By Rick Banas of senior living and assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
The residents and staff of Heritage Woods of Sterling, a BMA affordable assisted living community, came together to create their own edition of the YouTube video dance craze that is, the Harlem Shake.
Located in City of Sterling in north central Illinois, Heritage Woods serves adults 65 and older of all incomes, including those on Medicaid, who need some help to maintain their independence.
The community recently was named one of the Top 20 assisted living communities in Illinois by Assisted Living Today.
Nearly 40 residents and staff members joined in making the video; we invite your to enjoy their version of the Harlem Shake:
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
By Rick Banas of senior living and assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
Pre-planning can help protect you from the pitfalls of guardianship, Attorney Melissa Wick emphasized during her “All About Guardianship” presentation last week at the Heritage Woods assisted living community that BMA manages in Huntley, Illinois.
Melissa is an Elder Law Attorney with Michling, Hofmann, Plaza & Wick, PC, (MHVPW) in Woodstock, Illinois.
Guardianship is an issue that comes up a lot, Melissa noted, because the aging process in the United States follows a fairly predictable course. Only 3% of us die suddenly while apparently healthy. For 97% of us, the course goes from being healthy to developing illnesses that over time diminish our physical and mental abilities and increase our need for assistance.
The best approach is to pre-plan and execute the appropriate legal documents while you are healthy, Melissa says.
Through pre-planning, you can take the steps necessary to ensure that you have maximum control about who makes health care decisions on your behalf and who handles your financial matters should the need arise.
You can designate Powers of Attorney for Health Care and for Property who have the legal authority to act as your “agent.”
You need, however, to have “Legal Mental Capacity” to execute any pre-planning documents, including the following:
Last Will and Testament
Revocable Living Trust
Living Will and Power of Attorney for Health Care
Durable Power of Attorney for Property
HIPPA Release so someone other than you can see your Medical Records
DNR Advanced Directive
In Illinois, this means you must have the ability to understand; the ability to appreciate the nature and consequences of a decision; and the ability to reach and communicate an informed decision in the matter.
If you wait and reach a point where you are unable to meet any one of these three criteria, you are no longer able to legally sign any of the documents mentioned above.
Not having Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Property means that you will be subject to Guardianship proceedings should the need arise.
Here are some of the consequences of the Guardianship process:
The process places outsiders in control. Decisions about who will be appointed as Guardian(s) to handle your financial and health care needs will be in hands of a judge and an attorney appointed by the judge.
The proceedings are time consuming. In the meantime, you are vulnerable. There is no one who physicians and other health care personnel can talk to about your treatment. Physicians are unable to withhold treatment even though that may be your wish. In addition, there is no way anyone can access funds to pay for your care.
The proceedings impact your privacy. Since the proceedings are conducted in open court, they are a matter of public record. Anybody who wants to can see what took place. The process requires the court appointed financial Guardian to compile a list of all of your assets and income. The list becomes a matter of public record
The proceedings are expensive. There are court costs, and the court-appointed Guardian(s) are able tap into your financial resources to pay themselves for the services provided. Engaging competent legal counsel to guide you through the pre-planning process and the execution of the necessary legal documents can be cheaper than the cost of a Court-appointed Guardian.
The proceedings are often subject to family disputes. They can be almost as traumatic as a divorce.
Perhaps worst of all is that Guardianship proceedings usually occur in the midst of a crisis, which adds deeply to the stress of the situation.
Through proper pre-planning, you can avoid the need for guardianship proceedings, Melissa advises.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
I grew up watching Art’s television show “People Are Funny.” I especially loved his interviews with children.
The best people to interview are women over the age of 80 and children under the age of 10, Art contended. “Both are refreshing and surprisingly frank.” They tend to be “completely unaffected by what other people think.”
Art, who died at the age of 97, was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. During an interview with TV Legends, he noted that one of the biggest changes that he witnessed during his lifetime was the tremendous increase in life expectancy. When he was born in 1912, the average life expectancy for a child was 47.
In the interview, he talked about being adopted when he was about a month old and being raised by parents who really were “grandparents,” considering the standards of the day. His adoptive father was 59 so was considered “old.” My father worked as a shoemaker on Mondays through Saturdays and as a minister on Sundays so “he saved souls seven days a week,” Art joked.
His book “Old Age is Not for Sissies” was published in 1988. I thought it would be interesting to take a look back on what he had to say about Senior Americans (his term), aging and ageism 25 years ago.
Age does nothing more than mark the year you were born. It has nothing to do with who you are, what you are, or how you live your life.
He decries the stereotypes that typify Senior Americans by senility, frailty and boring, repetitive stories. Our society, he says, is measured by the manner in which we venerate advanced age. The “good old days” weren’t all good, but “old age was venerated.” Rather than getting senior discounts, Senior Americans were given a “greater level of respect and more consideration.”
Senior Americans are not “decrepit senile people who need to be tolerated. We are a national resource with minds of our own.”
He talks about the rights of Seniors Americans to consideration and dignity and the right to live independently.
He talks about the importance of attitude, positive thinking and having the enthusiasm of a child.
He notes the importance of exercise “not because it will roll back the years,” but because it will make you feel better and help “diminish the natural effects of living more years.” Creaking a little is not sufficient reason to “throw in the towel.” For Senior Americans, walking is the recommended physical activity. Start gradually and learn to enjoy what you are doing.
He also notes the importance of healthy eating, and cited three reasons why many Senior Americans eat poorly. They don’t enjoy eating by themselves; food does not seem important; and that it is easier to eat whatever is handy than taking the time and making the effort to cook a nutritious meal.
He urges Senior Americans who are lonely “to get involved in something right now.”
In the Introduction to the book, Art features five of his “famous friends” and discusses the attitudes that guide their lives.
Illinois native Betty White is the first of the “featured friends.” Art applauds Betty and the other “Golden Girls” for what they have done for Senior Americans. “They deserve a standing ovation.” Now, a quarter of a century later, Betty is starring in two television shows – “Hot in Cleveland” and “Off Their Rockers.” She celebrated her 91st Birthday on Jan. 17.
Art mentions talking with Betty about catastrophic illness and how we have come to expect insurance companies and the government to pay for everything. They shared a common concern for those who lament having to use up their retirement nest egg to pay for care because it will leave nothing to pass on as an inheritance. We should consider ourselves fortunate to be in position to be able to pay for whatever care we need.
What also caught my attention were the opinions cited by Art’s “famous friends” about “retirement.”
Phyllis Diller labeled “retirement” as the “most awful think I could think of doing.”
George Burns attributed his secret to a long life to his belief that “you should not retire” and “being able to get up in the morning and do something you love doing.” George was in his early 90s at the time.
Art believed that Senior Americans comprise one of our most treasured, and undervalued, resources. He also believed that Senior Americans need to “stand up for themselves to receive the recognition they deserve.”
As he notes in the first paragraph of the Introduction to “Old Age is Not for Sissies,” remember Thomas Jefferson’s recommendation about “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
Here is some great advice for older adults from Ella York of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Ella serves as Community Outreach Liaison in the Attorney General’s Carbondale office. She spoke recently at the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living community that BMA manages in Benton, Illinois, about what older adults can do to protect their hard earned dollars from fraud and scams.
Never Give Out Personal Information to Someone Who Has Called You
Do not give out personal information over the phone unless you have initiated the call and you know the person with whom you are speaking.
If someone calls you and starts asking you for personal information, the best thing you can do is hang up on them. This is true if you have caller ID because you cannot trust the number that shows up on caller ID. Scammers have learned how to fake the telephone number that will show up. This is true if the caller claims to be from your bank, saying that there is a problem with your account. This is true even if the caller claims to be from Medicare or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Nobody from Medicare should be calling you and either asking you for or looking to verify personal information. The FBI certainly does not need to call you to get personal information.
Be Very Protective of Your Social Security Number
Do not carry your Social Security Card or your Medicare Card with you. Your Medicare number is your Social Security Number. If you want something to carry with you to show health care providers, make a photo copy of your Medicare card and black out the last four digits of your Medicare number. Doctors should accept it. If you are visiting a doctor or other health care provider for the first time, you may want to take your Medicare card with you. After the visit, be sure to take it out of your purse, wallet or pocket and return it to a safe place.
Regularly Check Your Credit Card and Medicare Statements and Your Credit Reports
Review your credit card statements, even if you have not used your credit card, to be certain that there are no unauthorized charges on your account. Likewise, be sure to check your Medicare statements to be certain there are no unauthorized charges, especially for medical procedures such as hip and knee replacements and for medical equipment such as wheelchair and scooters. If you see unauthorized charges, you need to immediately notify Medicare. Do not assume that because Medicare is paying that it is Medicare’s problem. If sometime down the road you need a wheelchair, scooter or a right hip replacement and your Medicare statements indicate that you recently received one, Medicare is not likely to easily authorize the request.
Obtaining and reviewing your Credit Report also helps verify if you have been a victim of Identity Theft.
You want to verify that the personal information in Section 1 of the Credit Report is accurate. You want to review Section 2, which lists every single line of credit under your name and whether each line of credit is in good standing. This is the only way to see if someone has opened a new Credit Card account in your name without your authorization. You also want to be sure to review Section 3, which lists any Public Records such as Court Judgments or Liens that have been placed against you. In the last section of your credit report, you’ll find a list of everyone who has asked to see your credit report.
If there is a mistake or something on your Credit Report that should not be there, call up the credit reporting agency and let them know. If you believe that you have been or might be a victim of Identity Theft, call the ID Theft Hotline in addition to the credit reporting agency. You can call 1-866-999-5630, TTY 1-877-844-5461, in Espanol 1-866-310-8398.
Free credit reports are available to you from the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA). You are entitled to one free report from each agency each year so you can stagger when you obtain the reports. For instance, you can obtain a report from a different CRA every four months.
To request your free credit report, Ella recommends going to www.annualcreditreport.com or calling 1-877-322-8228. Don’t confuse this website with the free credit report.com website, she said, because the www.freecreditreport.com website will charge you for the report.
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
One of the ads that really caught my attention during the Super Bowl on Sunday was the Viva Mas as for Taco Bell.
What caught my attention was that Taco Bell was not targeting teenagers, 20 somethings or Boomers. They were targeting Older Adults… during the Super Bowl.
I admit. I work in Marketing. I have worked in senior living for the past 35 years. I work with the largest provider of assisted living in Illinois. Most anything to do with seniors tends to attract my attention.
What I noticed after the Super Bowl was all the buzz in the Social Media about the ad.
Some people thought the ad depicted ageism, furthered stereotypes about seniors, and “just made fun of old geezers.”
Others commented that the ad was the “one bright spot in my night” and the “commercial does not make me dread assisted living.”
In this Clevver News video, Deidre Behar contends that, “there’s so much to love about this commercial.” It shows aging is just a number and that going out for fun is something everyone can do regardless of their age.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
