The end of the office... and the future of work - The Boston Globe

The end of the office... and the future of work - The Boston Globe


We love to hate the workplace, but we’ll miss it when it’s gone

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Work Without Boundaries Networking facilitates working around the world.
http://groups.google.com/group/wwboundaries_network

Communities are ill-prepared to meet the need for senior services

Communities south of Boston face dramatic increase in senior population, demand for elder services - The Boston Globe

“Tomorrow’s seniors are not your father’s grandfathers,’’ said Timothy G. Reardon, senior regional planner for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, which analyzed demographic trends including births, deaths, and migration and other factors to forecast the changes in populations. “COAs and other organizations that work with seniors must rethink the types of services they provide. It’s not going to be all meals on wheels and Sunday suppers at the COA hall.’’

Retirees - Seniors: connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery

CaringBridge. A Nonprofit Web Service Providing Free Websites During Critical Illness.

About CaringBridge

CaringBridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free websites that connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery.

A CaringBridge website is personal, private and available 24/7. It helps ease the burden of keeping family and friends informed. The websites are easy to create and use. Authors add health updates and photos to share their story while visitors leave messages of love and support in the guestbook.

gift choices | useful, needed and something won't complicate their lives.

TIME GOES BY | Gifts for Elders on Your List... by Ronni Bennett

Gifts for Seniors on Your List....and perhaps as hints for family members who might not know what you would like to have.

A Study of need for services when reaching age 65

Comparing Costs For In-Home Care, Nursing Homes, RCFE Assisted Living And Adult Day Care | Elder Care Residential Services

A 2008 long term care study done by Prudential insurance has some surprising information regarding the costs of care for services needed as we age. This is information is important to assist in making plans for the “golden years”.

The study shows that the average cost of a nursing home can exceed $70,000 a year for a semi private room. A break down of the daily charges is $194 per day. A private room can exceed $79,000 a year or $217 a day. These costs will, of course depend on the area of the country you live in. Some areas will be more and some less. It was also noted that there has been a 7% increase in the cost of living in a nursing home over the past 2 years. Nursing home costs have had an increase of over 30% in the past 5 years.

Assisted living facilities have seen the greatest increase in costs over the past 2 years. The average for living in an assisted living facility rose to nearly $39,000 per year. This is an average daily charge of just over $100 per day.

There was an average of a 15% increase in rates for the assisted living facility that provide care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

In -home care has had the smallest increase rate of all the service providers. The rate of in-home care has had an increase of 5% over the past two years and only 17% over the past 7 years.

The average cost for a certified nursing assistant providing in-home care is $21 per hour. The services provided by a certified nursing assistant are bathing, dressing and care provided under the supervision of a register nurse. These services are ordered by a physician and generally covered by insurance. These services are only provided intermittently and for a limited amount of time.

The 2008 Genworth Financial study of cost of care also covers the non skilled in home care. This is a growing segment of the in-home care services, as many individuals want to remain in their homes as long as possible.

The average cost for homemaker services is $18 an hour. The rate of these services has increased by 4% over the last year. A homemaker provides companionship, light housekeeping duties, assistance with cooking and running small errands.

In- home care also provides home health aides. These individuals are able to provide basic assistance with personal care, but are not permitted to perform and medical tasks.

The average rate of a home health aide is $19 an hour. This is an increase of 3% over the past year.
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This lengthy article is well worth the read. http://ow.ly/15YGwf

NOTE: they show average values, you will find costs in your area may differ wildly.

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I suggest following the blog http://ow.ly/15YGwf provided by:

Elder Care Residential Services

Mailing address:
610 Cypress Street
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
805-473-7400
FAX: 805-473-4704

Cell: 805-452-3225 9am TO 5pm Pacific Time

info@eldercareresidentiaservices.com

The Johns Hopkins White Papers: Research on memory continues to grow.

Amazon.com: Memory (Johns Hopkins White Papers : Memory) (9781933087108): Peter V. Rabins: Books

Memory "Shakespeare called memory "the warder of the brain," charged with keeping watch over an individual's personal account of being..."

The Johns Hopkins White Papers are a series of in-depth special reports written by some of the nation's leading doctors, all specialists in their respective fields. Each White Paper summarizes the very latest research and findings from all of the major medical journals, in easy to use language for the lay person to understand. We currently have thirteen different titles.

Research on memory continues to grow. Every year, investigators learn more about the causes of memory problems and how to prevent and treat them. We review the past year's advances in the understanding of memory disorders like Alzheimer disease, and discuss how people who care for patients with dementia can cope better with day-to-day difficulties.

Motivation And Improving Health In Older Adults, Medical News Today

Boosting Motivation And Improving Health In Older Adults, With The Use Of A Simple Tool

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a tool, the "Getting-Out-of-Bed (GoB) measure" to assess motivation and life outlook in older adults. The study, which appears in the October issue of the /i>Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, shows that the tool has the potential to be an easy-to-use measure to bolster motivation and thus, improve health behaviors and outcomes in the growing population of older adults.

Reverse mortgages may be the next subprime crisis

Reverse mortgages may be next crisis - The Boston Globe

NEW YORK - Reverse mortgages may be the next subprime crisis, according to the National Consumer Law Center.

Some of the same US lenders that helped drive the real estate boom with loans to home buyers who could not afford the payments are now targeting senior citizens, the center said. Brokers, who are given financial incentives to sell the loans, may be making misleading claims, according to a report titled “Subprime Revisited,’’ released yesterday by the Boston-based NCLC.

“This market is designed to serve seniors, so when we find abuses cropping up and migrating from the subprime market to the senior market, that sounds an especially loud warning bell,’’ said Rick Jurgens, an advocate at the NCLC who contributed to the report.

Reverse mortgages enable people 62 and older who are looking for extra cash to use the equity in their homes and receive lump-sum payments, periodic checks, a line of credit, or a combination of the three. Lenders are repaid from the sale of the home when the borrowers die or move.

<snipped>

Kohl and McCaskill released a government report in June that said some lenders falsely market reverse mortgages as “lifetime income’’ and sell mortgages coupled with other financial products, such as annuities, even though Congress banned so-called cross-selling in 2008.

The center’s study recommended enhancing borrower counseling prior to taking out a loan and holding lenders and brokers to a suitability standard.

Seniors, Care-Partners, take active role in their care

“Doc Tom” Ferguson A Voice of the Patient Engagement Movement

An engaged patient plays an active role in his or her care. Or, as e-patients.net founder “Doc Tom” Ferguson said, “e-Patients are Empowered, Engaged, Equipped and Enabled.”

We who’ve become e-patients don’t wait for our providers to tell us everything; we get it in gear, we ask questions, we do what we can to help.

Trust yourself.
You know more
than you think you do.

Ten Facts About the Child and Dependent Care Credit, IRS Tax Tip 2009-46

Top Ten Facts About the Child and Dependent Care Credit If you paid someone to care for a child, spouse, or dependent, you may be able to reduce your tax by claiming the Child and Dependent Care Credit on your federal income tax return. Below are the top ten things you need to know about claiming a credit for child and dependent care expenses.

1.
The care must have been provided for one or more qualifying persons. A qualifying person is your dependent child under age 13. Additionally, your spouse and certain other individuals who are physically or mentally incapable of self-care may also be qualifying persons. You must identify each qualifying person on your tax return.

2.
The care must have been provided so you – and your spouse if you are married – could work or look for work.

3.
You – and your spouse if you are married – must have earned income from wages, salaries, tips, other taxable employee compensation or net earnings from self-employment. One spouse may be considered as having earned income if they were a full-time student or they were physically or mentally unable to care for themselves.

4.
The payments for care cannot be paid to your spouse, to someone you can claim as your dependent on your return, or to your child who is under age 19, even if he or she is not your dependent. You must identify the care provider on your tax return.

5.
Your filing status must be single, married filing jointly, head of household or qualifying widow(er) with a dependent child.

6.
The qualifying person must have lived with you for more than half of 2008.

7.
The credit can be up to 35 percent of your qualifying expenses, depending upon your income.

8.
For 2008, you may use up to $3,000 of the expenses paid in a year for one qualifying individual or $6,000 for two or more qualifying individuals.

9.
The qualifying expenses must be reduced by the amount of any dependent care benefits provided by your employer that you exclude from your income.

10.
If you pay someone to come to your home and care for your dependent or spouse, you may be a household employer. If you are a household employer, you may have to withhold and pay social security and Medicare tax and pay federal unemployment tax. For information, see Publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide.

For more information on the Child and Dependent Care Credit, see Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses. You may download these free publications from IRS.gov or order them by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Home safety for elder care or alzheimer's patient

Preparing the Home for an Alzheimer's Patient from http://www.webmd.com/

Preparing the Home for an Alzheimer's Patient

Caring for an Alzheimer’s patient at home can be difficult. In taking the proper steps to become a successful caregiver, it is essential that you prepare your home for your loved one's arrival. Likewise, if your loved one's Alzheimer's is mild and they still live on their own, it is important that you ensure that their living environment is safe.

Not only must space often be reorganized, but every room in the house that your loved one will be using should also be made as accident-proof as possible. There are many basic guidelines that can be followed in order to provide safe and effective caregiving in the home.

In order to ensure a thorough approach, a room-by-room checklist can be very helpful. The following guidelines can be used for the caregiver's own home if the loved one is living with the caregiver, or for an elderly loved one's home.

Home Safety Evaluation Checklist, from Toghers

Toghers' {Toe–gers} mission is to provide the roadmap that will guide caregivers along their own caregiving journeys.

They offer a comprehensive
Home Safety Evaluation Checklist .
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This evaluation can be used to determine if someone is safe living home alone given the current state of the home.

Any NO response indicates an area of concern. NO responses do not necessarily mean that the person can no longer remain at home, but do indicate areas in which the home may need to be modified or where assistance should be brought in to ensure safety.

If the care recipient is unable to perform a task independently mark NO; if a caregiver is available to assist with the task mark CAREGIVER. This will help determine whether the care recipient is safe without a caregiver present.

Mayo Clinic health education outreach coordinator Angela Lunde

Angela Lunde is a dementia education specialist in the education core of Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer's Disease Research Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Angela is a member of the of the Alzheimer's Association Program Services Advisory Council, co-chair of the Advanced Practice Professional Education track for the Minnesota State Dementia Conference, and a member of D-BART (Dementia-Behavioral Assessment and Response Team), a multidisciplinary outreach service assisting professional and family caregivers in understanding and managing difficult behaviors often present in dementia.

Every man, woman and child should enjoy the pleasure of building a wooden boat. Building a wooden model boat is a good place to start

Every man, woman and child should enjoy the pleasure of building a wooden boat

Every man, woman and child should enjoy the pleasure of building a wooden boat. Building a wooden model boat is a good place to start. The files provided here are for building a stand off scaled model of the International Star Boat to be scratch built by novice or seasoned skipper.

RunMyErrand Boston community

Connecting Boston with a community of trusted local Errand runners.

RunMyErrand: Post your errands and get connected with local Errand Runners immediately! A Service Network

You may have seen us mention Service Networking. It's because that's what we do. While RUNmyERRAND is a place to outsource small jobs, what we're actually doing is harnessing the power of a community. Social networking has become quite popular in recent years and capturing this essence, and leveraging it to get real things done, is some pretty exciting stuff.

Helping cash-strapped family members, Erickson Tribune

Helping cash-strapped family members | Erickson Tribune By Meghan Streit

Helping cash-strapped family members: Between layoffs and the troubled markets, many people are experiencing financial hardship. When people fall on hard times, they often turn to family members for help. If you’re the head of your family, you may be grappling with how to best help your struggling adult children or grandchildren.

"The Erickson Tribune has been informing, inspiring, and involving its readers for more than five years." "Read nationally every month by people age 65-plus, the Tribune engages people through a unique blend of feature articles, departments, and contests/puzzles."

too many growth hormones

Ohio U. wins grant to study aging process - Business First of Columbus:

Ohio University researchers are working with a nearly $2 million National Institutes of Health grant to continue a study examining the effects of growth hormones on the aging process.

The $1.7 million grant, the Athens university said, is one of the largest NIH awards it has received. It’s also one piece of a nearly $9 million project with researchers across the nation.

At Ohio University’s Edison Biotechnology Institute,

Rebound driveway marker

NH_man_turns_a_perennial_problem_into_a_big_idea_product

Boston Globe: Dave Copeland Globe Correspondent / September 28, 2009

"Winter after winter, passing snowplows would snap off the markers that outline Arra David’s long driveway. Or he would scrape against them as he pulled in to park, scratching his car. And if he waited too long to install the markers, pounding them into the frozen turf without breaking them became a problem."

"... stainless steel spring at the bottom of a 4-foot fiberglass reflective rod that was flexible enough to survive plow blades."

"But David, who lives in Manchester, N.H., knew that commercializing a concept isn’t easy. So last year, he turned to Big Idea Group, a Manchester consulting firm that helps companies be innovative, based on consumer feedback."

"Nine months later, David’s hardy markers were on store shelves."

"He now expects the Rebound driveway marker to generate $2 million in sales in its first year."



Big Idea Group: Insights and Innovation to Grow Your Business

BIG is an open source innovation company.
We complement traditional, internal approaches with an effective and efficient open innovation process. Our particular expertise is in insight discovery, innovation generation, and innovation execution.

We have worked with clients on a variety of projects in consumer products and services, and at different stages of the innovation process. Whether a company wants to hire us from insight discovery to on-shelf product, or for just one segment of development, BIG's open innovation resources and processes will powerfully augment internal efforts.

BIG was launched in 2000. It is partially owned by WPP, one of the world's largest communications service groups.

"sandwich generation," Basically, it's a bummer,

More adult children support cash-strapped parents - The Mercury Life: Pottstown, PA and The Tri County areas of Montgomery, Berks and Chester Counties (pottsmerc.com)

Retirees are facing massive health care costs. They're living longer, so retirement funds are being depleted. And now rising prices, for everything from food to gas and heating oil, are only making matters worse.

Recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau found that the number of parents who've moved into their adult children's homes increased 67 percent, from about 2.1 million in 2000 to 3.6 million last year.

Other children are supporting parents who live in a separate home and who, in some cases, aren't even of retirement age.

Caregivers Face Role Reversal

Adult Children Caring for Aging Parents Face Role Reversal in Lorain, Ohio | senior home care Lorain Ohio (OH), Elder home care Lorain Ohio (OH), homecare Lorain Ohio (OH)

With all these added stressors, experts emphasize the importance of caretakers looking after their own physical and emotional health. “You can’t take care of someone else without taking care of yourself first,” agrees Bitner. This involves getting help from others, whether it be from siblings, a support group or a health care service.

The staff at Visiting Angels understands this need. The company provides non-medical caregivers who go into clients’ homes to offer companionship, do light housekeeping, run errands, prepare meals or do shopping — all services that can provide a respite for families dealing with the care of a loved one.

“You can be confident that your caregiver is qualified and has excellent references,” says Bitner. The company hires only experienced caregivers who pass a rigorous screening process. They also look for intangible traits such as a caring personality. Many of the company’s caregivers are former hospital staffers looking for the opportunity to do one-on-one personal care.

“We work with each family to develop an individualized program to manage the daily needs of the client and then match those needs to the best possible caregiver,” explains Bitner. Caregivers are then introduced to the family, who has the final say in the selection process.

Once the caregiver has been placed in the home, Visiting Angels continues its personalized contact through telephone check-ins and home visits to make sure the match is a good one.

Visiting Angels has senior homecare agencies in most states. For more information on the office nearest you, visit their Web site at www.visitingangels.com or call (800) 365-4189.

Courtesy of ARA Content Jeff & Robin Donnelly Visiting Angels