Oklahoma’s advice for baby boomers
Here’s what I know about Oklahoma: a) great basketball team (used to be in Seattle); b) good state for college football (the Sooners); c) the old, good song about being “24 hours from Tulsa.”
Of course, there’s much more. A recent article in the Tulsa World newspaper discusses aging in Oklahoma and gives advice for baby boomers.
Experts there think that Baby Boomers need to know seven things about preparing for “the end” (so to speak):
1. Start talking when you’re healthy. There is a lot of talk about “the bucket list,” but not about incapacity.
2. Learn the options. Almost half of U.S. deaths occur in hospice care, but little is known about it. (Cost is a factor!)
3. Document your wishes. That means Wills, Powers of Attorney, Representation Agreements, etc.
4. Organize finances and give access to the right people.
5. List out your key people (the people whom others will need to contact when the time comes).
6. Let your key people know what to do with your body.
7. Keep talking.
This advice seems sound to me, and hardly to be confined to Oklahoma.
This ad ran in the Richmond News on December 11, 2015.