Medical Concerns

Overcoming the Dangers of the Elderly Living Alone with Dementia

During the holidays, we enter a time of travel. People get in cars or planes, often to see relatives and loved ones they perhaps haven’t seen since last year. But while much of that travel is physical, for families with older loved ones who might be entering the early stages of dementia, that travel is also mental: You enter a world in which the person you know is slightly different.

The 2018 Aging in America Conference Comes to San Francisco

When people step up and start talking, listening, and paying attention to the challenges that are easier to ignore, real change is already happening. The more hands and minds that get involved, the more we can do. Join us for AiA 2018, the Aging in America Conference, taking place at Hilton San Francisco Union Square Monday, March 26, through Thursday, March 29.

Tips for Hiring Overnight Care for an Elderly Loved One

Elena was exhausted. Ever since her father came home from the hospital after his heart surgery, she’d been tending to his every need to ensure he recovered fully. After a few weeks of providing him with around-the-clock care, Elena and her father decided it was okay to start leaving him on his own at night.

Ultimate Winter Health Tips for Seniors in the Bay Area

It’s a rare and special thing to experience the change of seasons, and those of us who have lived many years and many seasons over have great wisdom to apply to these shifts. Even though our culture and economy want to keep pushing forward regardless of seasonal patterns, our bodies can’t help but feel those natural transitions. Especially in winter, our bodies want to slow down, regenerate, and store up energy for a fresh start come spring.

Hobbies for Seniors with Arthritis: Modifying Old Interests or Trying Something New

For seven years, I was a caregiver for an older woman with rheumatoid arthritis. She was happy to have me around to help her with the daily tasks that had become difficult, such as preparing her meals, decluttering the house, and even going through her mail and writing to her grandkids. But there were certain things she loved to do that just wouldn’t be the same if I did them for her. For example, she could no longer manage the fine brushwork on the models she used to paint, and she could no longer play the piano because her hands became sore quickly.

Senior Advocacy Services in San Francisco: What Do You Need and How Can You Find It?

Sometimes aging adults need someone to step up and advocate for them because of communication barriers and other disabilities. But it’s also true that our aging community needs proactive advocates because our own culture and social constructions tend to undermine the independence and dignity they deserve and underestimate the resources they should have access to.

5 Essential Healthy Living Tips for Seniors

Cliff learned firsthand what it means to reverse expectations about aging and later life. When he moved in with his nephew’s family, they expected him to stay in the house most of the time, read books, watch TV, build puzzles, and be around to let the cat in and out. He was as surprised by their expectations as they were to hear that he planned to keep playing golf every week, meeting with his poker group, and dating women from his senior center community. He told them he’d find a way to get to all of these activities, even though he can no longer drive due to his eyesight.

How to Help an Elderly Person with Depression: Tips for Family Caregivers

Kendra could tell that her father was suffering. He’d dropped several pounds in the last few months, never changed out of his robe, and kept canceling their weekly lunch date at his favorite fish and chips restaurant. His once infectious energy and zest for life had all but disappeared, and she no longer recognized the man who stood before her.