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Could Isolation Be Killing Your Older Loved One?
It’s just a fact that people need people. Without those flesh and blood connections we all lose both quantity and quality of life. For older people who live alone this can be more serious than a heart attack. The #1 indicator of morbidity in an elder is isolation. That’s a fact, not a theory. Not […]
The Many Meanings of ‘Losing Independence’
Updated May 2025 When questioned about what loss in life they feared or found most devastating, most seniors give the selfsame answer. It’s not what you might expect: the loss of a job or the death of a parent, spouse, partner, or sibling. It’s the loss of their own independence. Exploring the Issue Several years […]
Handwritten Treasures
My great-granny’s family Bible is old — really old. Somehow it has survived and found its way to my mother. For many families their Bible was where treasures were kept. My mother discovered this while carefully turning the faded fragile pages that date back to the 1800’s. In the pages of that Bible was a […]
Virtual Learning: A Salve for Isolation
A nonprofit that began with the dream of helping Holocaust survivors has expanded its sights to help stamp out the growing epidemic of social isolation. Selfhelp Community Services originated in 1936 with one goal in mind: to help people who were fleeing Nazi Germany forge new lives in their new homes in America. The group’s […]
The Older you Get the Messier Life Gets
The Little Things of Life
We all have our little quirks — our likes and dislikes. When you’re a caregiver, knowing those little things about your elder can bring them a lot of comfort and joy. Momma will only drink coffee from a percolator. Daddy likes a backscratcher right close to his chair. They’re no different from most of us. […]
10 Pairs of Gummy Boots and Nine Walkie Talkies
Remembering Your Firsts
When Nursing Homes Close: A New Focus on Easing ‘Transfer Trauma’
Statistics on the burgeoning growth of the population of older people and their likely need for future care are frequently trumpeted. The Census Bureau estimates that 59.2 million Americans were age 65 or older in 2023, a 9% increase since the 2020 census. By 2060, the number of Americans in that age range is projected to […]
How Seniors and Wearables Are Revolutionizing Wellness
In simpler times, there was simpler advice for staying healthy: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” The proverb can be traced back more than 150 years, when Notes and Queries, a noted academic correspondence magazine, first published a wordier rhyming version in its February 1866 issue: “Eat an apple on going to bed, […]