Primary Education Topic:
LGBTQ Aging
Other Education Topics:
Leadership in Aging
Legal & Ethical Issues
Policy and Advocacy
Past experiences of discrimination by medical professionals may also lead some LGBT individuals to resist executing a healthcare directive out of fear that healthcare professionals won’t respect it.
By Robert Espinoza
In October 2012, as Hurricane Sandy devastated the Northeast, Rebecca, 72, and her partner of 38 years, Barbara, 85, holed up in their New York City apartment to weather the storm.
Over the course of four days, with no electricity or water, Rebecca began noticing a difference in her partner. “I realized that she was not taking in information and would ask me again and again, ‘Why isn’t the light on?’ ”
Shortly after the hurricane, Barbara was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.