OK Now What? A Caregiver’s Guide to What Matters offers a chapter called: Paperwork and Practicalities. It gives a straightforward view of the official documents a caregiver needs in order to pay a loved one’s bills, talk with doctors and other medical providers, get information from insurance companies and chase down any billing discrepancies (which sometimes happens — I’m sure you’ve seen it) that need to be corrected. This paperwork (Power of Attorney [POA], Medical Power of Attorney or ‘Health Care Agent,’ and Living Will) should all be in place before there comes a time the person is no longer able to make well-founded decisions for him or herself. Obtaining it can sometimes be a complicated and fraught discussion with a parent, grandparent or even a spouse, depending on the relationship, obviously, but it can also be one that offers a chance to get to know a loved one in a new way, a way to cement relationships and quell fears. In any case, it’s a crucial discussion to have before things begin to slide irreparably.
For those who are unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the ‘paperwork’ we recommend, Today’s Caregiver has a longer explanation of what powers each individual document affords and the potential limits of each. read more at caregiver.com
OK Now What? A Caregiver’s Guide to What Matters by Sue Collins, RN and Nancy Taylor Robson is the winner of the 2016 Friendly Caregiver Award from Today’s Caregiver magazine. It is purposely succinct, experience-based and story-filled for those in the throes of caregiving. Available in paperback from headtowindpublishing Available in both paperback and ebook from amazon.
As a certified financial planner, (CFP®), I have found that the “life” planning aspect of my job is often more important than “financial” planning…It is critical that I have resources I can provide or to which I can direct clients. OK Now What? A Caregiver’s Guide to What Matters is a welcome addition to that toolbox. It’s content rich, direct yet gentle. It is now in our practice’s library. Bruce Robson, Managing Partner and CFP® CFS Comprehensive Financial Solutions.
Published by Nancy Taylor Robson
I grew up sailing and building boats with my dad, married a tugboat captain, (who I'm still happily married to) and embarked on a life of adventure, challenge and fun. My first book, Woman in the Wheelhouse, told the sometimes harrowing story of working on an old coastal tugboat as cook/deckhand then worked in Mexico in the Campeche oil fields on a supply boat. I was one of the first women in the country to earn a tug operator's license. I'm the author of three other books, Course of the Waterman, which won the Fred Bonnie Prize for the novel, the historical novel, A Love Like No Other: Abigail and John Adams, A Modern Love Story, and OK Now What? A Caregiver's Guide to What Matters, which I wrote with longtime RN and hospice nurse, Sue Collins during the time my mother-in-law was moving to the end of her life.
My second, Course of the Waterman, the coming of age novel of a young Eastern Shore waterman, won the Fred Bonnie award in 2004. My third book, second novel, A Love Like No Other: Abigail and John Adams, A Modern Love Story, takes readers into the lives of the new nation's strong-willed second First Lady and her stubborn, often-absent and adored husband, John, our second US President. I wrote the book because I'd spent big chunks of time raising children alone while my husband was at sea and felt an affinity for Abigail, but also looked to her life as a MUCH bigger challenge that informed and encouraged my own. My fourth book, OK Now What? A Caregiver's Guide to What Matters (Head to Wind Publishing, 2014) was written in collaboration with Sue Collins, RN and longtime hospice nurse and has received heartwarming feedback on how helpful it's been to many caregivers.
A freelance writer for many years, I've published personal essays, features, maritime reporting and analysis, travel, garden and more for such places as The Washington Post, Yachting, House Beautiful, The Baltimore Sun, the Christian Science Monitor, Southern Living, Sailing, and more. I'm also a University of Maryland Master Gardener who grows and cans the family's fruits and vegetables, and a Bay-Wise program certifier. I write, sail, race sailboats (occasionally), walk the German Shepherd dogs, and cook for friends and family.
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Nancy Taylor Robson 