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Seminars planned to help boomers prepare for old age By JOHN DARLING Getting old and dying is a lot more complicated than it used to be, say the organizers of a new series of seminars on planning for old age. Starting Monday and running weekly through October, the series will address details of medical directives, long-term care, funerals, financial planning and handling after-death affairs - all issues that are best taken care of while one is still active and healthy, the organizers say. The workshops are free and will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the Smullin Center at Rogue Valley Medical Center. Call 608-5675 to register for one or all five of the seminars: Oct. 1: "Completing Advance Directives." As people get older, they need to appoint a health care representative who can speak for them if they're incapacitated and tell health care providers what level of treatment they want if they're in a coma, brain dead, in extreme pain or not expected to recover, said Dr. Stephen Brummer, one of the presenters. Participants will be helped to fill out Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment forms at the workshop. These forms, standard statewide, carry the power of law and "really get people talking with their doctors and family members about a subject that no one is very eager to bring up," he said. Directives tell emergency service workers how to treat a patient and also prevent the situation of a relative showing up in the hospital and overriding others' decisions. Attorneys are not necessary to complete a POLST form, he said. Only two witnesses are needed. Oct. 8: "Evaluating Housing and Care Options." It's important while still healthy to evaluate options and costs about possible living situations - residential care, foster care, assisted living or nursing home - if you can't maintain yourself in your own home, said presenter Gene Rimmer. "People tend to think that if you can't stay in your own home, the only option is a nursing home," Rimmer said. "But there are many options and, even though it's very emotional, it's best to shop around early and find out where you'd feel at home and what you can afford." Oct. 15: "Long Term Care and Financial Planning." This workshop teaches seniors to protect assets in such investment vehicles as annuities and trusts so that if one spouse enters expensive medical care, it doesn't wipe out assets for the other or their children, said Asante Senior Services Director Sally Melton. The presenter will be Terrall Blalock, Grants Pass estate planner. Oct. 22: Funerals and death issues . This workshop teaches seniors to plan their funeral or memorial service and settle issues about donating organs or giving their body to a medical school. "People say this is hard to do, but it left them feeling relieved once they did it," said presenter Pam Stuart. "With this taken care of, family members are free to do what they need to be doing, which is grieving, rather than being in a funeral home making hard decisions." Family members often spend far more than necessary on a funeral because they're stressed out and want to be generous to their departed one, said Rimmer. However, costs should be about $1,000 for a no-frills funeral, $800 for cremation or $200 to donate a body to science, he added. Presenter for this workshop is Nick Preboski of Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives. Oct. 29: "Managing Affairs Following Death." Participants will learn how to settle affairs with banks, Social Security, Driver and Motor Vehicle Services and dozens of others, right down to canceling magazine subscriptions, said Stuart. "It's much more intense than people realize to cope with all these details, most of which can't be handled until after the death and are that much more difficult because family members are emotionally exhausted. It helps the death be hassle-free, so it can be a time of reflection and peace." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.