Updated June 2025 Many of the nation’s nursing homes deliver quality care to people who desperately need it. Still, some deliver care more capably than others. How do consumers evaluate the promises that nursing homes make to provide excellent care to their loved ones? With the best of intentions, the federal government instituted a rating […]
Healthy aging means maintaining the functional abilities that enable wellbeing. Functional abilities include the capacity to meet basic needs, to be mobile, to build and maintain relationships, to make decisions, and to feel like a contributing member of society. Factors that contribute to healthy aging include exercise, diet, healthcare, having regular contact with friends and […]
As the country reopens and stay-at-home orders are eased, the risk to seniors from COVID-19 may increase. While the curve has flattened in some parts of the country, infected people still inhabit every state. Since a large percentage of individuals who carry the coronavirus have no symptoms — and may never develop symptoms — it […]
The Age-In. It was something of a flashback — modeled after the Teach-Ins of the 1960s, which were characterized by peer-to-peer talking and listening sessions rather than the more formalized “I’m-gonna-lecture-and-you’re-gonna-listen” teacher/student set-up. The event commemorated the 10-year anniversary of At Home With Growing Older, a group with a diverse membership of architects, advocates, social […]
Nursing home residents and their advocates have scored some improvements in the types and quality of care provided. But in many facilities, the caring concept of “nursing” and “home” are still hard to come by. While lauding the good changes, Eric Carlson, directing attorney of the advocacy group Justice in Aging, describes the 10 most common complaints […]
Robert Kriegel says it was a hefty hike of 5.5% in fees at his lifecare community in San Francisco that provided the impetus. A small group of residents who played bridge together there let their ire fly freely while conversing over the cards and decided to find out whether other residents were also upset that […]
About 1.2 million individuals currently reside in nearly 15,000 nursing homes nationwide. For many, it’s the best place to receive care and housing; for some, it’s the only real option. But for too many, there is a documented dark side behind closed doors: abuse and neglect. Periodic reports of the wrongs committed have resulted in […]
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 […]
A 2017 New York Times article identified 5 tips for finding a reliable nursing home. But there’s a sixth tip, and it may be the most important: Use all your senses. You must remember, too, that the term “nursing home” has become a catchall phrase that, these days, seems to include not just 24-hour hospital-type […]