Government Sites
Medicare.gov (www.medicare.gov) An all purpose website with interactive tools for planning and paying for long-term care. Includes searchable inspection results for all of the nation’s skilled nursing facilities.
National Institute on Aging (www.nia.nih.gov) Lists ongoing research on aging with clinical trial information with participant seeking.
CarePlanner (www.careplanners.com) Gives free online worksheets and resources to help users create a care plan, keep track of medications and expenses, and plan home modifications.
The Story of Medicare: A Timeline (www.kff.org) A visual timeline of Medicare’s history.
Housing and Services
National Center for Assisted Living (www.ahcancal.org) Provides elaborate facility finder that takes into consideration costs, method of payment, mobility, dietary needs, activities, and amenities.
SNAP for Seniors (www.seniorhousinglocator.org) Offers searchable housing locator including facilities for assisted living, residential care, nursing care and rehabilitation, continuing care retirement, and independent living.
Visiting Nurse Associations of America (www.vnaa.org) Search for home health services nationwide.
The SeniorGuide.com (www.seniorlivingguide.com) Search by State and region for all types of senior housing, case managers, lawyers and more.
Life & Death in Assisted Living. (www.pbs.org) A four-part series on the potential dangers of assisted living facilities.
Caregiving
Family Caregiver Alliance (www.caregiver.org) Offers tips on a wide range of topics, including how to hire help, hold a family meeting, balance work and caregiving, and making the right decisions regarding family caregiving.
Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) Get tips on how to care for or find the right care for a loved on suffering from Alzheimer’s with interactive message boards and the websites action center.
Family Matters (www.npr.org) A series featuring three families, living in multigenerational households, that face difficult financial decisions surrounding elder care, paying for college and retirement.
Legal and Financial
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org) Search by location for members of the association. Provides questions to ask lawyers regarding qualifications and areas of expertise.
American Bar Association Aging Tool Kit (www.americanbar.org) Offers a 10-step process for making end-of-life decisions with worksheets, suggestions, and links.
BenefitsCheckUp (www.benefitscheckup.org) Use the sites search tool developed by the National Council on Aging to determine eligibility for 1,300 benefit programs that help pay for medications, health care, utilities, ect.
Fraud Hotline (www.aging.senate.gov) The Committee’s investigators have experience in fraud concerning retirement savings, identity theft, phone scams, Medicare, Social Security, and a variety of other consumer issues important to seniors and the elderly.
EconomicCheckUp (www.benefitscheckup.org) Through a series of questions, this website helps older adults find work, budget their money, and save on daily expenses. The website offers help regarding money management & budgeting, housing, health expenses, employment & training, and debt & credit management.
End of Life
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (www.nhpco.org) Use this site to find hospice services, as well as guides on issues related to palliative care and techniques for communication end-of-life wishes.
Hospice Foundation of America (www.hospicefoundation.org) Find information on end-of-life issues, such as pain management.
Advocacy and Emotional Support
AARP (www.aarp.org) Political position papers, member discounts, demographic research, online versions of its bulletin, and magazine and consumer advice.
National Associated of Area Agencies on Aging (www.n4a.org) Review articles on caregiving, policy reports, and resource links to eldercare service agencies.
Children of Aging Parents (www.caps4caregivers.org) Connect with support groups, both online and face-to-face to focus on interpersonal matters like stress among siblings, caregiver depression, and getting through the holidays.
DrugWatch (www.drugwatch.com/seniors) Awareness group that aims to educate the public about prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and medical devices that have the potential to cause patients serious harm.
Aging In Place (http://aginginplace.com/) Provides Caregivers, Seniors, and Baby Boomers resources for those who are aging in the place where they have always lived.
My Family Health Portrait (https://familyhistory.hhs.gov) Enter, print and save your family health history so it is readily available to share with other family members or health care providers.
The Mesothelioma Group (www.mesotheliomagroup.com) The complete guide to understanding cancer.
American Childhood Cancer Organization (acco.org) Information and support for children and adolescents with cancer and their families.
Advance Directives
Aging with Dignity (www.agingwithdignity.org) The five wishes document helps individuals express care options and preferences. The advance directive meets the legal requirements in most states and is available for a nominal fee.
Caring Connections (www.caringinfo.org) Free, state specific advance directions that meet the legal requirements for each state.
Center for Practical Bioethics (www.practicalbioethics.org) Offers a Caring Conversations workbook to help individuals and families communicate with each other about their healthcare preferences and contains advance directive documents.
Compassion & Choices (www.compassionandchoices.org) Advance care planning tool kit and state-specific advance directive materials.
Lifecare Advance Directives (www.lifecaredirectives.com/statutory.html) Research validated comprehensive advance directives, as well as completion guides, agent guides, and other important advance directive support documents are also available.
MedicAlert Foundation (www.medicalert.org) Emergency medical information and identification services including Do Not Resuscitate medical IDs and options to store advance directives.
MyDirectives (www.mydirectives.com) Free online platform for completing an advance directive which is then stored in a secure database available to you and your medical providers 24-7 to ensure one clear, well thought out document. Also features a discussion guide and conversation starters to help patients and families have discussions with doctors, other family and a healthcare agent.
National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives (www.nrc-pad.org) General and state-specific information on psychiatric advance directives.
Project GRACE (www.projectgrace.org) Guidelines for resusciation and are at end of life, offers a free advance care planning document that is legally valid in states that do not require forms to be notarized.
The Will to Live Project (www.nrlc.org/euthanasia/willtolive/index.html) State specific forms for designating an agent and stating healthcare wishes.
My Health Care Wishes (https://itunes.apple.com/) There is an App for that! ‘My Health Care Wishes’ for smartphones gives you the ability to store your own health care advance directives, key health information, and health care contacts, and to send advance directive documents and other key information directly to health care providers.