Karen is now available…In a manner of speaking… 🙂As you may know, my expertise is in the areas of aging, eldercare and long term care planning—undeniable issues as our population ages. Not only am I an accomplished speaker, writer and course developer for these topics, but I am also an educator and coach for professional advisors and their clients. I am a Living Benefits professional. In addition, I work with and advise aging Canadians and their families who are facing the uncertain future of growing older, many with no plan for this time of life. So over the last 20 years, I have researched, marketed and written about the benefits to all involved when a sustainable care plan is established in advance. Several of my long term contracts are coming to a close; I am looking forward to accepting new challenges in the Fall. Please contact me if I can be of assistance with your future plans. Working together, we can explore your ideas and needs, and then put the results into action. karenh@ltcplanningnetwork.com |
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The greatest fear in old age: Who will take care of me?A U.S. report revealed that the greatest fear among aging North Americans is being a burden to their children, trumping fears of surviving on life support or living in a nursing home. Though people prefer not to seek their children’s assistance, few have discussed their wishes or developed a plan. A mere 39% have talked with children about who will take care of them in old age. Only half have factored healthcare costs into their overall financial plan, and only 23% have saved for their future care. Having a plan in place for long-term care before they actually need it will help individuals avoid burdening their children. Having a plan will help reassure them about who will be there to care. Having a plan would help enable those who wish to age and die at home to do so. In spite of longer lifespans, rising costs of care, geography issues and more complicated care choices, people still are not taking the time to create a plan for long term care—something that should be a part of every financial/retirement plan written today. Woman stand to suffer the most; many will be the caregiver for their spouse and many will end up outliving their spouses with inadequate funds to support themselves. As the saying goes: Just do it! |
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By the numbers: Caring for seniors1 million: Number of Canadian seniors who received unpaid continuing care support in 2011 5.3 million: Number of Canadians who provided that unpaid care 200,000: Number of seniors who had unmet or under met needs 11.6 million: Projected number of seniors who will need care in 2046 $177.3 billion: Projected spending in 2046 $1.28 billion: Estimated cost to Canadian businesses from absenteeism and turnover related to unpaid care in 2007 Source: Conference Board of Canada |
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Dementia update
Could Alzheimer’s be caused by a brain infection?A new Harvard study suggests that Alzheimer’s may result from the brain’s attempt to fight off some infectious virus or bacteria that has crossed the blood-brain barrier into the brain, resulting in a buildup of sticky proteins called beta-amyloid plaques. Normally the brain is protected from such invasions, but as we age the brain-blood barrier becomes more leaky, and thus more susceptible to unwanted threats. More research is obviously needed, but researchers are excited about this new finding, especially since research in the Netherlands indicated that those with Alzheimer’s had greater leakage in the blood-brain barrier than the healthy controls in the study. Sources: Deepak Kumar Vijaya Kumar, Se Hoon Choi, Kevin J. Washicosky, et al: “Amyloid-β peptide protects against microbial infection in mouse and worm models of Alzheimer’s disease.” Science Translational Medicine, May 25, 2016 Harm J. van de Haar, M.Sc., SaartjeBurgmans, Ph.D., Jacobus F. A., et al: “Blood-Brain Barrier Leakage in Patients with Early Alzheimer Disease.” Radiology, June 1, 2016. |
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What’s Karen been up to?SpeakingI was delighted when Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring—a former financial advisor—asked me to create and deliver educational sessions at two different venues on June 17 for seniors and their families as part of his Inspire Burlington series. The seminars were a great success; attendees were thrilled to have learned so much about the long term health care system, and to have been shown so many useful resources. Contact me for more information. WritingFor financial advisorsSelling Long Term Care Insurance: First Do Your Own Personal Run Through For familiesAttention caregivers! There is a new magazine available for which I have been writing. It’s called Home and Long Term Care (homeandlongtermcare.ca). My articles include: |