Get Help on Making Tough Choices on Elderly Parents

Source: The Acorn

There are nurturing, caring, supportive and appropriate options available allowing family members to provide a "gift of love" for their aging and/or infirm parents who can no longer live alone. Making the best decision for a loved one ensures that he or she will receive quality care and be in a safe environment. Options available include retirement facilities, assisted living, board and care, Alzheimer's and dementia facilities as well as skilled nursing facilities.

Irene Wechsler founded ELDERLINK Referral Service after her mother's diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Wechsler educated herself as best she could about the disease but found it difficult to acquire the appropriate care for her mother. "Families feel desperate and vulnerable making costly mistakes," she said, speaking from direct experience. When a facility meeting all of Wechsler's requirements was finally found, it provided an environment for her mother to live out the last six years of her life with love, dignity, respect and family around her. For Wechsler, there was peace of mind, and she now gains strength talking with other families just beginning this journey, helping to educate them about their choices.

ELDERLINK is a free public service licensed by the Department of Health Services. Staffed with licensed administrators and a gerontologist, ELDERLINK serves all of California. For more information, please call 1-800-613-5772.