National Health Literacy Month, observed every October, aims to help you understand health information and learn how to advocate for yourself when receiving medical instructions from a health professional. For older adults especially, this can build confidence in navigating their healthcare plans, understanding how to take prescriptions, and communicating with healthcare providers to make informed personal health decisions.

What Is Health Literacy?

Health literacy describes a person's ability to find, understand, and use health information and services to make well-informed decisions for themselves and others.

There are many aspects to health literacy, including the ability to:

“Curiouser and curiouser!” Alice cried, as the iconic character watched her body suddenly grow taller and stretch out in the book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

Alice's quirky adventures in Wonderland might not be what you envision for your retirement years, but there are very good reasons for being, or becoming, “curiouser and curiouser” in older adulthood. To celebrate Healthy Aging Month this September, we're focusing on all the ways curiosity is good for an older adult's wellbeing. After all, curiosity has no age limit!

How Is Being Curious Good for Older Adult Wellbeing?

Curiosity isn't something anyone outgrows. However, our adult lives require us to fall into routines with work and family, and as we do, curiosity tends to slip by the wayside. When retirement rolls around, there's more free time to fill – and that void can be a bit unsettling. Cultivating a curious mindset can allow you to rekindle interests and hobbies or discover new ones. As you allow curiosity to lead you in new directions, you are simultaneously taking care of your emotional, physical, and brain health.

The number of adults age 50 and older living alone reached approximately 24 million in 2025. As this population continues to grow, so does concern about home safety for older adults. The home environment can present risks involving security, physical safety, and health, many of which we don't think about when we're younger and more agile.

Fortunately, there are many ways to assess and improve home safety for an aging family member. The following tips can help you get started.

By addressing potential hazards early, families can help older adults maintain greater independence while enjoying the comfort and familiarity of home.

When Dan and his wife, Erin*, realized they needed to consider supervised care for his father, Gene, who was showing signs of memory loss and reduced mobility, they weren't sure where to begin. Searching online, they found plenty of senior living options within a two-hour drive of their home, but they were overwhelmed by the information. In particular, they didn't fully understand the differences between nursing home care and assisted living.

Dan and Erin are not alone in their confusion. Different terms are often used to describe residential care settings for older adults, and the terminology can vary by location and provider. For example, nursing homes may also be referred to as long-term care facilities or skilled nursing facilities, although these terms can describe different services and levels of care.

Two common residential care options for older adults are:

When you come to visit Dad at an Everbrook Senior Living Community, you’ll be near to a variety of activities perfect for celebrating Father’s Day with every generation – dad, sons, and grandsons! We’ve compiled a short list of things to do to celebrate with the special men in your life.

Find Adventure Near Cedarbrook Village – Ware, MA

Combine a family picnic with the thrills and chills of a day at Six Flags New England! Located in Western Massachusetts, Six Flags is a family destination with something for everyone, from the youngest grandkids to dear old Dad. Scenic picnic grounds provide shade, while water rides offer a refreshing break from walking through the park and taking on the roller coasters.

Six Flags is also known for its entertaining shows featuring talented actors, singers, and dancers. If you're looking for something with a little more splash, reserve your spot at Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park resort.

Navigating important healthcare, financial, and end-of-life decisions with an aging family member can be a difficult and heartbreaking process. Even as you try to safeguard your loved one's dignity, privacy, and independence, the emotional weight of the situation can sometimes lead to conflict between an aging parent and their adult children. If you notice family relationships becoming strained, or better still, before tensions arise, consider working with an eldercare mediator to guide your family through the decision-making process.

What Is an Eldercare Mediator?

An eldercare mediator is a trained professional who serves as a confidential resource and impartial facilitator for families navigating aging-related healthcare, lifestyle, and financial decisions. Unlike a judge or arbitrator, an eldercare mediator does not make decisions for you or your loved one. Instead, mediators help family members explore options and reach agreements about the best path forward for their loved one's care. They also emphasize preserving relationships between family members.

What Roles Does an Eldercare Mediator Have When Working with Families?

• Acting as a Neutral Party: Mediators do not take sides or advocate for one particular family member.

We all know that our health changes as we age, sometimes taking us by surprise. It’s important for older adults to be informed about health conditions that can impair their ability to drive safely. In particular, health conditions that affect attention, cognition, vision, and mobility can have serious and lasting effects on driving ability.

Which Health Conditions Commonly Affect Driving Ability for Older Adults?

• ADHD

• Cognitive changes or impairment

Helping older adults declutter requires a patient, respectful approach that honors the memory and meaning held in their personal possessions. 

It can be incredibly difficult to get an older adult family member to let go of the “stuff” that has collected in their living space. They may view your attempts to help them clean up as an intrusion of their privacy, leading to feelings of anger, sadness, and fear of losing a vital part of their personal history, and even their autonomy. Helping an older family member declutter their living space requires a gentle, respectful, and slow-paced approach that makes them feel like a partner in the process.

Cluttered Living Spaces: A Hazzard for Older Adults

Each glance in the mirror shows us we’re getting older. We feel it in our bones, in our energy level, and as we witness our own parents aging and, in many cases, losing their vitality. This stage of life can be challenging, that’s for sure. There are many difficult conversations to have around healthcare, finances, and end-of-life planning. It is all too easy for fear, grief, and even resentment to creep into the space between family members. But there’s another way to approach this delicate stage – one that allows this unique time in life to be shared with reverence, gratitude, and grace between adult children and their aging parents. The tips below will help you plan a path forward with loving intention, courage, and clarity as the time to make critical decisions nears.

Embrace Blessings, Find Peace.

The challenges inherent in interacting with our aging parents can be balanced with unexpected blessings if we focus on finding peace. It’s hard work to rise to this challenge, but well worth the effort. You have the opportunity to discover one another anew by understanding the life choices your parents made through the lens of your own adult life. This change in perspective also invites your aging parent into a different way of seeing your choices and relating to you – one that comes from a new shared perspective. If needed, seek out an eldercare mediator, professional counselor, or support group that specializes in strengthening the bond between adult children and older parents.

A wonderful way for older adults to add meaning and joy to life is to initiate new friendships in the New Year. Studies show that friendship provides vital social connections that support mental and physical health. As people are living longer, it's important to establish habits and routines that add quality to the Golden Years. Studies show older adult friendship is vital to lowering risk for and reducing the impact of existing chronic illness, such as cognitive decline, loneliness, depression, and heart disease. It's never too late in life to make a new friend…the tips below will help you get started! Health Benefits of Friendship for Older Adults Throughout our lives, and particularly during older adulthood, friendship provides vital social connections that offer protective health benef...

National Book Month is the perfect time for older adults to gather together with a group of like-minded bookworms to celebrate your love of a good story. Every October, National Book Month coincides with the announcement of the National Book Awards, bringing attention to the importance of literature and literacy, encouraging people of all ages to immerse themselves in the joy of reading, writing, and sharing stories. We’ve put together tips to help older adult “book lovers” start a book group and infuse fun and fancy into your group meetings.

Basic Guidelines for Older Adult Book Groups

Before we jump into book club ideas, we want to remind you of a few basic guidelines to help ensure your group is successful and fun for all:

There are plenty of benefits to becoming an active older adult, such as: 

• wisdom acquired from life experience and sharing that with others
• time to explore new interests
• opportunity for leisure travel and entertainment
• quality time with friends and family
• feeling more accepting of who you are

Yet, these positive aspects of older adulthood rarely get the attention they deserve. To address this, as a nation, we observe Healthy Aging Month every September. 

Never Too Late…