Why In-Home Care May be Right for You in Indianapolis, Indiana

Why In-Home Care May be Right for You

I found a great article that talks about the many positive aspects regarding the use of In-Home Care for an aging loved one.  If you have any questions at all about Home Care in the Indianapolis area, please visit www.agingavenues.com.

“In-Home Care is rapidly becoming the most commonly asked for service among today’s aging population. In-Home Care involves a network of service providers who deliver personal care and maintenance right to the home. These service providers handle routine tasks including light housekeeping, meal preparation, errand running, mail sorting and a whole lot more. If desired, they can also provide assistance with personal care. “

Continue Reading HERE.

Alzheimer’s On the Rise in Indianapolis, Indiana and Across the World

Here is an article from USA Today regarding the future of Alzheimer’s  Disease.  If you have questions, or need help for a senior in your life, visit us at www.agingavenues.com.

Global Alzheimer’s cases expected to rise sharply

“The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease isn’t creeping up, it’s briskly rising, according to a new report.”

Continue reading HERE.

PreNeed (Pre-Paid) Funeral and Burial Plans in Indianapolis, Indiana

Advantages and Disadvantages of Prepaid Plans One way to plan in advance for the end of one’s life is to sign a formal contract called a “preneed funeral plan.” With this plan, money to pay for a funeral and/or burial is held in a trust, in an escrow account or paid through an insurance policy on the life of the person desiring the plan. Parts of or all of the funeral service and burial are designed in advance and pre-funded in advance and the family has little to do but show up.

This type of planning has become very popular in recent years. A survey conducted by the AARP in 1999, found that two out of five people over age 50 had been approached to pre-purchase funerals and burial goods and services. An AARP survey in 1998 indicates that 32% of all Americans over age 50, roughly 21 million people, have prepaid some or all of their funeral and or burial expenses (but not necessarily through a formal preneed plan). Breaking that down; about 25% of the over age 50 population have prepaid for their burials (cemetery plot, mausoleum or niche), 18% have prepaid for headstones, urns, caskets , grave liners or vaults, opening and closing of graves and so on and 13% have prepaid for goods or services from a funeral home or funeral director. The same survey indicates that over $25 billion is being held in preneed trust funds. Roughly another $25 billion is waiting to be paid out in life insurance benefits. Prepaid or preneed funerals and burials are big business.

Funerals and burials funded privately by the family, or paid from an individual life insurance policy and arranged informally through a funeral home or funeral director are generally not subject to state regulation. Any formal arrangement through a second party or involving a contract is subject to regulation in all states. Each state has adopted different rules as to who can sell these plans, what the plans can provide, what contract provisions must be, how the plan is to be funded and what recourse purchasers might have in the event of fraud or default. All states call these regulated plans “preneed” funeral and burial arrangements.

Here are some advantages as to why one would want to buy a preneed plan for funeral and burial services and goods.

• It provides peace of mind knowing these arrangements have been made in advance.
• It avoids the burden on family members to make decisions when they are most vulnerable to manipulation.
• It allows one to virtually control from the grave by determining in advance the funeral products, funeral services, burial products and burial services that one would prefer having for final arrangements.
• It helps the family to avoid taking loans, arranging finance plans, raiding savings or selling assets to pay for a funeral and burial.
• It guarantees (for many contracts) that if products and services currently purchased are not available in the future, equivalent substitutes will be provided at no additional cost.
• It locks in guaranteed prices (available with some contracts) forever.
• It allows for inflation in future costs (for those contracts that do not guarantee prices) by investing money in an interest-bearing account or buying life insurance that increases in value over time.
• Depending on the contract, it may allow for transfer to another funeral home or for partial or full refund.

Indianapolis, Indiana Activities for Seniors

Feeling Sporty?  Popular Sports and Activities Among Seniors

By Senior Daily Living

If you feel like you need to get out more, you’re not alone.  Senior citizens and non-seniors alike are in need of consistent physical exercise.  Sporty activities are an enjoyable way to get your body moving, but not all forms are best for senior citizens.  Seek out those sports that you enjoy and that exert your body to a comfortable degree.  Here are some of the top ranked sports for the active senior:  Continue reading HERE.  Visit us at www.agingavenues.com for senior resources available in the Indianapolis, IN area.

Indianapolis, Indiana Baby Boomers are Caring for Parents and Children

Here is a great article for those who are caring for aging parents from www.Agingcare.com.  If you need help for a loved one in the area, visit www.agingavenues.com.

Caring for Parents Versus Caring for Children: 10 Ways They Differ

by Marlo Sollitto

Nearly 10 million boomers are now raising kids while at the same time, caring for at least one aging parent, according to the Pew Research Center reports. The term “Sandwich Generation” is used to describe this demographic – and lots has been written on it.

But what is not as frequently discussed, is that the strategies and techniques that are effective when caring for parents are very different from those that work well with children.

Here are 10 ways that caring for parents differs from caring for children:

Continue reading HERE.

Senior Fraud Prevention in Indianapolis, Indiana

Senior Fraud Prevention

“Seniors can make easy targets for fraud, whether it’s for unbelievable investment returns or fraudulent sweepstakes prizes. Fraud on seniors can happen by phone, mail, in person, or, less commonly, the Internet (because seniors are online in smaller numbers). It can happen to wealthy seniors, and those of limited means. According to the Federal Trade Commission, studies show con artists are more likely to target senior citizens than other age groups because they believe seniors are more susceptible to such scams. The FTC reports that fraudulent telemarketers direct from 56 to 80 percent of their calls at seniors. The need for senior fraud prevention has become greater than ever.”

Follow the link below to read the rest of this very informative article.  If you have any questions or need help in the Indianapolis IN area, visit www.agingavenues.com.

Continue reading HERE.

When Should Indianapolis, Indiana Seniors Stop Driving?

Here is a great article for anyone who is facing that very difficult conversation with an aging loved one, that it may be time to stop driving.  If you need help for an aging loved one in the Indianapolis area, visit www.agingavenues.com. 

Elderly Drivers: Stop or Go?

By Phyllis Staff, Ph.D.

Without so much as a tap on the brakes, my aunt whizzed through another stop sign.

“What are you doing?” I shrieked. “That was a stop sign.”

“Oh,” she replied rather offhandedly, “they just put those there so you’ll look before you go into an intersection.”

That was the day I stopped riding with my aunt but not the day she stopped driving. From then on, I had visions of an enormous pink Chevy leading a parade of cascading accidents. And I wasn’t far from wrong.

She drove with what she knew to be the utmost caution. . . .never exceeding 30 miles per hour, even on I35! She expected, even demanded that traffic would give way to her like the seas parted for Moses. Sometimes, it did. But mostly, driving with her was a harrowing experience with no end in sight.

So, when do the elderly become a menace on the roads? And, what can you do when they refuse to give up the keys? Here are a few suggestions I’ve found.

Causes for Concern

Stress and the Elderly of Indianapolis, Indiana

Stress and the Elderly

Contrary to what we’ve been led to believe, senior living isn’t always the way it’s portrayed in glossy sales brochures and magazine advertisements. Rather than being a carefree period of life spent on the golf course and traveling around the world, for many of today’s seniors those “golden years” are incredibly stressful times.

What causes seniors so much stress? Change is a huge trigger for stress and seniors definitely experience plenty of change. It can be in the form of declining health, death of friends and loved ones, moving, a bad financial investment, and the list goes on. Here are some other reasons why senior living is stressful.

Continue reading HERE.  Visit www.agingavenues.com if you need help for an aging loved one in the Indianapolis, IN area.

Millions facing shrinking Social Security payments

Seniors will have an even tougher time when Social Security benefits are reduced next year.  Many don’t realize that the majority of seniors live on Social Security alone at an average of $17,000 a year and have an average in $5500 in annual medical expenses. 

Because there was no inflation Social Security recipients will not receive their annual cost of living increase.  They will receive an increase in their Medicare premiums though.  Is this what you want for your parents or grandparents?  Read more

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090823/ap_on_go_ot/us_social_security_smaller_checks

Got involved, write your Congressman.  We must stand up for how our elderly are treated.

Stay Alert on Alzheimer’s Disease in Indianapolis, Indiana

This is a great article for anyone who is affected, or newly affected by Alzheimer’s Disease, and is trying to understand it’s effects on our loved ones.  If you need help with an aging loved one in the Indianapolis IN area, visit www.agingavenues.com.

Stay Alert on Alzheimer’s Disease

By: Barbara Rockwell

The term dementia refers to a brain disorder that demonstrates itself in several ways. A person may easily become confused even in known settings, may ask questions repeatedly, or may neglect such basic things as their own hygiene or basic safety issues. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia linked with old age.

The disease is named after German Doctor Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed variations in the brain tissue of a patient of his that died with unusual mental illnesses and dementia. His study guided him to discover anomalous clumps and tangles of fiber in the brains of those patients who were suffering from this same disease.

Thus, whilst it was common for persons who were older and losing their mental faculties to be dismissed as “senile,” Dr. Alzheimer was able to pinpoint the actual breakdown in the brain that led to the loss of their mental faculties.

According to the National Institute on Aging varied test conclusions, there are actual brain changes in persons with Alzheimer’s disease. They can find out how nerve cells die in areas of the brain that affect memory and basic abilities. It may seem strange, but everything that we do on a daily basis is because of memory.

We remember that we need to take a shower on a regular basis that we need to shut the door behind us when we leave the house. We don’t realize that we’re doing these things because of memory, and assume that they just happen naturally. But when those memories break down because of Alzheimer’s or any other mental disorder, even the most basic everyday functions begin to be confusing or neglected.

In fact, the brain works by a series of connections between nerve endings, all of which are related. For example, the part of the brain that controls speech sends signals to the nerves that spark the muscles and parts of the mouth when we wish to talk. Of course, all of our mental and physical functions work this way.

With Alzheimer’s disease, these nerve signals are disrupted or broken. If the brain cannot continue to make connections in the nerve cells that control memory, all the basic functions are disrupted. The brain can’t memorize that it just asked a question, so a person repeats it. They can’t remember their own children, so they are now strangers. Alzheimer’s can be a very frightening and debilitating disease for the patients and the families as well.

Article Source: http://myeldercarearticles.com