PITTSBURGH —

Allegheny County is the sixth oldest county in the U.S. The latest census shows 19% of the population is over age 65.

Many people in the so-called sandwich generation will need to consider their parents’ final years and their own. Advertisement

Carole Shepard started a company called Eldercare Transitions after she experienced the loss of her parents 15 years ago. She says that experience came with some hard lessons and difficult truths. But if you make a plan, Shepard says those final years can be happy and dignified.

Shepard said she moved her parents, “into independent living. They were living in a patio home at Vincentian. My father fell, couldn't stay in the house. My mother had dementia. So, I lived with my parents."

Eventually Shepard had to go back to work and hi

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