| |
| |
|
Elder Care Information |
|
|
|
Prepare to Make Long-term Care Choices
Several months ago, I was coming out of a gas station when a woman stopped me and asked me what I did for a living. On the back of our van is our web address. On the side wing windows is "Free Senior Home Placement." I explained to her that I am a Long Term Care Consultant. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Great I need you!" She went on to explain that her mother had fallen and was in the hospital. Her hip had been broken, and she was going to be discharged from the hospital in two days. She was going to require 24-hour care. To complicate matters her mother had been caring for her father who was unable to walk, or feed himself. Suddenly they found themselves in the middle of a crisis. Families never expect to be in a situation like this. But situations like this happen all of the time. Here is a list of things families should do to be prepared for a crisis. While your parents are still mentally cognizant discuss with them the kind of long-term options they would prefer. Discuss, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult family homes, boarding homes, or in-home care. Prepare a notebook that includes documentation, such as physicians phone numbers, attorney's phone numbers, bank account information, ministers phone number, power of attorney documents, and their living will. Educate yourself on the kinds of facilities that are available in your area, or where your parents live. Contact your local department of social and health services, find out what resources that they have available if you should need financial support. Fill out the paperwork ahead of time, leaving the date and other time sensitive information blank. Discuss some of these issues with your siblings before hand, so you do not have to deal with family dynamics in a crisis. Visit facilities and discuss prices so you know what your parents are able to afford. (Note that when the time comes circumstances may be that they cannot live in the kind of facility that they would prefer, especially if they require heavier care than they had anticipated.) Being unprepared when a crisis hits will leave you scrambling. If you have done a portion of the legwork before hand you can face the crisis before you with a measure of confidence. ~Dutchy Renee "Dutchy" Reeves is an Elder Care Consultant with over 10 years of working with the elderly and their families. Her online advice column, "Ask Dutchy" provides practical ideas and advice for assisting the elderly with Alzheimer's disease, Dementia, Parkinson's, disability, and those needing long term care. See other articles by her at http://www.askdutchy.mycarelink.net
MORE RESOURCES:
GeckoSystems' Elder Care Robot Trials Result in More Japanese Interest - MarketWatch (press release)
Baby Boomers' Greatest Challenge: Eldercare for Their Aging and Elderly ... - PR Web (press release)
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Scaling Down (almost) Painlessly Moving to a smaller house or apartment in a retirement community almost always involves a certain degree of trauma, both for the elder who's moving and for family members. However, by planning ahead you can reduce the discomfort involved and turn what might well become a nightmare into a pleasant event. Nursing Home Staffing Levels: How Much Is Enough? During the week of February 17, 2002, headlines screamed the news - more than 92% of US nursing homes fail to have an adequate number of staff to provide quality care for elderly residents. Newspapers and radio programs based their stories on the new study the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) recently provided to the Senate's Special Committee on Aging. Helping Caregivers Get Comfortable Asking For Help Becoming a care giver might not have been a conscious decision on your part. It may have arrived quietly and unnoticed because you are the adult child of your elderly parents who now require care or you may have a special needs child that exacts your constant attention or a friend or spouse has become very ill and needs your support. Caring for Aging Relatives It happens somewhat slowly in the beginning, maybe with a small cough that gets worse as time goes on. It might simply begin with absent mindedness which is totally out of character, followed by total memory lapses. What About Tennesse Dept. of Human Services Abuse of the Elderly and Their Families? PART I: Physical Abuse of the Elderly vs. Tennessee DHS Abuse of FamiliesDuring the week of October 26, 2003, newspapers across the state of Tennessee published an Associated Press story that featured the glaring news headline, "Reports of neglect and abuse of senior citizens up 40% in six years. What Most Long Term Care Professionals Don't Know Medicare recognizes this need and, therefore reimburses your residents to receive advanced behavioral health services? making them free to your facility!Psychologists provide a wide variety of valuable and tested clinical services that can provide a big shot in the arm to your nursing home care. For example:1. Arizona Senior Housing: Care Options for Seniors Who Can No Longer Live Alone The following are a few of the care options available for seniors who can no longer live on their own and require assistance with their Activities of Daily Living (ADL), or require skilled nursing care. Every state is a little different in terms of availability and cost, state regulations, and the specific names used for each care option:Assisted Living Home- A facility consisting of 10 or fewer residents in a private home setting located in residential neighborhoods. Alzheimers Care Giving While Maintaining Your Own Health Just for a moment I want you to imagine that you are coming out of a very deep sleep. If you have ever had surgery try to remember the way you felt as you were trying to make sense of things as you awoke. New Hope for Alzheimers Treatment There is now widespread agreement among research scientists and medical professionals that Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a problem quickly growing to vast proportions. As the life expectancy of Americans continues to rise, increasing the percentage of the population over 65 years of age, so does the number of Alzheimer's cases. Caregiving Across The Miles-Tips for Successful Long Distance Caregiving Caring for a parent or a loved one is a difficult job. Your duties as a caregiver become increasingly difficult as the miles increase between you and your loved one. Prepare to Make Long-term Care Choices Several months ago, I was coming out of a gas station when a woman stopped me and asked me what I did for a living. On the back of our van is our web address. Retiring Abroad and Leaving the Grey Skies of the UK Retiring abroad needs careful planning. Not all countries have the same entitlement to benefits as the UK and your tax liability may be affected. Senior Living: 5 Ways to Help Reduce the Risk of Falling Every year we hear stories of seniors falling, ending up in hospitals and never fully recovering. Unfortunately, these falls often result in death. Prevent or Delay Alzheimers Disease Argh! Where are my glasses? I put them down . . Stair Lifts - Straight and Curved Rails There are two types of stairlift. Straight and curved. Scaling Down (Almost) Painlessly Moving to a smaller house or apartment in a retirement community almost always involves a certain degree of trauma, both for the elder who's moving and for family members. However, by planning ahead you can reduce the discomfort involved and turn what might well become a nightmare into a pleasant event. Mom Wont Participate! Q: Six months ago we placed my mother in an assisted living facility. She gets along fairly well, but we thought she would get involved with all of the activities. Short Trips Can Stimulate Alzheimers Patients Severe degradation of short-term memory means that my father, an Alzheimer's elder, is seldom interested in movies or books. And, although music used to be a source of enjoyment, he no longer listens with pleasure. The Dryer Ate Your Underwear! Q: My mom is in the early stages of dementia and she is also incontinent we have tried to get her to stop wearing her underpants and have her start wearing pull-up diapers, she throws the Depends out the door and puts her underpants on. Of coarse we have a lot of laundry! How should I handle this?A: This one should be fairly easy to solve. Baby Boomers: Will They Be Able to Afford Their Parents? Do you worry about whether your aging parents have their "affairs in order?" You should. After all, you're the one who will have to pay unnecessary taxes and endure time-consuming court procedures if your parents don't have an effective estate plan.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
