Welcome Vickie!

We are pleased to announce that Vickie Woods is joining the Choice Care Navigators Team. Vickie says: "At the beginning of my career in the Human Services field, I started out assisting individuals with special [...]

Welcome Mika!

Choice Care Navigators welcomes Mika to the team! Mika says: "As a nurse for 20 years, it's been my passion to help people, especially older adults and their families.  As my parents are also [...]

Guilford Woman January 2021

Choice Care Navigators is thrilled to be featured in the January 2021 edition of Guilford Woman Magazine!   Check it out here: Guilford Woman January 2021

Give Some Grace When Honoring Last Wishes

Everyone should make their end of life wishes known. That is the only way you have any chance of getting what you want. However, making these wishes known still does not guarantee that your end of life [...]

The Coronavirus and You

You can’t turn on your television or open your favorite newspaper without seeing it.  The Coronavirus.  Its impacts are far-reaching, from your personal safety to your pocketbook. What is Coronavirus, and how can you keep [...]

How to Avoid Caregiver Guilt

Guilt, the feeling that you have done something wrong and harmed someone else, is a constant for caregivers. Guilt may surface when you cannot honor all the wishes of your loved ones. For example, when [...]

Does Caregiving Make You Want to Scream?

Attention all Caregivers! Do you feel caregiving for your parent is a blessing some days, but a burden on others? Do you have days when you cherish the time you spend with your Perennial, [...]

7 Fun Things for Seniors to Do in the Raleigh area

by Ashley Beale Welcome to the Triangle, originally named for the trio of significant research universities of NC State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but perhaps more widely [...]

Are You a Caregiver? The Importance of Knowing.

While this seems like a simple question, many individuals who are providing care for loved ones don’t identify as a “caregiver.” Instead, they simply see themselves as being a good daughter, son, spouse, friend, [...]

Is it a Scam? 3 Ways to Help Avoid Fraud.

Mom:  Guess what??! I won a sweepstakes for $1,000,000!!!  All I had to do was pay the taxes on it, and they are sending me the check!  How great is that?? Daughter: Mom, no…tell [...]

The Gift of Making your End-of-Life Decisions

In last week’s blog, we explored the struggles that families often face when end-of-life decisions need to be made.  I encouraged everyone to have frequent family conversations so that end-of-life decisions don't take such a [...]

Difficult Choices Made with Love

Daily, I encounter families faced with tough decisions about their parents and life-threatening situations.  For some, their parents can fully participate in these decisions; for others, the children are left on their own to decide. [...]

The Scary High Cost of Care

Though my work, I have met many women who have taken hours,days, weeks, months, and even years off work to care for an aging parent. Although many of them were glad to have the time [...]

What Do You See When You Look at Me?

Growing up, I had the good fortune to live right next door to my grandparents.  Many a day was spent running back and forth between my house and theirs, spending time in their company and [...]

Think Long-Term Care is for You? Wrong.

When individuals think about purchasing Long-Term Care Insurance policies, they are usually thinking about their own future.   Rightly so, as such policies are a major factor in planning care because of the financial contribution [...]

Welcome Cheryl!

Choice Senior Care Navigators is pleased to welcome Cheryl Howard, RN to the team! Cheryl says: "As a Registered Nurse of 42 years, I have been very fortunate to have worked with Seniors and [...]

The Joy of Professional Help

As a professional geriatric care manager, I sometimes get asked…”Why would someone use a service like yours?  Anyone can do what you do.” Part of me wants to be offended by this statement, but the [...]

Can Sun Burns be Good for You? Yes they can.

Back in the spring, I went on a fabulous tropical vacation.  Many days of fun in the sun!  And yet, that picture you see above?  Me. “Enjoying the sun” while wearing a long-sleeve shirt, hat, [...]

Welcome Ester!

Choice Senior Care Navigators is proud to welcome Ester Skiff, RN, to the team! From Ester: "Since the 8th grade I wanted to be a nurse. Over the course of my career, I have been [...]

How to Avoid Senior Care Mistakes

#1 Don't Always Assume the “Doctor knows best.” That is why we go to the doctor, right? To get the expert opinion. To have her tell us what is wrong and what to do to fix [...]

Are Your Parents a Mess? That’s the New Normal.

I was recently chatting with my friend Jennifer, whose parents live in a retirement community.  I asked her, “How are your parents?” Her response? “My parents are a mess, but that’s the new normal.” She [...]

Do you think you’re old? Probably not

 Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! A 2013 Marist poll showed that 45-year-olds think 60-year-olds are OLD. But 70-year-olds think: SPRING CHICKENS. In other words, “old” is in the eye of the beholder. So I decided to [...]

The First Secret

Call our Senior Care Advisors today! Did you know that there are secrets to aging?  Want someone to share them?  Check out our own Dr. Corinne discussing this, and many more, issues on Rocking Chair [...]

Aging in America

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! A changing attitude toward work is only one cultural shift the USA will need to grapple with as an aging America becomes less of a far-off prediction and more [...]

Welcome Ashley!

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Choice Senior Care Navigators is pleased to welcome Ashley Beale to the Choice Senior Care Navigators Team!  Ashley will be leading our Raleigh, NC office. A little bit from [...]

Seniors Want Walkability too

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! A senior population boom is poised to reshape not just the way Americans think of old age, but how developers respond and build for this changing community. Read More [...]

Take Away the Keys, not the Mobility

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! New features of rideshare services let Mom and Dad keep their independence. The average American woman will outlive her ability to drive by 10 years, and men, six years, [...]

Busting the Medicare Myths

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Avoid becoming a victim of what you think you know about Medicare. Nearly everyone over the age of 65 depends on it, but myths and misconceptions around Medicare persist. The government-funded [...]

The Tour of Senior Communities

On Tuesday, October 3rd Choice Senior Care Navigators held its 6th Tour of Senior Communities!  Participants had a fun day filled with tours and goodies from 4 local retirement and assisted living communities.  The tour [...]

13 Fun Activities for Older Adults

13 Senior Activities To Try Today There are hundreds of different ways that you can get up and get active today. Here are some fun, productive and beneficial activities with proven benefits for both your [...]

Let’s End Ageism – TED talk

Let's End Ageism - TED Talk It's not the passage of time that makes it so hard to get older. It's ageism, a prejudice that pits us against our future selves and each other. Ashton [...]

Roommates aren’t just for College Students

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! When you think of roommates, you probably think of people in their 20s and 30s, but there’s a growing trend among Baby Boomers and beyond to find roommates for [...]

The Benefits of Yoga for Older Adults

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Many older adults are afraid that yoga is dangerous or convinced they can’t perform the moves, but research shows that yoga is a great choice for Baby Boomers and [...]

Tech Revolution Benefits the Aging

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Aging-in-place technology is helping to improve the aging experience for seniors and family caregivers. "Connected" health technology is a godsend for people who want to grow old in their [...]

Demand Increasing for Caregivers in High-Hour Cases

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! In-home care is delivered predominantly by home care agencies who employ caregivers and dispatch them to homes, however, the rising cost has some families privately employing caregivers to save [...]

Simple Tips for Better Balance

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Recent studies point to balance as an indicator for longevity. As we age, our balance and coordination begin to diminish, leading to a higher risk of falls. Four simple exercises [...]

Recommended Reading

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Recommended Reading The Bright Hour By Nina Riggs An Amazon Best Book of June 2017: The poet Nina Riggs was 38 years old and living with her young family [...]

A Better Way to Care for the Dying

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Doctors and caregivers are thinking more about how to handle end-of-life care.  Everyone wants to die well.  How do we make that happen?  Read more from The Economist here.

Self-driving Cars and Seniors

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Nearly 16 million people 65 and older live in communities where public transportation is poor or nonexistent. That number is expected to grow rapidly as baby boomers remain outside [...]

Senior Runs to Raise Money

After Jack Fussell lost his father to the disease and then almost died from an ulcer, he committed to a life of health and giving back. A combination of factors led Jack Fussell, in his [...]

May is Older Americans Month!

Call to talk to one of our Senior Care Advisors today! May is Older Americans Month and this year’s theme is Age Out Loud.  Smith Senior Center in Greensboro is ready to help you Age [...]

50 is the New Beginning

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! For many Seniors, retiring at age 50 doesn't mean the end of their career.  Instead it means a new beginning for the career they have always wanted. Read more [...]

Why You Need a Good Night’s Sleep

A restful night is important for our health and well-being, yet, as we age, it can be elusive. For most of us, a poor night’s sleep can mean irritability and fogginess the next day. But [...]

Happy Birthday!

Look Who’s Turning 65 March 2—Laraine Newman The comedian, actress, voice artist and writer was part of the original cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL). After high school, Newman went to Paris to study [...]

Robots as Caregivers

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Around the world, researchers are finding that robots can do many tasks once done only by humans. What’s the solution to the problem of an aging population in a [...]

Seniors Welcome New, Battery-Powered Friends

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Technology will change the way people age in America. In five to seven years, caregiving will shift, and a lot of home automation will become more mainstream. Read More [...]

Meet our Newest Team Member!

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Choice Senior Care Navigators is pleased to introduce our newest team member, Andrea Harmon! Andrea has 17 years of experience working as a social worker in Skilled Long Term [...]

Why we Must Combat Ageism

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! The graying of America is too often presented as simply a drain on our national resources and an opportunity to pit generations against each other. Click here to Read [...]

10 Ways Tech is Changing How we Age

Call Our Senior Care Advisors Today!   Mobile devices, wearable gadgets, and Internet-based technologies will help older adults age in place while monitoring their health and safety. Click Here to read more

What is Polypharmacy and Why Should We Care?

Call Our Senior Care Advisors Today! by Dr. Zeshan Mahmood, PharmD Courtesy of Certified Senior Advisors When I was still a Pharmacy technician, I remember a customer named Mrs. Johnson who had been coming to [...]

The Elderfraud Epidemic is Out of Control

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Only 1 in 44 cases of elder financial abuse is ever reported. Many seniors don't report getting ripped off, because they are embarrassed. Read More Post Courtesy of Certified [...]

2016 Influencers in Aging

Call Our Senior Care Advisors Today! Meet Next Avenue’s 2016 Influencers in Aging. These 50 advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts continue to push boundaries and change our understanding of what it means [...]

How Exercise Helps you Age Better

Call Our Senior Care Advisors Today! The benefits of physical activity for seniors extend beyond just helping them to avoid injury and disability; physical activity may also include faster and stronger recovery after injury. Read [...]

The Dilemmas of Parents Aging at Home

Call our Senior Care Advisors Today! Forcing an obstinate parent to move can be wrenching. What to do when aging parents insist on staying in the family home even after it has become risky or [...]

Smartphones and Skin Cancer

Call Our Senior Advisors Today! Smartphones can be used to detect skin cancer where high-powered microscopes are unavailable.  Dermatologists tested specimens with a smartphone microscope make with a $14 lens, a small piece of plastic, [...]

Live Long and Die Short

Contact our Senior Advisors Today! Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging, by Dr. Roger Landry, is a call to action: for individuals to live a lifestyle that will give them [...]

Medical Tourism

Call our Senior Advisors Today! Medical tourism, traveling abroad for medical treatment and procedure that are not affordable or available in the U.S., is a fast-growing industry.  According to the World Health Organization, the most [...]

Driving and Depression

Call Our Senior Advisors Today! Older Adults who stop driving experience a sharp reduction in their social network and nearly double their risk of depression, according to a study in the Journal of American Geriatrics [...]

How to Swap Ageism for Age Pride

Call our Senior Advisors Today! 'This Chair Rocks' author Ashton Applewhite on how to fight age discrimination and re-envision the years ahead. by Marci Alboher Ashton Applewhite is on a mission to dismantle ageism: both [...]

1 in 5 Alzheimer’s Cases May be Misdiagnosed

Contact our Senior Advisors Today! Alzheimer's disease is often misdiagnosed, possibly causing undue stress for those who don't have the disease but are told they do, and delays in treatment for others, two new studies [...]

Explaining Senior Moments

A new study from the Georgia Institute of Technology finds that older people struggle to remember important details because their brains can’t resist the irrelevant “stuff” they soak up subconsciously. As a result, they tend [...]

Groundbreaking Treatment for Strokes being Tested

Did you know that approximately 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year?   And that approximately half of those individuals end up disabled? Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic are working to change that. Read the [...]

Play Isn’t Just for Kids!

Playgrounds aren’t just for kids anymore. New designs cater to older adults who want to increase their flexibility and balance—as well as have fun. Playgrounds for older adults are starting to mushroom in cities nationwide, [...]

Another Reason to Use Choice Connections

A Place for Mom is being sued for breaking telemarketing regulations.  Many families are very frustrated with the numerous phone calls they receive for months after filling out A Place for Mom's online form. Remember, [...]

Recommended Reading

Parkinson’s Disease: 300 Tips for Making Life Easier By Shelley Peterman Schwarz An indispensable resource for patients, families, and caregivers Filled with creative tips and techniques, this updated second edition of Parkinson's Disease: 300 Tips [...]

Seniors and Fraud Protection

Seniors Need to Protect themselves from Fraud We can all be vulnerable to fraud, whether it’s a phone call, a seemingly innocent email that we receive or even surfing the Internet on our computers.  It [...]

If I Get Dementia…

On behalf of those who have the disease, a caregiver offers requests for how to treat people with dementia. A woman who works with people with dementia knows how she would want to be treated [...]

Green Houses as an Alternative to Nursing Homes

These small dwellings in residential neighborhoods provide a family environment with individualized care for the same price as an institution. While surveys show that most older people want to live in their homes as they [...]

Aging Stereotypes

According to new research, stereotypical views on aging can negatively affect our hearing and memory skills, according to University of Toronto researchers.  In a study of 301 adults ages 56-96, scientists assessed each person's view [...]

May 2016 Tour of Senior Communities

On Wednesday, May 18th we held our semi-annual Tour of Senior Communities event!  This fun-filled event featured tours of 4 unique communities in the Greensboro area, breakfast, lunch, door prizes, and LOTS of great information [...]

Older Adults can be at Risk for Dehydration

Decreased fluid intake can exacerbate age-related problems, such as declining kidney function, causing seniors’ health to worsen and sometimes landing them in the hospital. When Walter, 94, got the stomach flu, he became so weak [...]

How Societies Can Grow Old Better

In tribal societies, older adults are valued because they have useful skills. A scholar suggests ways we can appreciate seniors in the modern world. Traditional hunter-gatherer societies treat their elderly better than modern society does [...]

Time to Join the Sharing Economy

Seniors are in a good position to take advantage of this new model, either by finding a “gig” job or sharing their house, car or bicycle —while making money. When it comes to being thrifty [...]

Medicare Facts You Should Know

Time Magazine and Money Magazine teamed up to bring you a GREAT article about the ins and outs of Medicare.  There are lots of details that most people don't know! Check it out here!  

The Importance of Friendship among Older Adults

by Judith Horstman An active social life for older adults is critical to good health and emotional well-being.  Having a social network not only improves quality of life, but it's also good for your brain. [...]

Encore Careers

by Erika Walker Retirement today isn't what it used to be.  More and more older adults, including boomers, are choosing to work longer because they enjoy it, or are creating new careers and businesses during [...]

Finding the Right Care is Confusing

One of the questions that we here at Choice Senior Care Navigators get asked almost everyday goes something like this..."What is the difference between skilled nursing, assisted living, and memory care communities?" If this question [...]

The Senior Games are coming to Greensboro!

The 2016 Senior Games are happening April 5th-May 13th.  The games include Olympic style events, such as archery, billiards, bocce, bowling, cornhole, croquet, cycling, golf, swimming, and much more!  There will also be a SilverArts [...]

Caregiving

An estimated 44 million men and women are caring for ill or elderly family members.  It's not an easy job, nor always a rewarding one, and its challenges can have a ripple effect on other [...]

VA Aid and Attendance

Did you know that the VA offers a benefit that can help pay for in-home-care as well as Assisted Living and Memory Care?  They do! Aid & Attendance (A&A) and Housebound Pensions are stipends that [...]

TRLA Gives $8600 to Local Charities that Help Seniors

  Triad Retirement Living Association, (TRLA), announced its 2016 annual donation recipients. TRLA serves as an educational, referral and networking resource for members and the community regarding senior retirement services. TRLA is an unincorporated association that [...]

Holidays with Loved Ones in a Senior Community

As the holidays approach, don't forget about your loved one in a Senior Community!  All Senior Communities welcome family and friends to visit during the holidays, and often have special events going on just to [...]

‘Tis the Season for Medicare Fraud

As soon as the Medicare open enrollment period starts, scammers begin their efforts to steal your identity.The National Council on Aging (July 17, 2015) offers five tips to avoid the most common Medicare scams. 1. [...]

Why Gratitude is Good

by Robert Emmons With Thanksgiving approaching, we’ll all soon be taking time to acknowledge what we’re grateful for. It’s a nice gesture, of course, but why do we do it? What good is gratitude?   [...]

Recommended Reading

100 Simple Things You can do to Prevent Alzheimer’s and Age-related Memory Loss by Jean Carper   Most people think there is little or nothing you can do to avoid Alzheimer's. But scientists know this [...]

10 Tips for Caregivers during the Holidays

by Amy Goyer, AARP During this busy season, we can be tempted to increase unhealthy behavior — such as drinking more alcohol, eating more sweets, getting less sleep and exercising less. This in turn lowers [...]

Recommended Reading: The Daughter Trap

The Daughter Trap: Taking care of Mom, Dad…and You. By Laurel Kennedy   When aging parents need help, they turn to a daughter. This book answers the question "now what?" and helps women successfully juggle [...]

Are You Having Senior Moments?

When a Senior has a memory lapse, it is common to hear them say, “Oh I’m having a senior moment.” This is their nice way of saying, “I’m getting older, and my memory isn’t as [...]

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Four Ways Managing a Loved One’s Care is Costing You & How to Avoid Them

Don’t find yourself caught in these all-too-often situations. Download this resource and start preparing today.