Bill Sanders, 57, has been taking care of his 90-year-old mother for the past 14 years, both at her home in Brooklyn, New York and the nursing home where she now resides. "When I took care of my mother at home," he explains, "I found that neighbors looked down on me. They thought I was a bum living off my mom. They didn't believe I was really taking care of her." Sanders thinks that a woman would not have faced this kind of ridicule.
Continue reading "Men As Caregivers" »

By Jack Halpern
Nursing homes are generally prohibited from moving residents. They can transfer or discharge residents from the home only for certain reasons and, even then, only when they follow specified procedures.
My Elder Advocate has a 100% success rate in preventing these evictions. Call 212-945-7550.
Continue reading "Nursing Home Evictions. Know Your Rights" »
The estate tax expired on January 1, 2010. It remains to be seen whether Congress will reinstate it before it returns in 2011, but the fact that there is currently no estate tax can have unintended consequences for spouses. Standard language found in many
estate plans could leave spouses with nothing. It is important to check with an elder law or estate planning attorney to make sure your estate plan does what you want it to do. My Elder Advocate can recommend the best attorney for you. Call at 212-945-7550.
Continue reading "Expiration Of Estate Tax May Hurt Your Spouse" »

By Jack Halpern
More than one-third of U.S. nursing home residents with advanced dementia have feeding tubes. About two-thirds of these have the tube inserted during an acute-care hospitalization.
Feeding tubes should only be used as a last resort because they lead to a loss of functioning, and can cause serious medical and psychological problems. If a resident is able to swallow and can get adequate nutrition by eating, no matter how long it takes, then no tube should be used. Lack of staff available to assist a resident with regular eating is not an acceptable excuse to install a feeding tube.
Continue reading "Feeding Tubes In Nursing Homes: Benefit or Abuse" »
Due largely to the efforts of the New York State Nurses Association, My Elder Advocate and other advocacy organizations, on September 17th, 2009 Governor Paterson signed the Nursing Care Quality Protection Act, which requires healthcare facilities to disclose information about nurse staffing to state regulators and the public. The measure has been a top priority for the New York State Nurses Association.
Continue reading "Governor Paterson Signs The Nursing Care Quality Protection Act" »
ACTION ALERT
URGE THE GOVERNOR TO SIGN A1752-a/S3527: Nursing Care Quality Protection Act
Click here to send an email now!
Legislative bills A1752-a/S3527 require hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostic and treatment centers to disclose to the public staffing and patient outcomes such as numbers of staff providing direct care on each unit and each shift;
Continue reading "ACTION ALERT:
URGE THE GOVERNOR TO SIGN The Nursing Care Quality Protection Act
" »

MORE SAFEGUARDS BUT MORE COSTLY AND COMPLEX
By Jennifer Cona*, Esq.
Under the revised power of attorney (POA) law that takes effect in New York on September 1st, baby boomers and seniors will have greater protection, but they will also pay more for a more complicated document.
Continue reading "NEW POWER OF ATTORNEY LAW FOR NEW YORK" »

By Martha Deaver* President, Arkansas Advocates for Nursing Home Residents. wwww.aanhr.org
My name is Martha Deaver. I would like to tell you about some of the abuses that occurred in 1999 to my mother, mother-in-law, and other residents in a Beverly Nursing Home, Riverview Manor, in Morrilton, AR.
Continue reading "Who Will Stop the Massacre? " »

Before I piss everyone off, I would like to wish all Dad’s a Happy Father’s Day, especially those in nursing homes who don’t have children and families to visit them. In my immediate family we don’t celebrate Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Not because we think that my wife and I don’t need a special day. We just think that we don’t need a special day to love each other. “Everyday is Father’s Day”, yelled Rabbi Wainkrantz in Yeshiva Ohel Jacob. We all hate to stand on restaurant lines anyway.
Continue reading "FATHER'S DAY" »

But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.
Bob Dylan-The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
Continue reading "Now Ain’t The Time for Your Tears- Part One" »
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