Caregiving

A Last Conversation With Dr. Robert Butler
By Joshua Tapper

“I think a lot of older people are sitting on their asses, playing golf, and not making a contribution to society.”

Bounding about his Upper East Side office less than two weeks ago, Dr. Robert Butler seemed determined not to make that mistake. At 83, one of the world’s leading authorities on aging had just published his latest book, “The Longevity Prescription,” piles of which were scattered everywhere.

Dr. Butler died on Sunday at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, where in 1982 he had founded the first gerontology department at a United States medical school. My interview with him that day was one of his last.

Dr. Butler dedicated his life to ensuring that ours were longer and healthier. The author of innumerable scientific papers on longevity and aging, he founded and served as the first director of the National Institute on Aging. His first book, “Why Survive? Being Old in America,” won a Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction in 1976.

Until just days before his death, he was Read More...

The Caregiving Years

When you expect a child, the community (your family, friends, co-workers) rally around you and your spouse. When you expect your first child, you receive gifts, well wishes and the encouragement that you are entering a wonderful, albeit challenging, chapter in your life. As you prepare to welcome your child, you feel pride at the thought of your role as parent: How you will shape the mind of a youngster, impacting him or her with your wisdom, insights and knowledge.

Now think about a similar life experience, just one on the other end of the spectrum. An aging relative, a spouse, a parent, a grandparent, needs your help. And, you want to help–you believe in making the most of the years you have left together. But, when you tell your friends, your colleagues, even other family members, the comments you may hear are a far cry from well-wishes. “I could never do that! Why do you?” Or, the more common response: “Why don’t you just put your mother (or your wife, or your grandfather) in a nursing home? That way you won’t be so stressed out.”

With support like that, Read More...

Creating Memories by Routinely Avoiding the Everyday Routine
By Barbara Bernard

Routine is one of the cornerstones of caregiving. Routine supports us, soothes us, and enables us to have predictability and constancy in our often topsy-turvy lives.

For many elders, routine also becomes paramount. It is often important not to vary certain parts of the day, to maintain the routine. Morning and evening routines, as well as schedules for medical needs, provide a supportive structure that is critical for both the caregiver and the elder.

At the same time, it is essential that Read More...