By Patrick Coolen, Caresmith Who? (I hear you cry.) Let me set the scene: A familiar drum introduction, the iconic theme music. Next, the now familiar "jump shots" of a huge curling wave, aerial shots of landmarks like Diamondhead, Aloha Tower, etc, etc, then, almost a minute into it, a beautiful Hawaiian woman running down the beach, pulling a clip from her hair...and then finally, with raven tresses flowing, a headshot of a dramatic head rocking turn facing the camera. That woman is … [Read more...]

One of the biggest challenges of growing older is assessing when you might need more support to help you stay in your home. No one likes to admit that they are unable to do the things to care for themselves that they once could. This reluctance to look clearly at how things are going can cause serious problems and sometimes injury which could have been prevented. Prevention of injury may be as simple as having a little help in your home or making simple changes in your home that make things … [Read more...]

Social Security provides benefits to 55.4 million Americans. Among beneficiaries age 65 and older, 22 percent of married couples and 43 percent of unmarried people rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income. And 54 percent of married couples and 73 percent of unmarried persons in this age group receive 50 percent or more of their income from Social Security. Is Social Security just for retired workers? No. As of December 2011, 15 percent of beneficiaries were disabled … [Read more...]

By Carole Fleck Home health and personal care aides top the list at 70 percent growth through 2020. The prolonged housing market meltdown pushed Ann Jacobi Brown, a real estate broker of 11 years, to switch careers at midlife.  At age 52, she is months away from graduating with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “The cyclical nature of the real estate business is something you learn to live with but it was getting so much more … [Read more...]

By Jacquelyn Mitchard In your secret soul, do you harbor a belief that bigger is more? That more is better? Does something deep down cry out for family size, even though the nest is as empty as a candidate's eyes? Take yourself by the hand, and turn away from the habits of a lifetime, in favor of a new life. Take the shackles from your wallet and the shades from your eyes and repeat with joy: I'm not paying for economy size anymore! It's not economical to buy a bag of … [Read more...]