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Friday, October 10, 2025

When Aging in Place, Stay Fire Safe

     



Older adults are at particular risk from house fires. 


National Fire Prevention Week officially marks 100 years this October 5th to 11th. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) inaugurated National Fire Prevention Week in 1922, and President Calvin Coolidge named it a national week in 1925, making it the longest-running public health observance in the United States. The week takes  place each year in October because the Great Chicago Fire devastated that city in early October 1871, killing over 250 people and leaving 100,000 homeless. 

In a new era of climate-change-fueled wildfires, fire prevention is top of mind for many, especially those in Western states. Home fires are still an everyday concern, too, with over 3,500 Americans dying in a house fire each year. A structure fire is reported every 95 seconds in the U.S. Unfortunately, older adults are particularly at risk of injury and death from house fires. 

In fact, according to FEMA, people over 65 are at twice the risk of dying in a house fire as compared to younger adults. The reason, at least in part, has to do with mobility and sensory awareness. Most fatal fires happen when people are sleeping, and people with hearing loss are at greater risk of failing to wake in time to exit the building. Older adults who use a wheelchair or walker, or who have balance issues, are also at greater risk in a fire, as are people with cognitive decline or dementia. Cooking fires are the number one cause of house fires, and cigarettes are the leading cause of deadly fires among people over 65. Forgetting to turn off the stove or fully snuff out a cigarette is all too easy for someone experiencing cognitive decline. Plus, all these age-related conditions may reduce reaction time in a critical fire situation. 

In a horrific tragedy at a Massachusetts assisted living center in July, nine residents died when a suspected electrical fire broke out. The center is being investigated, and the event serves as a painful reminder of the necessity of robust fire safety planning in places where older adults live. 

Fire Safety Tips for People Aging in Place

Thankfully, there are plenty of resources available to assist those aging in place to create a home environment where fires are less likely to occur. And, if a fire does break out, working alarms and a plan will help seniors stay safe. 

  • Sleep on the ground floor. If possible, older adults should sleep on the floor of the home where they can exit without navigating stairs. Try to remove any hazards or barriers that would prevent an easy and quick exit in the case of a fire. Keep the floor clear of items that could cause a person to trip (best practice for fall prevention in general!), and consider removing any interior locks that take time or are tricky to unlock. Security bars on doors and windows should have emergency release mechanisms on the inside to allow for egress in the event of a fire.

  • Be battery-smart. The theme for this year’s National Fire Prevention Week is “Charge into Fire Safety™: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home.” Lithium-ion batteries are omnipresent these days, in our smartphones, headphones, e-cigarettes, laptops, power tools, and more. But if used improperly or purchased from shady sellers, these batteries are liable to catch fire. To avoid fires and explosions, charge devices on flat, hard surfaces; purchase batteries and chargers only from reputable sellers; and dispose of used batteries properly. See the NFPA website for more tips. 

  • Develop fire-safe habits. Remember that the top causes of house fires are cooking and smoking. Stay in the kitchen while cooking food; it’s too easy to step out for just a second and get distracted. If you smoke, smoke outdoors only. When finished, wet cigarette butts or deposit them in sand. Don’t leave space heaters unattended, and make sure they have a 3-foot buffer from other objects.

  • If you can’t hear your smoke alarm, install a bed shaker and/or a visual alarm. The U.S. Fire Administration and others recommend installing a smoke alarm that uses a flashing light or vibration to alert residents of smoke. Some people with hearing loss may be able to use a device that produces low-frequency vibrations as an alert mechanism. 

  • It’s good to have a plan. Especially for older adults living alone, spending some time to plan ahead with family could make all the difference in the moment of a house fire. Talking it out can help everyone to envision the scenario and what could help in the moment: for example, does the homeowner keep their walker or cane near their bed at night? Is there a clear path to a window, if fire blocks the door?  

NFPA provides free resource guides on smoke alarms, fire planning, and more. They also offer a program called Steps to Safety™: Prevent Fire and Falls at Home that pairs local EMS and fire fighters with community groups to provide fire safety education to older adults. October is a great time to share these potentially life-saving resources with clients and families.



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Blog posting provided by Society of Certified Senior Advisors

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The Digital Afterlife: Managing Social Media Accounts After Death

    



Set up a legacy contact on each of your social media accounts; your family will thank you.


The evocative new term “digital afterlife” can refer to a few different phenomena. Some AI startups are promising to recreate the personas of deceased loved ones using the digital traces they left behind–a digital “life after life,” of a kind. Talking to a hologram that looks and sounds like a family member after they’re gone? As intriguingly dystopian as that is, it’s not the kind of digital afterlife we’re talking about today. Rather, we’re dealing with another, more common, use of the term that refers simply to “your online presence and digital assets after death.” This presence can include your bank accounts, email accounts, digital wills, and, of course, social media.

As many of us have experienced, the digital afterlife of a loved one’s social media can prompt both poignant and painful moments. Reviewing the person’s photos and posts can feel like a gift; but it’s jarring when Facebook asks if you want to invite them to an upcoming event. And families may find themselves confused about how to deal with this social media afterlife in a way that honors their loved one’s wishes and privacy. There are steps to take, both before and after a person’s death, to pave the way for a smooth transition of their social media accounts.

Planning for the Digital Afterlife of Your Social Media

You can do two things now that will ease the way for your loved ones when it’s time to manage your social media afterlife.

Use Legacy Contact Features. First, use the legacy contact feature on Facebook, Instagram, Google, and Apple. A legacy contact is a person you designate who will be granted access to manage your account after your death. In most cases, the legacy contact does not have access to everything in your account, such as private messages, but they will have the power to either delete your account or memorialize it. 

A memorialized Facebook page uses the phrase “Remembering” above the name of the person who died, and that person’s wall often turns into a place for friends to post tributes. A legacy contact on Facebook can approve or reject tributes on the person’s wall and change the privacy settings on different posts. They can also request that the account be deleted instead. 

To set an Apple legacy contact, you’ll need to designate the person under Settings, Privacy & Security, and then share a long code with that person, either via encrypted text or with a printout. That person may still need to provide a death certificate to access the account. An Apple account may be linked to a wide variety of digital presences, including banks and credit cards, so this level of security makes sense. With any digital account, make sure the person you’re naming is someone you trust. 

Create a Social Media Will. While it will be helpful to name individual legacy contacts with each social media account that matters to you, another great step to take is to create a social media will. My Wishes has a template for an online will, including a social media section, that will make the process easy. A will goes beyond choosing a legacy contact; it gives you the chance to state exactly how you would like each of your accounts handled after death. Loved ones will know exactly what steps to take.

Managing a Loved One’s Social Media Afterlife
When a loved one has died without taking either of these steps, families may wonder what to do. Some may feel a sense of urgency to gain access to social media accounts in order to close them. 

Personal Representatives Aren’t Automatically Digital Executors. If the will doesn’t specify anything about online accounts, or if there is no will, the executor of the person’s estate may or may not be able to gain control over their social media accounts. According to the American Bar Association, the legal access that executors are granted to social media accounts of the deceased varies greatly by state and by the company that holds the account. Some states even have laws that prohibit people from accessing a deceased person’s online accounts, even when the person has the username and password. In such a murky situation, it may be necessary to research how to gain control over each individual social media account. It could be critical to get support from someone who knows this territory. 

Ask for Help from a Professional. The digital afterlife industry is professionalizing as we speak. Founded in 2021, Professional After Loss Services (PALS) is an organization that supports after-loss professionals who “provide logistical and administrative services for clients who are executors or administrators of a loved one's estate.” Their clients are widows and widowers, estate executors, and surviving family members. An after-loss professional can help with much more than dealing with a loved one’s social media afterlife, but this topic is squarely within their wheelhouse. Use their directory to find certified after-loss pros in your area. There are already so many details to deal with after the death of a loved one, and social media accounts can be a surprisingly stressful element in the mix. An after-loss pro can help.



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Blog posting provided by Society of Certified Senior Advisors

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Thursday, October 9, 2025

The Holidays are for Crowding the Kitchen

     



Try these five cooking challenges this season: guaranteed to warm up some new family memories.


There’s something special about cooking together as a family, especially during the holidays. The smells and tastes of the holidays vary from family to family, but whether you were making chocolate chip cookies, tamales, fruitcake, ozoni, black eyed peas, or bûche de Noël as a kid, those family food memories are strong ones because they’re tied to our senses. 

With the air cooling and the holidays approaching, now is a great time to think about how to foster connections between generations this season in one of our favorite places: the kitchen. Here are five cooking challenges to set your family, from the littlest grandkids to the great-grandparents, to create new memories around food.

Make a Favorite Family Recipe Together

This one may not be a challenge, depending on the family. If you already have a recipe, or several, that gets folks to the kitchen together every year, then keep it going and skip to the next challenge! But here’s a great place to start for families whose kitchen traditions aren’t so robust. Is there a recipe you remember from growing up, or from five or ten years ago, that you want to bring back and teach? If your family includes some young chefs, be sure to invite them. “Research shows kids who participate in the kitchen and help with grocery shopping are more likely to try nutritious foods,” says Jenny Klufa, a youth nutrition specialist at Oklahoma State University.

Dig deep: is there a smell or a taste that you haven’t tried to recreate in the kitchen in many years? If you love holiday nostalgia, nothing takes you back like the smell of a fresh baked good. Here are some old-fashioned Christmas cookies to jog your memory. 

Set Out to Create a New Family Favorite

If your family doesn’t have a go-to holiday recipe, or if you want to diversify, take on a new recipe and make it your own. There’s no shortage of delicious holiday recipes that will please the crowd. Over time, cooking the dish or baking the cookies again will turn the playful experiment into a family tradition. (Here’s a secret: do it two years in a row, and you can automatically call it a tradition.)

Ask the Kids to Teach You Something

Of course, a wonderful thing about family recipes is that the older generations pass on their kitchen wisdom to the younger generations. Recipes travel across continents and centuries this way. But if you’re looking for a new challenge during the holidays this year, flip the script and ask the youngest members of the family to lead you in making their new favorite recipe. If you’re really adventurous, ask them what recipes are trending on TikTok and give one of those a try. Don’t worry if it’s a disaster–we’re trying to make memories here. 

Make a Dish Rooted in Family Heritage

What better time than the holidays to celebrate family heritage together? For this challenge, try to find a dish rooted in your family’s national heritage that you’ve never tried to make. German, Brazilian, Croatian, Moroccan, Ethiopian, Norwegian, Spanish, Filipino, Creole–pick the branch of your family tree whose cuisine you know the least about. One good place to start: a recipe box passed down from past generations that hasn’t been cracked open in years. Or research the holiday food traditions from that part of the world. You’re guaranteed to learn something new, and there’s a good chance you’ll discover a new favorite flavor, too. 

Cook and Deliver a Meal Together

Try cooking together with a purpose. Odds are there are several community groups near you asking for donations of home cooked meals during this season. Or, bringing a meal to a neighbor can make a big difference. This challenge works well combined with any of the others above!

Look: cooking during the holidays can be stressful, and making it a group event may seem like asking for trouble. But really, it’s about togetherness and fun. Don’t aim to try these challenges when you’re cooking a four course meal before all the guests arrive. Just get in the kitchen for the joy of it. Bon appétit! 



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Blog posting provided by Society of Certified Senior Advisors

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Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Good News in Science: Dog & Cat Ownership Boosts Brain Health

    



Just one more reason to love our furry friends.


Finally, some good news: researchers have linked dog and cat ownership to healthier cognitive functioning in late life. In fact, this news isn’t brand new: scientists have known for years that interactions with pets support healthy brains. For example, in a 2022 article entitled “Pet ownership is associated with greater cognitive and brain health in a cross-sectional sample across the adult lifespan,” authors McDonough et al. found that “pet ownership, especially dog ownership, may play a role in enhancing cognitive performance across the adult lifespan, which could in turn influence protection against age-related cognitive decline.”

This year’s research findings are perhaps not so surprising: an article in Scientific Reports by Rostekova et al. found that “Dog and cat ownership was associated with slower cognitive decline compared to no pet ownership; bird and fish ownership showed no such association.”

Not to say that birds and fish don’t provide worthy companionship or well-being benefits, but it’s dogs and cats who have the capacity to help their owners stay mentally sharper for longer. In fact, the authors of the first study make the rather astounding statement that “owning a pet can reduce one’s brain age by up to 15 years.” 

What’s so powerful about the effect that dogs and cats have on their owners, especially as those owners enter late life? Adriana Rostekova, lead author of the more recent article, hypothesizes that perhaps the social stimulation provided by dogs, in particular, but also cats, helps stave off cognitive decline. She added that it’s “possible that interaction with dogs and cats provides unique cognitive stimulation, which may be less pronounced in other, less demanding pets” like birds and fish. 

When continuing care communities and hospitals offer animal-assisted activities or therapy, they support residents’ happiness, social interaction, and physical movement. These findings suggest that animal visits also support cognitive function, including memory and verbal fluency. Truly, whatever these pets are getting paid, it’s not enough.

Tips for New Senior Dog Owners

There are so many reasons to enjoy life with a dog. For older adults who are currently dog-less and considering inviting a pooch into their lives, here are some factors to consider for a smooth transition.
  • Energy level & size: Choose a breed or mixed breed whose exercise needs match your lifestyle. Lower-energy dogs or smaller breeds may be easier to manage. Senior living experts recommend breeds like cocker spaniels, shih tzus, or French bulldogs.
  • Age of the dog: Puppies require training and lots of energy, while older dogs may be calmer and already house-trained.
  • Health & mobility: Consider your own mobility and to what degree you can handle walking, bending, or lifting. Also consider who’s around to assist you with dog care, and what their interest and availability is for helping on a day-to-day basis or as a dogsitter.
  • Finances: Factor in costs for food, vet visits, grooming, and emergencies. Talk to friends and family to decide if pet insurance would be a good choice. 
  • Living situation: Check pet policies if you live in senior housing or an apartment, and consider whether there’s outdoor space nearby that’s safe and accessible for both you and the pup.

Tips for New Senior Cat Owners

You’ll be fine. 

Just kidding–adopting a cat is still a big decision, but it’s common knowledge that cat care is lighter than dog care on the whole. That may make a cat a better choice for some seniors. In addition to the considerations above, consider a new cat’s temperament. Cats’ personalities vary widely: some are lap cats, others are more, shall we say, independent. Choose one that matches your lifestyle. In terms of space, cats adapt well to apartments and smaller homes, but they still need room for scratching posts, perches, and toys.

It’s a beautiful thing that dogs and cats help us see and remember the world clearly as we grow older. Keep doing whatever you’re doing, little guys: we love you for it. 



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Blog posting provided by Society of Certified Senior Advisors

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Medicare Annual Enrollment: Updates & Important Reminders

   



Use this month to review the mixed bag of changes to Medicare coming in 2026 and update your elections by December 7.


This year, Medicare turns 60, and a record 4.18 million Americans turn 65. Almost all Americans over 65 use Medicare, and the majority rely on it as their primary insurance. With some significant changes to Medicare coverage coming this year, just about everybody in this age bracket will want to take some time to consider their coverage, starting this month.

Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 to December 7 each year. If you’re already enrolled in Medicare, you can make changes to your plan now. It’s always good to consider your options during this period, since Medicare plans have changed, and your own health needs may have changed, as well. If you make any changes during this Open Enrollment Period, they’ll go into effect January 1, 2026.

For unbiased help choosing the right Medicare plans for you, contact your Medicare broker or your state’s SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program). Here are some recent developments to discuss with them.

Medicare Prescription Payment Plans Will Automatically Re-enroll

This year, there’s no need to re-enroll in the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (MPPP): if you had this plan in 2025, it will automatically carry over to 2026 unless you make a change. The MPPP is a free plan available to anyone with drug coverage under Medicare, whether with Medicare Part D or an Advantage plan. Instead of paying in a lump sum at the pharmacy for medications, MPPP enrollees will receive a bill monthly, along with their premium bill. Spreading out the cost of medications over the calendar year helps individuals keep up with payments and avoid sticker shock at the pharmacy.

Medicare Advantage Plans May Make Cuts to Coverage

Enrollees whose benefits include Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) should be aware of new restrictions on these benefits. Examples of benefits that CMS has deemed non-health related and that will not be covered include: cannabis, life insurance, unhealthy food, and cosmetic procedures.

In addition, the Congressional Budget Office predicts an overall 4% cut in Medicare payments to hospitals between 2026 and 2034 due to the budget reconciliation bill (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) passed by Congress in May. Medicare Advantage plan providers and hospitals will start looking now for ways to cut costs and maximize savings.

Medicare Savings Program Ease of Enrollment Will Vary By State

The same bill pushed back to 2035 updates to the Medicare Savings Program (MSP), which would have streamlined enrollment in the program. As a result, an estimated 1.38 million low-income Americans (with incomes at or below 135% of the federal poverty level) will no longer be able to pay the gaps in prescription coverage that the MSP helped them afford. Researchers estimate 18,200 preventable deaths per year as a result of this rollback. Since MSP is administered by states, states can still act to reduce barriers to enrollment in the program. 

CMS Will Use AI to Expand Pre-authorization Under Original Medicare

This year, six states–New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Washington–will adopt the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) new Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model. For now, this pilot program will focus on evaluating eligibility for coverage of specific procedures like knee surgery, outpatient spinal injections, and certain categories of prosthetics and other medical equipment. Patients with Traditional Medicare in the six states who request these kinds of care will have their requests reviewed first by private AI companies and then by a clinician, according to CMS. While CMS says they intend the WISeR Model to eventually reduce Medicare waste, fraud, and abuse across the country, other experts worry that “the combined influence of automated screening and financial incentives may lead to clinically unjustified denials of care.” This is a shift, as WISeR will be applied under Original Medicare, while prior authorization has historically been required only under Medicare Advantage plans. 

The takeaway for enrollees in 2026? If you live in one of the six states, be aware of which procedures are now subject to the WISeR Method, as their approval rates will be less predictable this year. And in 2027, keep an eye on the expansion of this model to other states and more kinds of care.

There’s also good news regarding prior authorization: new CMS regulations prohibit Medicare Advantage insurers from withdrawing prior authorization for care except in cases of obvious waste or fraud. According to Christine M. Clements, JD, a managed care law specialist, in Medscape News, “plans cannot use additional clinical information that might be available after they make their decision to reopen a coverage decision” unless the new information points to an obvious error in the original diagnosis. This is good news for both patients and providers.

If you consider all the changes and decide that your current plan will work just fine for 2026, you don’t need to take any action during this year’s Annual Enrollment Period. Your existing plan will continue on January 1. 


This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice from a qualified financial advisor.


Additional sources:
https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/2025/07/cms-is-getting-wiser-about-medicare-waste-but-at-what-cost-to-providers 


Blog posting provided by Society of Certified Senior Advisors

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Friday, October 3, 2025

Famous & 65

  

Look who's turning 65 this month

Find out which celebrities are turning 65 this month!

October 1

This American actress, daughter of a celebrated character actor, trained at both Hofstra University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. On TV, she made her debut in the long-running soap Guiding Light before delivering a memorable guest turn in 1990 as a Starfleet officer during one of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s most dramatic cliffhangers. In 2023, she reprised the role in Star Trek: Picard. Her screen credits stretch across popular series such as Seinfeld, Charmed, Without a Trace, and Masters of Sex, as well as films like Gattaca, Clear and Present Danger, Soldier, and Red Dragon. Last year, she appeared in Horizon: An American Saga–Chapter 1, a Western produced by Kevin Costner. Answer: Who is…. (click here to reveal)?


October 18

This Belgian-born martial artist and actor rose to fame in the late eighties and nineties as one of Hollywood’s premier action stars. His martial arts prowess, honed since age ten, featured in films like Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Universal Soldier, and Timecop and earned him the nickname “The Muscles from Brussels.” Beyond his film career, he’s also directed, produced, and later poked fun at his own persona in projects like JCVD, a dark comedy in which he played a satirical version of himself. Most recently, he appeared earlier this year in the French action comedy The Gardener. Answer: Who is…. (click here to reveal)?



October 24


This American screen, voice, and stage actor appeared in several well-loved nineties classics. As Dr. Henry Wu in the original Jurassic Park, he asked Dr. Ian Malcolm: “You're implying that a group composed entirely of female animals will...breed?” prompting the famous reply, “No. I'm, I'm simply saying that life, uh... finds a way.” He also played the voice of Captain Shang in Disney’s Mulan and has a long TV resume with roles including the forensic psychiatrist Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: SVU, the conflicted Father Ray Mukada on Oz, and hacker-turned-mastermind Whiterose on Mr. Robot, which earned him an Emmy nomination. But his first breakthrough role was on Broadway with M. Butterfly, where he earned a Tony Award.


Answer: Who is…. (click here to reveal)?




Source:

Wikipedia




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