Minister Aris D. Simpson
Everything You Need to Know To Care For Your Aging Parent
Hello, Golden Divas and Divos!
This interview about healthcare and aging parents is a critical post about how you can assist in caring for your aging parents. If you’re in your 50s, 60s, or beyond, we are at the age now that we have become our parents’ caretakers. Providing care for our aging parents is a blessing and should never be seen as a burden, curse, or turmoil. After all, we owe it to them to treat them with dignity and respect; they showered us with all of the love that they had when they raised us, so it’s only befitting to express our gratitude and affection with all of the love that we have for them in their later years of life. In doing so, we are not alone in how we express our love and devotion for them; if you are at this stage in your relationship with your parents, there’s help out there to guide you so they can live a comfortable lifestyle with the most vital support system and resources they can ever need. This leads me to Club Fifty’s next guest, a woman of God sharing crucial information to guide you to make the right decisions for your aging parents. She recently experienced the loss of her beloved mother and expressed how she wanted to share her journey and how she navigated through this difficult time. As we know, when you’re going through a loss of a loved one, helping others, for the most part, is not on our radar of things to do; however, this diva was so kind to share with us on our radio show Let’s Stay Together Talk, the things that we as caretakers need to be aware of when we assist in taking care of aging parents. So, with no further ado, I would like you to meet an angel on earth, Minister Aris D. Simpson, and a friend.
MEET MINISTER ARIS D. SIMPSON
Minister Aris D. Simpson is a Community Activist, Theologian, and Social Entrepreneur. She is committed to social engagement programming that positively affects society and the environment. Her provisional formation supports and enhances the lives of the marginalized. As a Chicago native, Aris is known for her grassroots and mainstream works locally and internationally. She created a nonprofit organization geared toward empowering youth socially and spiritually. She is invested in community development with the promise of sustainable best transformative practices for the good of humanity. She has developed programming for youth and adults regarding trauma services outside the traditional formations of the church, hospitals, and schools. She engaged the philanthropic community in her endeavors to grant 75 economically vulnerable youth to travel to Ghana, West Africa, and Colombia, South America. This program evaluated the youth’s critical thinking skills, offering them a boarder worldview of self and others. This experience has strengthened Aris’ holistic ministry approach toward transformative initiatives.
Aris D. Simpson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Chicago State University and a Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary. Aris serves on the Trauma-Informed Congregations Network Committee (TICN) and Emmaus Road Grief Ministry. She has served as Chair of Chicago Sister Cities Bogota’s Education Committee and as an advisor for the Chicago State University 21st Century Graduate & Professional Students Academic Studies Initiative, the Community Renewal Society, the Latino Forum, and the Mbasi Relief Initiative. She is the chairperson of African American Women in Ministry (AAWIM) Chicago Sister Circle. Aris received the 2015 Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Scholarship and the 2017-2018 Charles Shelby Rooks Society Scholar Award. In 2018 she was the Founder/Chair of the Chicago Theological Seminary Business Ministry Actions Plan (BMAP) student organization and the 2018 Founder/ Chair of Innovative Ministry Incubator (IMI). Implementing programs that give life to public theology in action drives Aris D. Simpson. At the same time, encourage others to continue the groundbreaking work of God that will sustain growth in communities for generations to come. Minister Aris is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ. She is married to Minister John W. Simpson. They have four children; John Jr (Alexandria), Aris Stephenie (Atlanta), Johnice (Washington D.C, ) and Angelica (Raleigh). Aris’s hobbies include all things affiliated with the ARTS, parasailing, walking, and her passion for flowers.
IN CONVERSATION WITH MINISTER ARIS D. SIMPSON
C50: Aris, what are some common health conditions in older adults, and how can we help manage them?
A.S. Some common health conditions in older adults are hypertension, high cholesterol, arthritis, Ischemic/Coronary Heart Disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Let’s talk about the kidney and the heart for the time that is ours today. These are two critical origins needed to keep our older adults functioning. A good diet will keep both the heart and kidneys functioning well. If your parent is retaining a lot of water, and their kidney isn’t expelling water, nor is the heart helping the circulation of fluids, this means they are retaining water that may reach their heart, lungs, and legs. This is dangerous if you see a buildup of water around the ankle traveling up the legs to the kneecap. Take your parents to the doctor for a diagnosis and proper treatment. Your parents can have a heart attack, blood clots, and more. I know this one personally.
Note I am not a physician; please seek medical advice.
C50: When is the right time to seek senior care for our parents?
A.S. I’ve shared with you that getting their health plan at 75 years old is good if someone is healthy. We need to know what is their desire for housing. Do they want to remain in their house? Is there a need for remodeling to accommodate possible future needs such as a ramp, shower adjustments such as a shower bench, and lower and rising appliances for better access? Let this conversation include examining Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing, and 24-hour or hourly in-home care. The bottom line, there needs to be a designated timeframe to seek senior care. It’s harder to plan when you require services; when this occurs, you are willing to compromise. It is better to be ahead of the curve instead of behind it. Be proactive and gather information before your parents need care.
C50: What practical tools must we take before admitting our parents to a nursing home?
A.S. A great starting point is to gather information and connect with social workers online.
You can look up Chicago and greater Chicago area nursing homes online. If you have a parent in the hospital, you can ask the social worker if they would give you a list and their recommendation.
Note to the wise a good nursing home does not equate to being close to your home. You might have to travel 30 to 60 minutes to find the right nursing home. You will have to go out to these locations a few times once as a walk-in to see and smell the site. The place might look good, but the urine secant indicates the patients are not being cleaned or checked on. There might be a need for more staff. If you hear someone tell a patient you are not my patient, I will see if I can get you some help. That’s a sign that the staff isn’t working as a team. They are working like a silo. Make an appointment after walking into the nursing home you are interested in and ask plenty of questions.
Ask the person from admissions and the general staff these questions.
How long have they been working at this location?
How long have they been working in this profession?
Do they like working at this location?
Why did you choose this location?
If this location has a fast turnaround, it lacks stability. You are looking for decanted staff members passionate about their profession and job.
Research your options so that when the time comes, you have a plan in place you feel good about.
C50: Aris, tell us about available senior care services and how you choose a suitable facility.
A.S. Okay, let’s talk about the different things these facilities offer.
Independent Living: People do not need assistance. They are independent with their comings and goings.
Assisted Living: Assisted living housing is for the elderly or disabled population that provides nursing care, housekeeping, and prepared meals as needed.
24-hour staff is available as “an assisted living facility.” Assisted Living communities offer more personalized care to seniors in a residential setting than Independent Living. The Harbors team helps individuals with activities of daily living to aid them in being as independent as possible.
Memory Care: Memory support programs are intended for individuals with memory impairment such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. Memory support services aren’t meant to cure these conditions but to improve the overall quality of life.
Skilled Nursing Care: Skilled Nursing is a version of Assisted Living that offers additional, specialized care for seniors. Highly trained nurses and caregivers provide personalized treatment and therapies with the support and assistance each resident needs to be their best and feel at home.
Short-Term Care: A rehabilitation team is focused on helping you get better. Their job is to shorten your recovery time. Increase your independence. Meet your health and wellness goals and Improve your quality of life. The patient has limited time for rehabilitation and a care team that reports to the patient and family weekly.
C50: Before signing any papers, should we consult with an Elder Law Attorney?
A.S. Yes, an Elder attorney isn’t just for persons 65 and older. These attorneys specialize in helping people protect their assets and helping them with a life plan. Most are well versed with Medicaid rules and long and short-term benefits.
C50: Aris, let’s talk about “legally designated helpers.” Why is it so important to have two different power of attorney documents: one for medical decisions and another for financial decisions?
A.S. It all depends on the person’s desires. You don’t have to have two different POAs, but you do have to have two documents; one explicitly for medical and the other for financial.
Each document clearly states who will decide regarding a particular area of interest. For example, you might have always taken your parents to the doctor and know their case history and physicians. In addition, you are aware of your parent’s final care wishes. This is a good profile for a Medical POA.
This parent might have a financial business and made household and family financial plans with a sibling or with another one of their children. Whoever the parent fills comfortable is the right person to become the POA.
Here is a great article on Medical and Financial POAs, written by Hanna Rubin, updated on April 30, 2023. It was reviewed by Anthony Battle and fact-checked by Yarilet Perez. It will give you more information at your leisure. The article will also help you understand how to appoint the right people.
Here’s an overview of Financial vs. Medical Power of Attorney.
A medical power of attorney authorizes healthcare decisions to be made by a designated individual on your behalf. In contrast, a financial power of attorney allows an authorized individual to oversee your finances if needed.
In general, a power of attorney is a document authorizing someone to make decisions on behalf of another person. The person who gives the authority is called the principal, and the person who can act for the principal is called the agent or the attorney-in-fact. You can designate a financial and medical power of attorney if you cannot make those choices yourself.
A medical power of attorney and a financial power of attorney is typically created in separate legal documents. Both are known in legal terms as advance directives. Generally, the law addresses each advance directive type separately, limiting its authority.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A power of attorney allows one person to give legal authority to another person to act on their behalf.
A financial power of attorney authorizes an individual to make financial decisions, while a medical power of attorney allows someone to make medical decisions.
In some cases, a financial power of attorney can be used for isolated, one-off situations where it is inconvenient for you to be present.
Financial and medical powers of attorney should be separate documents and can be designated to the same person or two different individuals.
Generally, both a financial power of attorney and a medical power of attorney must be signed before a notary public.
WARNING!!!
A financial POA can give someone else control of your assets and may be difficult to revoke. Never grant a power of attorney to someone you do not entirely trust.
C50: There is a great potential for elder financial abuse. Should we freeze our parent’s credit accounts?
A.S. Yes, I would freeze their accounts. When we place our parents in nursing homes or have home care providers, we should review whether they financially interact with each other. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau article online offers consumers fours points of prevention:
Bonus Question
C50: Aris, please tell our loyal readers who might be seeking help how to find a good Elder Care Advisor and what facilities offer information for caring for older people.
A.S. Department of Aging is an excellent start to providing your loyal readers. In addition, there are support groups centered around good Elder Care. Online services reviews are helpful, and talking with others about your challenges is helpful. The Key factor starts early: stay connected to good resources, and you and your family will be okay in the process.
There you have it, Golden Divas and Divos; Aris presented us with some great tools to get your journey started in helping your aging parents. If you want to know about Asset Protection and the benefits of having Wills and Trusts in place and probate, check out these links below…
https://trustandwill.com/learn/difference-between-trust-and-will
