Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • elder abuseChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence

When the IRS Calls…
How about a show of hands regarding the Internal Revue Service (IRS)… Have you ever filed a tax return...
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March 8, 2022
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The “Other” Health Concerns for Older Adults
It was just two weeks ago that I underscored the fact that “older adults have a greater fear of...
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February 1, 2022
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Password Protected?
I often offer advice on how to help your older loved one with challenging tasks or how to protect...
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October 26, 2021
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Your Older Loved One’s Greatest Health Risk?
As our loved ones grow older, we probably are more acutely protective of their health and well-being, especially if...
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September 14, 2021
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Your Flight to Nowhere is Boarding
You have probably put off a vacation or most any travel for more than a year with the threat...
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August 10, 2021
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Everything to Lose
Not a day goes by that the sun does not linger a bit longer, that the landscape gets a...
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April 20, 2021
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Scamming as a Superspreader
We have all seen the advertisements for the on-line services that will help you find your ancestry by taking...
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February 2, 2021
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Better than a Resolution
After nearly a year of a pandemic and its quarantine, we are all ready to get back to normal. ...
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January 12, 2021
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Too Good to Be True
With over 300 clinical trials on vaccines for COVID19, it perhaps is not a surprise that at least two...
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December 1, 2020
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Abuse Thrives in Pandemic
Guest post author Gregory Peebles is a team member at CCM whose work focuses on helping aging adults and...
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June 16, 2020
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In the Caregiver's Words

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New contact form submission received from CreativeCareManagement.com [fullname] <[emailc]> From: [fullname] <[emailc]> Phone: [phones] Message Body: [question] -- This email was sent via the contact form on the Creative Care Management website, http://www.CreativeCareManagement.com. info@creativecasemanagement.com, ccm.eachost8@ecommercearchitects.com, <[emailc]> Your message was sent successfully. Thanks. Failed to send your message. Please try later or contact the administrator by another method. Validation errors occurred. Please confirm the fields and submit it again. Failed to send your message. Please try later or contact the administrator by another method. Please accept the terms to proceed. Email address seems invalid. Please fill the required field. Failed to upload file. This file type is not allowed. This file is too large. Failed to upload file. Error occurred. Your entered code is incorrect. Your answer is not correct. Date format seems invalid. This date is too early. This date is too late. Number format seems invalid. This number is too small. This number is too large. URL seems invalid. Telephone number seems invalid. This input is too long. This input is too short. on_sent_ok: "location.replace('/thank-you-for-contacting-us/');"
I have spoken with Matt Margolis, an Elder Law attorney with Heartland Law Firm recently about VA benefits to which people may not know they are entitled. In this posting, he shares some valuable insights that may expand your options for care cost coverage.

            One very common question that comes across my desk on a daily basis is “Are there any benefits, other than Medicaid, to help pay for the care of my ___________ (insert: mom, dad, husband, wife, brother, sister, etc.)?” Typically, this is being asked because Medicaid is only available for someone in a Skilled Nursing Facility. Because of this, we refer to Medicaid as “nursing home financial aid.” My follow up question to this prospective client is usually asking whether the person they are calling about or their spouse was a Veteran.

            The Veterans Administration (VA) Aid and Attendance Benefit program is the benefit I will discuss with them. In the overwhelming majority of situations, the prospective client has never heard of this benefit. This benefit is actually classified as a “pension” by the VA and is a great source of funds for financially constrained wartime Veterans and/or their surviving spouses to use for their long term care costs such as living at home with a caregiver, adult day care, independent living with a caregiver, assisted living, and/or skilled nursing.

            While family income is one of the determining factors of eligibility, it is important to be aware that the VA allows individuals to deduct their unreimbursed medical expenses, which includes their health insurance premiums, home care, assisted living, adult day care, caregiver, and nursing home costs from their income. As a result, many Veterans who may not have previously qualified might now qualify if long term care has become necessary for them or their spouse.
As a general rule, to qualify for the Aid and Attendance benefit, a family's total assets (excluding their primary residence and vehicles) cannot exceed $80,000. Fortunately, many clients I meet with have assets in surplus of this number. The good news is that with the right strategies and planning, we can still position them to qualify.
            A few things worth mentioning:
In the end, the VA Aid and Attendance pension is a heavily untapped, but much deserved, benefit for those Veterans and/or their surviving spouses who served and fought for our country.

Heartland Law Firm is a holistic elder law and estate planning firm. Heartland Law Firm concentrates in assisting seniors and those in transition with understanding the landscape they are in and what protections and benefits are available to them and their loved ones. Visit their web site at: Heartland Law Firm.

Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Case Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to ccbishop@creativecasemanagement.com.
I have written about Alzheimer’s disease…a lot, its warning signs and caregiving probably more than any other topic. Even in this time of COVID, I still come back to it. This time it is about the warning sign that may be COVID causing confusion instead of Alzheimer’s disease. If you are a caregiver to an older loved one, you probably have become very astute about listening for signs of the onset of this virus: changes in taste or smell, persistent cough, fever, all the usual suspects. A study recently published by health care providers at Northwestern University Health System has reported that a disproportionate share of 65+ year old COVID patients also had what they refer to as “altered mental function.” In short, these COVID patients may be confused or have some difficulties performing some activities of daily living. This may not be surprising, because delirium also has been a harbinger of infections. And what is COVID, except a life-threatening infection? The doctors who authored this study explain that this confusion is a result of inflammation that has spread to the brain causing encephalopathy. It may happen in the disease’s early stages, so this another warning sign for caregivers, and it is a serious sign, because the COVID has spread to the brain. And even patients who do not show these signs prior to hospitalization may develop the cerebral inflammation once they are in the hospital. And encephalopathy makes for a poor outcome in the course of COVID’s infection. Patients with encephalopathy stayed three times as long in the hospital and were seven times as likely to die from COVID. It’s always important to watch for any changes in our older loved ones as potential alerts for COVID, but now delirium is also one of those signs. So, how does one know? Here are some warning signs according to the experts:
1. Misplacing the keys…Misplacing the keys or other “forgetfulness” may be signs of potential delirium; get your loved one checked for COVID.
2. Losing longstanding skills…The loved one who was always good at math forgetting how to multiply should be concerning.
3. Just plain confusion…look for smaller signs as basic as their steps begin to more resemble a shuffle as this may be a sign of a more fundamental uncertainty.
4. Changes in personality…The loved one who used to be the animated conversationalist, but now is more subdued may be responding to their own confusion in trying to follow what everyone is saying.
5. Agitation…in a person who was once a cheery individual a short temper also can be a sign of changing mental abilities.
Caregivers should be alert to these, but not jump to the wrong conclusions. Take a temperature, offer hydration, ask about taste or smell capacity, and all the rest. So, raise your awareness, and then be prepared to raise your hand. Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. She also is the co-author of How Do I Know You? A Caregiver’s Lifesaver for Dealing with Dementia.
One of my clients recommended a web resource recently, and I am so impressed by it that I am passing it on to you. So often in the process of caring for an elder or other person with special needs we come up against medical language that can be difficult for someone who is not a trained professional to grasp. We can always look up a word in the dictionary, for sure, but the specific way words are used when speaking of geriatric and related issues can be rather esoteric. So, when I can across the glossary of terms offered at the Silverado web site, I just had to pass it along. Please check out: Silverado Glossary. You will get a quick grasp of the differences between amyloid and aneurysm or between dementia and delirium. It also offers really helpful suggestions on the early warning signs of Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s and more.

The same site also is a wonderful compilation of other web resources that can be very helpful for the caregiver trying to navigate a new medical condition or other complication for which a little support or explanation would be greatly appreciated. They have another window on their site that offers at least a couple dozen resources that may be just what you need. Please check out: Silverado Web Resources. It has everything from links to Alzheimer’s support groups to veteran’s health benefits and more.

If you find resources like these, please do not hesitate to pass them on to me, and I will share them on the blog site. Also, do not hesitate to send me your questions, and I will do my best to answer them.

Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Case Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families throughout metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to Charlotte Bishop.

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The best estimates suggest that more than 7 million American have experienced and survived a stroke of some sort. Most of these people will be dependent in some capacity on a caregiver or certified geriatric care manager, because full recovery is relatively uncommon. In fact, the percentages break out generally along these lines:
- 10 percent of stroke victims will recover almost completely
- 25 percent will recover, but still manifest small deficits
- 40 percent will require ongoing care for moderate to severe deficits
- 10 percent will depend on skilled nursing care in a facility
- 15 percent fail to recover and will die within a short time of their stroke
Some of what will determine the category of a stroke victim is how severe the hemorrhage or clot was in the first place as well as how promptly medical attention was received. The rest will depend upon the rehabilitation following the acute phase of the stroke episode. Those who have suffered a "mini-stroke" or what are called transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) may recover spontaneously, but for the vast majority active physical rehabilitation will begin as soon as possible in the hospital. If the patient is stable following a stroke, rehab can begin within two days of the event. Once discharged, if you are a caregiver you want to be well-informed so that you can have an effective conversation with the care team at the hospital to get the best match of rehab for your loved one. This is where we often become involved with families of stroke survivors. This is so that the best care is provided and everyone has a clear picture of the goal of the therapy as well as the work that will be required to get there. The principal objective of all rehabilitation is to restore or improve physical function, but rehab also focuses on giving the stroke victim maximal independence and quality of life. To do this, some skills that have been taken for granted may need to be relearned, such as eating, walking or dressing. If you are a caregiver to a stroke patient, you will want to learn the language of rehabilitation in order to be the best advocate you can be for your loved one. The National Stroke Association has created a guide for choosing the right rehabilitation facility as well as understanding who all the players will be and what you should expect from each. It also includes a grading form so that you can compare facilities in order to pick the best program for your loved one. For a download of this Guide, just click here. Charlotte Bishop is a certified Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Case Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to ccbishop@creativecasemanagement.com.