Here is a “Why didn’t I think of that?” idea for car manufacturers. The Renault Clio car has a newly designed swivel seat. Seriously – why hasn’t this been thought of before, especially for cars built with elder drivers in mind?

I own a Build Park Avenue, a car typically associated with older drivers. Our Park Avenue has a seat adjustment button that one can set for exiting the car. Say you’re an older driver that has difficulty getting out of the car. You just push that button and the seat drops down low and moves back – clearly a design feature for older drivers . . . but it has nothing on that swivel seat.

I want a swivel seat for myself, so why wouldn’t elders want them? Given the elder population wave, I suspect we’ll see more swivel seats on the horizon. Good job Renault!

Dr. Bill Thomas wrote about aging’s effects on tattoos as Scaring the Grandkids, commenting that “time changes everything.” Skin art in your twenties doesn’t look the same as skin art in your sixties. This was clear to me even as a child, seeing my friend’s father’s forearms as one green blob of old ink. I’m not sure what the original tattoos were, or original tattoo was, but it wasn’t anything by the time he was in his fifties.

For the daring, racy, edgy elder looking to make a statement, however; there are temporary tattoos available for that special night out. Here are some examples as found on Trend Hunter:

The National Council on Aging (NCOA), a non-profit service and advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., established a valuable web resource in 2001 for elders, their caregivers and aging professionals to connect older persons with resources and programs that help pay for prescription drug costs, health care expenses, utility bills and other basic needs. Since that time the site has helped millions of people find savings and assistance. Watch their public service announcement on the site:

There are often state and federal resources available to help that older people and professionals are unaware of. Navigating those services and programs, let alone staying on top of what the qualification requirements are, is a full-time job onto itself. The NCOA’s site, BenefitsCheckUp, holds an up-to-date database of more than 1,750 public and private benefits programs across all 50 states. These programs help with:

• Prescription drugs
• Food and Nutrition
• Energy assistance
• Financial services
• Legal assistance
• Health care
• Social Security
• Housing
• Tax relief
• In-home care
• Transportation
• Employment

The site connects elders with services through online questionnaires that determine what services and programs an individual may qualify for. Staff persons at Area Agencies on Aging and other senior service organizations use this site to assist elders looking for help, but so long as someone has basic internet skills, the site can be easily navigated by the individual him/herself.

Check BenefitsCheckUp to see if you or the one you care for is receiving all of the help he/she qualifies for.

Since I last wrote about the big news between AARP and the American Seniors Association (ASA), I have received numerous emails asking me questions mostly focused on 1) how to join the ASA, 2) how they compare to AARP and 3) what benefits and insurance programs they offer.

First: if you want to join, visit their website: www.americanseniors.org

Second: The ASA is an elder advocacy group similar to the AARP, but more politically conservative in nature. They’re actually going out of their way to market themselves as a conservative alternative to the AARP. While the AARP does not actively market itself as a liberal organization, some view them as such. The ASA appears to be embracing the conservative niche, doing things like posting Fox News videos on their website’s front page.

Third: Since I first wrote about the ASA, they have partnered with Liberty Mutual insurance group and Mutual of Omaha to offer a insurance benefits through their site. This is undoubtedly an attempt to both appease their increasing member base, but also to generate additional revenue. They are undoubtedly getting lead and/or commission revenue through their partnership with Liberty Mutual.

Buyers should be wary of what they buy regardless of where they buy it, however. American Seniors Association is still relatively new and they don’t have the membership base that AARP does, so if your primary objective in obtaining insurance is to save money, shop widely and wisely. For example, the ASA’s “Medicare Solutions” link on their site is actually a link to Senior Market Sales, Inc., a company that offers insurance products to seniors through third parties.

I did a little digging on the link to “Travel” on the ASA’s site. It appears that they’re just offering a commission based link through www.cltsloyalty.com, a company that partners with others to offer travel and vacation plans. While I see nothing necessarily wrong with this, a disclaimer of some sort might be appropriate. The ASA does not actually state that its their travel program, they’re just implying that it is by listing it on their site and failing to directly state that it’s not their program.

The ASA is still a very new organization that is slowly gaining experience and size. Their website format and design is, in my opinion, still amateur. It is not well organized or designed, and I think that’s indicative of their organization as well.

The ASA’s advocacy efforts appear non-existent, and I see no professional research resources on any work they’re conducting. At this stage, the ASA seems to be offering little more than a way for conservative elders to join an organization that proclaims to represent their interests, but don’t exactly say how. Instead they prominently focus attention on their revenue generating insurance and travel programs.

That being said, I’ve signed up  for their email updates to see how they develop and improve over time. Stay tuned.

I view helping others as a way to help myself, meaning I personally benefit from the reward of helping others. I have always tried to choose jobs that allowed me this benefit, thus getting paid twice, once in the form of a paycheck, and another in the form of personal satisfaction. Others, particularly retired people, fill the latter with volunteer time. Helping seniors can be one of the most rewarding ways to give your time. Why? Because, based on my experience, seniors 1) need the help due to the physical and mental limitations that come with age, 2) deserve the help, having worked hard for many years, serving their country, others, etc., and 3) appreciate the help. I’ve worked with other population groups, and seniors, without question, appreciate your efforts more than others (except maybe their family and caregivers).

If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to care for an elder. This is the method of thinking we must adopt if we’re to meet the demands of our aging population. The demographics just are not there to support our present, expensive system of care when there will be roughly 2 workers for every 1 person receiving Social Security. We, as a society, must do our best to help delay or avoid long-term institutional care for as long as possible. I’ve met and worked with many elders that were either able to stay at home much longer thanks to the care of family, neighbors, and church members, or could have stayed at home much longer if a volunteer support system was in place.

I understand that at-risk children need help, as do animal shelters, soup kitchens, and others. There are so many opportunities for volunteers that agencies are competing with each other to attract them, to the point where some offer stipends. You can select your interest, but recognize the unique reward that comes with helping elders. Many have never asked for help before; many won’t ask for help now. By coming into their lives in a helpful manner you can gain a friend, you will hear their unique past, their experiences with historical events we’ve only read about in books, and you will see them smile. These things can’t be measured in time or dollars. What’s more, you’ll be helping to create a culture that supports our elders, and if you’re not an elder, you will be.

The greatest benefit I’ve had helping elders, particularly with those in their final days, is the realization of our own mortality, that life does in fact come to an end, that my youth is temporary. Some have told me this thinking is morbid, but I think it’s just the opposite. Without the realization that my existence is limited, how can I truly experience and enjoy the days at hand? I don’t want to be the elder in my final days that thinks, “Gee, I should have smelled more flowers.” Helping the aged helps remind me that I need to live life – today, that I need to stop, breathe, and smell the flowers. Where else can I get that benefit?

Photo by Diacritical – some rights reserved

Wow, back when I was working as the social service manager for an Area Agency on Aging, my staff (with the help of volunteers) administered a variety of “active aging” programs, programs like Matter of Balance, Chronic Disease Self-Management, etc. I thought people attending those classes were active, but this takes the cake!

Three U.S. seniors summit Mount Everest!

Californian Bill Burke became the oldest American ever to reach the world’s highest peak at the age of 67! This marked his 3rd attempt. Sixty-seven . . . wow, that’s all I can say. I once climbed to Camp Muir on Mount Ranier in January at the age of 24 and thought that was an accomplishment, but this 67 year old has put me to shame.

“Snow, freezing, freezing cold, high winds, it was quite a wild ride. It was really difficult, a very hard mountain. There is nothing about it that is easy. But, thank God, we made it and we made it back safely” is what Burke had to say about the climb.

Two days before Burke’s acheivement, 66 year old Dawes Eddy of Washington made it to the summit, and another Washington resident, Kay LeClaire, became the second oldest American woman to reach the summit at the age of 60.

I tip my hiking hat to all three of you, and can only hope to just still be climbing mountains in Maine at that age. You would have made John Muir very proud.

I have always had a hard time with the “do crossword puzzles to stave off Alzheimer’s” mantra, and was thankful to overhear it being discussed recently on National Public Radio’s piece, Meditations, Digressions, From A Crossword Addict. Dean Olsher, author of the new book, From Square One: A Meditation, with Digressions, on Crosswords, found in the research for his book that one of the researchers who first established the correlation between crossword puzzles and mental acuity found the two were only “marginally related.”

“[The researcher] never said that there was a cause-and-effect relationship. He said there was a correlation. Maybe it just so happens that people who are mentally fit have a tendency to want to do crosswords in the first place,” explains Olsher.

Part of the appeal of the puzzles is the familiarity they breed. As Olsher points out, devoted crossword fans often find the same familiar language and references in their favorite puzzle. But, he says, “If you step out of your own dialect, and try a puzzle made by some other syndicator, edited by someone else, don’t you find that it’s alien territory?”

This is one of the reasons that Olsher dismisses the idea that crossword puzzles can stave off Alzheimer’s. “[Crosswords are] kind of the same activity over and over again. But the Alzheimer’s research shows that really what matters is novelty … Constantly exposing yourself to something new. That is much more likely, I think, to keep you sharp in the long run.”

Challenging your brain (and your body) is what keeps you mentally sharp. Olsher’s point is a good one, just doing daily crossword puzzles is not going give you the diversity of mental challenges that you need to reduce your risk. It eventually fails to become the mental diversity that you need. Pick up other things in addition. For a bigger challenge, learn another language, learn to play a saxophone, or go back to college.

Now, if we can just do something about the new mantra:

Bingo helps stave off disability in old age!

Brian Joyce, a State Senator from Massachusetts, has submitted a bill that would require anyone renewing their license after their 85th birthday to pass a vision and a road test every five years. Oh the controversy!

The Canton Citizen newspaper reports:

In a press release issued last week, Joyce, a Milton Democrat whose district includes the town of Canton, announced he is re-filing “An Act to Promote Safe Driving,” a bill that would require all persons renewing their license after their 85th birthday to pass a vision and a road test every five years. Described by Joyce as “simple age-based reforms,” the bill would nonetheless mark a distinct departure from current Massachusetts law, which “prohibits discrimination by reason of age with regard to licensing.”

“Current law requires only a vision test once every 10 years,” Joyce explained, “which means that an 85-year-old driver can renew his or her license without further testing until age 95, at which time the driver would only have to pass a simple vision test.”

There are presently about nineteen million seniors on the road in the U.S. By 2020 it’s expected that number will grow to 30 million. Statistics indicate drivers aged 75 and older have a 37% higher crash rate than younger drivers.

Is this an appropriate safety measure, to test aging drivers’ skills and abilities? Or is it age discrimination, ageism? The AARP has declared this bill discriminatory. When is it time to give up or take an elder’s car keys? What do YOU think?

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Photo by Greg Marshall – some rights reserved

There is a whole plethora of jobs being created that relate to our nation’s elder wave, so it’s little surprise that “Senior Mediators” have joined the ranks.

Got problems with Gramps not giving up the car keys?

Got issues with adult children thinking you can’t manage your finances?

Hire a senior mediator!

Or not, there are people that provide the service for free if you can find them. You can start by contacting your Area Agency on Aging through the Resources by State page. They may be able to connect you with someone at low or no cost. There is no problem with hiring someone to act as a mediator, but know that the industry is not regulated. Anyone can call themselves a mediator and advertise their services. I could advertise, you could advertise, George, Fred, Nancy or Mary. Just because someone calls themselves a senior mediator doesn’t mean anything, and while some may have mediation experience in one area, that doesn’t mean they’re well suited for elder issues.

Licensed Social Workers working in the field, particularly in long-term care, often have a lot of experience helping elders and family members find common ground. It’s amazing what sibling rivalries and family dynamics arise when mom, dad, grandma or grandpa needs help. These social workers have seen a lot, and helped families resolve their differences. It’s entirely likely you can find a social worker at a facility that would be willing to help. All you have to do is ask. Heck, if the problem isn’t overly involved, maybe I’ll even help for free!

FREE!

But if your problems are complex, and you can’t find someone for free, or would just as soon hire someone, EldercareMediators.com is one place to look. The Association for Conflict Resolution is another.

Good luck resolving those issues – and remember – it always takes two to tango!

A recent post at SeniorsAloud addressed the issue of retirees being easy targets for financial scams. Scam victims are not limited to retirees, of course; but older adults are some of the most highly targeted individuals for fiscal thieves. The blog post ended with the question – why?

My opinion? Seniors are targeted by scam artists for a few reasons:

1. decline in faculties – as abilities decline, people more susceptible to confusion and persuasion
2. intimidation – I dislike the phrase “little old lady,” but in this case it illustrates the vulnerability of an older woman (or man) when confronted by aggressive salesmen or scam artists
3. money – many seniors have cash in the bank
4. trust – seniors are often more trusting than other adults, particularly when it comes to family, who – unfortunately – are the majority of persons committing financial fraud against elders

Seniors will be making up a greater portion of the global population. Financial fraud is the fastest growing form of elder abuse, and will continue to be. A significant number of cases go unreported, particularly when family members commit the crime. Unless far greater consumer education, prevention, and prosecution occurs, more and more seniors will become victims of fraud.

Here are a few warning signs I’ve learned over the years through trainings on elder abuse:

1. the opportunity is only available right now
2. a person on the phone asks for your bank account information and you didn’t initiate the call
3. the person involved seems exceptionally trustworthy, and reassures the senior that this is in his/her best interest
4. the deal seems too good to be true

Caregivers and family members should watch for these warning signs:

1. unusual bank withdrawals that the senior can’t explain
2. missing checks
3. numerous unpaid bills
4. missing property
5. newly formed, close relationships with strangers

If you think you or your loved one has become the victim of financial exploitation, report the issue to your local police department immediately. Do not feel ashamed; it can (and does) happen to anyone.