Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual.
I wish it did – particularly when I found myself confronted with the many complex challenges that came with the task of providing help for elderly parents and relatives. There was little, if any, information to help me navigate the health, financial and general life issues that my loved ones were dealing with. Just to make things even trickier, I was handling all of this from a great distance!
It was a difficult situation, as I’m sure you can imagine. It was challenging, even though I’d been working and conducting research in the elder caregiving field for over 20 years. I’ve been fortunate and blessed to have studied elder caregiving all around the world. This has been an invaluable experience, providing me a unique ability to work very well with families from many diverse backgrounds who are looking for help for elderly parents or loved ones. These decades of hands-on experience compliment my professional qualifications, which include a degree in Social Work from the University of California Los Angeles, and memberships in the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, the American Society on Aging and AARP.
This has left me with a passion for providing families with a better solution for providing help for elderly parents and relatives and best meeting their eldercare needs. The final years of our lives are special and important, a source of joy to both you and your elder. I founded Bass Eldercare Resources to focus on elders and their elder care givers, offering efficient, effective navigation of the elder caregiving system, to make this happen.
My passion for eldercare is founded on a deep appreciation of the need for personal connections. Trust and respect are essential, and I focus on building that with each and every person we serve. That’s why I meet with every client individually, performing the assessments and taking the time to learn and understand their unique needs, wants, and preferences.
Working with a top team of elder caregiving professionals enables me to provide your family with peace of mind. Your elder’s needs will be met, their wishes and dignity respected, and their financial resources and legal rights protected. Additionally, Bass Eldercare Resources provides personal and corporate advisory services through educational seminars that assist Boomers in understanding the range of issues attached to providing help for elderly parents or relatives, and with their own aging. We can never be too well informed when it comes to caring for our families!
I’d like to share some examples of our work in providing elder caregiving services. In each of these stories, the names are changed to protect confidentiality:
Mrs. Mary Logan is 88 years old and is a single-leg amputee who has vascular dementia. She is being cared for by her sons.
When Bass Eldercare was introduced to Mary, we noted that although the doctors had diagnosed her with dementia, she was fiercely independent. She had many days where she was more lucid then we were about her surroundings and care!
We assisted the family with weekend respite care, meal planning and working with the in-home elder care providers to coordinate Mary’s daily care. A daily schedule and log system were developed to monitor changes in Mary’s behavior and sleeping patterns.
In addition, when the family decided to appeal the Social Service agency’s decision to deny additional hours of service for in-home care, Bass Eldercare assisted the family in the necessary document preparation for the appeal process.
“We are pleased with the service that Bass Eldercare provided for our Mother and would recommend their services to others.
Thank you Bass Eldercare.”
Mrs. Lucy Brown is an 81-year-old who heard a Bass Eldercare Estate Planning Presentation. When her beloved husband died, Mrs. Brown called Bass Eldercare Resources.
She wasn’t sure what she needed at the time, but we took the time to get to know Mrs. Brown and what her situation and needs were and which senior planning services were right for her. She’d had no children, and had very little knowledge of her financial circumstances. We helped identify Mrs. Brown’s legal and financial needs, and connected her with an appropriate attorney and accountant. Now, Mrs. Brown has a health care proxy and will that ensure her wishes are honored, and ongoing assistance managing her financial affairs.
She continues to live independently and knows that she has the support of Bass Eldercare to assist her in maintaining her independence.
“Ms. Bass and Bass Eldercare Resources have been a welcome addition in my life and I recommend them to all of my friends.”
Mrs. Vivian Johnson is an 80-year-old whose husband has several chronic illnesses. They have been married more than 50 years. Vivian, typical of her generation, has allowed her husband to handle all of their financial matters. As her husband’s health continues to fail, she is now in the position of having to quickly learn a great deal of information while handling the anxiety and emotional toil of caring for her spouse. She needed answers before it was too late.
Bass Eldercare helped Vivian by educating her about what type of information she needed to have, and provided the necessary documents to help her with the task of data gathering. A set of key questions Vivian needed to ask her husband about their finances helped her gather all the relevant data. Now Vivian is feeling better about her future and her ability to care for herself in the event her husband predeceases her.
“Bass Eldercare gave me peace of mind! Nothing is as valuable!”
The Robertson Family was struggling with the reality of having to move their father from his beloved assisted-living facility. Bass Eldercare helped them weigh their options so they could figure out a financial solution that fit their needs.
“Bass Eldercare’s help was a godsend for my family. My dad’s funds were shrinking and we hated the thought of him having to leave the assisted living facility he had come to love and depend on. Deborah Bass was knowledgeable, patient and encouraging with her advice, guidance and the plan of action she developed for us. We found a way for him to stay with her help. What a relief!”
-The Robertson Family
The Fergusson family’s aunt is 84 years old and lives alone with limited mobility. They needed an advocate for her long-term care and assistance with her estate-planning.
“Ms. Bass spent several hours with our aunt and was able to get the long-term care insurance carrier to pay my aunt’s claims, approve a home health attendant for her and set up a life alert system in the event of an emergency, as we live two hours away. In addition, Ms. Bass, in working with my aunt’s financial advisors, determined that my aunt could afford to go into an Assisted Living Facility, which was one of her wishes.
Our aunt is excited and pleased with the wide range of services Bass Eldercare has been able to provide for us. We now have in place: a Revocable Living Trust, a health care proxy, a living will and a power of attorney; the house is up for sale and we are on the waiting list for an Assisted Living Facility near our family.
Thank you Ms. Bass and Bass Eldercare Resources! We are forever in your debt. She is truly a trusted advisor for us!”
-The Fergusson Family
Every elder is different, and that’s part of what makes coordinating eldercare so challenging. There’s no ‘average’ or ‘typical’ senior! It’s impossible to provide one-size-fits-all care, not when every man and woman comes with their own set of circumstances. That’s why I’ve pulled together such a diverse team of elder caregiving experts and professionals to work with Bass Eldercare Resources. No matter what needs your elder has – medical, financial, legal, spiritual, everyday living – we are prepared to meet those needs in a way that will please you and your loved ones!
A life long passion for elders has led Deborah Bass to eldercare not only as an avocation, but as a profession. After completing her degree in social work at UCLA, Deborah spent over twenty years working in her denomination's Global Missions Agency. 
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