Personal Touch:Help in home can make seniors feel safe, needed and the elderly benefits from the social and interpersonal assistance

Personal Touch: Advantages of Individual Help

Sometimes life goes more smoothly when you’ve got a companion. Not only does a home helper give you someone to talk to, a companion can help ease your burden, no matter what that burden is. Sometimes as we age we lose our companions and when that happens, life can seem lonely and even unbearable. But it doesn’t have to be that way because nowadays, a home companion is someone you can hire.

Building a relationship

There are many advantages of having someone you can count on provide in home care and building a relationship is one of them. As with any type of relationship, your first experiences may seem a bit awkward and perhaps uncomfortable. After all, you’re total strangers and you’ll need time to get to know one another. You’ve probably got a routine and the in-home carer needs to learn it.

But soon enough you’ll hopefully be very comfortable with your home companion. And if you’re not, there’s a good chance you can talk with someone – a family member or the provider of your in home care – to see about finding another with whom you might get along better. After all, this person is coming in your home to help you so it’s important that you’re able to work together.

With the same individual coming to your home regularly, you can’t help but develop a relationship with that person. It won’t take long before you’re friends, chatting about nothing, going out to eat or to the movies, and helping you to cope with whatever life delivers.

Remain in familiar surroundings

The fact that this person is coming into your home is perhaps one of the biggest advantages of in home care. Rather than being uprooted, you get to remain in your home, a familiar place that’s filled with your all your belongings and all your memories. That actually can help the relationship with your home companion grow. Your photographs, your decorating style, your pets and the like can tell a lot about the person you are. Knowing more about who you are is what’s going to help your home companion understand you better.

By understanding you and your individual needs better, you’ll have someone on whom you can rely to give you the personal attention you need on a daily or regular basis. That personal attention might involve matters of personal hygiene, or housekeeping, or errand running, or help with daily tasks, or friendship or all of the above. The ability to pick and choose the type of assistance you need most and that you want is another of the advantages of individual in home care.

There are other advantages, too. Family can relax knowing that you’re getting the care and attention that they aren’t able to provide, alleviating their guilt and their worry. In home care is also an affordable option and if you contract the services of a company that’s reputable, licensed and bonded, there’s little chance you or your home will be victimized in any way. For more go to: www.comfortkeepers.com.

How do I know if a loved one needs help? visiting at holiday, look for clues that will tell you if your senior or elderly loved one needs a little help at home.

How Do I Know If My Parents or Loved Ones Need Help?

 

It is not uncommon for the adult children of seniors, especially the Baby Boomer generation, to have some concerns about how their parents are doing. In fact, according to the Family Caregiver’s Alliance, families provide 80 percent of the long-term care in this country.  What are some things you can do to determine if your loved might need some help?

 

Using Your Five Senses

Below is a checklist using each of your five senses to determine if your family members are in need of additional care or assistance.

 

Sight – Looking at the senior’s appearance can be a sign that they are being limited either physically or mentally from completing otherwise normal daily tasks. Watch for things like clothes with stains, poor personal hygiene and a disorganized or dirty house.

 

Sound – Listening to what and how seniors speak can tell you a lot about their current mental status.  You should not assume that “old age” is causing these problems. Do they call you by name?  Are they speaking normally? Are they staying involved in outside activities?

 

Smell – Using your nose as an indicator to determine if your relative is bathing properly, cleaning their house or have spoiled food in their kitchen.

 

Taste – Tasting their food and sorting through their medications can help you determine if they are eating healthy or taking expired medications.  Look at expiration dates and for fresh and stocked pantry items.

 

Touch – A simple hug can tell you if your family member is fragile or losing weight.  Is their skin soft and the color normal?  Do they have any bruising or tearing of the skin?

 

Review Status By Phone

During telephone conversations, gently probe for information about the person’s health and well-being.  Below is a list of sample questions that are key indicators or warning signs to help determine if your family members are in need of additional care or assistance:

 

• What did you have for breakfast?  If your loved one cannot remember what he/she ate for breakfast that morning, forgot to eat breakfast or the meal appears to lack nutritious value, a memory problem could be setting in.

 

• Did you go to the beauty salon to get your hair cut?  Did you use the new shower gel I bought you?  These are good ‘backdoor’ questions to finding out whether or not your loved one is remembering to take care of his/her hygiene.

 

• Did you make it to Bingo this week?  An early sign of depression is withdrawal from social activities. 

 

• Is your loved one speaking normally?  Differences in speech patterns are warning signs for medical problems that should be looked into immediately.

 

Help is Available

If you sense a problem based on the above indictors, you and other family members should waste no time in taking the appropriate next steps. As difficult as the process might be, keep reminding yourself that by being proactive, as a result of your observations, you will not only provide safety for your family member, but will also keep them happy and healthy for years to come.

 

As a result of assisting many families during this difficult process, here is some advice based on the experiences we encounter every day while working with these families. Below are the next steps that you and your family should follow:

 

1.     Discuss the situation with the individual – Don’t be afraid to ask or talk to your aging family members. Often seniors will not tell you if they are having trouble unless you ask. It is important to reassure seniors about your questions. They do not want to lose their independence and are afraid of being moved out of their home into a strange environment.

 

2.     Make a doctor’s appointment for the individual – Be sure and make the appointment when you, another family member or someone else can relay the concerns directly to the doctor. If you are not able to be there in person, schedule a time to call the doctor. 

 

3.     Determine what services are available in their community – Talk with local social service agencies or community organizations such as a local Area on Aging office or church group.

 

4.     Make minor adjustments in their lifestyle – It may be necessary to bring in outside help to provide companionship and to assist with daily activities such as meal preparation, light housekeeping, trips to their doctor’s appointments, etc.  Here are some questions to consider when selecting a caregiver:

 

·        Is the care provider a home care agency, employment agency, registry/broker, or an independent contractor?

·        How long has the agency been providing private duty home care?

·        How does the agency screen and select caregivers prior to an assignment? Do they hire independent contractors or are they employees of the agency?

·        Are references and criminal backgrounds checked on all employees?

·        Is there a health care professional, who along with the client and family develops an individualized plan of care? How are emergencies handled after normal business hours?

5.     Use this time to plan ahead for unforeseen events –Take this time to establish advanced directives including establishing a power of attorney, will, living will, etc. There is no such thing as being too prepared.

                                                  

For more information or to schedule a FREE in-home consultation, find the office near you at www.comfortkeepers.comom. If interested in employment, call us or apply on line at www.beacomfortkeeper.com.

Planning ahead for your future, considerations, tips for your senior and elderly loved ones considering assisted living, nursing home or in-home care

Very few individuals want to think about their future needs for aging services and long-term care until it becomes a necessity, which can often lead to poor planning.  Planning ahead for unexpected illness, injury, or simply the typical needs of the elderly, can eliminate quick decision making on a wide variety of aging service options.

 

Assisted living facilities, retirement communities and nursing homes frequently have a waiting list for admission. In-home care service providers, such as Comfort Keepers, typically do not have waiting lists and allow for the client to continue living independently in the comfort of their own home.  These services generally include companionship, home cooking, light housekeeping, shopping, transportation, and errands, but may also include personal care services such as bathing, feeding, transferring or incontinence care.

 

The cost of long-term care services is something for which many Americans are not prepared, and costs are expected to continually rise in the future. Today in the United States, 6,000 people turn 65 every day, and one in five Americans will be older than age 65 by the year 2030 (American Association of Retired Persons, 2003). This increase of U.S. seniors translates into more people looking for assistance with daily living activities at a staggering rate.

 

“We have found that many of our clients are not prepared for the monumental decisions surrounding long-term care options,” shared Clark Bongaardt, owner of the Springfield and Wayne, PA, Comfort Keepers. “It is our job to help them through the process, to the best of our abilities ensuring that when the time comes the most appropriate care is delivered.”

 

In the planning stages, it is often beneficial to speak with a professional about how to begin this process. Lawyers, accountants, professional care coordinators or the County Office Service of Aging (COSA) can explain the options and which direction to head.

 

The following is a brief overview of some of the different payment options available for long-term care:

 

·        Long-term care insurance will provide for the assistance needed for an extended period if you cannot perform the activities of daily living.

·        Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is an option that falls under Medicare as well as Medicaid and offers medical and socials services to elderly individuals allowing them to continue living at home (may not be available in all states).

·        Medicaid will pay for the majority of nursing home costs which covers nearly 65 percent of all residents. It is a joint state-federal program that aids individuals who fall under a certain poverty level determined by the state.

·        Medicare is health insurance for people over the age of 65 as well as certain individuals who are disabled. It is an insurance program that is intended to cover the various services that focus on recovery of a medical problem.

·        States may offer a variety of services to consumers under a Home and Community Based Services waiver program and the number of services that can be provided is not limited.  These programs may provide a combination of both traditional medical services (i.e. dental services, skilled nursing services) as well as non-medical services (i.e. respite, homemaking, and personal care).

 

People often assume health insurance will cover long-term care and, unfortunately, that is often untrue. Understanding these programs will help to remove the financial burden upon you and your family.

 

It is easy to get confused when making a decision about home care, especially if it feels like a very distant issue. When you plan ahead for long term care, you are making decisions about your own life by choice, instead of other people making decisions for you in crisis. For many Comfort Keepers in-home care services are a care option that may be the long term solution for an individual’s care needs.  However, in the event an individual’s needs go beyond what can be safely provided in the home, Comfort Keepers can be a resource and can offer research and information to help you in this process.

 

About Comfort Keepers

Founded in 1998 by a registered home health care nurse and her husband, the Comfort Keepers franchise system has grown to over 500 locations in 44 states, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. Comfort Keepers has ranked as one of the top three franchises in senior care Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 for the past four years. For more information about Comfort Keepers, visit www.comfortkeepers.com.  Each office is independently owned and operated.