Planning for Long Term Care—PPA News Network

Patti Singer Democrat and Chronicle

Carl McDonough hadn’t thought much about long-term care until he received a call from his mother’s doctor in July.

The doctor reported that the 89-year-old Mary Bishop woman was showing some signs of dementia. Widowed for several years, she’s still living on her own in the family home in Glens Falls. Never having driven a car, she still walks to do all her errands.
“She’s very independent,” said McDonough, retired from Eastman Kodak and living in Chili. “That’s what’s making it difficult.”
McDonough said he didn’t feel rushed into taking action and that he and his brother, who lives in Poughkeepsie, will meet soon with their mother to talk about options.
“People don’t plan,” McDonough said. “I might be in that category right now.”

Elder care experts — lawyers, advocates and physicians — said that many people don’t think about long-term care until the need is upon them. “Life is hectic,” said Alan Illig, a planning coordinator at Lifespan, which provides information, guidance and services for older adults and also provides community and professional education. “They have higher priorities. There is some degree of denial.”

But lack of planning can lead to hurried decisions driven by emotion rather than information.

Read the entire series “Aging at Home”

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