From Guilt to Grace on the Long-Term Care Journey
Learn how to move from guilt to grace as you navigate long-term care decisions for a loved one with dementia.
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Caregiver Frustration: How to Manage It with Grace
Practical strategies to manage dementia caregiver frustration with calm, clarity, and connection - grounded in expert guidance and real-life scenarios.
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7 Signs It's Time for Long-Term Memory Care
Seven concrete signs - from medication mix-ups to wandering - that show when a loved one with memory loss needs long-term care.
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Making the Move to Memory Care: Guidance for Families Facing the Next Step
Making the move to memory care is never easy. Learn how to handle resistance, understand transitional trauma, and ensure your loved one has the support they need.
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The Gift of Routine: How Structure Supports People Living with Dementia
A daily routine can offer stability, comfort, and confidence for people living with dementia. Learn how to build a supportive structure that reduces anxiety and enhances quality of life - for both your loved one and yourself.
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Understanding and Easing Sundowning in Dementia Care
Learn what sundowning is, why it happens, and how caregivers can respond with empathy and structure. Explore practical strategies and discover how Aegis Living supports residents through thoughtful approaches like light therapy.
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Understanding and Managing Repetitive Behaviors in Dementia
Explore compassionate strategies to manage repetitive behaviors in loved ones with dementia. Learn how understanding and empathy can transform caregiving experiences.
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How to Talk to Your Parents About Long-Term Care
A compassionate guide to talking with aging parents about long-term care - what to say, when to start, and how to keep dignity at the center.
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How to Talk to Someone With Dementia: A Caregiver's Guide
Expert-backed ways to talk with a loved one who has dementia, including Teepa Snow's VVT method, validation, and calm redirection.
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8 Conditions That Mimic Dementia (And Are Often Treatable)
Not all memory loss is dementia. Here are 8 treatable conditions that mimic dementia symptoms in older adults, and how to tell them apart.
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Could It Be Dementia? Cognitive, Behavioral, and Subtle Early Clues
Learn the subtle early signs of dementia across cognitive, behavioral, and physical changes. Catching symptoms early can lead to better care, planning, and support for your loved one.
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Is It Just a Senior Moment - or Something More?
Not all memory loss is dementia. Learn how to tell the difference between normal age-related forgetfulness and when it may be time to speak with a doctor. Includes checklist and expert advice.
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Understanding Alzheimer's: Signs, Stages, and Care Options
A clear guide to Alzheimer's disease: what it is, how it progresses, treatment options, and how to support a loved one at every stage.
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Spend Father’s Day in an assisted living community
As you prepare to celebrate your father and all he means to your family, you may wonder how to fit your usual celebrations into an assisted living community. Not only does nothing have to suffer from your dad’s transition, but you can also reap benefits from it. Senior living…
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Earth Day: Let’s get planting!
Remember those satisfying afternoons of working outdoors in the garden? Covered in dirt, sweating from the work and smelling like fresh soil, these are happy memories for many of our Aegis Living residents. Due to physical limitations, many seniors will give up on the demands…
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PTSD in Elderly Veterans Years After Service
Is your dad having difficulty sleeping due to nightmares?
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5 ways for caregivers to stay healthy
You work hard as a caregiver, but let’s face it; we all need a break from time to time.
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Respite Care to Support the Caregiver
At one time or another, you may feel like you are about to hit a wall.
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A Conversation With Your Parent That Can’t Wait
By Judy Meleliat, President Emeritus of Aegis Living As my mom blew out the candles on her 90thbirthday cake at Aegis Living, she looked up at me and smiled. It was the moment where I finally let my breath out too. We had made it. We had weathered the storm of doubt, guilt, and…
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Senior Loneliness Epidemic
Senior isolation is one of the biggest health threats to elderly Americans that is often overlooked. It can have devastating effects physically, emotionally, and mentally. The British have recognized a loneliness epidemic among their elderly population for years - coined the…
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Retirement Planning for Childless Baby Boomers
What’s a RINK? You may be hearing this term more frequently. RINKs: Retired, Independent, No Kids. The concern or reason this term has become more prevalent in the news and our industry is due to the overwhelming number of baby boomers who are now reaching retirement age…
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5 benefits of respite care
Providing care for an aging parent with escalating health issues can be an overwhelming task that is exhausting not only mentally and emotionally, but also on a physical level. That’s why it’s important for caregivers to take time away from this responsibility and focus on…
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Seven Myths About Aging
As baby boomers gracefully age into retirement and their next phase of life, we want to dispel some of the common myths about aging. Myths that may keep you up at night worrying needlessly. Your age is a number, just candles on a cake. This number doesn’t take into…
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What’s Missing from Your Retirement Plan?
Congratulations! You’ve worked your entire adult life for this moment: you finally get to retire! What’s next? Volunteer work? Travel? Quality time with the grandkids? While you’re dreaming about your very active next 20-30 years, have you thought about the “what ifs” of your…
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Dementia Denial From the Experts
Caring for a family member with dementia is difficult. Not only do you grapple with the added responsibilities of monitoring another person’s life, but you also must come to terms with the idea that someone you love is going through a difficult change. It’s not uncommon for…
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Current Life Expectancy in the U.S.
Today’s baby boomers are rebels. They are defying the typical stereotypes of aging and redefining what is considered age-appropriate. The 60+ generation is more vibrant, active, and youthful than past generations. Technology benefits the youth, but older generations are more…
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Caffeine and its Effect on Seniors
56% of Americans are coffee drinkers and consume an average of 3.1 cups a day.
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Caregivers: Put Yourself First!
Caregivers. First thing’s first. Take a moment to be proud. You’ve taken on the most difficult job you’ve likely ever had, and you deserve recognition. Second, it’s time to talk about self-care. What are you doing for yourself? Are you taking time for self-care? According to a…
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Eat Smart for Your Head and Your Heart
In February, we celebrate those we love on Valentine’s Day with flowers and chocolate heart boxes.
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What You Need to Know About Assisted Living Expenses
If you’ve been researching assisted living, you may have noticed that the costs of assisted living aren’t as simple as a monthly rent. With 24/7 care, and amenities such as housekeeping, provided meals and snacks, community maintenance, and enriching activities, it’s no…
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Managing the Frustration of Dementia Caregiving
Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia can be challenging and overwhelming on the best of days.
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Healthy Benefits of Gratitude for Caregivers
Gratitude lowers caregiver stress and improves sleep, mood, and heart health. Here's how to build a daily practice that actually sticks.
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What to Expect Moving to Aegis Living
Your longtime home may have been sold.
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Who Will Take Care of Mom?
When you ask, “Who will care for my mom or dad?”
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How to Set Caregiver Boundaries Without Guilt
Practical scripts, a boundary-type table, and expert guidance to help family caregivers set limits without guilt or burnout.
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How Can You Help a Dementia Caregiver?
If you have a friend or a sibling caring for a parent or loved one with dementia, there are many ways that you can love and support them. A caregiver to someone living with dementia or Alzheimer’s is experiencing not only the daily demand of their care but also the personal…
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Practicing the Ancient Art of Tai Chi
You’ve most likely seen them at your local parks practicing as an individual or a small group moving slowly in a fluid routine.
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How to Find the Best Assisted Living Near You
Step-by-step guide to finding quality assisted living near you - with 2024 cost ranges, tour checklists, and the questions that reveal the most.
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Palliative vs. Hospice Care: What's the Difference?
Palliative care eases symptoms at any stage of serious illness. Hospice supports comfort in the final months. Here's how to tell them apart.
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How to keep your senior parents together.
Life expectancy around the world continues to increase steadily.
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Dementia Whisperer: Family Caregivers and Guilt
If you are a caregiver or an adult child concerned about the health of your parent, you may have experienced a common emotion: guilt.
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Supporting Your Family Caregiver
Even in a large family, the role of caregiver often falls to one sibling.
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How to Prepare for Your Aging Parents' Future: 6 Steps
A practical 6-step roadmap to prepare for your aging parents' future before a crisis forces rushed decisions.
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Follow Your Nose to a Comforting Scent
Out of the blue, it can hit you - a scent that jumps out of your surroundings and instantaneously evokes a memory or feeling.
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Managing Repetitious Behaviors in a Parent with Dementia
Are you caring for your mom with Alzheimer’s and you’re exasperated by the repetitive questions that she asks over and over?
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Aegis Living Brain Health Minute with Teepa Snow #2 of 3
Aegis Living is proud to present this three part series of Aegis Brain Health Minutes featuring one of the world’s leading dementia educators appearing at Aegis Living, Teepa Snow.
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Burning the Candle at Both Ends: The Working Caregiver
Juggling the demands of work, spouse, children, pets, and leisure time for yourself can be difficult enough to manage, but add the responsibility of caring for a senior parent […]
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The Emotional Side of Moving to Assisted Living
Your family is confident with your decision to move your elderly parent into an assisted living community.
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Helping Your Elderly Parent Prepare for Tax Season
Preparing your taxes can be confusing and stressful for many of us, but consider the stress of untangling complicated finances for your elderly parent.
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Stay Young at Heart Through Healthy Hobbies
What is the key to staying young at heart? Keep playing as you get older.
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Tea Time: The Health Benefits Found in a Cup of Tea
Valued by many cultures for thousands of years, tea has been noted for its health benefits around the world.
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Wear Red for Heart Health Awareness
Lay out your red dress, dust off your red heels, or press your red blouse, in February we recognize National Wear Red Day for heart health.
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A Holistic Approach for Dealing With Holiday Stress
No sooner have we placed the leftover turkey and stuffing in the refrigerator, then we are off searching for the perfect holiday presents, wrapping gifts, and baking treats.
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Holiday Travel for People with Dementia
It’s that wonderful time of year, where family and friends gather for the holidays - both near and far.
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Malnutrition In the Elderly
The word “malnutrition” makes us think of those in third world countries, war-torn cities, or those living in extreme poverty.
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10 Tips for Longevity on Centenarian Day!
Can you picture yourself blowing out a hundred glowing candles on your birthday cake?
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The Benefits of a Daily Routine for People with Dementia
If you are a caregiver of someone with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, now may be a good time to create a daily routine for both you and your loved one. There are many benefits to creating a daily routine for both the caregiver and person with Alzheimer’s or…
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Four Tips for an Elderly Parent Diagnosed with Diabetes
According to the American Diabetes Association, more than one-quarter of the adults in America over the age of 65 have diabetes (types 1 or 2), and approximately one-half of older adults have pre-diabetes. Among the aging populations, type 2 diabetes is an increasing problem. A…
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Caregiving: The Detrimental Health Effects of Chronic Stress
As a caregiver, do you take proper care of yourself? The chronic stress attributed to the caregiver of an elderly spouse or family member can have significant negative effects on your health and longevity. Your health and stress level should not be ignored. Striking a balance…
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The Discomfort of Aging Skin Issues
Your real age can be betrayed by your skin. Wrinkles, dry skin, age spots, and bruising can all be signs of the years written on the face, arms, hands, and legs of seniors. It is a natural part of the aging process for your skin to change as you age. But skins issues that cause…
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The Effects of Hearing Loss in the Elderly
One of the most common conditions to impact the elderly is hearing loss. Approximately one in three adults between the ages of 65 and 75 experience hearing loss and nearly half of those over the age of 75 have difficulty with hearing clearly. Hearing loss in the elderly can…
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The Health Benefits Of A Pet
One of our sous chefs surprised our residents with his family’s five new Golden Retriever puppies. These energetic balls of yellow fur and unlimited licks cuddled, played, and visited with our residents for the afternoon. As you could see from their smiles, the joy of a puppy…
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Meditation to Improve Brain Health
The main tenets of living a healthy lifestyle are repeated by physicians, in magazine articles, on television shows, and even by your mother: eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep. But there is an additional tool to use in your quest for good health…
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Celebrating Mother’s Day When Mom has Dementia
Do you remember the construction paper cards you made for Mother’s Day as a child? Those days were simple. Today, life is more complicated because you are caring for an aging parent with dementia. This Mother’s Day, you may feel a range of emotions if your mother has been…
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How to Help a Parent with Dementia Dress Independently
Dressing supports dignity for a loved one with dementia. Use these clothing, closet, and cueing tips to make mornings calmer and more independent.
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Four Tips To Transition Into A Caregiver
You hang up the phone and you think that mom seems fine. On your next cross country visit, you realize she isn’t fine. The house is not fine. Her health is not fine, but she has been hiding it on the phone all these months. Now what? If your parent is physically or cognitively…
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30 Questions to Ask Your Grandparents
As families of all ages gather together it is the perfect opportunity for grandchildren to learn more about their grandparents. Encourage your children to talk to their grandparents, ask questions, and share more about their lives. It is a meaningful way to pass along family…
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What Is Geriatric Psychiatry? A Family's Guide
Geriatric psychiatry treats depression, anxiety, and dementia in older adults. Here's when to consult one and what care looks like.
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Finding the best caregivers for your loved one
Who is really caring for your mom or dad on a daily basis? We know that moving your parent into an assisting living community can be a difficult decision. It can be stressful for not only your parent moving into a new situation, but for you as the adult child. You want to make…
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When your sense of taste and smell fade
The taste of a freshly baked peanut butter cookie can remind you of your mom covered in flour greeting you after a long day at school. The smell of pipe tobacco might remind you of your grandfather reading you a book in his leather chair. Tastes and smells hold memories. As…
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Flu Season is Around the Corner
It has long been recognized by the medical community that seniors are at a higher risk of serious complications and hospitalization from the flu. Because immune defenses become weaker with age, this elderly age group contains the majority of deaths attributed to influenza. As…
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4 Ways to Support a Friend Whose Spouse has Dementia
The spouse of someone living with dementia is experiencing not only the pressure of caring for a loved one, but also their own personal loss and sadness. This profound change in their relationship can be difficult and overwhelming for the couple. Many caregiving spouses don’t…
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Caregiver’s guide to dementia communication
If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, it is important to take the time to learn how to communicate effectively with them. Improving your communication skills can decrease the stress of caregiving. It can improve your relationship with your…
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5 Helpful Tips to Downsize for Assisted Living
Do your parents still live in the home where you grew up? Are there notches on the door frame that mark your growth as a child? Is there a spot in the backyard where you buried your first goldfish? Do you know where everyone sits at a holiday dinner? Does the kitchen smell of…
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Planning for dementia care
When your loved one receives a diagnosis of dementia of any kind, life changes. While the disease itself will not progress to its latest stages immediately, your mind is probably racing. How will you care for your mother or father? What will he or she need as the condition…
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Advice on paying for assisted living
As you look into assisted living options for your senior loved one, you’ll encounter a lot of difficult questions. What does he or she need in terms of care? How far out of your way can mom or dad really live before it becomes a stress on both of you? And - for many people…
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Legal Documents and Dementia: A Family Guide
When a parent has dementia, legal planning becomes time-sensitive. Here's how to handle capacity, power of attorney, and key documents.
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Finding peace in Life’s Haven
At Aegis Living, one of the main goals is to improve the quality of life for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease. The core of each memory care community is the Life’s Neighborhood program, which was designed to increase enjoyment and enhance general mental, physical and emotional…
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Caregiver relief: A short-term assisted living stay
If your mom has health issues that get to the stage where she can no longer live alone or conduct the everyday functions of life, a caregiver may need to step in. It can be an overwhelming task. Some even quit their jobs and neglect social life in order to dedicate their time…
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Guilt and denial: Moving a parent with Alzheimer’s to senior care
Alzheimer’s disease affects the mind in many ways, leading to loss of memory, confusion, poor judgment and decision-making skills.
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Get to Know Dr. Shirley Newell, Chief Medical Officer at Aegis Living
Aegis Living is dedicated to transforming the way people see senior housing by providing those with dementia stress-free […]
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