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Good for Boomers Great for Their Parents Web Site Solves Riddle of...

8211; As Senior Citizens Month dawns, Parent Care, Inc.. salutes both seniors and their adult children who care for them. Over twenty million baby boomers are caring for their elderly parents, with dramatic annual increases in that number forecast. As assistance demands mount, boomers often find themselves ensnared in a maze of confusing caregiving choices. From relatively simple tasks such as locating large print books, to more complex and daunting health insurance issues (enrollment deadline for new Medicare prescription benefit is May 15), financial planning when retiree benefits are shrinking, to home safety modifications, to hiring in-home help - - figuring out which path to take can be overwhelming.



The challenge is even greater for adult children who do not live near their parents -- some seven million U.S. boomers are remote caregivers today, with that number expected to increase to 10 million by 2010. While it is difficult enough to make informed care giving decisions for elderly relatives living nearby, complexity and anxiety increase when trying to assist parents who live 500 miles away.



Parent Care founder William F. Gillis knows this maze first-hand. As a boomer responsible for the long-distance care of an elderly parent, parents-in-law and siblings over the past decade, he has encountered numerous obstacles, hit many dead-ends, and endured repeated frustrations chasing 's8220;answers's8221; that turned out to be incomplete, outdated, enormously expensive or non-existent.



Rather than let the experience depress him, however, he was inspired. His solution: the creation of Parent Care, Inc., an Internet-based resource for long distance caregivers. Launched in May 2005, Parent Care provides tailored 's8220;road maps's8221; to navigating the maze of medical, financial, legal, social and emotional issues that impact the well-being of aging loved ones. The unique web site delivers comprehensive national, state and local resources to the computer desktops of the country'ss millions of remote eldercare providers.



For about a dime a day ($9.99 per quarter), each Parent Care subscriber receives a personalized home page with one-click access to an array of services that are useful to all caregivers - seasonal information (e.g. flu shots and tax help), interactive monthly articles by eldercare experts, weekly chats with peers, daily eldercare tips, and 24/7 senior news plus links to pharmaceutical manufacturers's8217; patient assistance programs, free goods and services, rebate forms and hard to find senior friendly products.



Then there is specialized information for remote caregivers including the Parent Care Report, an eight to 10 page detailed summary of local services, supplemented by national and state senior services. State-by-state older driver regulations and even links to local Better Business Bureaus to check the backgrounds of service providers are included.



More than simply addressing crises, Parent Care also emphasizes proactive measures. This 's8220;ounce of prevention's8221; can help avoid misguided knee jerk reactions to the cascading events common with eldercare. Each of the more than 3,300 quarterly reports (one for each county in the United States) provides links to help caregivers assess their parents's8217; total needs, more links to locate the assistance required, and a variety of links to help caregivers anticipate (and prepare for) unforeseen events.



The all-inclusive site also includes valuable checklists to enhance parents's future safety and independence.



's8220;When we know that over two million seniors suffer adverse drug reactions annually, with ten percent resulting in fatalities, we want to help prevent medication accidents.'s8221; Gillis said. 's8220;We's8217;ve produced a pharmacist-reviewed medicine cabinet checklist that allows the seniors's8217; health care team to review the entire contents of seniors's8217; medicine cabinets and identify possible dangers.'s8221;



's8220;In a similar vein, because over half of the one million seniors who fall at home each year suffer injuries resulting in lost independence, we's8217;ve developed a checklist for progeny to identify and remove hazards to help avoid falls.'s8221;

Beyond the benefits for elderly parents, Parent Care assists caregivers by reducing their stress, and saving them substantial time and money 's8211; much needed because they:

> Live 450 miles from their parents.

> Have pre-college teens at home, and spend over $4,700 (the equivalent to a year's8217;s public college tuition) on behalf of their parents.

> Will invest 17 years rearing children, and 18 years caring for elderly parents.

> Miss two to three days from work each month due to care giving responsibilities, and the equivalent of another full day per week monitoring the situation back home.

> Report that the stress of caregiving is adversely affecting their health.

> Could forfeit up to $600,000 in salaries and benefits by reducing work schedules or resigning jobs.



For those assisting parents in one location and in-laws in another, a reduced fee family subscription is available. Small employers can also provide subscriptions as a benefit to caregiving employees.



's8220;We established our fees to be both modest and flexible,'s8221; Gillis said. 's8220;We believe the dime a day investment doesn's8217;t present an obstacle, especially when subscribers may save hundreds or thousands of dollars using Parent Care. We also offer limited duration subscriptions in the event there is a sudden change of circumstances.'s8221;



As Parent Care emerges from its current test market phase, which generated several thousand subscribers worldwide, the company expects in excess of 100,000 subscribers by year-end.



About Parent Care, Inc.

Parent Care is the leading provider of eldercare information for the nation's8217;s seven million long distance caregivers and the firms that employ them. Parent Care, The Parent Care Report and The Parent Care Channel are registered trademarks of the firm.

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