Media Coverage
Silver Planet Launches Silver Advisors
“Children often live far from their parents, but want to help them make the best choices for their situation,” explains Karen Klein, the CEO of Silver Planet. “We empower boomers to make decisions on age-related issues and how to make the best use of their resources. Silver Planet can assess their individual situation and problem-solve specific issues: everything from whether your parent can stay at home or move; understanding Medicaid; supportive housing options; elder coaching; and tax advice. You can access our site for free and review all of the articles on the relevant topic yourself; and you can look for housing options or home-health care yourself; or, tired of surfing the web for the right information, you can make an appointment with a Silver Advisor.
“The expert can explain the differences between the types of communities, point you to additional reading materials on the choices, and suggest how each type might fit in — or not — with your needs,” Klein adds.
It’s never too early to begin think about senior housing decisions, and a visit to Silver Planet’s web site can be an information-rich place to start.
“Be active and plan ahead,” Klein says. “For example, Karen Braitmayer writes about universal design and making your home accessible. Look into financial options and resources so that you can age in place.
“Silver Planet empowers boomers and seniors to make informed decisions about aging in place and housing options,” Klein add. “Silver Planet’s team provides live professional Silver Advisors, the latest information on scams, housing, financial planning, caregiving, spirituality, elder law, health, and new tech tools for staying at home, thus providing the information you need to make aging with choice a reality.”
For more information, see http://www.silverplanet.com/service/silver-advisors.
Bainbridge Island company provides help for boomers with aging parents
What: Silver Planet, Bainbridge Island
Who: Karen Klein, 52, CEO
Mission: Provide baby boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) with the information to evaluate resources about aging and its surrounding issues. The Web site is www.silverplanet.com
Employees: 4
Financials: The private company expects to become profitable in the second quarter of 2011. It relies on referral fees and advertising, but also charges customers for live phone counseling.
Rate base: Online experts are available six days a week. The rates range from $70 for a basic 50-minute assessment to $150 an hour for questions that involve an architect or an attorney. Regular appointments take a few days to set up, or customers can pay an emergency premium to get a return call in 30 minutes.
Mother cam: While clients can connect to the site to address their own issues, the site is designed for those who need to manage care for their aging parents. "People used to spend their entire lives in the same place," Klein said. "Today, many people live hundreds of miles from their parents, but need to be involved in their care. We help them to deal with the information overload, so they can ask the right questions and determine who they can trust with that care."
Staying put: People vary in their reactions to the aging process, but Klein said there is a universal desire to stay in their homes for as long as possible. Klein said innovations such as online access to medical records and improved emergency devices can postpone a trip to the nursing home.
Hearing aid: "Communication is part of what we do," Klein said. "We use social networking to give people a place to go to connect with others who are dealing with the same aging issues."
—Charles Bermant
Baby Boomer Knowledge Center
"Ten Web destinations Baby Boomers Should Visit" is a new monthly column that will appear on several syndicated Boomer-centric high-value content sites.
Our objective is to provide Baby Boomers with the broadest variety of expertise, opinion and unique perspective offered on the Internet. Each month we will feature ten distinctively different web destinations together with our point of view with regard to why they have been chosen. Here's our first installment of Ten Best Baby Boomer Websites and Communities:
Silver Planet is a trusted senior resource for the new view on aging. Senior resources on aging, health, finance, living, retirement, and scam prevention are designed for baby boomers and 55-plus seniors. Launched in April 2008, Silver Planet comprises a content-rich environment with a unique social community. SilverPlanet.com is designed to empower individuals over the age of 55 (and their families), enabling them to be better informed and to make better decisions about issues of concern to the aging population, such as eldercare services, elder law, financial and health issues, scams, and living arrangements. Read more. . . .
eDigest
Just What Is a "Senior Specialist"?
A lot of people are calling themselves “senior specialists” these days, according to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA).
It’s reporting “a significant increase” in what it calls
“designations"—credentials that imply expertise at providing services
to investors 55 years and older. Read more. . . .
PR Web
National Consumer Protection Technical Resource Center
Volunteer Program Targets Medicare Fraud
SMPs train seniors to recognize scams
A few older adults are milling around outside a senior center. Someone approaches them and offers to arrange to purchase scooters for them through Medicare. Because they’ll need physicals before being approved for the scooters—and they’ll need a ride—the person offers to drive them as a group to see a doctor, all for free. After a brief check of their vital signs, the seniors go home. And wait. Sometimes the scooter never arrives, but the Medicare statement does; sometimes a cheap scooter shows up, but Medicare is paying for a really nice one. And someone else, the thief who billed Medicare, pocketed the difference. Read more. . . .
eMedia Wire
September 24, 2008
Silver Star Mildred Heath shines again. Mildred was recently honored at the Experience Works Prime Time Awards Program in Washington, D.C. as the Oldest Worker for 2008. At 100 plus, Mildred Heath continues working as a journalist, begun in 1923 at age 15, at the Beacon Observer in Overton, Nebraska. Read More.
IT News Online
Key website features include syndicated columnist Dr. Barton Goldsmith, best boomer town bloggers, town videos, local weather, daily news feeds, Amazon book store, tax information and Google maps. Featured columnists from Silver Planet, BoomersAbroad, Baby Boomer Knowledge Center and Boomer Golf News write about retirement issues boomers are seeking. Read More.
St. Petersburg Times
April 28, 2009
Silverplanet.com
It's no wonder that more Web sites devoted to the over-50 crowd pop up every day — because 10,000 more boomers turn 60 every day, according to government estimates. One comprehensive site is silverplanet.com, which breaks down health, financial planning, caregiving, retirement, lifestyle changes and more with articles, blogs, video and weekly newsletters. Among the blogs is the Recipe Doctor, written by nutrition expert and author Elaine Magee. The site also invites members to single someone out for doing good; notable folks are highlighted and awarded a "Silver Star." Silverplanet.com was founded in 2008 by Florence Klein at age 74. Keep track of updates on Facebook, MySpace and twitter.com/silverplanet. Read More.
Compiled by LifeTimes editor Mimi Andelman
Mimi Andelman, LifeTimes editor: mimi@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8272.
The Huffington Post
March 25, 2009
"I try to commit to getting outside at least once per day, even if it's to walk down the driveway to grab the mail," said Silverplanet.com founder Florence Klein. One sneaky wellness strategy commonly used among the new modern women entrepreneurs and executives is to swap walking for driving as often as possible, including to and from lunches and meetings. Read More.
The Gazette
January 30, 2009
“I had a big vision, so I started big," says 74-year-old Colorado Springs Florence Klein . “I wanted a place that seniors could trust," she says, and so she started the website www.silverplanet.com. “The site looks as if it had been an online mainstay, with a range of information not seen on even more mature sites that target seniors,” reports columnist Carol McGraw of the Gazette. Read More.
The Huffington Post
January 27, 2009
…I would like to inspire other women, as I have for 4 decades to say "yes we can" lead active lives. For that reason, at age 72, I started the SilverPlanet website - Florence Klein, Founder Silverplanet.com. Read More.
The New York Times' The New Old Age
“I was immediately drawn to the title of one blog: “A Good Enough Daughter” by Sara Myers, who has 30 years of professional experience in the field of aging," says Jane Gross of the New York Times “Old Age Blog.” Ms. Gross includes Ms. Myers’ blog entry in her own blog, and then suggests that readers read other entries because she “enjoyed them and hope you will, too.” Read More.
The Huffington Post
January 21, 2009
...."Listen to your inner self. Protect your integrity and go for it all, girl!" said Silverplanet.com founder Florence Klein. Read More.
Big Tent
December 19, 2008
Former Supreme Court Justice Faith Ireland has been nominated for the Silver Star of the Year. Silver Stars are extraordinary, inspiring seniors who embrace a new view on aging. They are not limited by stereotypical boundaries. These senior Silver Planet Agers live active, fulfilled, informed lives. They reinvent themselves and redefine their work and lifestyles. Please vote for Faith by reading about her at www.silverplanet.com and clicking on the Silver Star to register and vote. Vote early and often!
The Huffington Post
January 6, 2009
Florence Klein, Founder Silverplanet.com, shares that gender is not important when it comes to industries. Read More.
Kitsap Sun
January 5, 2009
Silver Star Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne has written several books, including “The Chaperone.” However, Kyra’s life story is more compelling than any novel. Read More
Denver Post
Silver Planet, a Colorado Springs-based website for people ages 55 and over, was awarded a $10,000 matching grant from Rose Community Foundation as part of its Boomers Leading Change initiative. Read More.
Montgomery Newspapers
At 90, Andora Quinby holds the world record for the deadlift: “My whole motivation for doing these things is to get middle aged and older women moving," Silver Star Andora Quinby of Blue Bell, PA said. "And besides that it's so fun," she added with a giggle. “Quinby was recently featured on SilverPlanet.com as a "Silver Star," which are extraordinary seniors who embrace a new view on aging and are not limited by stereotypical boundaries.” Read More.
