The current post is by Caring.com Senior Editor Sarah Henry about the importance of getting second opinions from a doctor whenever something doesn’t seem right struck a chord with me. Henry tells the story of an octogenarian who developed mysterious fever in the evenings and nightsweats. Her doctor couldn’t find anything wrong and sent her home with the advice to “take some Tylenol.” The second doctor, who did a CAT scan on her lungs, found that she had a life-threatening case of tuberculosis and hospitalized her immediately.

Follow your instincts and get a second opinion,” she says. ” And don’t be afraid to change doctors if you feel the need to.”

I agree. All too often doctors treating the elderly wrongly dismiss their illnesses as the symptoms of “just getting old.”

Another very useful feature of the site was the “Topics: A to Z” page, an index to every topic covered on the site, and there are many.

One criticism I have about the site is the overuse of popup surveys. I got hit by a popup survey seconds after I started reading the site. Give me a chance to read it first, people! There were three others that popped up as I tried to read articles asking me to rate whether I would use the advertisers site and other things. I don’t know anyone that likes a popup except the Webmaster.

Bursack also writes a newspaper column on elder care and blogs on Alzheimers.com and Agingcare.com and does frequent interviews on the subject of elder care. She has a degree in English Literature and lives in Fargo, N.D.

To help interviewers prepare, Bursack even offers a list of suggested interview questions in her profile. At the top of the list of questions is “How is a caregiver’s health affected by the responsibilities and emotional stress of caregiving?”

I know that my sister and I are both having a hard time maintaining our own health while caring for our parents. But I was surprised to read on Bursack’s site that  approximately 30% of today’s caregivers die before those they are caring for, according t to the National Alzheimer’s Association.

Bursack’s blog is a clearinghouse of good information. My one suggestion to improve it would be to remove some of the clutter. Everything is laid on a three-column grid and links are piled onto one another. I would suggest turning off the underline on links. There are so many that I find they distract from the content.

I would further suggest Bursack redesign her blog using a current blogger site, such as WordPress. Both she and her readers would find the blog easier to use, I believe.

Despite the design challenges of the site, I would recommend it for the high quality and quantity of posts on the subject of elder care.

This blog doesn’t contain very much information that will be helpful to those caring for the elderly. It mainly contains information on how to market to us. “This membership organization is dedicated to teaching others how to start their own non-medical home care companies and begin filling the great demand for these services. Expert Home Care has since become the model for the National Membership Organization, where Goodman and Esposito have tested the success of different business concepts and marketing techniques prior to passing the knowledge on to their members.”

The site demonstrates the large eldercare market is a business opportunity to many people out there.

My criteria for assessing blogs are pretty straightforward.

1. Who is maintaining the blog?  Is it someone who faced the challenge of eldercare personally or a professional in eldercare? Is it someone offering a service? There is nothing wrong with a blog maintained for marketing purposes as long as the blogger is straightforward about their business. I look for the blogger’s credentials for writing about the topic, be they professional or personal.
2. Content clarity and research. I think content should be backed with experience, research or both. If someone is writing based on personal experience, I value that because I am going through a personal challenge with caring for my parents. Reading a blog by someone who has “been there, done that,” is tantamount to having a conversation with someone. If not personal experience, then I look for professional credentials.
3. Ease of navigation. With today’s blog technology, most sites are easy to get around but I insist that things be easily found. Can you intuitively get to content you need on the blog?
4. Design. Is the blog pleasing to the eye? Design is about the packaging. Although I rate this less important than the three criteria it affects my assessment.

Based on my navigation of the Web, I have added seven sites to my blog roll:

1. A Place for Mom’s Family
2. AARP: Care Giving
3. Aging Care.com
4. Inside Assisted Living
5. Minding Our Elders
6. My Elder Advocate

7. Caring.com
   

I evaluated, but declined to recommend the following sites to my blogroll:

1. Freedom ElderCare
2. Third Age
4. Promote Your Elder Care Business
5. Companion Connection Senior Care

More details on my evaluations of these sites are posted on my blog.

– Nadine

Being involved in site launches in the past, I understand that it can take a while to get content going, but one rule of the Web that I strongly believe in is: Never post an empty Web page! If you don’t have any content for it, it is better not to post the page at all. Going to a blog with no posts is like going to a store with no merchandise on the shelves. I hope the company is able to fill the need for content soon. The longer the blog remains empty, the more silly and unprofessional it looks. I’ll check back with the site in a few days to see if they’ve got something going.

To be honest, I haven’t had much time to blog since my Mother went into a coma on October 5, 2008. She is in rehab now and is doing better every day, but I barely have the time to wash my clothes, much less post to my blog. But I highly recommend the parent organization for this blog, “A Place for Mom.” I learned about the service from AARP, a trusted organization for senior care issues.

“A Place for Mom’” is sponsored by a nonprofit organization. Through this Web site, you can connect to a senior care adviser in your state with experience and expertise in elder care issues as well as a wealth of online information. My senior care adviser from “A Place for Mom” has been a lifeline during my family’s crisis. Tim Burris, my current adviser, has even offered to be included in conference calls with my parents, helping me to make the case for assisted living. When my parents were angry, he guided me on how to diffuse their anger. When my spirits were flagging, he offered emotional support. There are times, when you can’t burden your friends or your family with your problems; you need a professional.  I just can’t recommend this service highly enough. The service is priceless, but there is no charge.

When my Mom was in a coma, I programmed my senior care adviser’s phone number into my mobile phone, so I could reach him from my car or from the family waiting room at the hospital. Believe me, you don’t call people in that situation whom you don’t trust.

On the Internet, many Web sites make promises, but don’t deliver. This one does.

Mr. Halpern’s regular blog posts demonstrate his passion for elder care. And he does not shrink from publicly accusing nursing homes that abuse the trust they are given. It is very evident that elder abuse makes Mr. Halpern’s blood boil. His posts have a lot of information about ongoing criminal investigations and legislation that he monitors very closely.

The reason for the blog, however, is not totally selfless. Mr. Halpern’s blog links to a Web site where he markets his services. According to his online brochure, he helps families needing assistance with needs assessment, facility placement and as an advocate for the elderly already placed in a nursing homes.

My one criticism is that Mr. Halpern is vague about his own background. In his profile, we learn that he has a master of professional studies with a major in long term care administration from C.W. Post College and that he has had “several key leadership roles in his 30 years in the Nursing Home Industry.”

I would like to know exactly what those leadership roles were.

The sweeping hyperbole of this statement in his online brochure about his record troubles me: “A commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of elders has affected thousands of people in nursing homes and has earned Mr. Halpern a reputation as an uncompromising patient advocate, with both the elderly and the regulatory agencies that govern Nursing Homes.”

Mr. Halpern’s blog provides a valuable information service that reaches way outside of his region. Mentioning more specifics about his own record would go along way toward establishing more credibility for this blog. Having recently been confronted with a nursing care facility that apparently was profiting from the suffering of my Mother with little care or compassion for her, I see a real need for a blog on this subject. But given its obvious marketing foundation, I’d like to see Mr. Halpern come forward with more information on his background so that I can rest assured that he is not using the passion that his blog stirs to drum up customers that are facing their fears about elder abuse and neglect. 

Corruption is one of the perils of global communications technology that concerns me.

According to a report on the FBI Web site, the “evolving cybercrime economy is one of the top five threats in 2009 and beyond. Criminal “malware” is growing in sophistication and availability, making it easier for criminals to get consumers’ credit card, bank account and personal information and passwords to make bogus transactions. Sophisticated software programs offer criminal organizations staff support and guarantees!

Last week the FBI and its global partners wrapped up a two-year undercover cyber operation that resulted in 56 arrests worldwide, the prevention of $70 million in potential losses. A forum on the Internet called “Dark Market” enabled 2,500 registered members to buy and sell stolen financial information such as credit card data, login credentials (user names and passwords), and even electronic equipment for carrying out financial crimes.

Personally, I know that I seem to spend a lot more time trying to get my money back from financial transactions that are fraudulent, if not just unfair.

For example, a restaurant I visited once, where I paid with my Visa Check in June, takes the money out of my checking account the next day — and then again five months later. My insurance company accidentally bills my account for a policy that is not mine. My bank, which has promised me “free checking,” is suddenly charging my account $30 a month.

Almost everyone I know has similar stories, if not worse. Identity theft is a real threat to all of us.

I don’t recall having to expend so much effort to protect myself financially 10 years ago.

Here are some of my concerns:

1. Is global communications technology giving rise to a new form of corruption that can be dismissed as an “oops” if caught, but succeeds often enough to entice some businesses to use it to add to the bottom line?

2. If these companies can so easily nibble on my credit cards what kinds of losses might we be looking at corporate and institutional financial accounts?

3. Could unscrupulous practices contribute to the weakened financial system in the United States?

4. Should we all go back to cash and carry so that we won’t be vulnerable to digital penny theft or worse?

5. Is law enforcement prepared to assist citizens and organizations victimized by corrupt or unethical digital transactions?

Resources on the Web

Here are six resources I found on the Web with information pertinent to corruption and cybercrime:

1. The FBI Web site is one rich source of information on cyber-corruption and crime. The FBI dedicates a branch to The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). IC3 enables victims of Internet fraud to file a complaint if they believe they have been defrauded. Third parties to the complainant (local, state and federal law enforcement) can also file cases for investigation here.

2. International Journal of Digital Crime and Forensics (IJDCF). The primary objective of IJDCF is to provide and foster a forum for advancing research and development of the theory and practice of digital crime prevention and forensics. It addresses a broad range of digital crime and forensics disciplines that use electronic devices and software for crime prevention and investigation. This seems to be a new Blog developed and the initial post was from a text document that still has broken links and is not quite fully working when I found it. But it looks like a promising source of information on digital corruption.

3. The Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Web site is another site that is rich in information about identity theft. This is the place where you should report if you are a victim of identity theft.

4.  Michael Chertoff, director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security discusses the issue of cybersecurity in his online Leadership Journal. Chertoff suggests ways that all leaders and consumers can increase their cybersecurity.

5. Bruce Schneier’s blog covers all forms of security – airline security as well as cybersecurity — and his blog is regularly updated and has many good links on the issue. Schneier has good credentials as security technologist and author. Described by The Economist as a “security guru,” he is known as a security critic and commentator.  

6. 419legal.org, “Targeting Spam and Fraud,” is an open forum where members can discuss potential scams and suspicious or fraudulent looking emails in a friendly atmosphere. There’s a wealth of information shared her. The forum divides posts into five topic areas: Introductions, Fraud News & Alerts, Scam & Spam Letter Archives, Spam & Fraud Discussions, E-mail Spam and Phishing and Fraudulent E-mails and Websites. This would be a good place to vet a Web site or any electronic offer before you do business. Keeps track of the latest fraud and phishing scams. I can’t seem to find who runs the site though. I wish they were more forthcoming about that.

My Recommendations

Obviously, in today’s world of rampant digital transactions, my first recommendation is that each of us be vigilant in checking the charges and changes to all our credit, savings and banking accounts. Know what you’re being charged for and why. I expect that all of us will have to continue to energetically pursue refunds for fraudulent charges to keep our money where it belongs.

Recommendation No. 2: Practice safe computing. Following Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff’s 10 steps for safe computing will help protect you from fraud and a lot of other headaches.

Recommendations No. 3: When you witness or experience a fraudulent or corrupt practice, spread the word. You can help others avoid being victimized by cybercrime and fraud by posting information to forums and blogs, such as 419legal.org and Bruce Schneier’s blog. Also report the crime to the FTC and to the FBI cybercrimes units.

The current post is by Caring.com Senior Editor Sarah Henry about the importance of getting second opinions from a doctor whenever something doesn’t seem right struck a chord with me. Henry tells the story of an octogenarian who developed mysterious fever in the evenings and nightsweats. Her doctor couldn’t find anything wrong and sent her home with the advice to “take some Tylenol.” The second doctor, who did a CAT scan on her lungs, found that she had a life-threatening case of tuberculosis and hospitalized her immediately.

Follow your instincts and get a second opinion,” she says. ” And don’t be afraid to change doctors if you feel the need to.”

I agree. All too often doctors treating the elderly wrongly dismiss their illnesses as the symptoms of “just getting old.”

Another very useful feature of the site was the “Topics: A to Z” page, an index to every topic covered on the site, and there are many.

One criticism I have about the site is the overuse of popup surveys. I got hit by a popup survey seconds after I started reading the site. Give me a chance to read it first, people! There were three others that popped up as I tried to read articles asking me to rate whether I would use the advertisers site and other things. I don’t know anyone that likes a popup except the Webmaster.