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Page 18 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 16, 2022 avy eniiooravvy S iorn or avvyavy vvy io iori by Jim Miller Tips for Being a LongDistance Caregiver Dear Savvy Senior, What tips do you recommend for long-distance caregivers? I help take care of my stubborn 86-year-old mother who still lives at home about 150 miles from me. Need Advice Dear Need, Providing care and support for an aging parent who lives far away can present a variety of challenges that can make the job diffi cult and stressful. Here are some tips and resources that may help you. Long-Distance Caregiving When it comes to monitoring and caring for an aging parent from afar, you have a couple of options. You can hire a professional to oversee your mom’s needs, or you can manage things yourself by building a support system, tapping into available resources, and utilizing technology devices that can help you keep tabs on her. If your mom needs a lot of help, you should consider hiring a geriatric care manager who will give her a thorough assessment to identify her needs and will set up and manage all aspects of her care. But geriatric care managers are expensive typically charging between $100 and $250 per hour after an initial assessment of $150 to $750 and are not covered by Medicare. To fi nd a geriatric care manager in your mom’s area, visit AgingLifeCare.org or contact the nearest Area Agency on Aging (call 800-677-1116) to see if they have a list of providers. If, however, your mom only needs occasional help, or if you can’t aff ord to use a care manager, here are some things you can do yourself to help her. Create a care team: Put together a network of people (nearby friends or family, neighbors, clergy, etc.) who can check on your mom regularly, and who you can call on from time to time for occasional help. Also put together a list of reliable services you can call for household needs like lawn care, handyman services, plumber, etc. Tap local resources: Most communities off er a range of free or subsidized services that can help seniors with basic needs such as home delivered meals, transportation, senior companion services and more. Contact the nearby Area Aging Agency to fi nd out what’s available. Use fi nancial tools: If your mom needs help with her fi nancial chores, arrange for direct deposit for her income sources, and set up automatic payments for her utilities and other routine bills. You can also set up her online banking service, so you can pay bills and monitor her account anytime. Or, if you need help, hire a daily money manager (AADMM.com) to do it for you. They charge between $25 and $100 per hour. Check essential documents: This is also a good time to make sure your mom has the following essential legal documents: a will; a living will and health-care proxy, which allows you to make medical decisions on her behalf if she became incapacitated; and a durable power of attorney, which gives you similar legal authority for fi nancial decisions, if needed. If she doesn’t have these documents prepared, now is the time to make them. And if they are prepared, make sure they’re updated and know where they are located. Hire in-home help: Depending on your mom’s needs, you may need to hire a part-time home-care aide that can help with things like preparing meals, housekeeping or personal care. Costs can run anywhere from $12 up to $25 per hour. To fi nd someone, try websites like Care.com or CareLinx.com. Utilize technology: To help you keep tabs on your mom from afar, there are various technologies that can help. For example, there are medical alert systems, video camera monitors, wearable activity trackers, and electronic pill boxes that can notify you if she has taken her medications. And to help you coordinate her care with members of her care team there are websites like LotsAHelpingHands.com. For more tips, call the National Institute on Aging at 800-2222225 and order their free booklet “Long-Distance Caregiving: Twenty Questions and Answers.” Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. MALDEN HIGH SPORTS SCHEDULE December 16—Monday, December 26 Friday, December 16 Middle School 7-8 Grade Girls Basketball v. Everett, Beebe School, Malden, 4:00 p.m. Middle School 7-8 Grade Boys Basketball, Beebe School, Malden, 5:00 p.m. Saturday, December 17 Varsity Co-op and Co-ed Wrestling @ Wayland Holiday Tournament Varsity Girls Hockey, v. Gloucester, Medford Rink, 3:00 p.m. Sunday, December 18 No Events Scheduled Monday, December 19 Middle School 7-8 Grade Girls Basketball v. Everett, Beebe School, Malden, 4:00 p.m. Middle School 7-8 Grade Boys Basketball v. Everett, Beebe School, 5:00 p.m. Varsity Girls Hockey v. Melrose, Basketball v. Everett, Beebe School, Malden, 4:00 p.m. Middle School 7-8 Grade Boys Basketball v. Everett, Beebe School, 5:00 p.m. Varsity Boys and Girls Indoor Track, Sam Fishman Fieldhouse @ Salemwood School, 4:00 p.m. Varsity Boys Co-op Hockey v. Melrose Flynn Rink, 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 20 Freshman/JV/Varsity Girls Basketball @ Everett High, 4:00/5:30/7 Freshman Boys Basketball v. Everett, Ferryway School, 4:00 JV Boys Basketball v. Everett, Finn Gym, 5:30 p.m. Varsity Boys Basketball v. Everett, Finn Gym, 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 21 Middle School 7-8 Grade Girls Lynn Jets, Everett Rink, 5:00 p.m. Varsity Girls Co-op Hockey @ Beverly, 4:20 p.m. Thursday, December 22 Freshman/JV/ Varsity Boys Basketball @ Woburn, 4/ 5:30/7:00 p.m. JV/Varsity Girls Basketball @ Salem (Mass.) HS, 4:30/6:00 p.m. Varsity Coed Swimming @ Lynn Classical, 7:00 p.m. Friday, December 23-Monday, December 26 No Events Scheduled MERRY CHRISTMAS! Friends of the Malden River shares opportunities to get involved with the City of Malden Climate Action Plan Steering Committee, Wicked Cool Ambassadors and Center for Arts and Culture Advisory Committee opportunities T he Friends of the Malden River has applied to be a steering committee representative as a community organization. The Friends encourage you to reach out to engage your networks with this important endeavor for Malden and environmental justice communities to ensure that we install climate change solutions to protect people and the environment from climate change’s effects (equitable solutions for public safety and health, including protections against potential heat waves, fl ooding, air quality, lack of transportation, etc.). The fi rst application is for the Climate Action Plan Steering Committee. This application will be open through December 31, 2022, and will help the City of Malden select seven residents to lead the Climate Action Plan’s community engagement phase. The City is particularly seeking residents who can volunteer to serve as liaisons with community organizations, to help expand the reach of these eff orts and create a greater sense of community ownership of the plan. Individual volunteers will receive a $600 stipend, and organizations with a representative member on the Committee will receive a $500 donation. The representative needs to be a resident of Malden; the organization can be regional and have a stronghold in Malden. Emily Granoff (egranoff @cityofmalden.org) can answer questions or concerns. For the application and more info, access https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkgshut94-00xRL08F1W0QYxZ2qx3wxSpyvhpN51_2bspRZQ/viewform The second application is for Ambassadors for the Wicked Cool Mystic project. These Ambassadors will help educate their neighbors and community members about urban heat island impacts, help lead various meetings and educational events and help design outdoor cooling solutions. This application is open through December 31, 2022, and chosen volunteers will receive $1,000 stipends. This project is being conducted in partnership with the Mystic River Watershed Association. For the application and more info, access https:// docs.google.com/forms/d/e/ 1FAIpQLSdfc81q0CbRSx5O25gcQmRbAfuuewnEVu6cv-s9waEhJ74DUA/viewform And the third exciting opportunity – Mayor Gary Christenson has announced the creation of the Malden Center for Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. The seven-member Committee will be a group of Malden residents who will, in partnership with the City of Malden, ensure that the redevelopment and future operations of the Malden Center for Arts and Culture remain consistent with the vision and values for the space established in the concept plan. The City is now soliciting applications from interested residents to serve on the Committee for a three-year term. To apply for the Malden Center for Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, please send a cover letter and resume to Senior Planner & Policy Manager Evan Spetrini at espetrini@ cityofmalden.org. In your cover letter, be sure to state why you would like to serve on the Committee and what expertise you would bring to the group. Applications will be accepted until January 5, 2023. Candidates will be interviewed as a part of the selection process. For more information about the committee, access https://www.cityofmalden.org/civicalerts.aspx?AID=672

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