Schools

What's New in Senior Care in Wayland/Weston

On Wednesday, April 6 at the Wayland Public Library learn how the new challenges and opportunities of aging in the 21st century can come together to benefit elders and those with disabilities. This is the second of a two-part series entitled “What’s New in Senior Care in Wayland and Weston?” This is a free lecture and community service sponsored by MetroWest Eldercare Management and Caring Companion Connections. 

Our community is graying faster than ever. People live many more years than before, and live longer with more chronic and degenerative disease.  Family members live further apart, often in different parts of the country. Many more elders are living their lives out in their own homes, often alone. This rapidly changing landscape can present a bewildering set of obstacles and challenges to anyone trying to navigate best choices for themselves or their loved ones.

“People in 2010 are not having the same aging experience as their parents and grandparents did in the past,” said Linda Smith, a private registered nurse and certified geriatric care manager from Wayland, principal of MetroWest ElderCare Management (www.MWEldercare.com) and one of the presenters at this event.  “This creates new challenges, which require new solutions. This talk will help you sort out the growing number of options.”

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Even just to understand the many complex issues can be a daunting task. Smith will help demystify these new challenges, and present recommendations to best meet 21st century aging, be it in a private residence, an independent, assisted, or nursing facility, or any of the other housing alternatives available.  

While many new challenges have developed, so have new solutions. Assisted living has come of age. Technologies to help with aging in place are now available.  We know more about successful aging and wellness than ever before,” said Deborah Bier, PhD, a mental health counselor and director of Caring Companion Connections (www.CaringCompanion.net), a nationally recognized, innovative home care agency in Concord, MA. “People can live and age in place comfortably and safely for many years bringing the proper levels of care right into their homes.”

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The costs of longer years of care are also growing.  “That nest egg our grandparents thought would only need to last a few short years until the end of their lives now may have to last for a decade or more,” said Bier.  “Making care more affordable should be everyone’s minds, and we will discuss ways to create considerable savings over the typical costs of services offered by home care agencies still operating with the 20th century model.”

Bier will also discuss the upcoming technology local pilot studies that will be run in conjunction with area agencies such as Councils on Aging, and how the public may participate at no cost.  When combined with the proper human interactions, these are aimed at providing proven, cost-effective ways to keep elders and the disabled living safely in their homes. These technologies are all commercially available today, but have not been piloted in populations of elders living in their homes.  

 To reserve a seat, email Deborah.Bier@CaringCompanion.net, phone 508 545-2089, or sign up at http://blog.caringcompanion.net.The Wayland Library is at 5 Concord Road, Wayland, MA.


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