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Family Matters

Long-Term Care

A Loving, but Often Confusing Decision

Long-term care continues to be one of the most misunderstood needs by most retirees and their adult children.

Long-term care (LTC) is a range of services and support designed to meet personal care needs, not medical needs.

These needs, also known among professionals as Activities of Daily Living, cover areas such as bathing, dressing, using the toilet, transferring (walking), caring for incontinence issues and eating. A common measure to determine when long-term care services are needed is when someone cannot perform two or more of those activities.

Who’s In Charge?

Learning about long-term care costs and services is necessary not only for the patient but also for family members. The reason? Someone has to decide who will act as Durable Power of Health and Durable Power of Attorney for the person needing long-term care. The loved one also needs a living will.

Everyone should have these documents completed before — not after — a major life event occurs.

Making wishes known and documented ahead of time can relieve family members facing tough decisions about care.

Because long-term care is not medical care, families likely will have out-of-pocket expenses. Long-term care insurance and similar policies can bridge the gap.

After age 65, there’s a 70 percent chance a loved one or yourself will need long-term care, according to the Administration on Aging. Most people cannot imagine themselves in this situation, which means that most people have no long-term care plan.

The average length of time for care is usually three to five years and can cost between $5,000 and $10,000 annually. Discuss long-term care with family members — where and how it will be provided and paid for.

Think carefully about who you designate for your Durable Power of Attorney and Durable Power of Health; if needed, these people will control your financial and health care decisions.

Family Affair – Plan a Reunion with the Clan

Is it time to make good on that goal of spending more time with extended family?

Facebook photos prove that years pass way too quickly. The gift of building deeper relationships with extended family can benefit every generation. Maybe this is the year for a family reunion.

Here are suggestions to get the ball rolling:

STARTING FROM SCRATCH — Begin with a survey or poll

Consider

Family budgets: Daylong, weekend, weeklong

Audience: How many adults, kids and teens?

What has the larger appeal to your family age group?

• Cruise
• Resort
• Renting a house
• Park, campground, private home

What activities are popular with the majority?

• Snow activities: skiing, tobogganing, snowboarding or hot tubs
• Warm-weather activities: beach, ocean, swimming or spa time
• Other outdoor activities: hiking, biking, team sports or picnics

What’s next

• Begin with a budget and request donations from the families for early expenses.

• Choose a firm date.
• Decide the theme. Go to Pinterest (pinterest.com) to get ideas.
• Create a website/blog or private Facebook page to communicate as plans are made.
• Create a timeline with deadlines.
• Email sign-up sheets with task assignments and list all members’ contact information. Find out skill sets of family members; don’t give a creative task to someone with an analytical personality, for example.

RESOURCES

Here’s what local travel experts say about streamlining the learning curve for successful reunions:

Choose a Cruise

Adrienne Greben, franchise owner of Cruise Planners/American Express in Concord Township:

“Groups are complex. It’s important to use the services of a good travel professional who will remember your family’s details and can guide you through every step — at no cost to you. The pricing is the same, but travel pros can often offer extra amenities for your family.

“Book your cruise early — even more than a year in advance.

Connections with a Click

Twitter. Facebook. Snapchat. Instagram.

On the surface, there’s nothing very social about social media. It’s just you — with a computer, smartphone, tablet, you name it — sitting around, poking at a screen.

While nothing can replace meeting for coffee or picking up the phone to chat, social media has been keeping folks connected for years, and its popularity keeps growing.

It’s fine to wait around to hear the weather report from your favorite meteorologist on TV, but keep in mind that same forecaster likely posted the information on Facebook hours earlier — and will keep updating it throughout the day.

News outlets announce breaking headlines on social media. Sports teams and businesses big, small, worldwide and local use social media to stay connected with their fans and customers.

If you feel awkward negotiating your way through the social media maze, you’ve got plenty of company. Some of the social media apps are confusing at first. The best advice? Download a few and start exploring.

Picture It

Not only is information shared the fastest on social media, but it’s also fun. With Snapchat, the photo-sharing app, you can take silly pictures and videos with the grandkids dressed as puppies or rabbits or astronauts (and lots more) thanks to Snapchat’s famous photo filters.

Snapchat tip: Press the screen when you point the camera to your face and swipe to try daily Snapchat themes. Go ahead and send it to a friend. The novelty feature is silly, unnecessary and addictive.

Like? Unlike?

If you’ve been sticking to your guns about avoiding the land of Facebook, you may want to reconsider. Sure, you don’t need Facebook to keep up with immediate friends and family you see face-to-face each day, but you could be losing touch with people you care about and not even realize it.

Getaway

Fabulous Pittsburgh Food Finds

Drink (in a Church), Nosh (on a Walk) & Shop (Where the Chefs Do)

By Paris Wolfe

My parents are from Western Pennsylvania so I should know Pittsburgh. I know all about yinz, gutchies and gumband. I eat no-bake cookies and gobs. And before I was introduced to “Barney” on TV, I thought everyone said “red up” when they meant “clean up.”

Still, it took until this year before I devoted 24 hours playing in the Steel City. I went armed with my GPS to untangle the web of freeways and one-way city streets. The elegant Renaissance Pittsburgh — in the historic Fulton Building — was my headquarters for the Friday-Saturday stay and offered its own Pittsburgh-centric room touches.

We indulged in sampling of the city’s myriad food experiences. It’s culinary wealth has me eager to return.

Here’s where we went and what we did.

1. Church Brew Works, 3525 Liberty Ave. (412-688-8200, churchbrew.com). We left downtown Cleveland at 3 p.m. Friday and, with stops, arrived at the church on time — 5:30 p.m. — to meet my cousin and her husband. After all, doesn’t everyone from Northeast Ohio have family in Pittsburgh?

The Church Brew Works opened in 1996 in a repurposed 1902 Catholic church. The owners maintained as much of the original structure as possible, including the hand-painted ceiling and the pews shortened for seating. The confessionals store alcohol, and the vibrant blue altar is used as brewing space. The building is one of a few repurposed Catholic churches that retains original stained glass windows.

The food and beer — note, two IPA offerings — are as worthy of admiration as the building.

1. ’Burgh Bits and Bites Food Tours (412-901-7150, burghfoodtour.com). Sylvia McCoy is genius with food tours that sample the cultural anthropology of Pittsburgh neighborhoods.

March is Colon Cancer Awareness month

The Longest Day^® is all about love. Doing what you love. And showing your love for all those affected by Alzheimer’s disease. You’ll love The Longest Day if you give it a try!