EPISODE 2 - What is Life Beyond Retirement. Some things to consider before you enter into assisted living.

Here we scratch the surface of several things that you may need to consider if you are thinking about assisted living. It’s important to note that we could talk for hours about variables, but this will plant some seeds.

Transcript

​Hi, this is Jamie Callahan with the Team Senior Podcast. Our goal is to simplify aging society, grooms us to plan for retirement, but what about life beyond retirement, where the rubber meets the road? Perhaps you've had a stroke or you've been diagnosed with cancer, or maybe you're forgetting things and now you have dementia.

That's our area of expertise and we are here to share our insight. And now the team senior podcast. Team Senior started the Life Beyond Retirement Coffee Hour in January of 2025. And we did it because we recognize how much information folks need to know about considering all things around long-term care.

Many of those same considerations include healthcare, and we wanted to provide an opportunity for folks to come in a casual setting. Rather than going into the Department of Human Services or the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, or an official setting where it feels like you're going there to make decisions and actually do something.

We wanted a casual opportunity, so we decided to do this in a coffee house. We do it on the first Thursday of every month. In Grants Pass, it happens at 10:30 AM on the first Thursday of the month, and that location is Taste and Sea Coffee again, the first Thursday of the month in Grants Pass.

Ironically, we are also doing this simultaneously in Medford on the first Thursday of the month again in Medford. Also the first Thursday of the month, and it's going to be at Modelo's Coffee. In that location that's behind where the old Costco used to be. All of this information is available on our website team senior.org.

But I wanna give you a quick overview of the types of things that we're discussing at this coffee hour. And when you come, we buy coffee, we get you a pastry, and we just have a casual conversation about what's happening in your life and ways to start paving. The way to whatever options might exist for you and everybody's dynamic is different.

There are no two set of circumstances that are exactly the same. And I think that's what makes this area of our lives so difficult to navigate because there's no cookie cutter mold that we can say, because we did this for Mr. And Mrs. Jones, this is what we're going to do for Mr. And Mrs. Smith. Those two.

Lives or those two couples may need two very different things in consideration of insurance. That's gonna be based on what medications are you taking and what are your personal diagnoses and prognosis. Maybe what Mr. And Mrs. Jones has won't work for Mr. And Mrs. Smith. One perfect example of that would be that you cannot use certain types of insurance and go to Providence Hospital.

You cannot use certain types of insurance. And utilize various home health agencies in southern Oregon. So if you have a preference and you have a conflicting insurance, that's not gonna work. And it's our job to help you navigate all of that. So those things that we help you navigate would be caregiving versus.

Home health, what that looks like, who pays for it? Recognizing who provides quality care out there. What is palliative care versus hospice? Very few people utilize palliative care, and it is a fabulous program that exists with numerous companies here in southern Oregon. And palliative care, which not very many people know, it's available to folks at any age.

You don't have to be a senior to utilize palliative care when to execute hospice. That's a really big one Also. We talk a lot about what the generational observations are in consideration of skilled nursing and rehab. There is this misconception in the community that has led folks to believe that when you go to assisted living, I.

It's going to be an institution. It's not an institution and I can't be more clear about that. There are communities in Southern Oregon that I would move into today if it was an option for me to do that. They're wonderful. They're like being on a cruise ship every day. These are things that we talk about at this coffee hour.

We let you ask us the questions. You are steering the ship. We're not there to preach to you during this coffee hour. We're just there to answer your questions. Talk about, what. What you are facing personally. We also give you the opportunity to book an appointment with us outside of that, just because some people don't wanna discuss all of their personal issues in front of everyone.

But one thing that we're very clear about is giving you a picture of what assisted living looks like these days. And just to be very clear, it is not an institution. It's not skilled nursing. Skilled nursing is very different than an assisted living community. Skilled nursing are really meant. To help you rehab.

So if you discharge from the hospital because you've had a stroke, you're gonna go to a skilled nursing facility so that you can learn to walk again, talk again, all of those things. Once you do all of those things, or sometimes if you stop making progress, that is the point which you're either going to go home.

Sometimes people get to go home and they don't need any. Added layers of assistance. Sometimes you go home with caregiving, sometimes you're gonna be moving into some form of assisted living because perhaps whatever transpired has put you in a place where you can't live independently anymore.

Another thing we talk about. Is the legal documents. We talk about legal documents at length because we really need you to roll into this point in your life prepared. Many people don't have a power of attorney in place. We talk about that. We talk about the difference between power of attorney and a banking power of attorney.

They are not the same thing. Just because someone has power of attorney does not give them the authority to sign your checks, so suddenly you don't have capacity to be doing that. We need to know that you have a power of attorney in place. Usually an adult child that can start taking on those responsibilities.

What is an advanced directive? Why is it necessary? How does the advanced directive support the polst? The POLST is the Physician's Order of Life sustaining treatment. Again, a very important document. That's something that should be created by your doctor, your primary care doctor. It's recorded usually in the system that tracks all medical records so that when you show up in the hospital, they know.

Whether you wanna be resuscitated or not, that's the purpose of the Pulses, the Physician's Order of Life sustaining treatment. So if you are whisked away from your house in an ambulance and you show up to the hospital wants to know, should they be trying to resuscitate you or not? The advanced directive is the supplement.

Okay, so now you've been revived, but what are we gonna do? What are those life sustaining treatments that you want? So the advanced director tells them, do you want IV hydration? Do you want to be on a vent? What types of life sustaining treatments do you want? So you're making those decisions and you are in the driver's seat even if you don't have capacity.

That's why it's so important to have that document in place. It allows you to continue to be in control. Even if you can't speak for yourself in that moment, we talk a little bit about conservatorship and guardianship, how those differ from power of attorney. I'm super important to know that power of attorney allows someone to come alongside you and make decisions, but it does not take away your ability to make decisions for yourself.

The guardianship and the conservatorship are very different. They're court appointed documents. They essentially say that you no longer have capacity to make decisions for yourself, either your health. Which is guardianship. I always remember that because the guardian guards the body or conservatorship, which maintains your finances.

That can actually be the same person. There was some confusion some years back and there was a belief that they could not, but they can. So the guardian and the conservator can be the same person. We talk about wills in the states and all kinds of things. Again, this is a topic that could go on for hours and again, no two situations are the.

And so we would really encourage you to reach out to us if you have any questions about that. We work with some of the very best elder law attorneys in Southern Oregon, and there's a wide variety and types of them. Sometimes we just wanna get you connected with somebody that's gonna serve your personality.

Sometimes we wanna get you connected with somebody that can get that guardianship and conservatorship in place, maybe urgently maybe you're trapped in the hospital and you can't get out because we need one of those things in place and we need it in place as soon as possible. Sometimes we can move the dial in about 72 hours.

Medicaid, navigating Medicaid. Boy, this is a big one. One thing that I really want to express here is that there is a also a misconception in southern Oregon around who can qualify for Medicaid. So in a spousal situation, many times a spouse will keep a loved one at home for an extended period of time because they fear that by sending their.

Husband or wife to assisted living will drain them financially. I wanna share with you that there is a way in the state of Oregon to get the spouse that requires care qualified for Medicaid. While we can protect a number of assets and money for what's referred to as the well spouse. Again, super important for you to know other things when it comes to Medicaid is what to say and what not to say In consideration of that.

Qualification. We work with the generation that wants to remain wildly independent. That means that when the case manager or the person that's gonna come and do the resource assessment or the assessment essentially enrollment for Medicaid, they're gonna look at your financial situation and they're gonna look at whether or not you legitimately need care.

If you look and smell like you can take care of yourself in. Any way, shape or form you are going to get denied Medicaid long-term care. Super important for you to know if you're getting ready to put in a Medicaid qualification, just give us a quick ring, we can walk you through whether or not we feel you're gonna qualify and then we're gonna help you.

With what to say and how to present yourself. And if you're on the fence, we have some folks that can come and do an assessment they document medically over the course of about a week. And all of that information gets presented to the Department of Human Services, and especially if you've lost.

To the Medicaid qualification. That piece of the puzzle is very important. Those care managers come into your house, they create a document that's then presented to the court during your hearing when you are appealing your Medicaid denial. And like 99% of the time they can help you get approved. Again, something very important to know.

And one thing I wanna stop, pause for a second and just say, this is a lot of information and you don't have to remember. Everything. We are the company that on Christmas morning when my kids are opening presents, I'm still gonna answer the phone and if I don't answer immediately, I'm gonna get back to you within a matter of minutes.

We are kind of 24 7. If it's three o'clock in the morning, I might not off answer. But I will get back to you right away. So what I wanna assure you of is that you don't have to remember everything I'm telling you. I just need you to know that we are a resource that is available with a wealth of information.

And we're here to share all of that with you. Senior services and DHS case managers. So they are in both counties, Josephine and Jackson County. There's lots of different ways to get information from them. Again, information that we're willing to share with you, but they are also supplemented by the Aging and Disability Resource Connection.

That's the A DRC, which is serviced through the Rogue Valley Council of Governments. They are also a wealth of information and they are the organization, the RV Cog or the Rogue Valley Council of Governments that houses the veteran direct. Did care program. So we're gonna jump into veterans benefits here in just a minute, but I do wanna share that if you are a spouse that is caring for your husband or your wife and you the veteran that is receiving the care needs care every day, the spouse can actually get paid through the VDC or the veteran directed care program to provide.

Caregiving in that setting. And that's really important to know because with inflation and how we're all seeing the cost of things rise and rise, bringing a little additional money into your household can't hurt anyone. And the biggest thing I want you to know about the VDC or the Veteran directed care program is that you do not have to be as a veteran.

You do not have to be service connected. So there are caregiving hours that are available through the va, but in order to get those caregiving hours, you have to have a service connected disability. For the VDC program, you do not need to have a service connected disability. You need to require caregiving and you need to have been a veteran, but you do not have to have a service connected disability.

So that is very important for you to know. I am gonna move on quickly to the Veteran Service Office, and we are going to have the Veteran Service Office as a guest here on the podcast. But there's a couple things I want you to know. So there are many benefits available through the va. I would never recommend that anyone goes to the VA to apply for those services just because the Veteran Service Office employees.

Are not employees of the va. They're actually paid out of the budgets for the county and they are a veteran's absolute biggest cheerleader. They're gonna take a deep dive into where you served, where you trained your diagnosis, prognosis all your symptoms. All the things and they're going to fight. They take so much pride in winning this fight when they're able to get you either come pension or aid in attendance or disability benefits or health insurance or whatever that looks like.

I always encourage people to reach out to the Veteran Service Office because they are phenomenal. And because of the PACT Act that rolled out a couple of years ago, there are. All kinds of additional services I'm sorry. Additional diagnoses and so forth that are approved now that were not previously approved.

So if you, for example, were diabetic or maybe have hearing loss and perhaps that wasn't approved before, it's possible that they might be able to get you approved now. So if you applied for benefits five years ago and you have not tried to get your benefits since then, I would highly encourage you to reach out to your local veteran service office.

You always need your DD two 14. Again, I know this is a lot of information. You absolutely do not need to remember everything. All you need to do is give us a call. So I'm gonna wrap this up, but I do wanna tell you I could go on and on about. Other long-term care insurance options about the importance of having a primary care physician and how to optimize your time when you're with them.

Not just navigating Medicaid, but all the different things that Medicaid can do for you. Again, this is Jamie Callahan. I would encourage you, like I said, to reach out to us anytime. Thank you for listening to the Team Senior podcast. We're here every week sharing new and relevant information.

Remember that we're just a phone call away. Team Senior can be reached at 

541-295- 8230. Again, 5 4 1 2 9 5 82 30. Until next time, this is Jamie Callahan.