50+ Lifestyles

Your Advocacy Connection

Offering Comprehensive Long Term Care Solutions and Patient Advocacy

By Gail Glockhoff-Long
GolderCare Solutions

New Years Resolutions
Each New Year brings another opportunity to start afresh…to resolve to change and improve something in our lives. Most Americans make some form of New Year’s resolution. Most resolutions are health related: to quit smoking, to exercise more, to lose weight, to floss daily. For others, it is to get their finances in order or to pay down debt. All are worthy goals for the year. From the advocacy prospective, let me add two
more to consider.

1. Resolve to get your Legal affairs in order.
If you had a debilitating stroke or accident today – who would have the power to make your medical decisions or write the checks to pay bills? Do you have someone named to legally act for you when you are unable to act for yourself? Does that person know, and do they know where to find the documents when they need them? Do they know your wishes?

Everyone over the age of 18 should have a Durable Power of Attorney for financial affairs and a Health Care Power of Attorney for medical issues. These documents name someone to step in as your agent and act on your behalf when you are not able to act. Your chosen agent is your advocate for medical care. Your chosen agent can help keep you in control when the unexpected happens.

If you do have Powers of Attorney, how current are they? Do you know how Powers ofAttorney are like bread? They can both get stale. More and more financial institutions are rejecting Durable Power of Attorney that is not current. It is a good practice to keep your documents up to date.

Going along with Powers of Attorney are your Will and Trust(s). The Will names the person to carry out the distribution of your assets when you pass. The Trust names the person to manage your assets should you become disabled and to distribute your assets after your death. A trust can be more powerful that either the Power of Attorney or the Will. An attorney can discuss which planning device is appropriate for you.

Does getting your legal affairs in order belong on your resolution list?
2. Resolve to get your care-giver plan in order.
If you are a caregiver or care manager, do you have a back-up plan? Who would care for your loved one if you slipped on the ice and broke a bone? Caregivers need to also have their care-giving affairs in order – including an emergency plan and a longer term back-up plan. Consider these scenarios.

Example 1 – Mary is caring for her husband Bob who has Alzheimer’s. Their children live out of state. Mary has a heart  condition that requires surgery and a hospital stay followed by a lengthy rehab. What happens to Bob while she is recovering?

Example 2 – Jerry’s wife Alice has dementia and becomes very agitated with strangers. Jerry takes Alice to Adult Day during the day while he goes to work. Jerry picks her up at the same time every day. Jerry is involved in a car accident that requires several hours in the Emergency Room and possibly an over-night stay. What happens to Alice waiting at Adult Day?

Example 3 – Jane has a very high level job and also oversees her mother’s care. She has hired in-home caregivers to cover the hours she is at work and then she cares for mom in the evenings. Jane hired a friend of a friend as the caregiver.  Unfortunately, the caregiver was not dependable and didn’t show up today. Jane has an important meeting and no caregiver. Now what?

As a caregiver or care manager, do you have both an emergency plan and a long-term back-up plan in place? The Care Advocates at GolderCare help families consider their options as they develop a back-up plan that can be put into place when needed. This respite plan could range from a couple hours for you to run to the doctor to a longer term plan while you recover from surgery.

Do you need to add developing a respite care plan to your resolution list?

One of my ongoing resolutions is to have best members possible on our GolderCare team. GolderCare Solutions is pleased to
introduce the newest addition to our team – Nancy Phelps. Nancy has degrees in Social Work, Psychology and Sociology and is a licensed Social Worker. She has expertise in the local community resources, mental health services, counseling, traumatic stress management and medical social work. Nancy is also a certified IPOST facilitator. Watch this column for future articles written by Nancy.