Category: For the receiver of care

Finding and Paying For Long Term Care

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You have found the home-care provider or facility you want to help with the care of your aging loved one, but how does one pay for this?  If your loved one doesn’t have long-term health insurance, things can get expensive very quickly.   This government website answers the many confusing questions involved with the financial end of providing care.

Included in this link is a search engine for finding facility care, home care, and just about anything else you can think of provided in this resource.  The fact that it is not a private industry that receives pay for recommendations is a good way to double check on what’s available to your family to care for your loved one.

 

Common Medication Errors

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SafetyOne of the most important aspects of physical safety for chronic patients is dealing with the myriad of medications involved in their care.  In fact, medication errors may be one of the first warning signs you saw that led you to realizing your loved one needed additional help.

A great resource for reducing medication errors is this article provided by the Mayo Clinic.  You will find many medical safety ideas that you may not have already considered.

Another article that is helpful in avoiding medication errors is from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Here you will find some specific warnings about certain medications that need close monitoring as well as excellent tips for managing medications.

Your aging loved one may not be ready to give up control of medication management.  This may take some time to convince him/her.  For us, it took quite a bit of conversation and an unfortunate hospital visit for our mother to give up that control and allow us to fill her pill box weekly.  She had become quite ill and had to spend weeks recovering from the effects of medication errors she had unwittingly committed.  We were lucky that the effects of medication misuse hadn’t become permanent, yet.

Remember to use the genus™ App to keep your loved ones’ medications list up to date.  It truly is worth the time and effort to input the medication data into the app.  This part of the app in the Medical platform will provide you with medical safety information when you visit the doctor’s office, consult with a pharmacist, or make a plan for safe medication dispersal.   All this at the tip of your fingertips, wherever you are!   Together, we can care better.

Emotional Safety for Your Person of Care

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When taking care of an aging or chronically ill loved one, we need to be concerned wGivers-of-careith several types of safety:  physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual.  We often do a stellar job of taking care of their physical needs, but what about their emotional needs?

An elderly person needs to feel safe, remain close to other people and believe that his life continues to be meaningful. Meeting his/her emotional needs can help avoid depression. Signs that your aging loved one needs more support may include difficulty in sleeping, a poor appetite or an inability to concentrate.  Emotional care for a senior should include steps designed to deal with vulnerability, loneliness, boredom and isolation.

Using Technology to Help

Here is where the genus™ App can help design these next steps.  When the community of care folks (the people you have in your care community on the App) can easily access visitor information and a common schedule; then all can work together seamlessly to provide visits and activities that allow for regular contact with loved ones.   Here you can easily log visits and phone calls.  It is important for all involved to realize that this is not about who visited Mom the most, but rather how we can all work together, making the most of our busy schedules, to provide Mom with the best emotional support there is:  time with loved ones.  Think about how important Mom will feel when she sees her community of loved ones working to give her the best, together.  I know that my mom has frequently commented to her friends how her children are using “the internet” to schedule visits and activities.  She feels honored that such efforts are being made to provide her with best care possible.

Along with making sure our loved ones get regular social contacts, it’s important to note how they are doing physically as well.  In the Health platform of the Genus App, you can track how the patient feels physically each day as well as tracking their mood and mobility factor.  You can then run medical reports periodically to show the doctor.  It could help the doc adjust medications, change medications, or even remove unnecessary meds.  With various folks inputting the data, the App allows for tracking of data in a meaningful way to share with family members and medical professionals as necessary.  You then can have a complete picture of your loved ones’ physical and emotional health, as they are both tied so closely together.

Some tips to remember:

  • Talk with the older person in your family to identify needs. Listen to individual concerns. Don’t assume all elderly are lonely. Encourage the person to express their feelings and be a good listener–ask questions and don’t be judgmental.
  • Be aware of fears. Due to medical conditions, some people lose independence as they grow older. Some elderly people may fear not being able to take care of themselves.
  • Many older people develop depression. Factors such as illness, death of family members and medications all contribute to depression. Don’t be afraid to ask family member if he or she is feeling depressed. Also look for signs, such as withdrawing from family and friends, mood changes, fatigue and weight loss.
  • Understand the need for purpose in an elderly person’s life. With their children grown and retired from their job, an elderly person may feel they are not needed. Many volunteer agencies are geared especially for senior citizens. For example, Senior Corps utilizes senior volunteers in a variety of jobs. In our community, we have an agency called SOC (Society for Older Citizens) that provides all kinds of services for the elderly.
  • Recognize the need for professional help. Some emotional problems will need to be evaluated by a doctor or a qualified mental health professional. For example, if signs of depression persist for more than two weeks and interfere will daily activities, professional help may be needed.
  • Be aware some emotional problems in the elderly may be caused by side effects from medication and certain medical conditions. A physical may help determine if medical problems are contributing to emotional issues.

 

Hiring a Caregiver You Can Trust

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It can be so overwhelming deciding what kind of outside help to hire for your aging loved one.  Who should you hire?  How do you find them?  Are they qualified?  Can they be trusted to care for your parent?  What questions should you ask?  What is the cost?  How do I find the best care possible for my parent?

Once you start your research, it is easy to get overwhelmed with all the information out there.  Agencies that earn their money by recommending specific home-care agencies are available BUT they only refer those agencies that pay them a fee.  There are so many of these “placement agencies” ….. Home Instead, A Place for Mom, AgingCare, care.com…. the list goes on.   Talk to your friends to see what they have used and get recommendations.  Use social media to solicit recommendations.  The agencies they recommend can vary from location to location.   Agencies are run by local owners, so getting some advice from local friends and family about local agencies they have had success with is invaluable.

At-home caregivers generally fall into three categories:
  • Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs)
    • have some medical training and must pass an exam to get a license. They usually work under the supervision of registered nurses. In home care nurses can check vital signs, care for wounds, and help with everyday activities such as bathing and eating

(you’ll often hear these referred to as “activities of daily living,” or ADLs)

  • Home Health Aides
    • generally assist with ADLs. And personal care attendants (PCAs)
  • Personal Care Attendants. (PCAs)
    • also sometimes called personal companions, assist with household chores such as cleaning, cooking and shopping

The job descriptions of these caregivers can overlap considerably, and they’re often referred to interchangeably.  You will need to decide whether to go with an established agency or hire a private home-care worker.  Both have advantages and disadvantages.   Of course with an agency you will usually find licensed care workers, but you will also pay more money than private care, in general.   However, with a private homecare worker, you often get more personalized attention.

Valuable Links for Finding the Best Outside Help

The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) is the best place to start when looking for home-care agencies.  They are a government service that is not affiliated with one agency over another.  This link will take you to eldercare.gov which is a affiliate of n4a in which they recommend agencies that provide outside help.  https://www.n4a.org/hcbs

When considering an agency, you may want to check out this article and the corresponding links from the National Association for Home Care and Hospice.   They list some great questions to ask when interviewing home-care agencies as well as a database of agencies.

Whether hiring a private home-care provider OR an agency, here is a list of questions to consider as well.  This article provided by the Mayo Clinic breaks down the questions depending on whether you are going with private care or agency care.  This is a good article to read in helping you to decide which course of care to take.

Finding the best home care for your loved one can be a daunting task, but if you are armed with the proper information and questions, it will make the job a bit easier.  Remember to involve your home care aides in the use of the genusConnect™ App.  Their use will provide you with the best up to date information on the care of the patient as well as provide you with tools to make your job easier.   The home-care workers will love the feedback you can leave them within the app.  genusConnect™ provides you with a valuable communication tool to help you provide the best care, together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You May Not Remember, But I Will Never Forget

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Givers-of-careSay the title of this article out loud to yourself.   Let that sink in for a moment.  Can you picture yourself silently saying this to your aging parent who struggles to remember the past?  Now picture yourself saying it with a smile in your heart.  You are building new memories that you will have for a lifetime.  Make them count using the power of photos.

This is something I tried to remind myself of often when spending time with my dad during the final stages of his Alzheimer’s and I find myself doing the same as I enjoy time today with my mom.   That cruel disease of Dementia, stealing the memories of our loved ones, can be discouraging.  But if you try to remember that you are building new memories, while leaning on the old memories, you will one day look back and be glad you thought of it this way.  I know I am.

Using the Power of Photos to Build New Memories

One possible way to create new fun memories with your loved one who suffers from memory loss is to use photos to stimulate conversations about the past.   Photographs from the past allow patients to reminisce about pleasant times in their lives. Photographs from the present help patients relate to their current situation. The patient experiencing memory loss is able to “remember or recognize someone they love and know in a world where so many things are now unfamiliar to them.”2 A study by Ellen Mahoney of Boston College found that, in one instance, photos distracted the Alzheimer’s patient from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Using the “Moments” platform of the Genus™ App, you and all the other members of your caring community can use a consistent set of photos to work with your aging loved one.  From the app, you can upload the photos you take to a digital photo frame for your loved one to enjoy.  My mother comments almost daily on how much she loves the photos we send to her via our phones to her photo frame.  It makes her feel part of her children’s and grandchildren’s lives to see the photos they send from their various adventures.   Of course she adores the photos we take when we’re with her as well, but she really benefits from seeing “surprise” photos pop up on her frame from her loved ones’ comings and goings.

 

10 Photo Tips for Families Facing Alzheimer’s

Compiled by the Alzheimer’s Association® in partnership with Shutterfly, here are 10 ways you can help lift a person with dementia to reminisce:

  1. Place photos in chronological order.Photo books can be great tools for showing someone’s life history or story. Start your photo book at the beginning of the person’s life and lead up to the present day. Organize the book around key moments and concentrate on happy occasions to assist with engagement. Also, keep the design simple, with one or two pictures per page, so the photos are easy to focus on.
  2. Show relationships. To help spark recognition of family members, dedicate a section to each person. Choose photos that include the person with the family member from different life stages and place them in chronological order.
  3. Select meaningful moments. Be sure to include photos that reflect the person’s meaningful life moments and depict his/her favorite hobbies or activities, such as weddings, graduations and vacations.
  4. Make it an activity.Work with the individual as appropriate to create the book, and share memories and conversation as you put it together.
  5. Engage in conversation.Ask open-ended questions about the people or events in the photo. How were you feeling in that picture? Tell me about your brother. What are some of your favorite childhood stories? Tell me more about this picture. The answers are less important than the conversation and engagement.
  6. Share your own memories.As part of the conversation, share your memories and feelings when looking at the pictures. Answer some of the same questions you’re asking the person with Alzheimer’s.
  7. Connect, don’t correct.This is more about making a connection and sharing memories. Focus on connecting with the person, not correcting them.
  8. Revisit frequently. Take the time to frequently revisit memories using the photos. Do what works best for the individual. It may be daily or weekly, depending on the person.
  9. Mix it up.Don’t discuss the same set of photos week after week. To help keep it fresh and interesting, discuss various parts of the book with different people and events on a regular basis.
  10. Move at a comfortable pace.Follow cues from the individual to gage their interest level and determine how they are reacting to the photos.

 

 

It’s important to monitor your loved one’s reactions to the activity.   If the reaction is joyful or reminiscent, you are on the right track.  There may be times that the photos may somehow agitate him/her, then obviously you will want to redirect.  Like anything we do when dealing with dementia, what works one day, may not necessarily work the next.  One of our many challenges that keeps us on our toes!

Medical Safety for Receivers of Care

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One of the most frustrating things to deal with when caring for an aging parent is the many health complications that arise as one ages.   Medical safety is of key concern.  Many family member also acting as caregivers have not had a great deal of experience dealing with doctors and various medical safety issues.   There are many questions that arise, making the whole caring experience a bit overwhelming without the proper information.

Using the Genus™ App

You can document your loved one’s medical conditions in the medical section of the app, list the doctor contact info for that condition along with pertinent medications.  To have all this information literally at your fingertips on your phone is invaluable.   All it takes is one person dedicated to entering the information, and once it is there, any approved member of your care community can easily access this important info as needed.   The end result is caring better, together.

Most important to medical safety is the value of tracking specific medical information inside the app.  Maybe you want to track the patient’s blood pressure and heart rate each day, along with their mood and mobility factor.  All of this is easy to do with the touch of a few keys using the Genus App.

Help in an Emergency

I can honestly say that if I had this app available to me when my dad was alive as we were caring for him with his Alzheimer’s condition, it would have been very helpful.   More than once I was called by the nursing home to say that my dad was being sent to the ER due to a fall or something similar.  Always in the middle of the night.  Then I would go to the ER, sleepy and bleary-eyed, being asked all kinds of questions by the doctors of which I had no answers for.   You see, I wasn’t the family member in charge of the medical information. That was my sister Jane.  She was the medical guru of the family and did a wonderful job keeping track of our parents’ medical conditions and appointments.  But that one person can’t always be available during an emergency.  Had I had the medical information on my phone, as we can do with the Genus App, it would have provided better emergency care for my dad and much less frustration for us both.  I am grateful to have this App to use with my mom, especially the emergency feature: the little red cross.   I have all the pertinent information at my fingertips!  What a relief!!

Another helpful website

For dealing with medical safety, go to https://healthfinder.gov/     Here you can type in the age of your patient and see what recommended health screenings are suggested as well as find out information on a variety of health issues that may be affecting our loved ones.   There is plethora of information here to help you navigate through these complex health issues.

Emerging Tech Offers Personal Ownership of Health Data

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Home SecurityAt genus,LLC., we’re excited about the future of health technology. Part of that future, as noted at the Health 2.0 Conference we attended in October, will entail increased personal ownership of health data, helping us understand our own health and wellness better than ever before. In this TED Talk video, statistician Talithia Williams highlights the power of new and emerging technologies in monitoring your own health data on a daily basis.