stress of moving and compounding it with the challenge of going through years’ worth of “stuff” makes some people give up even before they get started. Ask yourself what belongings you can’t part with. Create a list of things you treasure … Continued

The Incredible Power of Music Therapy When you think of music therapy, many thoughts may go through your mind. Possibly you envision people sitting around in a circle tapping on a tambourine and singing “Kumbaya”. Well, this is not entirely wrong or right. However, there is so much more to music therapy than a person … Continued

Springtime, Let’s Get Active! Spring is the start of warmer weather, longer days, and the opportunity to spend more time outside. Older adults enjoy being outside after a long winter. Whether taking a walk or doing spring chores, make it a meaningful experience and why not enjoy the time with a friend or neighbor. Taking … Continued

March is National Nutritional Month National Nutrition Month was created 50 years ago by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity habits. Fuel for the Future This year’s theme is “Fuel for the Future.” … Continued

Staying Safe This Winter During the winter months, ice, snow, and cold temperatures can make life difficult for everyone. Slippery sidewalks and cold weather can cause a wide range of injuries and illnesses, especially for older adults. The following safety tips for winter can help prevent common cold weather dangers to older adults. Winter Safety … Continued