Updated January 2026 Most people say they fear getting Alzheimer’s disease more than they fear heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or cancer, according to a number of recent polls. And a large number even fear it more than dying. And the odds of that fear being realized seem scary, too. The Alzheimer’s Association reports that an […]
Updated January 2026 Despite strict government warnings and national initiatives cracking down on administering antipsychotic drugs to older people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia, dangerous abuses persist. The practice is particularly pernicious when it occurs in nursing homes, behind closed doors, where the most vulnerable residents are rarely informed or allowed to give meaningful […]
Updated December 2025 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency charged with overseeing the quality of treatment in the nation’s 15,000 long-term care facilities, released a final rule in October 2016 heralding its first major regulatory reform in 25 years. The rule was slated to be phased in over three years, […]
If you or yours are up against a serious illness, you will likely hear the terms “palliative care” and “hospice care” — and may even be asked to choose between them while being confused by the question. There’s good reason for the confusion. Blurred Lines By most lights, “palliative” is just a multi-syllabic word for […]
Updated April 2026 Hospice care, usually elected toward the end of life to alleviate pain and symptoms rather than cure an underlying disease, involves fewer medical interventions and technology than conventional medical care. For this reason, and the fact that the care is often provided in a home, in part by trained volunteers, it is […]
Most myths contain a modicum of truth. What causes misinformation to endure is an unwillingness or inability to look more closely to ferret out the facts. This is especially true in understanding hospice care, which is closely allied with sickness, death, and dying—fraught topics that many avoid rather than confront head-on. It’s estimated that nearly […]
The “aging network” provides many resources for the elderly and their families at little or no cost. The challenge is understanding what those services are, what they are called and how to access them. There are two broad categories of resources available to seniors. One subset of those services is available through agencies and organizations […]
Updated July 2025 About 4.5% of Americans who are 65 or older live in long-term care facilities. About 2.3% of older Americans live in nursing homes. Census data confirms that seniors are more likely to move into nursing homes as they grow older. Only about 1% of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 […]
Updated July 2025 If your loved one dies as a result of nursing home negligence, can you take the home to court even if someone signed an arbitration clause in admittance paperwork? The answer is “it depends.” Why Arbitration Clauses? An arbitration clause in a nursing home contract means if the person admitted to the […]
With an increasing aging population, being able to evaluate nursing homes on important issues is an essential skill for caregivers and children with aging parents. When one considers that their loved one might need a nursing home for either a short-term rehabilitation or more long term caregiving needs, one must realize that not all nursing […]