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Care At Home
At home is where most seniors would like to live out their days. At home can also be the most difficult place to provide care, because at home is where there is the least support. At home care is also the most expensive kind of care if someone needs more than a few hours of help each day.
Caregivers are often stretched to provide home care, but they also often feel an obigation to support care at home just as long as humanly possible.
In this department we talk about the things every caregiver needs to know about care at home.
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Home Caregiver Training
Although 78% of the people questioned in a recent survey believed that their caregivers had received a recognized level of training, in fact there is no such thing. Caregivers who call themselves "aides" may or may not have received any formal training. . . . keep reading
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Home Care: An Overview
Just to add a little more confusion to the whole elder care arena, Home Care doesn't always equal Home Care. There's "Home Care," and then there's "Home Health Care." What a difference one little word can make when you're trying to set up care at home for a senior. . . . keep reading
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Senior Bathroom Safety Under $10
More slips, falls and other accidents happen in the bathroom than in any other room of the house. It's no different for seniors. Unfortunately, seniors don't have the sturdy bones, quick healing capabilities or the general resiliency of younger people. An accident in the bathroom can have serious consequences. While you can't ever totally guarantee against senior bathroom accidents, there are quite a few things you can do for free or under $10 to make the bathroom safer for a senior (and everyone else, too). . . . keep reading
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When Getting The Mail Is Dangerous - Or Downright Impossible
Through rain, shine, snow, sleet, gloom of night...despite the popularity of complaints about the USPS your mail is almost always delivered exactly where it's supposed to be every day but Sunday. Yet that still leaves some of us with a problem because we don't want our frail elders trying to walk out to a mailbox on the street or down the road in the rain, sleet, gloom, etc. For some, a trip to the mailbox might as well be a jaunt up Mount Everest. . . . keep reading
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Informal Senior Activities
Most activity suggestion lists are targeted toward adults with dementia who live in group care. Pass the ball, name that tune, and sing-alongs do work to some degree in these environments. Talk to many of the residents, however, and you'll hear from the more alert that these activities are demeaning, degrading and juvenile. Many would give their eye teeth for something mentally challenging and novel to do. . . . keep reading
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Senior Center or Adult Day Care - Which is Right For Your Senior?
At least three times a week Dawn attends her local senior center to participate in an art class and to play bridge. The senior center is a regular part of Dawn's social activities. Eleanor, on the other hand, was asked to stop attending the senior center because it could not meet her needs. How do you know when to choose a senior center, and when would an adult day program be a better choice for a senior? . . . keep reading
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What to Do If Someone Dies At Home
What should you do if someone passes away at home? Does it make a difference whether the death was expected or unexpected? What if the person you are caring for appears to be dying, and you know they did not want any heroic measures? What do you do? . . . keep reading
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Help! My Parent Won't Eat
We humans appear to be hard wired to equate feeding with good caregiving. If someone we care about won't eat, we feel we have failed. Even very young children will first try to feed a tiny bird and are devastated when the poor injured fledgling won't open its beak. Food and nurturing go hand in hand. But, there is a reason why the bird won't eat, and there is a reason why a senior isn't interested in food, as well. The issue is to deduce what that reason may be . . . keep reading
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Help Getting a Wheelchair Ramp and Safety Equipment
My mother with MS came to live with me recently. She uses a wheelchair, and can still take care of herself. With our combined income we are paying our bills (barely), but we can't afford to buy a wheelchair ramp or any safety bars for the bathroom. Do you know of any programs that help pay for handicapped equipment or ramps? . . . keep reading
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Living With Arthritis: Easy Door and Cabinet Fixes
More than heart disease, cancer or diabetes, arthritis limits our activities at home. More than 50 percent of all adults have some form of arthritis, which can make even the most common daily activities frustrating and painful. Many of the small things around the house that are hard to use can be easily modified or replaced, increasing the independence and quality of life for the person with arthritis and reducing the amount of help caregivers have to provide . . . keep reading
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Should I Make My Parent Move When Home Isn't Safe?
Does worry about your parents living alone keep you up nights? Do you want them to move to a "safer" place with more help now that they are getting older? Do you feel guilty all the time that they still live at home and you can't do enough to be sure they're safe? . . . keep reading
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Pets For Seniors
All around the world older people turn to pets for love and companionship. If you know of a senior who is alone and lonely, or who needs a good excuse to get outside every day, a pet can sometimes be a perfect solution. There can also be some problems associated with seniors having pets. Before you encourage an older person to get a pet, here are some important things to consider . . . keep reading
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Bringing Your Elderly Parent Into Your Home
Whether it's to be a short term stay after an illness or a long-term arrangement, bringing a disabled or frail senior into your home means some advance preparation. Just as we "toddler-proof" our homes for young children, "parent-proofing" your home when a senior will be moving in is an important exercise. . . . keep reading
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Home Medical Equipment Covered by Medicare
Don has painstakingly saved almost $15,000 to cover the anticipated cost of buying medical equipment for his wife to use when he brings her home from an in-patient rehabilitation stay. He called us this week looking for information about where he could get the best deals on a hospital bed, a wheelchair and the other equipment she will need. It's a good thing he did . . . keep reading
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Alzheimers Disease
