Author: Jerry Doctrow
Out of the Closet on Parkinson’s
I was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in October 2018. My family and close friends have long known of my condition. But I have been reluctant to discuss Parkinson’s on my blog. I was concerned that potential consulting clients and board recruiters might be less willing to use my services if they knew I had…
New FNMA/FHLMC Requirements Set National Standard For Condominium Maintenance
The Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae (FNMA), and The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac (FHLMC), are publicly traded, government-sponsored entities (GSEs) that purchase mortgage loans from banks and mortgage banking companies. GSEs package these loans into mortgage back securities that are sold to investors. This process…
Senior Housing Options
What do we mean when we use the term “seniors housing community”? The industry defines seniors housing communities as properties offer a place to live and varying levels of supportive services. Discussions of seniors housing generally focus on professionally managed, market-rate properties with capacity for at least 25 seniors. Such housing is grouped into four…
Benefits of Retirement Center Living
I thought a letter to the editor published in the Wall Street Journal on November 11, 2021 from Jane Shaw Stroup contained a number of good insights on retirement center living from someone whose husband had recently died after the couple spent five years in a community. Jane Shaw Stroup is a retired nonprofit executive…
Pandemic, Lockdowns, Election Denial Getting You Down – Try Fondue
My wife and I actually have two fondue pots. I thought they were both presents from our 1977 wedding, but my wife says one if from my first marriage in 1972 and the other from my mother when she downsized in the 90s. Regardless of their lineage, we have not used either fondue pot for…
COVID-19 Vaccine Could Boost Seniors Housing Occupancy in 2021
This week we received preliminary very positive news that the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective and that Pfizer could apply for emergency use approval by the end of the year. On October 22, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced HHS’ partnership with CVS and Walgreens to provide the COVID-19 vaccine…
Industry Response Needed On Coronavirus Impact On Seniors Housing and Care
At the Life Care Centers skill nursing facility in Kirkland Washington two thirds of the residents and staff were infected with the Coronavirus and 37 people connected to the facility have died. In Brooklyn, the Cobble Hill skilled nursing facility had 55 Covid-19 deaths and was stacking up bodies in a makeshift morgue. In my…
Adjusting To Retirement
I will turn 70 next month. I have been semi-retired for five years and fully retired from my last full-time employer for three years. I find a number of my close friends, who elected to keep working after age 65, are now shifting to full or partial retirement at age 70 and I thought I…
Scandinavia Trip Mixed Cities & Scenic Fjords
My wife and I traveled to Scandinavia in late August 2019. The trip combined visits to Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen and Norwegian fjords. We flew direct from Washington, Dulles to Copenhagen, where we spend five days. We took an overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo, where we spent four days. We used trains and ferries to…
Trip To Israel Was Great Family Experience
In June 2019 my wife, son, daughter-in-law and I vacationed for 10 days in Israel. My wife, son and I had last been to Israel 20 years ago and my daughter-in-law had never previously visited. We flew from Washington’s Dulles airport to Israel via Frankfurt and had a direct return flight from Israel to Washington.…