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National Alzheimer’s Plan Unveiled

Posted on 05/15/2012 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Home & Family | Personal Health | TechnologyAs part of the government’s national plan, unrolled today, to fight Alzheimer’s, is a new Department of Health and Human Services caregiver website, www.alzheimers.gov. Along with information (legal, financial, medical), resources, strategies for dealing with daily challenges, and tools and links, the government website has a caregiver section with tips for caring for yourself as well as video conversations with caregivers. This site stems from the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), which President Obama signed in January 2011. Many specifics of …

Mother-Child Cycle of Sacrifice, Love and Reciprocity

Posted on 05/15/2012 by Amy Goyer | Multigenerational & Family Issues | Comments

Home & Family | Relationships | Your LifeShe was young, beautiful, capable and highly intelligent. A college degree and a couple years of teaching under her belt, she married her college-sweetheart, a WWII veteran working on his master’s degree. Within a few years my Mom had given birth to their first child while living in Germany, far from the comforts of home and family. She embraced the challenge then as she did in the future, giving birth to three more babies while my Dad earned his doctorate …

Hurricane Katrina, courtesy of NASA via Creative Commons

A Caregiver’s Hurricane Prep List

Posted on 05/10/2012 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Home & FamilyLive in a hurricane area with an older relative? Does your parent or someone else you’re responsible for? The hurricane season is six months long (June 1 to Nov. 30); and you as a caregiver needs a substantive plan. You know how mothers-to-be have their bags packed and their route to the hospital mapped out? If an older adult lives with you, nearby, or at a distance, having the same mindset makes sense. Creating contingency plans—where your family member or …

Study: Boomers Give Up Savings to Help Parents, Kids

Posted on 05/8/2012 by Amy Goyer | Multigenerational & Family Issues | Comments

Home & Family | Money & Savings | RelationshipsBaby boomers are selfless? Apparently many are, according to a new study by Ameriprise Financial. The financial group’s recent study, Money Across Generations, polls three generations: affluent baby boomers (with $100,000 or more in investable assets) along with both the parents and the children (over age 18) of baby boomers. New findings from the study indicate that baby boomers are holding off on major purchases and instead of channeling those savings into retirement accounts to support their Gen X and …

No Kids, Who Cares?

Posted on 05/3/2012 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Home & Family | Your LifeAs boomers care for their parents, or at least watch their friends in the throes, those with no children often wonder, “who will be there for me when I need help?” With one in three boomers never married and some wed without kids, that’s a big question. Typically, it’s the spouse who does much of the caregiving, but with the growing rate of late-life divorce–saying “see ya, partner” after 20+ years of marriage—and women outliving men, that source of support …

The High Cost of Caregiving

Posted on 05/1/2012 by Patti Shea | Home & Family | Comments

Home & Family | Your LifeBy Mary Hickey Caring for an older family member is costly to both families and employers — and it’s time for the workplace to develop policies to help people juggle the competing demands of work and caregiving responsibilities. That was the bottom-line message from Cheryl Matheis, senior vice president of policy for AARP, who was interviewed on National Public Radio this morning as part of an ongoing series on caregiving. “When people have to leave their jobs [to care for …