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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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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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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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Pressure Sores - A Caregiver's Nightmare
Christopher Reeve reportedly died from complications resulting from pressure sores, also known as bed sores or decubitus ulcers. If Mr. Reeve, with all his resources and private care developed pressure ulcers, then anyone who can't turn easily and frequently is certainly at risk . . . keep reading
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How to Enroll in Hospice
My father has heart disease, Parkinson's, and macular degeneration. He is now almost blind. He now faces kidney failure, and his doctors are talking about dialysis. I believe him when he says he is ready to go. His doctor doesn't want to talk about Hospice, but my father does. I support my father with whatever decision he makes. How can I enroll him in Hospice? . . . keep reading
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Dementia Holiday Overload
When you're looking forward to celebrating a big holiday with the whole family it's so easy to get our hopes up that it will be a truly heartwarming occasion. When our loved one with dementia has a melt-down in the middle of the festivities it can be catastrophic for us, too. There goes the wonderful day we've been anticipating for so long . . . keep reading
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Cold or Flu: When to Call The Doctor
Because it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a cold and the flu, here are some warning signs to watch for, courtesy of the Centers For Disease Control (CDC). If someone with bad cold or flu-like symptoms develops any of these signs, it's time to get medical advice right away . . . keep reading
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PACE: The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly
How many seniors who can no longer get along without regular assistance would benefit from a program that provided medical oversight by doctors and nurses experienced in caring for the elderly, physical and occupational therapy on site, daily recreational opportunities, social services, personal care and homemaker services, nutritional counseling, a day program with meals, and transportation to get there and back home every day? . . . keep reading
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Gifts For Assisted Living, Nursing Home and Home Caregivers
Families with loved ones receiving care from professional caregivers often ask about appropriate gifts for holidays or when their loved one is successfully discharged from care. There is often the temptation to slip a few dollars or a "little something" into the pocket of a caregiver who went above and beyond in caring for our elderly patient . . . keep reading
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Chemo, Nausea and Nutrition
Weight and fluid loss are our enemies when we care for someone with cancer. Our impulse is to focus much of our energy on food: preparing nutritious meals, offering food frequently, and bulking up our menus with rich and tempting offerings. Often this will backfire for someone experiencing nausea . . . keep reading
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Clinical Trials
At any particular moment there are over 80,000 clinical trials occurring across the country and around the world. Choosing whether or not to participate in a clinical trial is an important personal decision. The following information may be helpful when deciding whether to look into participating as a volunteer in a clinical trial . . . keep reading
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VA Grants for Disability Home Improvements
The Department of Veterans Affairs has three programs that give cash grants to qualified veterans with disabilities for both safety improvements in the home they already occupy, or for new disability-accessible home construction . . . keep reading
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Independent Activities for the Person With Dementia
It's well and good to talk about great activities for those with dementia, and there are plenty of lists of things you can do together with your loved one. But what about activities that don't require you to sit with your elder and guide them through the activity. There are times when caregivers need a break, too. Having a quiet activity that will keep someone with dementia occupied, even if only for a few minutes, can provide a welcome break for you, too . . . keep reading
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Finding Live-In Senior Caregivers
Everyone wants Alice to come to their house. Remember Alice, the live-in housekeeper who managed the Brady Bunch? Alice had a handle on everything, she never lost her cool, and there was nothing she couldn't handle. Alice is who we would all want to move in and help care for our aging loved ones...or would we? When you stop to think about it, there was something strange about Alice . . . keep reading
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Alzheimers Disease
