Cynthia Martindale, Author Of 'Graceful Last Chapters: Helping Seniors Who Need More Care' Voices Support For New NY Bill Requiring Oversight For Senior Housing

    WILMINGTON, NC, March 18, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Last November, 150 residents of a senior housing facility in White Plains, New York, were told they would have to leave their homes. Their complex was to be re-purposed as luxury rental apartments. Needless to say, that did not sit well with the residents. Or the media. Now, New York legislators have taken action.

Legislators have now introduced a bill that would require landlords of senior citizen rental housing units to get court approval before terminating leases. The bill was introduced by Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers. The Assembly version is co-sponsored by Assemblyman David Buchwald, D-White Plains, and Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, D-Yonkers, at the urging of Westchester County Legislator Bernice Spreckman, R-Yonkers.

Cynthia Martindale, author of "Graceful Last Chapters: Helping Seniors Who Need More Care," spent much of her career as a sales and marketing director for senior living communities. She has been following the story from the start. In a recent article on the LOHUD Journal News site, written by Richard Liebson, Martindale was quoted as saying the proposed legislation "represents a huge win for the senior citizens of New York. The new bill offers court oversight for our growing senior population with specific needs for housing, support, and services. Judicial protections, such as the requirement that a senior's lease cannot be terminated except for specified cause, prohibit future Esplanade-like situations from taking place."

Martindale is a seasoned veteran of all things senior-related. In 'Graceful Last Chapters', she shares her twenty years of experience with senior care in a voice filled with compassion, understanding, and an insider's point of view. As the primary caregiver for her parents in their declining years, as a sales and marketing director for senior living communities, and as a lawyer, Ms. Martindale brings readers a valuable resource about caring for aging loved ones. The book is filled with support and guidance for caregivers, clearly defined options for care, and the ways and means for readers to craft their own successful journey through caregiving challenges and heartbreak. Ms. Martindale offers readers fundamental knowledge, hope, a sense of identity and, ultimately, a path toward peace of mind.

Martindale combines her education, business expertise, and personal experiences to bring readers a valuable resource about caring for aging loved ones. The book's twenty-seven chapters are grouped into seven sections: (One) Considering Long-Term Care Options; (Two) Caregiving Challenges; (Three) Creating a Plan; (Four) Aging in Place With Additional Care; (Five) Senior Living Communities; (Six) Touring Senior Communities; and (Seven) After the Bloom Fades. The chapters build gradually to mimic the progression of the journey caregivers take with their senior loved one, whether that individual is their mother, father, aunt, uncle, sibling, spouse, friend, or neighbor.

'Graceful Last Chapters' has achieved a perfect 5 star rating on Amazon. One reviewer stated, "It is rare to encounter such an obviously experienced counselor in the field of Senior Care as Cynthia who demonstrates on every page of this impressive and ultimately authoritarian guide such tenderness, calm and candor." Another said, "This book captures not only the practical information on choices for seniors but it deals with the tougher emotional side of caring for loved ones as they age."

"From the first article exposing the Esplanade's plan to reposition itself as high-end apartments, it was the hidden, personal cost to its senior residents that captured my attention, Martindale stated. "The choices made by the residents -- to select the Esplanade in the first place, to move there, to call it 'home' -- were complex actions requiring enormous amounts of energy that is at once emotionally demanding, physically draining, and finite in supply. Then came the announcement requiring residents find a new home and vacate the Esplanade so renovations could begin; it arrived as an affront to their trust, peace of mind, and quite enjoyment of a lifestyle chosen for the supports and services they needed."

"It may have come as a surprise to the Esplanade's owners and landlords that the reinvention of a building could cause the fuss generated by their new plan. However, for those of us passionate about devoting time and energy to helping meet the needs, wants, and fair expectations of seniors, the fuss could not be loud enough. Introduction of New York Senate Bill #6883 is a welcome and necessary response to civic injustices incurred by residents of the Esplanade Senior Living Residence, and it represents a huge win for the senior citizens of New York."

Cynthia Martindale is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at [email protected]. 'Graceful Last Chapters: Helping Seniors Who Need More Care' is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. More information is available at http://www.bookforcaregivers.com.

Cynthia Neher Martindale holds degrees from Hillsdale College (B.A. in English), Northern Illinois University (M.A. in English), and Valparaiso University School of Law (J.D.). Graceful Last Chapters: Helping Seniors Who Need More Care is the result of her years as both a sales and marketing director for senior living communities and as the primary caregiver for her parents. She lives in Flossmoor, Illinois, with her husband and son.

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