Adult Illness, Alzheimer's and Dementia, Caregivers, General Interest, Senior Citizens
How Technology Can Help Your Loved One’s Caregiving Needs
By Elder Law and Estate Planning Attorney Rick Law, of the Estate Planning Center at Law Elder Law LLP Let me introduce you to Scott Ewing, chief operating officer at the Oaks – a United Methodist Continuous Care Retirement Community located in Orangeburg South Carolina, just inland from Charleston. The Oaks plays host to some exciting caregiving related work, designed to give people diagnosed with dementia the ability to live at home with dignity while providing peace of mind for family members and caregivers. They provide traditional senior services and care combined with a look to the future, recognizing that there is extraordinary pressure to move long-term care from the institutional facility back into the community. The Oaks is providing caregiver monitoring for Scott’s 87-year old mother who still lives at home 600 miles from Orangeburg. Without the technology in her home, she would need to live at an assisted-living facility. I asked Scott to explain how this new technology helps his mother, and here’s what he said: “I’m a nursing home administrator so I understand costs very well. I had to have a discussion with my family about the risks versus reward of keeping Mom at home. My fear is not that she falls, because I know she’s going to fall—she’s elderly—but if she falls and something happens and she’s undiscovered, that would be terrible. But with this technology, we can know that if she falls we’ll get an alert. My mother is a retired schoolteacher and not particularly affluent. The cost of a nursing home where she lives in Maryland is $7,000-plus a month. Assisted living would be $5,000-plus a month. When you put in the technology, you have up-front costs for the system—but that is less than one month of assisted living. With what we have put in, my mother can continue to live in her home of 53 years, and all her neighbors are around to help and support her. If I get an alert, I call a next-door neighbor and they’ll check on her. She’s had some of the same neighbors all her life. It’s been tremendous and very liberating for her to have the technology so she can stay at home.” While we were doing this interview, Scott got an alert that his mother had been in the bathroom more than one hour. He excused himself and went to make a call. He returned and told us that she had responded somewhat sheepishly, “I’m sorry, son, I must have fallen asleep.” Too many families needlessly lose everything they have. Don’t let that be you. If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100. Your first consultation is absolutely free. We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family. Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future. Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care. Call 800-310-3100 for your free consultation now!