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All Articles in Caregiving and Support (25)

When the Caregiver Is Also the Spouse: Pride Month and the LGBTQ+ Couples Aging Without a Safety Net

When the Caregiver Is Also the Spouse: Pride Month and the LGBTQ+ Couples Aging Without a Safety Net

An LGBTQ+ spouse turned away at hospital intake is not a story from 1985. It still happens. A wellness counselor walks through the paperwork, the federal protec

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Jun 03, 2026
PACE: The Medicare/Medicaid Program That Pays for Respite Care (and Most Families Have Never Heard Of)

PACE: The Medicare/Medicaid Program That Pays for Respite Care (and Most Families Have Never Heard Of)

PACE is the Medicare and Medicaid program that pays for adult day care, transportation, prescriptions, and caregiver respite — and for dual-eligible families it

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · May 27, 2026
When to Hire a Geriatric Care Manager (and What They Do)

When to Hire a Geriatric Care Manager (and What They Do)

A wellness counselor with 40 years of experience explains when a geriatric care manager is worth the $100-$250 per hour, what an assessment includes, and the qu

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · May 19, 2026
Long-Distance Caregiving: How to Help a Parent Who Lives Far Away

Long-Distance Caregiving: How to Help a Parent Who Lives Far Away

When you can't be there every day, caregiving gets harder — but not impossible. A practical guide to remote monitoring, coordinating local help, managing medica

Caregiving · Nino C. · May 13, 2026
How to Choose a Home Care Agency (And the Red Flags to Watch For)

How to Choose a Home Care Agency (And the Red Flags to Watch For)

Finding the right home care agency means knowing what to ask, what to demand, and what to walk away from. A caregiver advocate with 40 years of experience share

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · May 09, 2026
Federal Nursing Home Staffing Minimums Were Just Repealed — What Families Need to Know

Federal Nursing Home Staffing Minimums Were Just Repealed — What Families Need to Know

The CMS minimum staffing rule for nursing homes has been formally repealed as of February 2026. Here's what families need to know about what was lost, what stil

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Apr 04, 2026
What to Say (and Not Say) to Someone Who Is Grieving

What to Say (and Not Say) to Someone Who Is Grieving

A grief counselor shares the phrases that hurt, what actually helps, and how to keep showing up long after the funeral — because knowing what to say to someone

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Mar 24, 2026
Grief After Losing a Spouse: What Nobody Tells You

Grief After Losing a Spouse: What Nobody Tells You

Losing a spouse triggers more than heartbreak — identity confusion, physical exhaustion, financial shock. A grief counselor who walked this road shares the real

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Mar 17, 2026
How to Help a Parent Who Refuses Help

How to Help a Parent Who Refuses Help

When a parent says "I'm fine" and everything tells you they are not, the hardest part isn't finding the right words — it's understanding what they're actually p

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Mar 10, 2026
Signs of Caregiver Burnout and What to Do About It

Signs of Caregiver Burnout and What to Do About It

Caregiver burnout is real and often invisible. Discover the warning signs — exhaustion, irritability, isolation — and learn about respite care, support groups,

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Mar 03, 2026
Choosing a Care Home for a Parent: What to Look For

Choosing a Care Home for a Parent: What to Look For

The marketing brochure says 'all-inclusive,' the contract says otherwise. A financial planner who has placed both parents walks through care levels, real costs,

Caregiving · Benjamin Wells · Dec 22, 2023
The Largest Assisted Living Companies in the U.S. (2026): What Families Should Know

The Largest Assisted Living Companies in the U.S. (2026): What Families Should Know

The biggest assisted living operators ranked — and the question almost nobody tells you to ask: who actually owns them. Public companies, private equity, REITs,

Caregiving · Nino C. · Dec 18, 2023
Caregiver Burnout: What It Is, How to Recover

Caregiver Burnout: What It Is, How to Recover

Burnout isn't weakness. It's what untreated, unsupported caregiving does to a body and a mind over months and years. Here's what to watch for, and what actually

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Oct 28, 2023
Mobility Aids for Seniors: A Caregiver's Real Guide

Mobility Aids for Seniors: A Caregiver's Real Guide

The cane sat by the front door for six months before Dad would touch it. By then he'd already fallen twice. Here's what I've learned about canes, walkers, rolla

Caregiving · Nino C. · Sep 04, 2023
Assisted Living After the First Month: The Long View

Assisted Living After the First Month: The Long View

Months two through twelve in assisted living are the part nobody warns you about. The dip at week ten, the care conference at month three, the first holiday in

Caregiving · Victoria Sinclair · Aug 21, 2023
Senior Care Products in 2026: 12 That Earn Their Keep

Senior Care Products in 2026: 12 That Earn Their Keep

Specific brands, real 2026 prices, and the Medicare codes you need on the prescription. The senior care list a caregiver can actually act on.

Caregiving · Nino C. · Aug 07, 2023
30 Essential Questions: Choosing Assisted Living for Parents

30 Essential Questions: Choosing Assisted Living for Parents

After moving both his father and mother into assisted living, Benjamin Wells shares the questions that actually matter — about care, money, contracts, and the t

Caregiving · Benjamin Wells · Jul 03, 2023
A Parent's First Month in Assisted Living

A Parent's First Month in Assisted Living

What actually happens week by week when you move a parent into assisted living, from somebody who did it with her mother Dorothy. The honest version.

Caregiving · Victoria Sinclair · Jun 12, 2023
Why Families Become Caregivers for Aging Parents

Why Families Become Caregivers for Aging Parents

Most family caregivers didn't choose the role; they arrived at it. A financial planner breaks down the forces that bring families here and what to do before a c

Caregiving · Benjamin Wells · Apr 17, 2023
Aging in Place: An Honest Pillar Guide for Seniors

Aging in Place: An Honest Pillar Guide for Seniors

What aging in place really takes — current AARP numbers, the bathroom retrofit that actually prevents falls, real grant amounts from the VA and USDA, and the co

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Sep 13, 2021
Warning Signs Your Aging Parent Needs a Caregiver

Warning Signs Your Aging Parent Needs a Caregiver

A caregiver advocate with 40 years of experience walks through the concrete signs — across cognition, the home, medication, mood, and finances — that suggest yo

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Aug 02, 2021
Respite Care for Caregivers: You Are Allowed to Rest

Respite Care for Caregivers: You Are Allowed to Rest

Respite care is not a luxury or a reward for suffering enough. A caregiver advocate who fell asleep at a red light during four years of caring for her mother sh

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Jul 12, 2021
Managing Sundowning in Seniors with Dementia: What Caregivers Need to Know

Managing Sundowning in Seniors with Dementia: What Caregivers Need to Know

Around four o'clock, the shift would begin. My mother's hands, which had been folded calmly in her lap all afternoon, would start plucking at the hem of her blo

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Jun 07, 2021
What New Caregivers Should Do in the First 90 Days

What New Caregivers Should Do in the First 90 Days

A financial planner with 35 years of experience lays out the sequence new caregivers need to work through in the first 90 days, before small gaps turn into expe

Caregiving · Benjamin Wells · May 10, 2021
Caring for Aging Parents: What Actually Matters

Caring for Aging Parents: What Actually Matters

Forty years of sitting with families has taught me that caregiving is grief in slow motion. Here is the honest map — the conversations, the paperwork, the healt

Caregiving · Eleanor Hayes · Jun 21, 2020