Help me I fallen button, Personal Monitoring Systems, why they are useful for the frail, elderly and older americans

New in-home technologies are helping a growing number of aging adults live independently longer. SafetyChoice™ by Comfort Keepers® is a line of in-home safety technology solutions that assists seniors in aging independently at home; whether used with or without in-home care provided by a caregiver. The initial release of products under the Safety Choice™ banner which includes personal emergency response systems (PERS) and other monitoring devices has been developed through a partnership between Guardian Medical Monitoring and CK Franchising, Inc., the franchisor for the Comfort Keepers franchise system.

Clark Bongaardt, owner of the Comfort Keepers franchise in Southeastern PA, said that technology is helping to complement and extend the personal, human touch provided to senior citizens by professional caregivers and family members. “With the senior population growing at a much faster pace than that of working-age Americans, it’s becoming more challenging to provide around-the-clock care for seniors at home,” Clark said.

Clark added that demographic studies show that the ratio of seniors to working-age Americans is expected to continue growing—30 percent from 2010 to 2020, and another 29 percent in the following decade.

In the meantime, seniors and their loved ones are discovering that technology solutions—such as those offered through SafetyChoice by Comfort Keepers —can effectively bridge the times when a caregiver can’t be present or when a senior may not yet need a caregiver in the home. Such technologies are monitored by professionals at central stations and provide phone notifications to first responders whether a professional caregiver, family member, neighbor or emergency personnel.

“These systems provide family members the peace of mind that their loved one can get help, even when a caregiver can’t be physically present with them,” Bongaardt said.

Responding to the increasing needs for care among seniors, Comfort Keepers recently introduced the new SafetyChoice™ line of technology products, which extends personal caregiving. These products include PERS Units as well as other monitoring devices that can detect certain activities by persons with Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related illnesses, and a portable PERS device with GPS technology.

“Technologies like these, in combination with personal caregiving, lead to improved health outcomes and quality of life for seniors,” Bongaardt said. “These technologies make it possible for them to continue living at home—where they most want to be—safely, confidently, and independently.”

PERS units help seniors summon help quickly with the push of a button—reducing wait times for emergency assistance in the event of a fall, illness or other emergency at home. “By greatly decreasing the time for emergency help to arrive,” Bongaardt said, “emergency response systems help reduce the complications that can result from a fall or other emergency. The shortened wait time usually results in quicker and fuller recovery and an improved chance of returning to independent living.”

Bongaardt added, “Falls are one of the greatest concerns of the elderly.” The Centers for Disease Control has reported that more than a third of American adults 65 and older fall each year—and falls are the leading cause of death by injury for seniors.

Technology can be a good prescription for caregivers’ health, too, Bongaardt said. According to testimony delivered by the Alzheimer’s Association to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, one in eight caregivers providing care to those with Alzheimer’s becomes ill or injured as a result of caregiving. Technology can relieve some of the stress by giving family members the opportunity to take breaks from their caregiving responsibilities.

Technology Solutions Help Enhance Independence and Security For Seniors

Technology Solutions Help Enhance Independence and Security For Seniors

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Boundaries why private caregivers have such a hard time with them

Boundaries are something that many private caregivers struggle with. Why is this? Well let’s start from the beginning.

Hiring a private caregiver from a company can help you to establish boundaries and even maintain them. Hiring a neighbor, a friend or a caregiver that maybe a family used a couple of years ago who is private and not associated with any type of agency or company can lead to a quick loss of boundaries and a loss of control over the situation. Let’s look at it practically.

Mary is a wonderful lady who took care of your mother’s neighbor. The neighbor passes and Mary begins to look for work. Mary does caregiving on her own and is not part of any agency or company. As an adult child you have concerns over hiring Mary initially but you meet her or know her and she seems nice, is good with mom, has good references and can work the hours you need. So although you might be a little hesitant, you agree to let her provide the care. That is, if you get a say in it. Your parent might make his or her decisions and hire Mary because your mom knows Mary did such a great job with the neighbor.

Now how do you officially hire Mary? Is it a conversation at the house where Mary stops over and you or mom says can you come and help out 2 to 3 days a week maybe from 9 to about 11am. While your here, mom just needs a little housekeeping, laundry and a meal. Mary looks at you and says sure I can do it. You say how much did you charge the neighbor or how much are you charging? Mary says X amount per hour or week. It seems fair so you or your parent says great when can you start?

Mary shows up the first day and is sweet, compassionate and does a great job. This continues for about 2 weeks when one day you are talking to your mom or you go over to the home and you hear or see that Mary has been helping mom write checks to pay bills including a donation to Mary’s church for fundraiser they are having.

Intially this might not concern you. Mary seems trustworthy, we always like to think the best of people. She was helping mom so we kinda let it go. Next week, you find out that again Mary was helping with paying bills. Now this concerns you a little since bills were paid last week. So in a nice way you inform Mary that you are helping mom to pay bills and that Mary does not need to do that. A couple days later Mary calls mom and says she cannot come to her home today. She is sick. The next visit she is not as nice, maybe a little angry about what transpired between you and her regarding the paying of the bills. She informs your mother that her rate of pay is going up and if you would like her to continue to provide care you will have to pay it.

Over the next couple weeks you see her work such as light housekeeping get less and less. It looks like the vacuum is not being run and you are not sure if mom is getting her meals. Eventually things turn ugly and you and your mom decide that you need to let Mary go. This is not so easy though because Mary challenges you and threatens to turn you in for not paying her taxes or her medical bill for when she fell down the steps at your mom’s but never told you about it when it occurred.

The scenerio painted above might seem a little harsh but it does happen. It happens because caregivers often lose their boundaries with the people they are taking care of.

Let’s examine the above situation. Mary probably is a nice person but she has poor boundaries. She has a habit of getting overly involved with her clients often helping them with things their children have asked her not to do. She thinks she knows what is best for the client. She slowly starts to win your mom over including her trust. She can easily poison your mom’s mind with thoughts that you are only out for your own best interests and not your mom’s. Mary thinks she should be able to determine when and what mom eats and tries to manipulate mom into believing it. Many elderly people fall victim to this type of manipulation. They hire a private caregiver and treat the person like family losing the client and employee boundaries and once the boundary is loss you can’t go back. Caregivers often take advantage of this loss of boundary and begin to over step by doing things like helping with the check book, changing diets and routines of the client. Private caregivers may want to bathe the client when they first arrive even though the client wants to wait until later. The private caregiver many apply little pressure to comply, the client feels bad and will give in.

Loss of boundaries with private caregivers often happens because they have no supervisor. They can do whatever they want, whenever. Most families have nothing in writing so private caregivers can raise their prices without notice, take vacation whenever they want, not show up, apply pressure to families and manipulate the environment because they know if they leave you you have no one to take care of your loved one so you will have to give in to their demands and behaviors.

This is why I cannot stress enough why it is important to hire a company when hiring a caregiver. The company sets the boundaries, maintains and reinforces them for you and your mother. If caregiver does not do the job correctly, the company steps in and disciplines its employee. If the caregiver does not show up, the company replaces him or her. If there is an issue where the caregiver is overstepping boundaries you can report it and have the caregiver removed immediately. If the caregiver says he or she is or was injured the company addresses the issue not the family. Much stress of hiring caregiver can be relieved by going through a company not an agency. Most agencies have independent contractors and again you may be facing the same issues you would if you hired a private person. Take heed, having someone in the home to help with daily activities should be akin to having someone fix your cable or heater. The person should be professional, informative, nice, compassionate, protective and deliver a quality service. The person is not there to become the next adopted daughter or son, assist with check writing or get into family issues. Boundaries are very difficult to maintain but should always be established and maintained to keep everyone safe.

Fun at St. Patrick’s Day Parade ntbf duck marches on

ntbf duck marches in St. Patrick Day Parade

The Not-To-Be Forgotten Foundation’s Duck marched in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Springfield, PA, this past Saturday. The parade had many fun filled activities including the ntbf duck that handed out lolipops in the shape of a duck. The duck is the symbol for the PA duck derby to be held on may 16th in Essington, PA. To enter the derby, one must be a resident of PA and adopt a duck for 5 bucks. Once you adopt your duck, it will be put in with all the other ducks and then dropped into the river in Essington. The duck that races the quickest to beat out the other duck wins! First prize is a week at beach. To read more, go to www.ntbff.org. All proceeds from fundraiser go to Not-To-Be Forgotten Foundation to assist the elderly in Delaware County, PA.

Helping a good cause that supports seniors: Not-To-Be Forgotten Foundation

The NTBF Duck Stops By to Say HI

The NTBF kicks off its fundraising activities with visits by the Duck to its sponsors. Pictured above, the Duck visits Comfort Keepers in Springfield, PA, sponsor of the PA Duck Derby. This derby will be held at Governor Printz Park in Essington, PA. In order to participate, you must adopt a duck for five bucks ($5) and then have that duck race all the other ducks to the finish line. Winner gets a terrific prize. For more information, go to www.ntbff.org. The NTBF Foundation provides low income seniors with heating oil in the winter, grants wishes and educates the community on the elderly’s needs. NTBF is a non-profit organization and all donations are tax-exempt. To participate in the Duck rally, you need to be a PA resident. Donations to the organization are always appreciated.

Comfort Keepers’ Tips to Prevent Senior Scams

There is a ring at the front door and you answer. A kind-hearted gentleman informs you
that he has just fixed your neighbor’s roof and he has a lot of material left over. He tells
you that your roof is in bad shape and there is a bad storm brewing. He says that your
house could get damaged and cost you thousands if you don’t act now. In fact, he
will give you a special rate if you pay up front in cash. You don’t want to have a leaky
roof and you can’t pass up such a great deal. You agree to have your roof fixed and
hand over a large sum of money on the spot. You later find out that nothing is wrong
with your roof and you have just been swindled out of thousands of dollars.
If this scenario sounds all too familiar, you may be one of the 25 million Americans that
were victims of fraud last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Seniors are one of the top targets for a wide variety of scams. In fact, seniors make up
11 percent of the U.S. population, but constitute 30 percent of consumer fraud and 50
percent of all phone scam victims.
Why are seniors so heavily targeted by scam artists? Generational and economic
factors contribute. Many seniors grew up in a time when business was based on a
handshake and trust. According to a study done by the American Association of
Retired Persons (AARP), older people are quicker to believe promises and slower to take
action to protect legal rights. Plus, many seniors live alone and are susceptible to
‘friendly’ callers, whoever they may be. Add this to the fact that older people own
more than half of all financial assets in the U.S. and it becomes clear why scam artists
aim at seniors.
Below is a list of some of the most common acts of fraud targeted toward seniors and
steps on how seniors can protect themselves from these scams:
SCAM 1 – TELEMARKETING FRAUD
While telemarketers call people of all ages, backgrounds and incomes, they often
make up to 80 percent of their calls to older consumers (according to the AARP). These
telemarketers often prey upon older people who are well educated, have aboveaverage
incomes and are socially active in their community. Their sales pitches are
sophisticated and include phony prizes, illegitimate sweepstakes, fake charities, and
bogus investments.
STEPS TO TAKE:
• Never send money or give out personal information such as credit card numbers,
bank account numbers, dates of birth, or social security numbers to unfamiliar
companies or unknown persons.
• If you have doubts about a telemarketer’s legitimacy, be sure to ask for
their company’s name and address, along with a phone number where they
can be reached at a later time.
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• For elderly widows, if a caller asks for the man of the house, be sure not to say
that there isn’t one or indicate that you live alone.
• Talk to family and friends or call your lawyer, accountant or banker and get their
advice before you make any large purchase or investment over the phone with
a stranger.
• Check out unfamiliar companies with your local consumer protection agency,
Better Business Bureau, the National Fraud Information Center, or other
watchdog groups.
• Be sure to sign up for the Federal Trade Commission’s Do-Not-Call-Registry.
Telemarketers who continue to call you after you have registered are subject to
penalties. You can sign up at www.donotcall.gov or at (888) 382-1222.
• Don’t forget the power to simply hang up the phone when a stranger calls trying
to sell you something you don’t want!
SCAM 2 – HOME IMPROVEMENT FRAUD
Home improvement contractors use several methods of targeting seniors: high pressure
phone calls, flyers, advertisements, and door-to-door-sales. While most contracted
home repairs are completed satisfactorily, fraudulent contractors can be very effective
in making people think their services are needed, and then defrauding their victims.
STEPS TO TAKE:
• Use a local well-established contractor. Ask for references and check with
customers to find out if they were satisfied.
• Get competitive bids on all work and be wary of any bids that seem too good to
be true. Don’t accept high-pressure offers or offers that force you to make a
quick decision.
• Determine exactly what work you want done. Make sure the project is explicitly
described in your contract, including materials and labor specifics and dates for
estimated start and completion.
• Never say yes to someone who wants money up front before the job is done or
wants you to withdraw a large amount of money from your bank.
• Check to see that the work is complete and done correctly before paying.
• Find out when and how payment and/or billing will take place before the work
begins.
SCAM 3 – DOOR-TO-DOOR SALES
Seniors are frequent victims of door-to-door scams and high-pressure sales tactics.
While some door-to-door salespeople are honest, the chances are likely that whoever
answers the door is about to be swindled. Con-artists often try to coax seniors into
buying unnecessary products or services ranging from living trusts to encyclopedias to
household cleaning supplies. They usually appear friendly and appear sincere in their
desire to help. In fact, they are successful because they seem so honest.
STEPS TO TAKE:
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• Never allow anyone you don’t know into your home. It is easier to close the door
on them before they get in than to get them out once they are inside.
• Don’t buy on impulse. Tell the salesperson you will get back in touch with them
after you have had a chance to carefully read all the materials given to you.
• Ask to see the salesperson’s credentials and identification and request their
business card. Many communities require door-to-door salespersons to have a
permit.
• Never give cash up front to a salesperson or rely on verbal promises for delivered
goods.
• If you sign a contract, make sure that it is complete, signed and dated. Get all
terms in writing, including the total price, warranties, return policy, and all
conditions of sale.
• Know that you can get out of a door-to-door sales contract within three business
days. According to the FTC’s Cooling Off Rule, you have the right to cancel your
contract for a full refund until midnight of the third business day after the sale,
provided that you have a signed contract and the sale was over $25. You do
not have to have any reason for canceling.
If you are a senior or know a senior that has been a victim of fraud, be sure to report the
act immediately. Seniors can contact the following agencies for more information:
1) Federal Trade Commission – www.ftc.gov or 877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) – The FTC
enforces federal consumer protection laws that prevent fraud, deception and
unfair business practices. Whether combating telemarketing fraud, Internet
scams or price-fixing schemes, the FTC’s primary mission is to protect consumers.
2) Better Business Bureau – www.bbb.org – The BBB’s mission is to promote and
foster the highest ethical relationship between businesses and the public through
voluntary self-regulation, consumer and business education, and service
excellence. You can find your local office on the BBB’s Web site.
3) The National Fraud Information Center – www.fraud.org or (800) 876-7060 – The
NFIC is a project of the National Consumers League and was designed to help
people learn about fraud and file complaints. Additional information about how
to avoid becoming a victim of fraud is listed on their Web site.
4) American Association of Retired Persons – www.aarp.org – AARP provides seniors
with information on financial planning, using home equity, avoiding fraud, and
consumer rights.