Category 'Elder Care Mediation'

Discussing important issues with your parents as they grow older can be challenging. Few adult children have these conversations until a major event forces a discussion. However, waiting until a crisis happens isn’t a good planning strategy. Instead...

When you introduce availability, ongoing communication and reassurance to your quiver, you will add the value of feeling attended to, connection and confidence to your clients' experience. By doing so you will be balancing strong professional services with individual client attention--a distinctive and authentic differentiator to your brand.

AAG has spent the last 12 months working with reverse mortgage experts, web application specialists and industry advocates to establish a revolutionary new consumer website that will make it easier for seniors to find reverse mortgage information. ReverseMortgageQA.com is a network of question and answer websites that will enable consumers to easily request free, fast, and accurate information specifically related to their individual questions about reverse mortgages. AAG spokesperson, Former Senator Fred Thompson, said, "I'm so glad seniors are being offered this new forum which allows them greater access to the facts about reverse mortgages. They can then decide if it best suits them. American Advisors Group has done an amazing job creating a venue that empowers seniors with more information and greater transparency."

When home healthcare workers enter clients' homes, they bring more than medical care and help with daily living. They also bring the risk of liability. Whether clients slip out of their grasps in the showers or they administer the wrong medicines, home health care workers and their employers confront potential claims and lawsuits every day. That risk is expected to increase as the home healthcare industry booms, propelled by the aging of the Baby Boomers. There will be many more home healthcare workers on the frontlines, potentially facing allegations of wrongful death, sexual abuse, medical error, negligence and inadequate monitoring. The financial consequences of a lawsuit can be devastating, particularly for owners of smaller agencies. Right now, agents and brokers have an opportunity to educate home healthcare agencies of all sizes about insurance coverage that is relevant to them. Home healthcare workers cover a broad spectrum, including registered and licensed practical nurses; physical, speech, respiratory and occupational therapists; hospice workers; home health aides and personal care assistants. They provide essential care to millions of people. According to a March 2009 article from TheMedica.com, which publishes information on the healthcare industry, of the people receiving care at home, 75 percent of those receive skilled nursing care, indicating a high level of need. Also according to TheMedica.com, while the majority of people requiring home care services are 65 and older, a full 30 percent are disabled, undergoing rehabilitation, recovering from surgery or living with chronic conditions. In light of these trends, home professional caregivers face a myriad of risks, which can lead to potential costs for a home healthcare agency. For example, a negligence claim was filed after an elderly woman fell and broke her hip. The claim resulted in a $195,000 indemnity loss. In another, a caregiver's physical abuse of a mentally challenged person resulted in $50,000 in defense costs.

Although the American with Disabilities Act in 1990 mandated that people with disabilities (PWDs) have equal access to facilities and services, men and women with disabilities continue to report receiving inadequate health care. The need to address disability in health professions education, including nursing, has been identified by the U.S. Surgeon General, researchers, and the disability community. This study examined how disability issues are integrated in textbooks commonly used in nursing programs and differences in coverage by seven textbook categories (e.g., medical-surgical, pediatrics).A total of 33 textbooks used in undergraduate nursing curricula were systematically reviewed for inclusion of disability content using a review grid developed with the input of PWDs. Two researchers independently reviewed each textbook and at least three members of the team developed consensus ratings for each of 224 content items for each textbook. Sums of consensus ratings were calculated for each topic, each textbook, and all seven categories of textbooks. Ratings of each category of disability-related content were calculated and ranked from highest to lowest. Two investigators reviewed the consensus ratings for each category of book as well as written comments provided during the initial steps of the review.* Analysis revealed that disability-related content was largely absent from textbooks and categories of textbooks. Although disabling conditions were discussed, issues related to lifelong or preexisting disability were often not addressed. Abuse, a major issue for PWDs, was barely addressed in detail in any of the textbooks. There were significant differences (p = .005) in inclusion of disability-related content by type of textbook; the highest ranked category was community health. Topics that would be expected in specific categories were often addressed infrequently or not at all. The results of this study suggest the need for faculty members to address disability in their nursing curricula in creative ways until textbook authors and publishers begin to address this issue. The large and growing population of 60 million individuals with disabilities mandates this action.

The U.S. Administration on Aging estimates that 700,000 to 3.5 million seniors are abused in the country each year and only one in five instances of abuse are reported.

"The absence of job opportunities imposes a heavy burden on the already difficult problem of retaining older workers, or moving them back into the job market if they are retired, or getting them reemployed in the event they are underemployed and looking for work."

The following was taken from Mediate.com, a great resource for “everything mediation” with permission from the article’s author, Georgia Daniels. Georgia Daniels is a family mediator in Pasadena, CA, a teacher, and an inactive member of the Oregon and Washington State Bars. Elderc...