Pittsburghers Open 101 Mobility to Improve Mobility Across Western PA

Greg Slepecki, Franchise Owner and his son Brad are proud to announce the opening of 101 Mobility Pittsburgh. These Pittsburgh natives are committed to helping Western Pennsylvania families improve their mobility inside and outside of the home. 101 Mobility Pittsburgh represents 101 Mobility’s 22^nd national franchise opening.

101 Mobility Pittsburgh is a locally owned, family operated business. The Slepeckis were born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and understand the unique mobility needs of residents from the rough, hilly Pittsburgh terrain. They explained how most homes in the area are two to three level homes with upstairs bathrooms and downstairs kitchens, making stair lifts a must-have for those who plan to successfully age in place.

This charismatic father and son team have seen first-hand how people with mobility challenges have become an under-served demographic. It is their goal to provide the reliable mobility solutions that every Pittsburgh resident should have at their fingertips. Greg adds,

“The residents of Pittsburgh and surrounding areas are good people, blue-collar families who just want to stay in the home that they raised their children in.”

Greg recalled a personal experience with his late mother to describe how his parents relied on a stair lift to age comfortably in their home,

“My mother was nearly blind to the point of counting steps…she would count each step as she climbed the stairwell. We searched everywhere for something to help and there was no go-to name or business for mobility equipment in Pittsburgh; I think there is a general lack of awareness for what’s available.”

Prior to joining the 101 Mobility family, Greg Slepecki worked in one of Pittsburgh’s oldest companies as the President of Matthew’s International Architectural Group. He ran seven international manufacturing plants from Australia to Canada, California and New York. From constructing the memorial for Elvis Presley’s grave to engraving super bowl trophies, Greg has been a part of it all. Son, Brad Slepecki is experienced in disaster restoration/construction with a talent for exemplary customer care and relationship building. Brad will join the service and sales teams as Greg oversees the operation. The Slepeckis are also happy to have Primio LaLama join their 101 team as the top sales and technical person.  Primio has been providing Pittsburgh families with 101 Mobility products for over three years.

Brad and Greg believe that their broader breadth of mobility products ranging from wheelchair ramps to porch lifts and more, in-depth product knowledge and franchise support system which allows for more ingenuity, will give them an upper hand over any competition. This Pittsburgh duo is working hard to brand themselves as the number one source for accessibility solutions across Western Pennsylvania with the goal of becoming a household name.

Call 412.428.9485 or visit http://pittsburgh.101mobility.com/ for assistance or additional information.

Financial and Estate Planning: A Partnership between Parents and Adult Children

As your parents age, having “the talk” about their finances and financial planning can be one of the most difficult discussions you face. Your parents probably do not want to have this talk any more than you do. In fact, they may be resistant to your desire to discuss their money and financial situation. But the fact remains that in order to ensure their financial and physical well being, you all need to be on the same page. So some discussion needs to take place.

How do you have this discussion in an open, caring manner that allows everyone to walk away feeling good about the results? It can be difficult for sure. The key is to have the goal of helping your parents make better, more informed decisions and to not come at them from a place of judgment. If you sense your parents are unwilling to talk about financial issues, try using your personal retirement or estate planning as a jumping off point for the discussion. You can also try using a situational story to spur a discussion about whether they have recently updated their wills or met with a financial planner. Getting them talking in a non-threatening way is the key.

Some key topics to discuss regarding financial and estate planning with your parents include:

• Medicare. Make sure your parents understand their Medicare coverage and how their physicians work with Medicare. Medicare sets the amount it will pay for services related to a condition or procedure. If the doctor takes the set amount from Medicare as payment in full, they accept “Medicare assignments.” This means your parents will not have to pay any additional charges. If, however, they charge an additional fee on top of the Medicare charge, your parents will be left to pick up the difference. This difference should not exceed 15% of the Medicare assignment.
• Medicare Supplement Insurance. Medicare supplement insurance plans exist to cover the difference between the cost of the Medicare assignments and the additional 15% charged by physicians. Medicare supplement insurance can be purchased from a variety of different insurance carriers. It is important to price Medicare supplement insurance plans carefully as the coverage plans are set by Medicare and remain consistent; it is only the cost of coverage that changes from carrier to carrier.
• Geriatric Care Managers. Geriatric Care Managers specialize in helping families with care assessments, screenings, and other financial, legal, and medical issues. They can be a valuable resource for your family. Read more about Geriatric Care Managers here. 
• Financial Power of Attorney. A financial power of attorney gives someone else the authority or responsibility for taking care of your parent’s finances. This is often a last step that would not need to be put into place unless your parents are ill or dementia has set in. Powers of attorney can be set to “spring” into effect upon the occurrence of a specific event, such as the death of a spouse or the onset of illness or dementia. A power of attorney can also be limited by time or spending.
• Health Care Power of Attorney. This type of power of attorney refers to the authority to manage your parent’s health should they be unable to make decisions regarding their healthcare on their own. It can also be limited or set to “spring” upon various events. It is essential that both types of powers of attorney are established while your parents are well because once they are unable to make decisions for themselves it is simply too late.
• Living Will. A living will deals with concerns related to life support issues and what measures your parents wish to have taken to prolong their life should a serious illness occur.
• Aging In Place? Do your parents have a desire to stay in their home as long as possible? Do they wish to retire to another location? Where do your parents imagine they will live should they become seriously ill? Questions about where your parents plan to live as they age will help you to make decisions about investments and how monies should be spent.
• Long Term Care Insurance. The cost of retirement homes and assisted-living facilities is extremely high and most families find it drains retirement income well before they thought it would. An investment in long term care insurance can help to manage these costs.
• Stay Organized. It is vital that you know where your parents keep their insurance policies, wills, powers of attorney, bank accounts, and other important documents. Along with these important pieces of information, you should also have login and password information and PIN numbers for the computer and all other accounts that require security information. Update this information every two to three years.

When working with your parents to develop an estate and financial plan for the future, it is important to remember that you are not alone. There are many professionals available to help you make the important decisions that will lead to a happy and healthy future.

Working on Estate Planning with Your Parents

The time to start thinking about your parents’ finances is not when they are ill or when they have to move into an assisted living center. The time to start is when everyone is healthy and alert. Start talking to your parents about estate planning, health care power of attorney, and other financial matters before things are in an urgent state of affairs and you have to make quick decisions.

If you are able to have discussions at your leisure, when everyone can take time to contemplate decisions, the hard questions are easier to answer. So start talking early and consider these estate planning strategies.

• Have your parents decide on their health care directives. They should have a living will or advanced health care directive that specifies the types of life-sustaining treatments they wish to have taken on their behalf. Include in this discussion the creation of a healthcare power of attorney. This will authorize someone in the family to make medical decisions on their behalf if they are unable to do so. They should also communicate their wishes to other family members so everyone is on the same page.
• Have your parents select a durable power of attorney. A durable power of attorney acts on their behalf to handle all financial matters, including paying bills and handling assets, should your parents be unable.
• Ensure your parents have a will or living trust that is up to date.
• Ensure that you and other family members know the location of all important estate planning records and that you have the keys to safe deposit boxes and know all computer passwords.
• Consider purchasing long term care insurance and discuss what the role of a care giver will be should one be needed.

Having these discussions while everyone is healthy and alert is much easier and eases the stress of having to make decisions when a parent has fallen ill.

Helping Your Parents Keep Their Independence

It can be one of the most challenging phases of the parent/child relationship, and we aren’t talking about the teenage years.  As parents age and adult children are faced with the prospect of having “the talk” about moving to an assisted living facility, it is quite possibly the most stressful time in the parent/child relationship. Neither party is happy and both are feeling a great deal of anxiety.

According to 2008 federal data, approximately 70% of adults over the age of 65 are expected to need some type of long term care services during their lifetime. That leaves very few of us exempt from having to have “the talk”.  Additionally, 42% of adults between the ages of 45 and 65 feel that discussing if elderly parents are no longer able to live on their own is the most difficult topic they face*.

With so many of us facing this difficult issue, and with so few of us really having a handle on how to address it, how can parents and adult children minimize the stress?

First, we recommend starting the discussion early. Don’t wait until there is a crisis on hand or your parent’s health has begun to deteriorate. If you are active in your parent’s estate planning, now is a good time to begin the process. Discuss with them what their long term care goals are. Get them down on paper, begin researching and visiting facilities, and have a plan in place that you can put into action when the time comes.

As your parents age, consider taking steps that can help them to stay in their homes longer.  The longer your parents can maintain their independence, the easier the transition is likely to be. For example, consider hiring a cleaning service to help with heavy duty cleaning tasks, hire a hospice service to ensure that medications are taken on schedule, install safety devices in the home including chairlifts and shower barsto minimize falls. All of these items help to maintain parent’s independence while giving adult children peace of mind.

When it comes time to make the move to an assisted living facility, take the time to have a heart to heart discussion. This means turning off the cell phone and disengaging from other distractions so you can focus on your parents and really hear what they are saying. Speak clearly about what you are feeling without making your parents feel like they are being attacked.  Offer options to your parents instead of telling them what they are going to do. Ask for their ideas and input. They have many years experience and valuable opinions.

Finally, imagine how all this feels from their perspective. It can be hard to leave their home, routine, all their memories and face the prospect of starting over.  Be gentle, kind and respectful.  Give them the time to grieve and transition as they need to.  Don’t push too hard.  Remember someday you might be having this same discussion with your own children; think about how you would want to be treated by them.

In the end, the most important thing is to maintain the health and safety of your parents. Make the decisions that will ensure that you are all together for as long as possible.

* According to a 2006 study from Home Instead Inc.