Category Archives: Daily Care of Aging Parents

Evolving World of Long Term Care

Posted on by
1

Being in the Long Term Care industry for older adults is a ever evolving and expanding field. A large contributor toward the speed of this evolution is due to the tsunami of Baby Boomers entering retirement. Seventy-six million American children were born between 1945 and 1964, this makes up almost 40% of the United States population. This particular cohort is hugely significant because of it’s size alone! ‘Baby Boomer’ has become the buzz word in the fields of economics, medical science & health, politics, technology, and architecture to name a few. I thought I would share a few developments that I personally find interesting and that are influencing the industry Reliant In-Home Care, LLC is part of.

Technology to help older adults age in place has gone far beyond fall-alert buttons and grab bars. Today, a host of sophisticated products are available on the market, including medication dispensers that can report to a family member when their loved one forgets to take a pill and shoes with embedded GPS trackers to find cognitively impaired wanderers.

  

My grandmother Ruth was practically deaf at 99 years of age and having a enhanced phone was a great success in helping her to keep connected with us long distanced grandchildren! California Telephone Access Program offers free specialized phones that make it easier to hear, dial, and easier to call. It’s also free to those who qualify!

One of the medical science advancements that can greatly decrease hospital re-admissions is the newly FDA approved ‘Digital Pill’.  Re-admissions to the hospital for older adults puts a huge burden on the Medicare system, this new development is designed to help remedy the confusion regarding proper medication compliance.

Studies have shown that 70% of Americans will require long-term care services, writes U.S. News, and as most long-term care is paid for by Medicaid, a swelling boomer population could end up swamping the program in the years to come. A research study done by Fidelity showed that nearly 4 in 10 retiree households do not have sufficient income to cover their monthly expenses. Stats say that half of all Americans have less than $25,000 in total savings, this is not including the value of their primary residence or pension plans. One solution for funding Long Term Care that is gaining popularity is the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM Reverse Mortgage.) This is the only reverse mortgage insured by the U.S. Federal Government. According to research by the American Association of Retired Persons, 90% of seniors want to stay in their own homes as they age. HECM is a very viable option to ‘Use Your Home To Stay At Home’. I will be speaking about In-Home Care along with a Reverse Mortgage specialist on May 30. *Please tune in to: Real Estate Radio @ ESPN 1700 AM Thursdays 1-2PM with David McElveen to hear more about home care and optional funding!

This is an exciting time in the history of caring and providing for older adults. It’s not just about living longer but innovating new ways to assist baby boomers to thrive as we enter retirement and beyond. For skilled and compassionate home care solutions, let your friends, associates and family know that they can rely on Reliant In-Home Care to assist them in the evolving world of long term care.

 

VA Pension (Aid & Attendance)

Posted on by
Reply

The new VA Pension amounts have been released and I wanted to pass them on to you.The 2013 maximum Aid and Attendance amounts are:

Married Veteran: $2054 a month

Single Veteran: $1732 a month

Surviving Spouse of a Veteran: $1113 a month

(tax-free income dropped into their account just like their Social Security check)

What is the VA Improved Pension?
The VA Improved Pension was established to provide financial assistance to veterans and their spouses. It allows them to live their lives in dignity and afford basic necessities.
This benefit is NOT dependent upon service-related injuries. It helps cover the cost of qualified unreimbursed medical expenses for in-home, assisted living, and skilled nursing care. Though the pension has been in existence for decades, most veterans and their families have never heard about it, or have not been given guidance on how to qualify.

What is the Basic Criteria for Qualifying?

  • Veteran must have served at least one (1) day during a qualified war period
  • Veteran must have served at least ninety (90) days of active duty prior to 1980 (24 months post-1980)
  •  Veteran did not receive dishonorable discharge
  • Claimant is over age of 65 or permanently or totally disabled and non-employable.
  •  Claimant is a surviving spouse of a qualified veteran and has not remarried
  • Claimant or spouse needs assistance with daily living requirements.

Claimant’s monthly un-reimbursed care expenses equal or exceed their monthly income.

(ADL’s include; dressing, bathing, grooming, personal hygiene, incontinence, medication management, & transferring)

This monthly benefit can be used to help fund home care assistance making it possible for those whom normally would be unable to afford it. If you know of someone who’d like to see if they are eligible, please give our office a call and we can refer you to a specialist who can help!

Preventing Seniors Returning to the Hospital

Posted on by
Reply

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offers information to help patients safely transition after hospital care.

According to the U.S. government, one-fifth of patients covered by Medicare return to the hospital within 30 days. The AHRQ tells us that these re-admissions cost about $17 billion each year. Re-admissions can also slow down a patient’s recovery.

As of October, Medicare’s reimbursement rate will reflect the ability of hospitals to prevent unnecessary re-hospitalizations. Hospitals with high readmission rates for heart attack, pneumonia and heart failure are now paid less than those with fewer re-admissions.

Older patients are at higher risk of returning to the hospital because they are more likely to be frail and have chronic conditions. Other reasons are more avoidable: Older patients may need help with transportation to follow-up appointments. And they may need extra support when leaving the hospital for home, or when transitioning to a skilled nursing facility.

AHRQ has developed a new guide for patients: Taking Care of Myself: A Guide for When I Leave the Hospital, an easy-to-understand plan for what to do when you or a loved one leaves the hospital. The guide can be used by both hospital staff and patients during the discharge process, and provides a way for patients to track their medication schedules, upcoming medical appointments, and important phone numbers. You can download a free copy of the guide on the AHRQ website or order a copy to be sent to your home.

The AHRQ’s Dr. Carolyn Clancy says, “Helping patients improve their health once they leave the hospital is not easy or automatic. The new effort by hospitals to prevent re-admissions is a big step in the right direction. You can help by learning what you should do when you or your loved ones are in the hospital.”

Understanding Your Senior Living Options

Posted on by
Reply

In the old days, older adults who needed care usually moved in with adult children, or to what was then called a “rest home.” But today, senior living communities provide a wide variety of senior housing and support options. How do you sort through the maze of choices and make the best decision?

“Is it time to move?” Most older adults ask themselves this question many times before they make the final decision. If you or a senior loved one is looking into the options, it may seem overwhelming—especially if a sudden health crisis forces the decision faster than you expected.

The decision about where to live can make a huge difference in quality of life and well-being for seniors and family alike. Today there are more senior living options to choose from than ever before. Here is an overview of retirement housing choices:

Senior Housing refers to any type of housing limited to people over a certain age.  It may be subsidized for lower-income seniors. The emphasis is on independent living, with few, if any, services offered.

Retirement Living Communities offer independent senior living in apartments, town homes or detached homes. They serve seniors who are generally in good health and do not provide personal care or health assistance. Many offer services such as housekeeping, dining, transportation and activities.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) offer a full range of care, ranging from independent living to assisted living to skilled nursing care, all in one complex or “campus.” Some CCRCs charge a straight monthly rental. Others require an up-front “buy in.”

Assisted Living usually includes a private apartment and services which include help with personal care needs, some health care services, housekeeping and a recreation program.

Adult Family Homes are single-family homes licensed by the state to provide room, board and support services, on a short-term or long-term basis.

Skilled Nursing Facilities (nursing homes) provide extended care for frail or chronically ill seniors who require a high level of skilled nursing care and medical supervision.

Services for Aging in Place

Many seniors want to stay in the comfort and independence of their own home, apartment or condo, even as their health needs change. Support services for these seniors include home modifications, home-delivered meals, senior transportation, adult day centers, and in-home care. Home care services include housekeeping, meal preparation, transportation, and personal care, such as help with bathing and grooming. Home health care, provided by nurses or aides, ranges from simple medical procedures, all the way to skilled medical services and rehabilitation services in the home.

Rules of Thumb for the Savvy Senior Living Shopper

  1. Begin the search early and take your time.
  2. Get the facts you need to make an informed decision.
  3. Begin with a realistic evaluation of your needs—both current and looking to the future.
  4. Visit potential senior living communities and talk to current residents.
  5. Don’t make the decision alone. Talk it over with family and professionals (your doctor, financial adviser, geriatric ).

Is Professional Home Care Needed?

Posted on by
Reply

As the owner of Reliant In-Home Care, as expected I help families all the time with their elderly love ones needs. Today I am faced with a different reality. Here I am once again, after assisting my own parents when they were alive in their last years, I am now the care manager for my dear Mother In-law. Just today while sipping my morning coffee, I received the call that she fell once again in the Residential Board & Care home, where she is living. I went over to the B&C but the ambulance had already taken her to Tri-city Medical Centers Emergency room. After going over to the ER, talking with the nurse, social worker, ER doctor and doing all the important work of filling them in on her history, medications, and recent changes; she is know being admitted into the hospital. I can tell you that my professional emotional equilibrium doesn’t apply when it comes to my own family member. It is just clearly a draining and demanding on your emotions when your caring for a family member.  Unfortunately the board & care doesn’t have the staff to supervise my Mother In-law during the night if/when she decides to get up unattended. So like what has know happened, she is put in danger of falling.

It is just very different when you are working as a care manager or caregiver for someone you don’t personally know. There’s just no way you can maintain the emotional detachment that is cultivated when working as a professional on a job. This experience I’m going through as my Mother In-laws care manager, even though I’m not doing the full time caregiving, is again such a pointed reminder of the toil caregiving does on a family member caring for a loved one.

I highly encourage family caregivers to get professional home help so you can avoid potentially harmful situations and depleting yourself emotionally & physically. In-home elder care services typically charge by the hour and though the rates seem steep, consider the reasons for the high rates. Not only are Reliant In-home Care professionals bonded, insured, supervised and background checked but with an employee status their withholding’s are managed and their paid weekly. As professionals they are not just ordinary people who happen to like caring for elderly or disabled but they are highly trained and capable for providing personal care and can be counted on to respond to different medical emergencies appropriately. Having professional assistance in the home, even on a minimal basis can ease the burden. We’re praying my Mother in-law returns to her home soon but were also reading ourselves to handle the new level of care she will require. The reality is that I usually step in and manage the emergencies regarding my Mother In-law but as a professional business owner, it would be impossible to be her full time caregiver.

 

Helping Your Elderly Parent with COPD Related Depression

Posted on by
51

Experts say that over a million people in the United States have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is a chronic lung condition that includes bronchitis, emphysema or both.

COPD affects the airways and air sacs within the lungs, which makes breathing difficult and can result in a person becoming less active over time. An elderly person who has COPD will easily become depressed, when dealing not only with breathing difficulties but other age related problems.

One example of COPD related depression is Martin, age 72. Martin had lived a busy lifestyle, playing golf, volunteering at the community center and working in his garden. Diagnosed with COPD six months previous, and uncertain how to mange his breathing difficulty and new medications, Martin stopped all his activities. Giving up the things he loved to do and sitting more at home along with improper diet, he became a victim to depression.

Martin’s son Anthony realized that his father could not handle his new situation and depression alone. A trip together to Martin’s physician began the steps to dissipating the depression and enabling Martin to return to his social life.

Anthony received instructions about his father’s medications from the doctor and how they were to be used and consequently could help his father with medication reminders.

The most common types of daily COPD medicines are:

* Inhaler for daily maintenance – Bronchodilators help relax the muscles around the lungs’ breathing tubes. This reduces shortness of breath and makes breathing easier.
* Steroids – Corticosteroids, taken in pill form or inhaler reduce swelling in breathing tubes to quickly make breathing easier. Not commonly for prolong use.
* Oxygen Treatment – Severe COPD will reduce your lungs’ ability to put oxygen into your blood to be carried throughout your body. Martin’s oxygen level was measured to determine if he would need prescribed oxygen therapy. Oxygen is usually prescribed if the oxygen in the blood is low during sleep, exercise, or while not active. A respiratory therapist from an oxygen supply company or home health service can help with learning how to use oxygen.

An important factor in Martin’s depression and COPD management was his diet.

“A healthy diet can play an important role in the management and treatment of COPD.
Finding the right diet can be tricky for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), since they need to eat a healthy diet and maintain their optimal weight to keep COPD symptoms in check.” )Krisha McCoy, MS, Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH)

Maintaining the right nutrition and taking vitamins not only keeps the body healthy but heals the mind, providing emotional well being. Fad diets or extreme dieting are not appropriate for COPD patients. Extreme weight loss can be as much a hazard as being overweight. A home care nutritionist can help establish a healthy menu and diet plan.

With medication and diet under control the final steps to overcoming Martin’s depression were to return to his daily activities. With COPD, an elderly person is more hesitant to leave home, especially if that person’s breathing capacity is not as it used to be. There is a lot of available mobility support for the elderly with small portable oxygen units, walkers, electric scooters and other supportive equipment to help these disabled people move about in the community.

With the help of mobile services and his son at his side to start with, Martin returned to the golf course and community activities. His new diet and return to previous activity helped Martin overcome his symptoms of depression.

Studies show that the intervention of family and friends in helping and supporting elderly people with COPD results in a decrease of depression and a healthier outcome for the patient.

The Oxford Journals Medicine and Ageing states

“It is also worth exploring how family and friends may be involved in supporting the patient and to encourage social interaction. Educating the spouse, family members and friends about depression may help them to understand the consequences of the disease and to develop coping strategies and in turn may reduce the likelihood of isolation. A very recent study that investigated the benefits of emotional support by family and friends and of spiritual beliefs in patients with major depression showed that those with higher perceived emotional support had better outcomes.” (Oxford Journals Medicine Age and Ageing Volume 35, Number 5)

If you are helping an elder parent with COPD related depression there are community and professional services to help you. Start with your parent’s physician. You can also find resources for oxygen therapy, homecare respiratory treatment, home nursing, home medical equipment and mobile services.

The National Care Planning Council promotes eldercare resources and lists eldercare services throughout the United States.

Article From: X http://www.longtermcarelink.net/article-201