NPR Broadcasts "Managing Your Elderly Parents' Finances"

On Thursday morning (11:06 AM to Noon), February 27, 2014, The Diane Rehm Show, as broadcast from WAMU through the National Public Radio network, focused on the topic Managing Your Elderly Parents' Finances, with guest host Elise Labott.

The highly-qualified and well-spoken guests were:

Sally Hurme, Project Advisor, Education and Outreach, at AARP

Naomi Karp, Senior Policy Analyst, Office for Older Americans, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Elizabeth Loewy, Chief, Elder Abuse Unit, Special Victims/Special Prosecutions Bureau, New York County District Attorney's Office

This is the overview of the program topic:

Millions of elderly Americans suffer from dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other disabilities that make them unable to make decisions about their finances. 

About a quarter of all people over the age of 65 rely on relatives, often their children, for help managing their money and assets. But the task of caring for elderly parents and managing their bills and property can be overwhelming and time consuming. It can also be filled with ethical and legal pitfalls and a source of family conflict.

Two of these guests were quoted recently in an article by Ann Carrns, in The New York Times published October 30, 2013, entitled New Guidelines Aim to Help Financial Caregivers. So I knew that these guests were experts.

As I listened, I heard accurate information and sound advice, without one error or overstatement. The discussion covered such concerns as:

• Need for reliable and appropriate assistance for elderly relatives by family members who care
• Mental capacity and incapacity 
• Changeability of circumstances faced by elderly relatives
• Nature of services involving banks, businesses, investments, bills, living expenses, and medical costs
• Accountability by, and communications among, persons providing assistance or care
• Fiduciary responsibilities under a power of attorney or trust 
• Conflicts of interest of a family member with an elderly person
• Potentials for personal and financial abuse of a vulnerable adult 
• Roles of family members and assistance by community, government, or church organizations
• Planning processes -- when and how
• Helpful advisors, including attorneys, accountants, bankers, and special service organizations
• Devices for financial management, including direct deposits and payments, online banking, joint bank accounts (including problems with survivorship designations, versus "convenience" accounts), Social Security representative payees, agent appointments under a power of attorney document, voluntary trust arrangements, and court-ordered guardianship
• Scams, such as those involving mortgages, lottery awards, and telemarketing
• Reports of suspected abuse to local law enforcement, abuse hotlines, or special elder abuse investigation units  

During the program, more than twenty comments from listeners accumulated [increased to 37 comments as of March 8, 2014] that shared personal experiences and raised questions.

The program's webpage provided links to accurate, helpful resources:

AARP Guide to Managing Finances

CFPB Guide: Help for Representative Payees and VA Fiduciaries

CFPB Guide: Help for Trustees Under a Revocable Living Trust

CFPB Guide: Help for Agents Under a Power of Attorney

CFPB Guide: Help for Court-Appointed Guardians of Property and Conservators 

Selected broadcasts of The Diane Rehm Show are supplemented with links to a transcript or an audio replay sometime after the broadcast.  If that happens, I will update this posting.

Update:

To read a complete transcript of the broadcast access this link. 

To listen to the recorded broadcast with a multimedia computer, access this link. 

Adult Protective Services to be Expanded

According to a Press Release issued on September 28, 2010, by PA Senator Pat Vance (R-Cumberland/York), the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on that date approved legislation sponsored by her "to provide protective services for adults with cognitive or physical disabilities."  The legislation (SB 699, PN 1888) was presented to the Governor on September 29, 2010, for his consideration of signing into law.

Senate Bill 699 (of the 2009-10 Session), is described as follows:

An Act providing for protection of abused, neglected, exploited or abandoned adults; establishing a uniform Statewide reporting and investigative system for suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment of adults; providing for protective services; and prescribing penalties.

According to the Press Release, the legislation unifies a patchwork of services that currently exist for adults between the ages of 18 and 59, and reaches those adults with limited protections because they reside with families or non-regulated caregivers.

The Adult Protective Services system established by the bill clearly defines procedures for filing complaints of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It also provides for investigations of those complaints and the development of service plans to remove the adult from imminent harm and provide for long-term needs. 

More than 40 states currently have adult protective services systems in place that provide some level of protection and advocacy for individuals with cognitive or physical disabilities between the ages of 18 and 60.  Pennsylvania, however, has had no process by which any person who knows of the abuse of an adult in this age group can offer any meaningful assistance. * * *

During the past few years, Senator Vance focused on elder law and disability issues.  Her coordination of efforts with advocacy groups -- such as those set forth in a 2-page online listing dated July 8, 2010 of organizations supporting Senate Bill 699 -- and professional associations, such as the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Elder Law Section yielded results in the Senate and the Legislature.

"For a number of years I have advocated for this legislation, but concerns regarding funding delayed action," Vance said.

"Under the new federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it appears money will be available for this worthwhile and important program that the fills the gap between the protective service systems for children and the one for older adults."

One of the organizations on that list of supporters of SB 699 is Vision for EQuality, Inc., which announced the House adoption of it with great enthusiasm:

CONGRATULATIONS! WE DID IT!

September 28, 2010

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives today passed Senate Bill 699 to protect vulnerable adults who are abused or neglected. The House vote today was a unanimous 196-1.

SB 699 unanimously passed the Senate on July 3, 2010.

Governor Ed Rendell is expected to sign it into law. Pennsylvania is currently only one of five states yet to implement a protective services system. * * *

The advocates' years-long efforts -- now rewarded because federal funding should be available -- are noted on its home page:

Throughout Pennsylvania, there have been many cases of abuse and neglect of people with disabilities, yet there is no place to report such situations and no agency authorized to investigate them.

The PA Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC), an arm of the PA legislature, studied the issue in 2003 and concluded an adult protective services law was needed. According to that LBFC report [ An Assessment of the Need for an Adult Protective Services Program], an estimated 4,000 reports of abuse will be made statewide annually, and about 1,200 (or 30%) will be substantiated.

A House hearing held in the fall of 2006 documented a number of abuses, including a young woman with an intellectual disability who spent several days locked in a basement with her deceased sister and a woman with multiple sclerosis who was raped by her husband. Many individuals with disabilities do not come forward and press charges with traditional law enforcement because they fear retribution by the perpetrator on whom they often rely for care, food, and shelter. 

Pennsylvania has a protective services law for children and one for older adults, and now SB699 will authorize the development of a protective services system for adults ages 18 to 59. [Links added.]

Update: 11/17/10:

According to the posted Legislative History for SB 699, on October 7, 2010, Governor Rendell signed into law the legislation relating to "protective services for adults with cognitive or physical disabilities" as Act No. 70 of 2010.

According to Section 704 ("Effective Date"), "[t]his act shall take effect in six months."

Thus, the implementation date for the new law will be on April 7, 2011.

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare will be responsible for administering the new adult protective services.  Searching the Department's website for references either to Act 70 or SB 699 does not yet yield results, but it would, no doubt, as the Department approaches the effective date for the new law.

Update: 02/13/13:

Nearly two years after the enactment, I still cannot find reference on the website of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to this law.  I wonder about its implementation under DPW.

"Growing Old in America" Report by Pew

On July 7, 2009, the SmartTalk radio discussion program, offered by Public Broadcasting System affiliate WITF-FM (Harrisburg, PA), presented the topic "The New Generation Gap" with guest Kim Parker, a Senior Researcher at Pew Social & Demographic Trends, of the Pew Research Center.

The generation gap. It sounds like a relic of the 1960s when young Americans rebelled against the traditions and lifestyles of their parents and anyone older than 30.

Since then, much has changed. Today, children are closer to and more open with their parents. But what has emerged recently though is a divide in attitudes, especially toward social issues, between the generations.

A recent study by the Pew Research Center finds a new generation gap when it comes to issues like gay marriage. What are the issues younger and older people differ on the most? * * *

The basis for the program was a report issued June 29, 2009, by the Pew Research Center, entitled "Growing Old in America: Expectations vs. Reality" regarding its research conducted between February 23 and March 23, 2009, through focus groups convened in Baltimore, Maryland.

This is the "executive summary":

Getting old isn't nearly as bad as people think it will be. Nor is it quite as good.

On aspects of everyday life ranging from mental acuity to physical dexterity to sexual activity to financial security, a new Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends survey on aging among a nationally representative sample of 2,969 adults finds a sizable gap between the expectations that young and middle-aged adults have about old age and the actual experiences reported by older Americans themselves. * * *

AARP noted the study in its posting of an Associated Press article entitled "Study: Generation gap in US largest since 1960s" by Hope Yen (06/29/09). The article contrasted views of younger versus older people, as revealed in the Report, on such key beliefs as morality, religion, and politics:

Almost eight in 10 people believe there is a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older people today, according to the independent public opinion research group. That is the highest spread since 1969, when about 74 percent reported major differences in an era of generational conflicts over the Vietnam War and civil and women's rights. In contrast, just 60 percent in 1979 saw a generation gap.

Asked to identify where older and younger people differ most, 47 percent said social values and morality. People age 18 to 29 were more likely to report disagreements over lifestyle, views on family, relationships and dating, while older people cited differences in a sense of entitlement. Those in the middle-age groups also often pointed to a difference in manners.

Religion is a far bigger part of the lives of older adults. About two-thirds of people 65 and older said religion is very important to them, compared with just over half of those 30 to 49 and 44 percent of people 18 to 29. * * *

As to the characteristics of the newest "generation gap," it was noted by Paul Taylor, Director of the Pew Social and Demographic Trends Project, that "[t]oday, it's more of a general outlook, a different point of view, a general set of moral values."

For prior surveys and reports by the Pew organization on the topics of demographics and population aging, see: "Reports on Generations."

The guest on the recent SmartTalk program, Senior Researcher Kim Parker, led the full Social & Demographic Trends staff in preparing the survey questionnaire and then in analyzing the findings. She also wrote Sections I, II and III of the Report. So she was a knowledgeable guest -- and a good speaker, too.

Wisconsin Public Radio had featured Kim Parker in an earlier discussion program about the same topic, broadcast on July 2, 2009; but to listen now, you must be a member.

Graciously, WITF-FM made its thought-provoking, one-hour, July 7th audio broadcast available free for the clicking on its website, here.

"There was no respect for youth when I was young,
and now that I am old, there is no respect for age --
I missed it coming and going."

~J.B. Priestly
English novelist, playwright and broadcaster (1894-1984)
(per QuoteGarden)

"Dear Abby" Answers Alzheimer's Caregiver

On November 9, 2008, the personal advice column "Dear Abby" highlighted a question from a caregiver for a parent afflicted with progressive Alzheimer's Disease, which ended with the plea: "I can’t keep my head above water. Please tell me what to do."

November, 2008 is National Caregivers Month, according to the White House Proclamation for National Family Caregivers Month, 2008, issued October, 2008.

During National Family Caregivers Month we recognize and celebrate the many individuals throughout our country who work each day to ensure a better quality of life for their family members.

Through their selfless action, these caregivers provide their loved ones support and comfort as they age, combat illness, or suffer from disability. * * *

The National Family Caregivers Association, which initiated and continues to organize recognitions during this commemorative NFC Month, posted explanations and resource links on its website.

NFC Month is organized each year by the National Family Caregivers Association and is designated as a time every year to thank, support, educate and empower family caregivers.

"This year we are encouraging people to speak up during National Family Caregivers Month." said Suzanne Mintz, NFCA president and co-founder.

"One of the most important attributes on being an advocate for your loved one is the willingness and the ability to speak up and keep your eye on the ultimate goal, protecting not only the health and safety of your loved ones but for yourself as well." * * *

". . . for yourself as well" is the focus of advice in the recent syndicated Dear Abby column entitled "Mom’s Alzheimer’s consumes daughter’s life" published (among other newspapers) in The Kansas City Star that began with the caregiver's inquiry:

My beautiful, loving mother is now in the middle stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This cruel disease has robbed her of her memories as well as the ability to reason and function.

I want to support her the way she has always supported me. But caring for Mama is becoming more and more difficult as she drifts further and further away. Not only am I caring for my mother, but I also have a career and three children. * * *

The advice is supportive and helpful (although perhaps a bit presumptuous based upon the facts in the inquiry):

Although you feel alone and overwhelmed right now, the truth is you are not. * * *

Some signs to be aware of:

• feeling you have to “do it all yourself”;
  
• withdrawing from friends and activities that you used to enjoy;
  
• worrying that the person you care for is safe;
  
• feeling anxious about money and health-care decisions;
  
• denying the impact of the disease and its effect on your family;
  
• feeling grief or sadness that your relationship with the person isn’t what it used to be;
  
• becoming frustrated and angry when the person continually repeats things and doesn’t seem to listen; and
  
• having health problems. [Formatting applied.]
  

The column then provides a referral:

If any of these apply to you, talk to your doctor and contact the Alzheimer’s Association, because it offers a full range of services.

The toll-free number is 800-272-3900 or visit www.alz.org and take the Caregiver Stress Check interactive quiz. You will find with it a list of helpful referrals there.

In conducting that Caregiver Stress Check, twenty educational & support resources -- each keyed under one of the eight topic questions -- are offered to assist the caregiver of an Alzheimer's Disease patient. At its conclusion, all twenty online resources are listed.

At least two new books about caregiving were timed for release at National Family Caregivers Month; and a valuable third book, written in a sports theme for caregivers, was released last year. I'll note these publications in my next posting.

Update: 11/20/08:

Yes, please read that "next posting" -- Coach Broyles' "Alzheimer's Playbook" (11/20/08).

"Working with Older Adults" Training Events

The Pennsylvania Behavioral Health & Aging Coalition announced three, free, one-day training sessions for certified peer specialists, recovery specialists, and aging & mental health professionals on the topics described in an online flyer (Word format, 1 page):

• "Behavioral Health Issues in Older Adults" and
• "Understanding and Accessing Medicare Services for Mental Health Consumers."

The Behavioral Health Connection is a new, innovative resource center developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging through its APPRISE health insurance counseling program.

This training * * * will include actual case studies to help understand issues involved in serving Baby Boomers, other older adults, and those dealing with substance use.

The training is also designed to assist professionals in utilization of Behavioral Health Connection, APPRISE, and assisting consumers having difficulty accessing treatment needs.

A basic understanding of Medicare will be provided in working with Medicare beneficiaries.

In a discussion forum sponsored by the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers' Association, and in an invitation posted on the PBHAC website, Lynn Patrone explained the new "Behavioral Health Connection" and its mission:

Behavioral Health Connection is a brand new program that assists ALL mental health consumers in accessing necessary treatment, especially prescription medication. The training will assist all mental health professionals working with consumers and provide access to this unique resource.

Behavioral Health Connection serves consumers of all ages. There is no cost for the training but seating is limited!

Lynn referenced the online flyer, with registration form, for the training sessions (Word format, 1 page).

The sessions will be held from 8:30 A.M.-3:00 P.M. in the western, central, and eastern sections of Pennsylvania, as follows:

• October 9, 2008, at Mountain View Inn, 121 Village Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601
• November 19, 2008, at Inn at Chester Springs, 815 North Pottstown Pike, Exton, PA 19341
• December 10, 2008, at Radisson Penn-Harris, 1150 Camp Hill Bypass, Camp Hill, PA 17011

A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided to attendees. For further information, you may call 717-541-4219.

Advance registration is required. Registrations can be submitted to the attention of Lynn Patrone, at PABHAC/BHC, via fax (717-541-4217) or by email to: lynn@olderpennsylvanians.org.

New PALCA for Assisted Living Standards

On July 7, 2008, a coalition organized in 2008 -- the Pennsylvania Assisted Living Consumer Alliance -- issued a press release, entitled "New Coalition Presses for Quality Standards", announcing that its membership "is pushing for quality standards in Pennsylvania state regulations covering assisted living facilities."

According to its website, PALCA is "a collaboration of consumers, family members, and local and statewide organizations that have united to advocate for safety, freedom of choice and high legal standards for residents in assisted living facilities in the state."

In January 2008, the Pennsylvania Health Law Project announced the formation of PALCA with the generous support of The Pew Charitable Trusts. [Links added.]

PALCA is working to ensure that the consumer voice is heard and considered in the development of assisted living licensure requirements for Pennsylvania.

PALCA is advocating for the establishment of standards that define and regulate assisted living facilities – in particular those relating to questions of residents’ rights, staff qualifications, training and resident ration requirements, physical site design, fire and safety codes, aging in place considerations, consumer choice, control, autonomy and an enforcement system.

Additionally, at present, there are no national standards or consistent definition or regulation for assisted living, nor any clear best practice standards. * * *

PALCA now seeks input towards new licensing rules in Pennsylvania consistent with its mission of protecting elderly and disabled residents. Its website notes that "about 50,000 people in Pennsylvania currently live in facilities that may call themselves assisted living facilities."

PALCA lists and describes its statewide and local "Participating Organizations" on its website; and the list is impressive and broad-based:

• The Pennsylvania Health Law Project
• The Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly
• The Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania
• Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania
• Mental Health Association of Southeastern PA
• The National MS Society—PA chapters
• Liberty Resources
• Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council
• Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging
• SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania
• Elder Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Community Legal Services Elderly Law Project
• PA Brain Injury Network
  
• Pennsylvania Council on Independent Living
  
• Pennsylvania HomeCare Association
• PA Statewide Independent Living Council
• United Cerebral Palsy
• Speaking for Ourselves
• Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging
• Vision for Equality
  

The press release noted the need for regulatory guidance in Pennsylvania following the enactment of a new assisted living law last year.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly last year passed a bill to license the fast-growing assisted living industry. The regulations are expected to be released this month, and the public will have a chance to comment on them before they are finalized. Until now, state regulations have lumped assisted living facilities together with a wide range of homes for the elderly and disabled.

“The passage of Act 56 was a great first step for consumers,” said [Alissa] Halperin, [Senior Attorney and Deputy Director of Policy Advocacy at the Pennsylvania Health Law Project,] “but now we need to make sure that the law isn’t window dressing. We need regulations that will protect the residents’ rights to access their own doctors and caregivers, to have adequate living space and to be served by appropriately trained staff.”

Assisted living has emerged in the past generation to house people who are not so sick that they require a nursing home. But they generally need more help with bathing, dressing, medication management and other basic care needs than may be provided in personal care homes.

Assisted living has been a marketplace phenomenon for consumers who want independence, privacy, and choice, but who also want the ability to "age in place" -- meaning they will not have to move when their care needs increase. In the past, however, state regulations have been so minimal and enforcement has been so lax that numerous reports of bad outcomes and, even, tragic results for residents have been published.* * *

[Diane Menio of the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly said:] “Thus far, the quality of care has varied immensely from facility to facility, with the differences depending far more on the intent of the facility owner than on meaningful standards for ensuring good care. We need solid requirements coupled with meaningful enforcement to ensure that quality care is available.” * * *

For background about Act 56 of 2007, and the environment of its enactment, see: PA EE&F Law Blog posts, "PA's Act No. 56 on Assisted Living Facilities" (07/26/07), and "PA's "Assisted Living Facility" Bill (likely, Law)" (07/16/07).

I applaud the formation of PALCA and encourage its work on behalf of consumers.

I offer one suggestion for its organizers: Invite participation by medical and psychology organizations, like the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Association, the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and other membership organizations of medical personnel or mental health service providers.

As a new paradigm develops for "at home aging", providers of medical and mental health services need to examine their delivery practices and systems to be available and effective in an assisted living, or even a personal care home, setting. Why not offer these other affected membership organizations an opportunity to brainstorm their future too?

“Your paradigm is so intrinsic to your mental process that you are hardly aware of its existence,
until you try to communicate with someone with a different paradigm.”
-- Donella Meadows
American organic farmer, journalist, and systems analyst
(1941- 2001)
quoted at ThinkExist

Conference on Older Adults & Substance Abuse

The Pennsylvania Behavioral Health and Aging Coalition and the Pennsylvania Association of County Drug and Alcohol Administrators will host their first annual "Older Adults & Substance Abuse" conference on Thursday, June 19, & Friday, 20, 2008, at the Penn Stater Conference Center, affiliated with Penn State University, in State College, PA.

This important subject -- older adults' addictions -- receives greater attention, particularly as America's population (including the "boomers") ages. For example, the American Society of Aging, of San Francisco, CA, lists resources (Books, Workshop Guides, Bibliography, Videos, Booklets, & Pamphlets) specifically on this topic, under its web page entitled Alcohol, Medication & Other Drugs -- Abuse & Misuse Among Older Adults.

In another aging state, Florida, in 2006, the Hanley Center, in West Palm Beach, FL, had sponsored a "National Aging & Addition Conference" which was "designed to inspire, educate and launch discussion of prevention and treatment of addiction among older adults, both now and as the older population explodes within the next decade."

In Pennsylvania, the older population will explode too, and a similar conference is appropriate.

One of the speakers at the upcoming conference, Cynthia Zubritsky, will address that expected demographic change:

Pennsylvania currently ranks third in the country in the percentage of 60+ residents.

Based upon the 2000 Census, nearly 20% of the population of Pennsylvania is 60 or older. There are approximately 2.5 million persons over the age of 60, with almost 238,000 over the age of 85. One in five older Pennsylvanians lives in or near poverty and over 18% are members of a minority group.

By the year 2020, Pennsylvania’s over- 60 population is expected to increase to 25% of the population with over 3 million seniors; those 85 and over are expected to increase by 50%.

The current treatment service system is unprepared to serve the large numbers of individuals who will need treatment. This session provides the demographic framework to understand the treatment needs of older adults.

Many issues arising from this demographic change were discussed in a "2007 Pennsylvania Aging and Behavioral Health Forum Behavioral Health Issues In Older Adults" held on October 18, 2007, at the Masonic Home, in Elizabethtown, PA. That one-day forum included a session on "Older Adults and Substance Misuse, Abuse and Addiction", which noted the "[c]urrent and projected incidence and prevalence of older adults with substance abuse/misuse and addiction issues."

Substance abuse in that growing group of older adults, increases. See: "Predicted Increase in Addiction Among Older Americans", posted by Pennsylvania Treatment Centers:

A new survey predicts that the number of Americans age 50 or older who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs will double by 2020.

Researchers predict that there will be 5 million people age 50 or older with addictions by 2020, up from 2.5 million in 1999.

Misuse of alcohol and prescription drugs play a huge role in the trend; so is the willingness of Baby Boomers to take a wide range of drugs to deal with physical and mental health problems.

"There is a huge concern that what we're going to be seeing is a tidal wave of seriously affected substance abusers in later life," said Frederic Blow, of the University of Michigan Medical School. * * *

The brochure for the upcoming Conference in State College notes that the keynote speaker, Gayathri Dowling, Ph.D, will frame future concerns posed by the aging of America in the 21st Century.

Dr. Dowling will set the stage by discussing the current and projected extent of the substance abuse problems among older adults.

She will discuss issues that include physical and behavioral health issues in older adults including how drug abuse affects and impacts on the aging brain.

Dr. Dowling is representing the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and is the Deputy Chief for the Science Policy Branch Office of Science Policy and Communications.

This is the published Agenda for the Conference:

Day One -- Thursday, June 19, 2008

10:00 – 5:30 p.m. -- Registration Opens
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. -- Welcome & Announcements
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. -- Drug Abuse in the 21st Century: What Problems Lie Ahead
2:30 – 2:45 p.m. -- Our Aging Population – A Word About Demographics
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. -- Late Life Addictions
3:45 – 4:00 p.m. -- Break
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. -- The Deadly Triangle: Gambling, Depression, and Addiction
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. -- Reception & Film

Day Two -- Friday, June 20, 2008

8:30 – 8:45 a.m. -- Welcome & Announcements
8:45 – 10:00 a.m. -- Aging & Addiction: The Complexity of Diagnosis and Treatment Of Substance Abuse in Today’s Older Adults vs. Tomorrow’s Baby Boomers
10:00 – 10:15 a.m. -- Break
10:15 – 12:00 p.m. -- Project MEDS (Medication Education Designed for Seniors) Early Intervention for Older Adults
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. -- Lunch
1:00 – 2:45 p.m. -- Lifespan Geriatric Addictions Program
2:45 – 3:00 p.m. -- Break
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. -- Older Adults & Substance Abuse – Where Do We Go From Here?
4:00 – 4:15 p.m. -- Adjournment

If you are interested in attending, note the "Reservation Procedure" set forth at the end of the Conference's promotional brochure (PDF, 8 pages).

"Life After Life" Author in Interview Online

On April 6, 2008, a press release posted on PRWeb announced "Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr., M.D. To Appear On Your Mental Health Radio Talk Show". This interview with the well-known author of the 1975 book, Life After Life, will be broadcast online through Blog Talk Radio on Thursday, April 10th, beginning at 6:00 pm.

Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr., M.D., will be a guest on the radio talk show Your Mental Health on Thursday , April 10, 2008 at 6 PM EST.

The show is aired live and callers are invited to call in to ask Dr. Moody questions pertaining to his work on near-death experiences (NDE's), grief and loss. The listener call in number for the show is (347) 838-9159.

Dr. Moody is a Best-Selling Author of eleven books including Life After Life -- which has sold over 13 million copies world wide -- and Reunions, as well as numerous articles in academic and professional literature.

Dr. Moody continues to capture enormous public interest and generate controversy with his ground-breaking work on the near-death experience and what happens when we die. * * *

Dr. Moody's official website and the press release, together present his roles as a physician, researcher, counselor, writer, & speaker on very advanced topics in medicine & psychology:

• World-Renowned Scholar and Researcher. Dr. Moody is the leading authority on the 'near-death experience'—a phrase he coined in the late seventies. Dr. Moody's research into the phenomenon of near-death experience had its start in the 1960's. * * *

• Dynamic lecturer. Dr. Moody has enlightened and entertained audiences all over the world for over three decades. He offers many different lecture/workshop presentations on the topics of: Near Death Experiences, Death With Dignity, Life After Loss, Surviving Grief & Finding Hope, Reunions: Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved Ones, The Healing Power of Humor, The Loss of Children, The Logic of Nonsense, and Catastrophic Tragedies & Events causing collective grief response. * * *

• Best-Selling Author. Dr. Moody wrote eleven books including Life After Life—which has sold over 13 million copies world wide—and Reunions, as well as numerous articles in academic and professional literature.

• Featured Expert In the Media. Dr Moody has appeared three times on Oprah, as well as on hundreds of other local and nationally syndicated programs such as MSNBC: Grief Recovery, NBC Today, ABC's Turning Point, Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael Show, Geraldo, and The Joan Rivers Show.

• Expert Trainer & Instructor. Dr. Moody trains hospice workers, clergy, psychologists, nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals on matters of grief recovery and dying.

• Private Counselor. Dr. Moody works as a practitioner of philosophic counseling, consulting on a private, individual basis — in person, by phone, or at the bedside of the dying.

• Award-Winning Author. Dr. Moody received the World Humanitarian Award in Denmark in 1988. He was also honored with a bronze medal in the Human Relations category at the New York Film Festival for the movie version of Life After Life.

I would guess that most hospice workers, and many psychologists & counselors, have read Dr. Moody's ground-breaking book, Life After Life, or its progeny.

I read that book in paperback in the eighties. I attended a presentation by Dr. Moody perhaps ten years ago. I recommend both his books and his presentations as resources if you are intrigued by such inquiries.

Which topics will callers raise? If any of these topics interest you, or if you are fascinated by this explorer whose work popularized reevaluation of fundamental human phenomena, then I urge you to "tune in" via a multimedia-equipped computer for this interview.

"Is There An Afterlife?"

Last year, I read the book "The Afterlife Experiments: Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death", by Gary Schwartz, Ph.D., with William L. Simon, published by Simon & Schuster, Inc./Atria Books (02/01/2002).

This book approached the question of "survival of death" by attempting to apply scientific methods & tests, and achieve a conclusion supported by evidence.

Estate & trust professionals deal with the effects of death, as an occurrence, on property interests, including taxation & transfers. Those effects may be complicated, but -- man-made -- are quantifiable.

Because of our choice of careers, I suspect that most of us also ask more profound questions about death, including "Is there an Afterlife?" These other-worldly questions appear beyond response by reason or even most personal experience, and so usually become answered by religious faith or personal belief.

But some scientists attempt to apply experimentation to the subject. The author of The Afterlife Experiments conducted experiments, and then reached a conclusion: Under controlled laboratory conditions, leading mediums could contact dead friends & relatives and bring back detailed information, which could only have been gained if they were indeed in contact with the dead.

This is a description of that book, as offered by EReader:

This riveting narrative, with its electrifying transcripts, puts the reader on the scene of a breakthrough scientific achievement: contact with the beyond under controlled laboratory conditions.

In stringently monitored experiments, leading mediums attempted to contact dead friends and relatives of "sitters" who were masked from view and never spoke, depriving the mediums of any cues.

The messages that came through stunned sitters and researchers alike. Here, as they unfolded in the laboratory setting, are uncanny revelations about a son's suicide, what a deceased father wanted to say about his last days in a coma, the transformation of a man's lifelong doubts about the afterlife, and, most amazing of all, a forecast of a beloved spouse's death.

Dr. Schwartz was forced by the overwhelmingly positive data to abandon his skepticism, reaching some startling conclusions. * * *

The book was reviewed upon its publication by organizations pleased by his conclusions. See, for example:

• "Book Review - The Afterlife Experiments - Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death" Reviewed by Henry Reed, posted on Ezine Articles:
  

What if you could have a scientific reason to believe what you already in your heart know is true? The Afterlife Experiments: Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life after Death (Pocket Books) by Gary E. Schwartz, Ph.D., offers such a gift for those who know that life is eternal, that the soul survives death of the physical body. A professor at the University of Arizona, Dr. Schwartz and his groundbreaking, double-blind experi­ments have attracted a lot of attention. His methodology removes all the skeptics' objec­tions to survival research except one - that he does such research in the first place. * * *

• "The Afterlife Experiments: Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death", Reviewed by Dr. Anila Ragade (Professor of Psychology, Jefferson Community College, Louisville, KY), posted by The Kentucky Association of Science Educators and Skeptics:
  

The Afterlife Experiments is a lucid, well-written, thought–provoking book. The book starts out with a quote from the works of William James, the founding father of American Psychology, a man who actually accepted evolution and believed that our minds had evolved to help us survive! The words quoted state “In order to disprove the law that all crows are black, it is enough to find one white crow.” Presumably, the author has found not one, but five such crows! * * *

• "The Afterlife Experiments" Reviewed by Michael M. Tymn, posted by The International Survialist Society:
  

IF THE evidence offered by Dr. Gary Schwartz in this book that consciousness survives bodily death does not sway the skeptic, it is likely that the skeptic has closed his mind to truth and is only a pseudo-skeptic, merely a cynic who can't get past his intellectual arrogance or the fear that his structured material world will be shattered. Schwartz offers evidence that goes well beyond the "preponderance of evidence" standard required to prove civil law suits and, in this writer's opinion, easily meets the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard required for criminal cases. * * *

But the author's methodology (and certainly his conclusion) was criticized publicly by at least one scientist, and critiqued by many self-described "skeptical" groups.

The author, Professor Gary E. Schwartz, was the Director of the VERITAS Research Program at the University of Arizona, which, as of January, 2008, "expanded into a broader, more comprehensive, spiritual communication project named the SOPHIA Research Program", now also directed by him.

Since 2002, Professor Schwartz has written books on other challenging topics such as The G.O.D. Experiments: How Science Is Discovering God in Everything, Including Us, and The Energy Healing Experiments: Science Reveals Our Natural Power to Heal. These books are described on his website.

The question "Is there an Afterlife" was addressed in a more recent book, written by Deepak Chopra, M.D., entitled Life After Death: The Burden of Proof (Harmony Books, October 17, 2005). Dr. Chopra had written the foreword to Dr. Schwartz' 2002 book. I noted the book in my posting, "Physicians on Mortality & Dying: Part II" (01/30/07).

Another recent book on the subject, Is There An Afterlife?: A Comprehensive Overview of the Evidence, by David Fontana, was published in February, 2005:

Is death the end of this existence, as some scientists seem to assume?

Fontana, a British psychologist and fellow at Cardiff University, thinks not.

In this manual, he marshals studies and other evidence to demonstrate the persistence of unexplained phenomena that point to the likelihood of life after death. * * *

If you are intrigued by the scientific approach to the question "Is there an Afterlife?", consider these other online resources:

• "The Science of Death", posted by National Public Radio, on October 27, 2006:

Is the end of life really The End? Though conventional scientific wisdom says so, that hasn't stopped researchers around the world from trying to quantify the soul, explore near-death experiences, and other research into what might come next. Mary Roach, author of the book Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife talks about her findings.

• "Scientific Evidence for Survival Of consciousness after death", posted by Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife:

Dr. Ken Ring published a paper in the Journal of Near-Death Studies (Summer, 1993) concerning near-death experiencers who, while out of their bodies, witness real events that occur far away from their dead body. The important aspect to this phenomenon is that these events seen far away are later verified to be true. * * *

A scientifically controlled NDE that can be repeated which provides such evidence would be the scientific discovery of all time. However, science does not yet have the exact tools to accomplish this. But, science is coming very, very close. This kind of evidence and others provide very strong circumstantial evidence for the survival of consciousness. * * *

Spring began yesterday. Easter will occur on Sunday. Consideration of death and an afterlife, by each of us, could not be undertaken at a better time.

"Sandwich Generation" Feeling Stressed

On February 15, 2008, the Pennsylvania Psychological Association circulated an article entitled "Feeling pulled in too many directions" by email to its e-newsletter subscription list.

The article addresses the stress felt by the "sandwich generation" in caring for both children and elders, while trying to sustain themselves.

I found its subject relevant to this Blog, its observations accurate, and its practical tips useful. So I asked Marti Evans, the Conference & Communications Manager of PPA, for permission to reprint it here; and PPA agreed, where credit is given.

PPA is a membership organization for licensed professionals.

The mission of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association is to advance psychology in Pennsylvania as a means of promoting human welfare through activities that:

• Educate and support the professional development of our members
• Educate the public through disseminating and applying psychological knowledge
• Maintain and build organizational strength
• Advocate vigorously for public access to psychological services

Like so many professional associations with an educational outreach, PPA offers useful information to the public on its website:

• Other Online Resources -- A brief list of links to psychological organizations, addiction-related websites, and other resources.

• Multicultural Resource Guide -- a 25-chapter discussion guide about diversity: "This guide grew out of the desire to provide the psychological community and the citizens of Pennsylvania with information about the commonwealth's and the nation's ethically and culturally diverse populations with whom many psychologists interface and serve daily."

• PA's Professional Psychologists Practice Act (PDF, 13 pages)-- A link to the law governing psychologists in Pennsylvania, posted by the PA Department of State.

• Psychology for the Public -- Updates & resources for the individual and businesses

• American Psychological Association's "Help Center" -- A link to resources offered by the affiliated national professional organization.

You can subscribe to PPA's very worthwhile, periodic "Public Information E-Newsletter" here to receive information & updates, such as the article that follows.

The Pennsylvania Psychological Association Offers Tips for Managing Stress

You have a nice house, a great job and healthy children, but somehow the prime of your life is starting to feel, well, less prime than you had imagined. Those Americans in the "sandwich generation" (ages 35 to 54) report the highest level of stress, according to a recent national poll by the American Psychological Association.

Caring for aging parents and simultaneously raising children can leave many 35 to 54 year olds with high and untreated levels of stress. In fact,nearly two out of five Americans 35 to 54 years old report extreme levels of stress (39 percent vs. 29 percent of 18 to 34 year olds and 25 percent of 55+), and experience their highest level of stress for 8.2 days of each month, compared to 6.5 days for 18 to 34 year olds and 6.9 days for those over 55.

Furthermore, members of this generation report that their stress negatively affects others, citing relationships as a top stressor. In addition, 81 percent cite work or workload and money and housing costs as an extreme source of stress.

"It's not surprising that so many people in that age group are experiencing stress," says Dr. Andrea M. Delligatti, President of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association. "The worry of your parents' health, and your children's well-being as well as the financial concern of putting kids through college and saving for your own retirement is a lot to handle. The key is recognizing your stress and implementing healthy behaviors to address it."

The Pennsylvania Psychological Association offers the following tips for parents:

Understand how you experience stress. Everyone experiences stress differently. How do you know when you are stressed? How are your thoughts or behaviors different from times when you feel calm?

Identify your sources of stress. What events or situations trigger stressful feelings? Are they related to your children, family health, financial decisions, work, relationships or something else?

Recognize how you deal with stress. Determine if you are using unhealthy behaviors (such as smoking, drinking alcohol and over/under eating) to cope. Is this a routine behavior or is it specific to certain events or situations? Do you make unhealthy choices when you feel rushed and overwhelmed?

Take care of yourself. Eat right, get enough sleep, drink plenty of water and engage in regular physical activity. Ensure you have a healthy mind and body through activities like yoga, walking, working out at the gym or playing sports. No matter how hectic life gets, you need to take care of yourself -- which includes making time for yourself -- so you have the mental and physical energy to care for your parents and children.

Find healthy ways to manage stress. Consider healthy, stress-reducing activities -- taking a short walk, exercising or talking things out with friends or family. Keep in mind that unhealthy behaviors develop over time and can be difficult to change. Don't take on too much at once.

Focus on changing one behavior at a time. Reach out for support. Accepting help from supportive friends and family can improve your ability to manage stress. If you feel overwhelmed by stress to the point where you cannot perform your daily activities, you may want to talk to a psychologist who can help you better manage stress and change unhealthy behaviors.

Learn your own stress signals. People experience stress in different ways. When you are feeling stressed, you may have a hard time concentrating or making decisions, feel angry, irritable or out of control or experience headaches, muscle tension or a lack of energy. Gauge your stress signals.

To learn more about stress and mind/body health, visit the Pennsylvania Psychological Association's Web site, or the American Psychological Association's Consumer Help Center.

Update: 02/26/08 @ Noon:

On February 22, 2008, The Capitol Times (Madison, WI) posted an article that confirms, with studies & practitioner commentaries, the main point made by PPA above.

In "Midlife depression on upswing", reporter Anita Weier noted two recent national and international studies that support the point: "Middle age is proving to be an increasingly difficult time, when people can be overwhelmed with depression and even contemplate suicide" * * *.

An analysis of U.S. death rates by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the suicide rate among 45- to 54-year-olds rose nearly 20 percent from 1999 to 2004, more than all age groups.

In 2005, the suicide rate for those age 35 to 54 was 31.4 per hundred thousand, and the rate for those age 35 to 64 was 45.3 per hundred thousand, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

A study of 2 million people from 80 nations by researchers from the University of Warwick and Dartmouth College found an international pattern of depression and unhappiness in middle age. Those researchers found that the probability of depression peaked around the age of 44 for British people, while in the United States the peak of misery came at age 40 for women and 50 for men. * * *

John Martin, Ph.D., a psychologist at Psychiatric Services in Madison, was not surprised by the findings, because those in mid-life -- Baby Boomers in particular -- are facing a mass of stressful problems.

"We are seeing clinically folks in that mid-life range who are facing a sandwich situation, having kids at an older age and still some obligations to them, and having parents who require some care," Martin said. "There are relatively few resources available to really support that position. We have all kind of learned to put your nose to the grindstone, which isolates us more and takes us out of the sources of support that could combat depression."

The boomers are also facing financial stress and ever more multi-tasking at work, he said.

"This is expected at everybody's job, but it is really multi-interrupting," Martin said. "They are working really hard and not seeing much come back to them, in money or appreciation. They are not seeing results from their efforts. They come home after work and say, 'What did I do?'" * * *