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4 Tips for Caregivers to Combat Stress

July 4th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Hi everyone, I believe my last post addressed coping strategies for caregivers, which is a topic I believe that can never be exhausted. So this post will continue the theme. For this month, I will be presenting several important strategies with a philosophical touch. To make the most of these strategies, take the time to think about what’s really important to you.

1. Open Your Hearts.  It is important to be ” tuned in to “  our parents and loved ones when we are near them. This includes telephone conversations. During those times, the greatest gift we can give is ourselves. We cannot turn back the clock and we cannot affect miracle cures. We can be emotionally available for the people we love who are ailing or frightened. Nurturing an open, honest and caring relationship is a tremendous gift to your loved one aside from giving them continuous care.

2. Take Care of Yourself  Alyce Rudden is a wonderful and caring nursing home social worker who told me, ” When we do this work, there must be other things in our lives. “  Since then, I have always thought of her wise words always. When your visit with a loved one comes to a close or you hang up the telephone, you can immediately do something for yourself. Have that cappuccino, take a walk in the park, or simply take a moment to quietly breathe. Pursue activities that bring pleasure and joy. You need them now more then ever. Time spent on yourself will reap dividends in the capacity to ” recharge ” you for your loved one.

3. Live Life Fully.  Now there’s a tall order! But it is, I believe, the most important order. Following the tragedy of September 11th, I spent a year speaking with groups of seniors in NYC. When I asked one group if they have done anything differently following that day, one woman said, ” I hug my family before I leave the house every morning. We can’t know how long any one of us has to live. “  I’ll never forget that wise response. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Keep your priorities in order. Don’t procrastinate. And when there is a choice of now or later, strongly consider now.

4. Finish Unfinished Business. Families are complicated and can sometimes be messy. In some families, the adult ” children “,  who may be 50 or 60 years old, reunite when a parent becomes ill and soon behave like their five or ten-year-old selves. Squabbles may ensue and statements like, ” Dad always liked you best, “  or “You’re only interested in the money “  are common. The best gift a family can give themselves, and future generations, is to discuss and resolve longstanding resentments and disappointments, and also come together in the expected loss of the beloved one.

Families should come to terms with what was good as well as with what was not, especially with decisions on senior care. There are some families that may wish to avail themselves of professional long term care to do this work. This decision is a lot to think about. So ruminate away, and please feel free to be in touch with any comments or questions.

Long Term Care for Aging Prisoners: A Neccessity or A Waste of Time?

July 4th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

You already know the case. Forty-one years after the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi, former preacher and Klan Kleagle Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter and was finally sentenced to three twenty-year prison terms. Finally, the victims and their families received a measure of long-overdue justice. Killen should have been convicted at the original trial in 1967. But that begs the question: while vindication and punishment are vital, who is really bearing the brunt of keeping the now 82-year-old Killen; frail, evil, balding and with little to no use of his right hand; in prison?

The answer to that question is we are.

In 2002, America’s prison population topped 2 million, according to a report from the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. The researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical center have projected that one third of the U.S. prison population will be geriatric (people over 65) by 2030. One part of the jump is the result of the rise of aging citizens. The increasing numbers of elderly prisoners coupled with the mounting costs of housing this population incurs is a nationwide problem for several reasons. Taxpayers Foot the Bill: Take note that the average cost of housing one elderly inmate is approximately $65,000 per year, costing taxpayers three times the amount as much as it does to incarcerate someone in the general prison population. Incarcerated seniors do not receive Social Security, nor do they have access senior care thru Medicare or Medicaid, which would help the government, and taxpayers, augment care costs.

Geriatric prisoners suffer from three chronic health problems. According to the Florida Corrections Commission, these problems often include kidney failure, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and emphysema. As senior inmates have a higher incidence of disease and disability, and increased difficulty performing activities of daily living than the general population, it is no longer suprising that the cost of their long term care is higher. It’s a hidden problem in the system that’s going to grow into a dinosaur soon. ” The cost and numbers are getting out of hand, “  said Herb Hoetler, CEO and co-founder of the National Institute on Institutions and Alternatives. I personally think it’s wrong, not to mention it is not wise when it comes to financial terms, to continue paying for elderly prisoners, with unlimited access to continuous care, while ailing seniors who have never committed a crime can barely afford the soaring costs of health care. Some can’t afford it at all.

Cruel and Unusual? On the flip side, and there’s always a flip side, my friends, do the elderly even belong in prison? Prison is a brutal life, and while critics will argue that elderly criminals are just as brutal, the statistics say otherwise. Senior inmates have the lowest recidivism rates: 45 percent of offenders aged 18 to 29 commit a new crime after release from prison, whereas only 3.2 percent of those over age 55 commit a new offense upon release, according to a recent study. “To keep these old folks for the length of time we do is purely punitive and serves no purpose to society,” says William DiMascio, executive director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society. Aging has a big impact on inmates. The idea of ” warehousing ” elderly inmates with minimal programming appropriate for this population just adds to seniors’ general decline. Round and round we go.

What Should be Done? As a society, we need to take a good look at the aging prison population and decide what’s going to happen to them. Do we establish early release programs targeting elderly prisoners who no longer pose a threat to society? Or do we simply build more geriatric prisons, which are essentially skilled nursing facilities with barbed wire, to provide the long-term care these inmates require? Or…do we lock them up and throw away the key? You decide.

Simple steps to finding good home health care

July 4th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Life has many wonderful and beautiful moments.  We experience the joy of youth.We go through the joys of being an adult.  And if you find a good senior  home care company, we can still enjoy our senior years.

A senior home care Escondido company is an option other than a nursing home.  It is an option that a lot of seniors are choosing.

It has a lot of the things that a nursing home does not.It affords you the luxury of a familiar environment.Still it hands you that sense of independance.More importantly, you will still be able to experience the love and joy of your family and friends.

Well choosing a good home care agency is not as simple as it sounds. Obviously something as big as this decision will take some careful thought. After all, if you do pick home care, you will be placing a lot of trust in their huge responsibility you give them.

So how are going to be able to find a good senior home care agency?  Well follow these tips I have gained from running my own Home Health Care Services Oceanside company. 

First you want to make sure they have qualified and quality caregivers.Depending on the level of service you are going to need will dictate the type of qualified caregiver you will need.For example you may be in need of the services of a certified nursing assistant.  Or you might just need a certified home health aide.  Whatever the case may be,
you can ensure that the provider you are choosing has quality caregivers.

Second quality is what you want.What am I saying by that.  Well you want to make sure they do a thorough background check on your caregivers.  After all this person will be with you or your loved ones daily.  They will be responsible for every important tasks.  You want to have confidence you have a quality person looking after you.

What we do as a senior home health care La Mesa company is make sure we do thorough background checks.We have all applicants backgrounds checked for any criminal records.Wel also make sure they have a good DMV history.  We also most importantly do drug testing.  Then we check their employment history.

If you follow these two steps you are sure to find a good home care agency San Diego you can trust.

The Benefits of a Caregiver Support Group

July 4th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

You and your parents are in the most unique position of doing something that has never been done in the history of the world. Are you aware that your parent is among the first generation ever to live en masse into late life? In all previous generations, most people died before they reached later life. They died from disease, warfare, childbirth, famine, and other hardships. But most people born into your father’s or mother’s generation have survived to become older adults.  The flip side of that story is that you are part of the first generation to experience caregiving as a normal part of midlife. Not only that, but you are, and will be, providing care for longer than every generation before yours, and are caring for parents who are more frail. Your parents might have provided care for their aging parents for months, or maybe a few years, but your generation provides caregiving to aging parents for an average of 17 years! Many of you will give long term care for four parents or more, if you assist your in-laws and step-parents as well as your own parents.

Back in the past, most people would have died of their first physical crisis, which might have been a heart attack, stroke or cancer. Now many people survive the first incident, often for so many years, but their recovery is incomplete, and not with the same health and vigor they had before the crisis. They need a little help from you.   Here’s where a support group becomes important. Since no one from your previous generation has experienced this, you have few options for advice. You are the leading edge. You do not have a model from earlier generations of how to choose between attending your son’s baseball game or visiting your chronically ill mother. Your friends, neighbors and co-workers might not know what criteria to consider when you’re faced with making heartbreaking decisions about money, time, and energy. And you certainly were not raised knowing how to say ” no ” to mom or dad when it comes to giving them senior care.

A group whose participants are currently facing the same issues as you are can provide support in a way nothing else can. Another advantage of discussing aging issues with a peer group is that you can become a better and more knowledgable caregiver. By drawing on the experiences of other participants, you have all the information on how to handle with events even before they happen. Most participants will say at some point, ” Thank goodness I knew what to do, or had heard of that before. “  It’s reassuring to know that you are not the only one who resents the burden of giving continuous care while fearing the end of it.

Another great reason to find a peer support group is to share your hard-earned knowledge with others who may be floundering. You may be able to guide someone through the process of taking the car keys or moving their parent out of the home they’ve lived in for the last 70 years.

Basic Information of Homecare and Home Health Care

July 3rd, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Homecare (also known as in-home care) is professional care that an individual receives in the home. Homecare aides provide companionship and assistance with the activities of daily living (ADLs), such as eating, bathing and dressing. They may also help with light household work or transportation needs. You can hire homecare aides either on your own or through an agency. There are three types of homecare: agency, referral and private hire. There are lots of caregivers and agencies that specialize in specific types of care, such as rehabilitation or dementia.  Homecare is sometimes confused with home health care. The biggest difference is this: home health care must be prescribed by your doctor and it always include skilled nursing care.

A doctor’s advise for home health care only will be issued if he or she feels it is medically necessary for health aides or nurses to come to your home and provide you with skilled care. Plus, home health care nurses can administer medication, however, in-home care aides can only remind you to take your medicine. Both home health care and homecare provide companionship and assistance with ADLs. Some people engage both services simultaneously, as they complement each other well. Homecare expenses is significantly less, as these caregivers do not provide skilled care.

Home health care calles upon skilled services such as physical and occupational therapies and nursing to be administered in your home. These services must be prescribed by a doctor. Home health care agencies are licensed by the state, but must adhere to federal regulations as well. Doctors and hospitals usually have established relationships with home health care providers, as most prescriptions for home health are accompanied by a recommendation for where to find it.  Home health care is sometimes confused with homecare (also known as in-home care). Homecare does not require a doctor’s prescription and does not include skilled nursing services.

 

The Basics of Caregiving and Care Plans: A Must Know!

July 3rd, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Here’s a question: Do you stop by your mom’s place and drop off food or make her a few meals for the week? Do you balance your father’s checkbook because he’s having difficulty doing it himself? If you answered “yes”,  then you are a certified caregiver. Many people don’t think of themselves as “caregivers”  unless they help their loved one with activities of daily living (ADLs). However, these people are caregivers. Caregivers are referred to as family caregivers when they are related to the individual to whom they provide senior care. A primary caregiver often provides most or all of a person’s needed care. A long-distance caregiver, as the name suggests, looks after an individual from a distance, which usually precludes frequent visits.

Some long-distance caregivers rely on geriatric care managers (GCMs) to help with caregiving tasks. Gilbert Guide;s team of experts often addresses caregiver coping strategies and issues. Gilbert Guide also provides information on supportive services such as respite care.

A care plan is based on a needs assessment that a professional administers to the person who requires long term care. A care plan details the individual’s needs and  lists ways to meet them. Care plans should be reassessed on an as-needed basis, or at least every few months. After  meeting a client, a geriatric care manager (GCM) will create a holistic care plan that addresses the person’s health, financial, cognitive and social needs. Home health care plans typically only consider the  client’s medical needs and some personal preferences. Most care plans are based on an initial assessment. Gilbert Guide provides  information on what to ask and what to expect during an initial assessment administered by home health care or homecare agency in our How to Find Homecare section.

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Credits: Work From Home | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund