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

How to Get All the New Years You Can
It’s not a magic pill or a quick transformation, but it’s not difficult either. The “it” is greater longevity,...
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January 17, 2024
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How Old You Really Are
One of my staff worked with a senior community in upstate New York near Elmira a number of years...
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August 8, 2023
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Follow Your Gut…You’ve Got No Choice
It was back in the sixties and seventies that so many folks embraced the mantra: “You are what you...
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April 11, 2023
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Ain’t No Sunshine…
…When She’s Gone.” Or how about, “You are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine?” or “Here Comes the Sun?” or...
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February 21, 2023
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Long COVID’s Long List of Symptoms
The COVID pandemic is not yet done with us in the United States, and the story certainly is different...
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February 7, 2023
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Planning for the Holidays is More than a Menu
The latest news reports suggest only about 10 percent of American Adults have received their seasonal booster for COVID. ...
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October 24, 2022
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Stranger Things: Step up Your Diet with New Options
If I were to ask you what you or an older loved one had for dinner yesterday, the chances...
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October 4, 2022
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Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease
September is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, and this is the third of four posts we’ll offer on the subject. I...
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September 20, 2022
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Burn Calories to Reduce Dementia Risk
We most often think about exercise as a way to work off the calories that we may have consumed,...
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August 30, 2022
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The Will To Do the Right Thing
This whole idea to write up a legal document to give surviving loved ones clarity about how to take...
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August 9, 2022
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

I mentioned in the previous post that November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, so I have invited the Alzheimer’s Association to provide a guest blog. You will see a quote in this posting from Melanie Chavin, Vice President of Program Services in our own Greater Illinois Chapter. You also will find a link to the Chapter on the "Support Tools" page of our site.

            In 1983, President Ronald Reagan, who was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, designated November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month. President Bill Clinton named the week of Thanksgiving as a time to honor caregivers in 1997, and that has expanded to National Family Caregivers Month. As an organization founded by caregivers, the Alzheimer’s Association® applauds caregivers and hopes to make their efforts a little easier year round with an innovative resources that have been designed specifically with families in mind.

            This year, the Alzheimer’s Association launched two free resources for families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s Association Alzheimer’s Navigator™ is an online tool to help caregivers and people with dementia evaluate their needs, identify action steps and connect with local programs and services. Developed with the feedback of people living with Alzheimer’s and caregivers, Alzheimer’s Navigator also allows users to reassess needs and adjust care plans as the disease progresses. ALZConnected™, powered by the Alzheimer’s Association, is the first social networking community designed for people living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers.

            "These online tools can be a great help for families,” said Melanie Chavin, vice president of program services for the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Illinois Chapter. “There are so many resources available to assist families and individuals living with Alzheimer's, and Alzheimer’s Navigator can put them in touch with resources they never knew existed. AlzConnect's online community can help people living with dementia to feel less alone by providing support and encouragement from others in the same situation."

            Following a brief welcome survey, Alzheimer's Navigator users complete a set of focused questions. Their responses result in customized action steps ranging from activities of daily life to legal and financial planning to safety precautions. Each user’s action plan is specific to current needs and is designed to change as the disease progresses. When local resources are needed, Alzheimer's Navigator works in conjunction with Community Resource Finder, an online search engine, to link the user to community programs, services and resources such as adult day care or long-term care facilities.

            Alzheimer’s Navigator users can also create and manage care teams so that multiple people can access and participate in the customized action plan, enabling long-distance caregivers to be involved and primary caregivers to share the responsibility. Alzheimer’s Navigator may be accessed at www.alzheimersnavigator.org.

            ALZConnected is a specialized social network that allows members to connect and communicate with people who understand their unique challenges 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They can also pose questions and offer solutions to dementia-related issues, create public and private groups organized around a dedicated topic and contribute to message boards.

            ALZConnected combines the features of many social networking sites and the popular Alzheimer’s Association’s message boards. Members create “connections” by extending and receiving invitations. ALZConnected may be accessed at www.alzconnected.org.

            There are 210,000 people living with Alzheimer’s and 581,773 unpaid caregivers in Illinois, according to the Alzheimer’s Association2012 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts & Figures. The Alzheimer’s Association will continue to assist families in a variety of ways to best meet their needs. This year has marked significant progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s with the development of the country’s first national plan to address the epidemic, but we have a long way to go to meet the goal to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. It is critical that we help the millions of Americans families currently battling this progressive and fatal disease.

For more information on Alzheimer’s disease or available resources, visit alz.org or call

1-800-272-3900.

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. Visit our For The Caregiver page for more information and resources
Thanksgiving is just days away, and if you are like a lot of folks, you may have shifted from going to the grandparents' house for Thanksgiving Dinner to now being the host for the annual feast. And if you are like a lot of parents, you have learned along the way how to prepare meals for your children's challenging palates. You may not have recognized that there also are some unique challenges to please an older adult's appetite as well.

It is important to recognize a couple of aspects of seniors that may not be obvious. First, senior metabolisms work a good deal slower than yours and a good bit differently from any teenagers at the table. Second, their sense of smell and taste are not as acute as they were when they were younger, so you may want to adjust your dishes accordingly. But let's start at the top.
1. Especially if your senior guests are on any medications for high blood pressure, be very sparing with your use of salt as the added water retention will raise their blood pressure. Other dinner guests who do not have the same concerns can add salt to any of the items on your menu.
2. To compensate for less salt as well as a senior's reduced sense of smell, be creative with your use of spices. There is a veritable bounty of options available to use that will not make food too spicy while at the same time getting the chef rave reviews.
3. If any of the seniors at your table wear dentures, you will want to have foods that will be easy to chew and swallow. Don't believe all the TV ads that show delighted seniors eating corn on the cob with their dentures. Be careful that the dishes are moist as well, because seniors whose taste buds don't get as stimulated may not be salivating quite as much as the rest at the table either.
4. Tied back to their diminished appetites, be mindful of serving entrees that will pack a lot of nutritional value and calories. If you are worried that your recipes are not up to the "senior challenge," there is a lot of food help on the AARP ( http://www.aarp.org/food/ ) web site. Check it out.
As you put the finishing touches on your final dinner plans, it may also be helpful to just ask if your loved ones have a favorite dish they would like to have for Thanksgiving, and also find out about any new likes or dislikes. But most of all, remember that it is about giving thanks and enjoying the company of family and friends. Don't forget to have a Happy Thanksgiving.

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.
No, this isn’t a refresher course on Shakespeare and the famous Hamlet soliloquy. (Spoiler Alert – Hamlet was ranting about death, not slumber.) Do you find that despite how tired you feel, you still can’t get a full night of restful sleep? You’re not alone, because the older one becomes, the harder it is to get a good night’s sleep. Dr. Abhinav Singh, the medical director of the Indiana Sleep Center, suggests we view our sleep as if it were an older car that just doesn’t work quite as well as it once did. Ready for a tune up? As we age…especially if you’re a woman, it takes longer to fall asleep, we may have more wakeful times throughout a night and we may make up for these by napping during the daytime. Older adults’ sleep is not as deep and rejuvenating as younger people’s sleep, and that negatively impacts our immune system, our brain’s ability to organize memories and our ability to grow or repair bones and muscle. And all of this cascades into some real health issues the older one becomes. How about you? Is it trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or just feeling refreshed when waking from a night’s sleep? It may owe, in part, to checking out of the workforce which means we no longer have the demands or structure or early risings of work life. It also may be attributable to the loneliness or loss or just plain depression that can become part of the older brain. Older adults may also have medications for their blood pressure that give a nightly wakeup call to visit the bathroom. Women also have menopause that will exacerbate all of these elements that affect both men and women. Here are some tips from those like Dr. Singh who have devoted a lot of focus on what can go wrong with healthy sleep and what can be done to make your sleep more … well, restful and restorative:
- Recreate a daily routine that has you waking and sleeping at the same times;
- Avoid late afternoon caffeine – my husband makes 2pm his cut-off point;
- Walk every day with a goal your phone can track…10,000 steps maybe;
- Exercise more aerobically for 40 minutes 4 to 5 times a week;
- Soak up sunshine or use a Seasonal Affective Disorder lamp daily; and
- Schedule breakfast, lunch and dinner around the same time each day.
And maximize the effectiveness of your sleep time itself by:
- Ask your doctor about CBD or melatonin or other aids to a good night’s sleep;
- Keep your phone off and away from your bedside;
- Stretch and/or do some yoga each night prior to hitting the bed;
- Replace your pillow with one that truly supports your neck and head; and
- Purchase a new mattress that supports you and doesn’t squeak.
Some folks even recommend an upgrade to your sheets or a white noise machine to cancel disruptive night sounds. Wow, that’s an exhaustive list…maybe we all can sleep better having laid all the issues to rest? Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of, 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.
If you or an older loved one are at that age in the magical transition – otherwise known as 65 years old – you’re likely seeing a veritable flood of information directed at you. There is a lot to process if you or your loved one qualify for Medicare, and it would take a great deal more than one posting to convey all that you “need to know” as well as the trove of “nice to know” information. So, I’ll give you some general categories of Medicare-relevant steps and links to the details that can help you and/or your loved one make decisions.
1. New to Medicare – If you or your loved one are soon going to be turning 65, there are a lot of decisions ahead of you. It starts with what seems simple, because Medicare calls them Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D. Part A is about hospital coverage. Part B is about doctor and outpatient services, and it requires that you do some homework like identifying if all your providers “accept Medicare.” Part C is labeled Medicare Advantage and it begins to get a bit more complicated, because this is the place where private insurers play, and you may find it critical to rely on a dependable agent or insurance broker to sort out the real value. Part D is also the domain of private insurers, but the coverage is for prescription drugs, and you’ll want to do a detailed analysis of the amount of coverage for the prescriptions you currently have or what your provider can help with identifying on the horizon…especially insulin or cardiac or cancer or chronic disease medications. Click here.
2. Already Signed Up – It seems like it should be a breeze once you’ve already signed up for Medicare, but there are a lot more steps to getting what you deserve from your coverage. It starts with your visit to your Primary Care Provider, but also includes getting your account fully online, getting a trustworthy family member or friend designated as a contact, incorporate your health plans into your life, your travel and more. And make note of what has worked for you since you’ve been with Medicare and what you’d like to add in the future during open enrollments and more. Click here.
3. Open Enrollment – The easy part of Open Enrollment is putting the dates on your calendar. This year’s open enrollment window is between October 15 and December 7, 2022. And then it requires more homework, especially if you are losing coverage from an employer. The easier parts are Part A and Part B which don’t need to be changed. Part D may see changes in drug prices which may encourage a closer look at alternatives that may offer your prescriptions at better prices. Part C – The Medicare Advantage piece – also involves private insurers who may have changed the doctors or hospitals their plans since you first enrolled. And if you’ve had your drug coverage through Part D, you’ll want to give another look at what prescription drugs are covered and how well. Click here.
As with all homework assignments, it is important to start early, because there may be more than you think to be processed. Please check out the links I’ve shared here and find a reliable insurance agent whom you can trust to help you spend the money frugally and wisely. Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of, 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.
Raise your hand if you haven’t heard enough bad news in 2020. I thought so. We know we are not yet out of this pandemic, but I am not going to talk about any of that today. Instead, let me share the top five good news stories coming out of this past year…news that has been reported, but may not have reached all of you given a plentitude of COVID and related news. This is not my usual focus on elders and the families who support them, but I think good news may be in order. Please let me know which of these you may want to learn more about.
1. Eliminating Cancer: Scientists from Australia reported lab results that perhaps promise a vaccine for a number of blood cancers as well as some malignancies such as breast, ovarian, pancreatic, lung, renal and glioblastoma.
2. Food Insecurity: The Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 went to the World Food Programme for supporting almost 100 million people who have been victims of hunger and malnutrition in nearly 90 countries
3. Artificial Eyesight: A team of scientists from around the world collaborating in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have created a spherical eye with 3D vision capabilities. It is being refined for use in humans as well as possibly in humanoid robots.
4. Cleanup on Plastic: This is a list all countries should be on, but so far, it is Ghana, Vietnam and Indonesia who have committed to cut their plastic waste by 100%, 75% AND 70%, respectively by 2025. They are partners in the Global Plastic Partnership.
5. Water on the Moon: Okay, many of you are familiar with the 1968 Movie based on the book, 2001: A Space Odyssey. There is more water on the moon than has been thought, and that means that a sustainable base for humans on the moon may be within reach. By the by, there are plans to launch a woman and a man to the moon in 2024.
Let’s put 2020 in our rearview mirror and look forward to more good news in 2021. Remember your masks, remember your social distance, remember to wash your hands and look to a better future. 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.
Last week I talked about Ice Cream, Lunch and Light Bulbs as part of a retirement plan. Those three and more help us to make it tangible what we want to support us logistically, socially and physically as we retire and ultimately face some diminishing of what we have been able to do. And it’s a plan that can evolve over time; Living Well does not happen without really thinking about it all the way until…until we can’t. But there also is some paperwork and concept work you should be prepared to do as you look to living well in your next stage of life. I’m a list person when it comes to travel; I make the list, I check everything off and we head to the airport. Here’s your Big Picture list:
- Legalese: You may have prepared a Power of Attorney for both healthcare and finance, but reread what you have to be sure this includes people you trust. This is particularly true if the documents are time stamped with a date you don’t remember. A lawyer whom I respect puts it this way: “Make sure these are people who love you more than they love your money.” Also, add a Trust document, and make sure your life insurance is titled properly.
- Medical: Keep a current list of your providers, your medicines and dosages and emergency contacts. Add a Physician’s Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST is more comprehensive than a Do Not Resuscitate order). And First responders suggest that copies of all of these be kept in a plastic bag in your freezer…labeled…or some other easily found location.
- Finance: Most of us will at some age have access to Social Security benefits, but that’s still a bit tight as one’s sole income in retirement. Set aside money in an IRA (or ROTH IRA), or 401K or consider yourself fortunate if you have a pension. Get professional advice early and each year meet with your financial advisor to review. Think of it as Save – Spend – Review…rinse, repeat.
- Dream: What would you like to do? Where would you like to go? I am often a facilitator of this part, but it’s never my dream…it’s yours. All of this makes for your next year’s plans, and it also makes it a bit easier to get through the doldrums of winter as you anticipate your next adventure…I refuse to call these bucket lists. Call it a Live Well Blueprint…and when you follow your (not anyone else’s) blueprint, you will live well.
Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of, 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.