Created: 2/20/2009 7:53:24 AM 
Greensboro, NC -- Grandma makes the best pies and Grandpa tells the best stories.
The last thing we want is for them to be hurt, scammed out of their money, or put in danger.
This morning Elder Law Attorney Frank Johns gave us three tips to help make sure our aging parents and grandparents are safe.
Tip #1 - Scams disguised in goodness are more evil than ever.
The scam artists are targeting benevolence and dire impoverishment. They are continually masking themselves as a non-profit that reads and sounds like a worthy non-profit - connecting diseases like cancer, alzheimer's or arthritis to catchy phrases and glossy graphics.
Our seniors think they are actually doing victims some good; but in the end they are simply mailing money to drop box in the middle of nowhere. the warning is never mail money to group or a place that has not been called and confirmed as legitimate. contact the attorney general's office or your local area agency on aging to assist in confirming which groups are up and up.
Tip #2 - Get in-home protection; ways to stay at home and reduce the risk.
Parents and senior family members want to stay at home for their remaining years. No elders want to go somewhere else to live, especially a nursing home.
Mechanical equipment, advanced electronic devices and technology systems and programs are now available that reduce the risk of being at home. It's not just the call for help necklace, but many other new and inexpensive products and services.
Tip # 3 -- Rating nursing homes.
In addition to the new CMS Nursing Home Rating System, there are many other networks and websites dedicated to evaluating the best and the worst available nursing homes in each and every community across the country.
Our firm, Booth, Harrington anad Johns, provides free documents and brochures linking the community with check lists, summaries of how to work with nursing homes and dozens of rating and locator services for finding the right nursing home for family members.
WFMY
