When is it time to get help?

reverse mortgage news

Tools for Family Caregivers

Millennials are at the forefront of easing the aging process for today’s elders, from tech innovations that enhance senior living communities, to apps that facilitate difficult end-of-life discussions.

But what happens even earlier in the process, when Mom or Dad (usually Dad!) refuses any sort of in-home help, except perhaps for the occasional housekeeper? How does a family know whether their loved one is truly safe living alone at an advanced age, even if he or she is still fairly healthy?

Nate O’Keefe had the same questions, so the Millennial entrepreneur founded Roobrik, a series of online decision tools designed to provide family caregivers with the information they need to make the right choices at the right time.

Roobrik offers a trio of assessment tools that help family members or concerned others (perhaps the senior’s reverse mortgage advisor, for example) determine whether changes to a senior’s lifestyle might be in order. Each tool scrolls through a series of questions, becoming more personalized with each response. Based on the respondents’ answers, Roobrik lets you know whether immediate intervention would be prudent, or if it’s safe to simply keep a watchful eye on the situation for now. The current tools include:

1. Is it time to get help?
2. Is it still safe to drive?
3. Is it dementia?

Preventing Exploitation

Tools such as Roobrik may also help reduce the incidence of elder abuse, which Chronic Care Advocacy calls “an under-reported epidemic” due to factors such as social isolation, lack of caregiver education, and reluctance to report. And it isn’t necessarily physical. According to the National Research Council, exploitation is the most common form of elder abuse.

The Older Americans Act defines exploitation as, “fraudulent or otherwise illegal, unauthorized, or improper act or process of an individual, including a caregiver or fiduciary, that uses the resources of an older individual for monetary or personal benefit, profit, or gain, or that results in depriving an older individual of rightful access to, or use of, benefits, resources, belongings, or assets.”

Protecting your reverse mortgage clients, prospects, and other seniors in your sphere begins with understanding the risk factors that innovators such as Roobrik are enabling families to assess, and knowing what preventive measures are available.

Caring for the Caregivers

While older adults with cognitive impairment may be at greatest risk of exploitation, a huge risk factor is caregiver stress and burnout. Some of the tech solutions to ease caregivers’ work can make all the difference, as can caregiver recognition that they can’t do it all, and need to care for themselves as well as for the elder in their charge.

In addition to communicating with other close friends and family members who can support the caregiver, the Office of Chronic Care Advocacy urges seniors to use professionals to ensure their financial and legal affairs are in order, including a properly drafted estate plan with safeguards in place.

When the circle of care extends to everyone involved — a network in the truest sense — elder loved ones, their families, caregivers, and professional associates will all be well served.

Caregiving: Who Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old?



PRC Title settlement reverse mortgages

post imageSince 1989, eldercare expert Joy Loverde has been promoting the causes, concepts, and needs of an aging population. Author of the forthcoming, Who Will Take Care Of Me When I’m Old? (October 2017) Loverde specializes in new-product development and consults with mature-market advisors, health care providers, senior housing administrators, product manufacturers, and other members of the fast-growing eldercare advisory industry.

Despite our ongoing focus on reinventing retirement, Loverde maintains that 50 is NOT the new 30, and planning ahead is essential.

“We’re each going to have an extra 30 years, and if we don’t want to age like our parents, what are we planning to do?” She recommends we ask ourselves “4 Big Questions”:

  • When am I old? What’s my aging set point?
  • Who am I now? You may be married, but get divorced or be widowed. You may be single, and get married. You may adopt a pet.
  • What’s all this age for, anyway? This is the era of the solo citizen — and if we’re not aging alone now, we probably will be if we live long enough.
  • Who will be my advocate? People who are in our lives now may not be there tomorrow. How do we plan for a revolving door of people throughout our lives?

Retirement and Old Age Are Not the Same

Planning for old age is not the same as planning for retirement, says Loverde. In an era where we can easily live an entire generation beyond when we stop working, we need two distinct sets of life plans.

To plan for old age, start with your caregiving years. What did you learn from caring for parents, grandparents, spouse/partner, in-laws, friends, neighbors, etc.? What would you do differently? The advantage of having this perspective is, it brings midlife professionals and those approaching sixty up close and personal with old age: money, housing, legal paperwork, end-of-life issues.

The elderly have long been invisible, often, sadly, by their own design. In an emergency, such as the Chicago heat wave of 1995, many “invisible” elders perished because they did not open their doors when people knocked to check on them.

Aging Advocacy

What is a senior’s plan to remain visible in old age? As a reverse mortgage professional, this is an important inquiry for your clients and prospects, especially if they do not have any younger family members. A senior must be “on purpose” about being seen; they cannot assume someone will recognize their needs.

One way is to develop relationships with people of all ages earlier in life. My lifelong friend Ellie was 44 years my senior, yet we were sisters and best friends; she was always interested in learning what was going on in others’ lives, and as a consequence, had many acquaintances and friends across the age spectrum. Even in her final years, she wasn’t alone or lonely. “Seniors must create a purposeful lifestyle. Be vital. Be of importance in your community. Be a part of the solution,” says Loverde.

How do you find an advocate? A guardian of your goals? An advocate is distinct from a caregiver, yet might also be someone you hire: an elder law expert, for example, or someone from a professional advocacy group.

The key is to plan ahead, and never stop the planning process. Once you have someone in place as POA and have filled out an advance directive, review it at least annually to make sure it’s still what you want.

Aging In Place Necessitates Action

Planning also means readying your home for your later years now, reminds Louis Tenenbaum, a leading authority on aging in place and founder of HomesRenewed, a coalition of business, government, non-profit and consumer stakeholders.

One of the first contractors to dedicate his remodeling business to aging in place in the early 1990s, Tenenbaum became curious about why such a good idea had so little traction in the marketplace. He researched the intersection of aging, housing, services, consumer motivation and market incentives, which led him to launch HomesRenewed.

“The bulk of long-term care will occur in single family, owner occupied homes…but the homes are not prepared,” according to a Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Encourage your HECM clients and prospects who desire to age in place to be aware and prepare! The more interconnected, interdependent, and interested in planning they are, the more enjoyable and engaging their future is likely to be.

Finally, says Loverde, make every effort to stay as healthy as you can for as long as you can, which will lessen the need for assistance later on.

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Is It Time to Get Help?

Tools for Family Caregivers

As we explored last week, Millennials are at the forefront of easing the aging process for today’s elders, from tech innovations that enhance senior living communities, to apps that facilitate difficult end-of-life discussions.

But what happens even earlier in the process, when Mom or Dad (usually Dad!) refuses any sort of in-home help, except perhaps for the occasional housekeeper? How does a family know whether their loved one is truly safe living alone at an advanced age, even if he or she is still fairly healthy?

Nate O’Keefe had the same questions, so the Millennial entrepreneur founded Roobrik, a series of online decision tools designed to provide family caregivers with the information they need to make the right choices at the right time.

Roobrik offers a trio of assessment tools that help family members or concerned others (perhaps the senior’s reverse mortgage advisor, for example) determine whether changes to a senior’s lifestyle might be in order. Each tool scrolls through a series of questions, becoming more personalized with each response. Based on the respondents’ answers, Roobrik lets you know whether immediate intervention would be prudent, or if it’s safe to simply keep a watchful eye on the situation for now. The current tools include:

1. Is it time to get help?
2. Is it still safe to drive?
3. Is it dementia?

Preventing Exploitation

Tools such as Roobrik may also help reduce the incidence of elder abuse, which Chronic Care Advocacy calls “an under-reported epidemic” due to factors such as social isolation, lack of caregiver education, and reluctance to report. And it isn’t necessarily physical. According to the National Research Council, exploitation is the most common form of elder abuse.

The Older Americans Act defines exploitation as, “fraudulent or otherwise illegal, unauthorized, or improper act or process of an individual, including a caregiver or fiduciary, that uses the resources of an older individual for monetary or personal benefit, profit, or gain, or that results in depriving an older individual of rightful access to, or use of, benefits, resources, belongings, or assets.”

Protecting your reverse mortgage clients, prospects, and other seniors in your sphere begins with understanding the risk factors that innovators such as Roobrik are enabling families to assess, and knowing what preventive measures are available.

Caring for the Caregivers

While older adults with cognitive impairment may be at greatest risk of exploitation, a huge risk factor is caregiver stress and burnout. Some of the tech solutions to ease caregivers’ work can make all the difference, as can caregiver recognition that they can’t do it all, and need to care for themselves as well as for the elder in their charge.

In addition to communicating with other close friends and family members who can support the caregiver, the Office of Chronic Care Advocacy urges seniors to use professionals to ensure their financial and legal affairs are in order, including a properly drafted estate plan with safeguards in place.

When the circle of care extends to everyone involved — a network in the truest sense — elder loved ones, their families, caregivers, and professional associates will all be well served.

Hard Holidays


When You’re the Caregiver, Not a Guest

reverse mortgage newsThe songs tell us this is “the most wonderful time of the year”. Holiday shopping, relatives visiting from afar, friends dropping by to exchange presents and share the latest news over eggnog or mulled wine…

Perhaps.

The reality is, many people don’t enjoy the holidays. For seniors with health challenges — and for the caregiver, often a family member, who lives with Mom or Dad or Grandma or Auntie, rather than dropping by in late December to spread holiday cheer — the holidays can be extra challenging.

Help is at hand, and not just during the holiday season. The key is to know what resources are available — and for caregivers to reach out and request assistance.

The following information can help your reverse mortgage clients, prospects, family members and other seniors or caregivers in your sphere to feel more supported, especially during the holiday season:

  • Turn “big E’s” into ease. Instead of expectation and emotional overwhelm, stay in the moment with loved ones. Holidays are notorious for bringing up old hurts, resentments, and regression to childhood behaviors, which only amplify stress. Both the senior who receives care and the caregiver can collaborate on a commitment to accept what is, and let go. It sounds simple, and is. And it works.
  • Be authentic, not automatic. A corollary to the above is to switch autopilot to “off”. The holidays can be so frenetic that cruise control becomes the default setting, which is counterproductive to happiness and well-being. Think and plan ahead, then be present with what is happening right now.
  • Relinquish the superhero cape. For someone new to caregiving, it may be tempting to assume you can (or should) be able to do it all. This guide provides an excellent overview of how to manage the caregiving role effectively so that both elder and caregiver receive the support they need.
  • Seek tech assistance. From virtual pet companions to wristwatch sensors to cities that cater to tech-assisted retirement, there’s a wealth of digital assistance available to support a caregiver and provide respite. As you discover relevant resources in your area, make a list and keep it handy so you can get help quickly when you need it.
  • Recognize the symptoms of caregiver burnout before you become desperate. This article describes how to prevent and deal with caregiver stress, including resources for respite care.
  • Reach out and touch someone. The old telephone company slogan had it right: a simple hug can go a long way towards restoring mood, and even help the body heal. Many seniors are touch-deprived. Stroking someone’s hand as you talk with them, a comforting touch on the shoulder, or a full body hug (if appropriate), can help both elder and caregiver recharge. Watching funny movies together, singing, or spending time in nature (even if that’s just bringing the wheelchair onto the back porch for ten minutes) are some other excellent ways to dispel senior doldrums — and support the caregiver as well.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.