Always in Touch
Introducing Always in Touch – a free telephone reassurance program that provides a friendly voice each weekday for seniors and disabled adults. Always in Touch provides daily socialization and the reassurance that the senior “is not alone.”
For an interesting article:
Dementia Bingo: Easier to play, and it may help patients
A strong foundational belief at Always Best Care Seniors Services is that the right care at the right time is crucial. Those of us who have given or received care have experienced that good care typically consists of good health habits.
One of the many habits to maintain good health is a visit to your primary care doctor or internist at least once a year. However, the aging process, medication regulation and symptom management of chronic conditions may result in an increased number of visits. However, the number of visits to the doctor isn’t as important as the information that is exchanged at each visit. According to Angela Graczyk, a registered nurse with 16 years of professional experience, the activities that occur before the visit can play a major role in a healthy outcome for a client after the visit. Graczyk states, “One of the key elements to a successful visit at the doctor’s office is preparation.” Preparation will not only help with the current visit, but could simplify daily care routines and possibly offer a higher quality to everyday life. Also, a well prepared initial visit may lead to fewer yet more effective follow-up visits. The following tips could help increase care compliance to a physician-designed health plan and hopefully the quality of life for an individual …
1. Arrive 15 minutes early – this will allow time to fill out or update paper work and possibly use the bathroom.
2. Have a list of symptoms or concerns prepared – be sure to include the activity you are doing when the symptom occurred, the severity of the symptom, how often it happens, and if it is getting progressively worse or better over time.
3. Have a current list of medications/supplements – some over-the-counter medications interfere or duplicate the actions of medications prescribed by a physician. Providing this list could identify potentially dangerous interactions or side effects.
4. Notify your MD of recent visits to other doctors – this allows your primary physician to coordinate your total care and treatments. Also, instruct specialty physician to send copies of labs or assessments to your primary care physician each time you are treated.
5. Bring a monitoring log – the habit of writing down blood sugars, blood pressures, and other vital information for your health management as requested by your physician can help with treatment and medication decisions made for you by your doctor.
6. Bring a notebook or ask for written recommendations or instructions for your care. Ask questions if you don’t understand the terminology the medical staff is using so that you can follow the instructions properly.
7. Bring a family member, friend, or professional caregiver for support – if collecting or documenting information is overwhelming or challenging for you, it is a good idea to bring an additional person to take over this role consistently. If a family member or friend is not available, senior service companies like Always Best Care can provide a companion or support person to accompany you to your doctor to support a more prepared, healthy and successful outcome.
by Angela T. Graczyk, RN
Call (619) 757-1114
Listed below are 14 areas of private sector advisors or providers supporting long term care. We believe the average American is not aware of many if not all of these important services.
These are the specialists, advisers or providers that can make the difference in allowing someone needing care or his or her family to have a choice in care options. Without help, they family may not always choose the best care settings. Without help, untapped sources of government or private funding to pay the costs of care may go unrecognized. Much of this advice and many of these services will also help improve the condition or the environment of someone needing long term care.
Families that are prepared for care in advance and understand the services available are going to be significantly more successful than families that use a last-minute “do-it-yourself” approach. As a general rule, using a professional will save help conserve assets, uncover unknown sources of funding and relieve stress on family caregivers.
Here is a list of these services
1. Geriatric and Professional Care Managers or Geriatric Specialists
2. Geriatric Medical Services
3. Medical and Non-Medical Home Care Services
4. Home Maintenance, Transportation & Chore Services
5. Home Disability Support and Medical Alert Systems
6. Elder Law and Estate Planning Advice
7. Elder Mediation Services
8. Guardianship and Trust Administration
9. Financial Services Specialists
10. Reverse Mortgage Specialist
11. Seniors Relocation and Real Estate Specialist
12. Hospice Care Provider
13. PrePlanning, PreNeed Funeral Providers
14. Veterans Benefits Consultant
To learn more about these services and how they support family caregivers please contact Always Best Care Senior Services at 619-757-1114.
Recognizing the Need for outside Help in Caregiving
Caregivers often don’t recognize when they are in over their heads, and often get to a breaking point. After a prolonged period of time, caregiving can become too difficult to endure any longer. Short-term the caregiver can handle it. Long-term, help is needed. Outside help at this point is needed.
A typical pattern with an overloaded caregiver may unfold as follows:
• 1 to 18 months–the caregiver is confident, has everything under control and is coping well. Other friends and family are lending support.
• 20 to 36 months–the caregiver is taking medication to sleep and control mood swings. Outside help dwindles away and except for trips to the store or doctor, the caregiver has severed most social contacts. The caregiver feels alone and helpless.
• 38 to 50 months–Besides needing tranquilizers or antidepressants, the caregiver’s physical health is beginning to deteriorate. Lack of focus and sheer fatigue cloud judgment and the caregiver is often unable to make rational decisions or ask for help.
It is often at this stage that family or friends intercede and find other solutions for care. This may include respite care, hiring home health aides or putting the disabled in a facility. Without intervention, the caregiver may become a candidate for long term care as well.
It is also important to use outside professional help in a caregiver setting. A financial planner, care funding specialist or a reverse mortgage specialist may find the funds to pay for professional help to keep a loved one at home. A care manager can guide the family and the caregiver through the maze of long-term care issues. The care manager has been there many times the family is experiencing it for the first time.
An elder law attorney can help iron out legal problems. And an elder mediator can help solve disputes between family members. Having competent advice can often make the difference between allowing a loved one to remain in the home or being forced to seek out government welfare assistance.
Due to pride or sheer determination some caregivers allow the situation to go beyond their control. They have gotten to a point where depression and fatigue have clouded their judgment. At some point the caregiver will have to admit that he or she can’t handle it alone and a better solution must be found.
As Boomers Age, the Need for Trained Care Providers Becomes Urgent
Article submitted by Marion Karpinski, RN, President of Medifecta HealthCare. For more information call 1-888-846-7008 or visit their website – www.medifecta.com.
The age wave we hear so much about today has been building for a century. Between 1900 and 2000, the number of people over 65 rose from 3 million to 33 million. In the next 30 years the number of people over 65 is expected to double.
It’s true that “old simply isn’t what it used to be†as gerontologist Ken Dychtwald says. People are living longer; many remain healthy longer, eating a good diet, getting plenty of exercise and remaining involved in their communities. The time of life when people become frail has been pushed back, but eventually people move from young-old to old-old. This group, 85 and older, is expected to reach at least 7 million in 2020. It is at these advanced ages that many people require help with activities of daily living. The 85+ group will double yet again in 2040, when the first baby boomers reach 85.
Currently, family caregivers and friends provide 80% of all elder care in the home, but that will change as baby boomers age. Not as many family caregivers will be available to care for baby boomers because boomers had fewer children and 12% had no children. Boomers are also more likely to be divorced and to live alone as they become elderly. With their interest in social change, boomers are likely to come up with some creative solutions, such as sharing the care with groups of friends to help replace the missing family members.
But the dwindling source of family caregivers does indicate that the demand for paraprofessional caregivers such as home health aides and personal home care aides will become even more urgent in coming decades. According to Department of Labor statistics, by 2020, the number of trained in-home caregivers needed will nearly double.
The current approach to health care education, which focuses primarily on training individuals with CNA (Certified Nurses Aide), LPN, and RN credentials, is destined to come up short. Although credentialed health care practitioners are greatly needed, they will not be providing the bulk of home care. That responsibility falls mainly on family, friends and private duty home care agencies.
The personal care attendant who has been invisible in our health care education system as well as our health care system is the new entry-level health care worker. They must be recognized as such and receive the appropriate training that provides them with the professional and behavioral skills they need to be confident and effective providers of home care.
If we don’t act soon to offer appropriate training for all home care providers, we will undoubtedly see greater incidences of elder abuse, neglect and a general decline in the quality of life and conditions of the elderly, while we grasp at straws to solve this healthcare crisis.
