If you're worrying about your mom falling and needing help, one of the most frequently used products over the years for seniors living alone is a medical alert device -- also known as a personal emergency response system, or PERS.

The last surviving member of the Stanford class of 1933, Dr. Ephraim Engleman, is turning 102 in a few weeks. He serves as a shining example of healthy longevity -- he continues to work part-time and has no intention of retiring.

"She's dead," my grandmother tells me with a clear look of disdain -- like someone should have seen to it that she was disposed of long ago. "Just no one has told her so."

In a world filled with gun violence, abuse and senseless wars, it is nice to hear stories about good Samaritans lending helping hands to their neighbo...

Imagine a GPS that guides you easily along a road for hundreds of miles, then suddenly the voice command blurts out, 'Turn left...No turn right! Make a U-turn. Stop! Go!' You'd feel pretty frazzled, right? Well, that's what caregiving is often like.

Sometimes the signs are right there in front of you -- whether you can spot them immediately or not. For me, it was during the holidays, when my dad wandered away from a family gathering and emerged hours later, disheveled and upset.

Guardians and the courts are supposed to do what is best for the conservatee and what the conservatee wishes. However, in too many cases, this is not what transpires.

Be careful who you entrust to care for your parents. New research from Northwestern Medicine suggests that many nursing agencies recruit people with n...

Helen's shortness of breath forced a trip to the emergency room. Over a seven-day course of treatment Helen was handed from one doctor to the next, accumulating a patchwork team of six doctors who worked sequentially rather than together.

Poor care and neglect are still too common an occurrence in the approximately 16,000 nursing homes in the United States.

As the nation focuses on health reform, a debate over the pay of workers providing in-home care to the elderly and sick brews below the surface.

Beginning April 17, NPR will broadcast a series following the lives of three different families, providing intimate insight into the complexities and challenges of being a caregiver to two generations.