Caregiving is challenging. Between managing another person’s health and well-being and running a household, the tasks can become overwhelming. It’s hard to know when to ask for help. We focus on what needs to get done and don’t even realize when it’s time to ask for help. Critical to both of your well-being is to step back and evaluate the situation and accept that you can’t do it all. Outsourcing Caregiving Help
Do you need Outside Caregiving Help?
If caring for a loved one is important, you can still do it, but you don’t have to do everything. Find ways to outsource what you don’t want to do so that you can spend more time doing the things you want to do. If preparing healthy meals for your caree is important to you, then do that. If you hate sitting around while your parent gets his/her hair done, outsource that task.
If you are experiencing any of the following, you may want to explore getting some form of caregiving help:
Are you forgetting important appointments or tasks that are impacting your or your caree’s well-being?
Are you becoming angry? Do things get under your skin more quickly than they have in the past? Is the anger affecting your relationship with your caree or family?
Is your health being impacted by the constant stress or workload?
Are you avoiding spending time with your family or friends? Is this because you are so tired or stressed out that you can’t imagine being around people?
Is your caree’s health or safety affected because you don’t have the time or ability to properly care for him/her?
If the situations above sound familiar, you may want to consider getting help with your caregiving or household roles. Society leads us to believe that we can do it all. If we aren’t busy every second of every day, we are not living life to the fullest. That simply isn’t true. Everyone needs downtime. Do You Need Caregiving Help?
What help can you get to lighten your load? Outsourcing Caregiving Help
Errands/Tasks:
Whether you work full-time or not, if you are caring for someone else and maintain a household, you can drown in the to dos. Is there a high school or college student in your neighborhood who can run the simple errands such as post office trips, grocery shopping, picking up dry cleaning or prescriptions? If you don’t know anyone, there are sites like Task Rabbit that allow you to hire someone to do tasks such as errands, cleaning or even work around the house.
Help with Paperwork:
If you work outside the home and are managing care for someone with a medical condition or someone with a busy schedule, you may want to consider hiring a personal or virtual assistant a few hours a week to take some of the coordination off your plate. They can help with tasks such as making appointments, following up with providers or doing research. You can also hire someone to handle finances for your caree, but before doing so, make sure the person is licensed and bonded. Outsourcing Caregiving Help
Companion for Caree:
Do you need some time for yourself, but feel guilty leaving your caree alone? Or, does your caree have early stage dementia and you are concerned about him/her being alone? There are a new crop of companions who will keep your caree company when you aren’t available. They can take them to lunch, play a game of cards or chess with them, or even accompany them to the theater. Of course, you will want to background check any companion you hire and be sure that he/she carries the appropriate insurance if they will be transporting your parent.
In-Home Caregiver:
You don’t need to bring a caregiver into your parent’s home full-time. I had many clients who had in-home care for a few hours a week. A caregiver can do anything from walk with your senior parent to ensure they are getting exercise safely to cook meals or provide personal care. Once client even had a caregiver come every morning to assist her with getting started for the day. The caregiver helped with bathing and dressing, prepared breakfast for her and went for a walk with her. Some agencies have a minimum hourly requirement while others reduce the rate the longer the caregiver is with your parent. Do your research before bringing someone in the home. Be sure to request the opportunity to interview the caregiver, not just the in-take person from the agency. They are not the same person. And, most importantly, if the caregiver is not the right fit for your parent, don’t feel shy about requesting a new caregiver. You are paying for the service and are entitled to have the right person in your parent’s home.
These are just a few ways to get outside help for everything from the little tasks to the big tasks. You shouldn’t think that hiring help means that you aren’t capable of providing care, or aren’t cutting it. It means that you are focusing on your strengths and making sure that both you and your caree are being well taken care of. Outsourcing Caregiving Help
When you ask American seniors about where they want to spend their golden years, they answer loud and clear: in the comfort of home. Over the past few decades, seniors and their families have voiced stronger and stronger preferences for aging at home with the help of elder care, rather than in a retirement home or nursing facility. Design Tips for Aging at Home At home senior care agencies, like Visiting Angels, give seniors the option of living at home for as long as possible by offering compassionate elder care and home assistance. But elder care is just one of the ways that seniors can extend their years at home – another is smart home design.
Every year, countless families spend tens of thousands on nursing home residencies that could have been delayed or avoided through simple changes to a senior’s home. With that in mind, here are some of our elder care experts’ top tips for making any home more senior-friendly:
Design Tips for Aging at Home
Improve Lighting. One of the easiest ways you can improve the senior-friendliness of any home is through lighting. Falls and injuries are often caused by unseen hazards. To reduce the chance of injury, install lights in areas with poor visibility and buy night lights to aid visibility on midnight trips to the bathroom.
Think “Accessible.” Age often limits mobility, which can make certain objects hard to get to. This makes life more difficult and increases the chance a senior will hurt themselves straining for certain items. To improve elder-care-friendliness, do everything you can to make the home more accessible by placing important objects within easy reach.
Eliminate Trip & Slip Hazards. Loose rugs, hardwood stairs, and glossy bathroom floors may be beautiful, but they pose a serious risk for trips and slips. Replace flooring or add non-slip strips in areas where slips are likely, and remove any items that present a high risk for tripping.
Install Better Door Handles & Faucets. Seniors with arthritis or strength issues often struggle with knob-style door handles and faucets. Lever-style handles are far easier to use and can purchased and installed at a relatively low cost.
Safer Bathrooms. The bathroom is the number one area of concern for senior safety. Shower bars, shower seating, and temperature-limits on hot water help seniors bathe safely. The professional senior caregivers from Visiting Angels also suggest grab bars and a raised seat for the toilet, which is one of the most overlooked areas when it comes to injury risks.
Senior Living Equipment. There are a number of tools you can bring into your home that make home-life easier for seniors. Stair lifts and walkers are two of the most common pieces used by seniors with mobility issues.
Watch Out for Stairs & Steps. Stairs and steps are major areas of concern, not only for the increased risk of tripping, but also for the increased risk of severe injury. Have sturdy railings installed wherever there are stairs in your home, and consider adding small ramps in place of single steps.
The best ways to create an elder care friendly home will change on a case by case basis. So if you or a loved one are struggling to live at home, do a risk and comfort assessment to see where changes can be made. If you have already taken the step of hiring an elder care provider – such as those from Visiting Angels – they can help with this part of the process. Remember that small changes can pay big dividends, helping you avoid the costs of nursing care and extend the time spent in comfortable, familiar surroundings. Design Tips for Aging at Home
Belinda Worth, 88 years old, collapsed while at her independent living facility in Florida. When the staff called 9-1-1, the dispatcher requested the staff to perform CPR, but they refused. The staff member reported it was against policy. By the time the ambulance arrived, Belinda was dead. Emergencies at Independent Living Facilities
This may surprise you. It may make you mad.
How could this have happened? Why wouldn’t they help her? They could have saved her life!
This situation may not make much sense at first, but the staff did exactly what they were supposed to.
Life-Prolonging Care
Ms. Worth had a Do-Not Resuscitate order. This means she did not want anyone to intervene with lifesaving care. This includes CPR in most cases. If the staff attempted CPR, the facility could have been sued by Worth’s family or Worth herself if she had survived.
Independent Living Facility Staff Are Usually Unskilled
Not all independent living facilities have skilled nursing staff. Not all of them need it by law. It depends on the care they provide seniors. The one Ms. Worth lived at may have not been one of the facilities that required staff to be trained in CPR. While they could have tried to perform CPR according to the dispatcher’s directions, it’s not required.
CPR May Have Not Worked
Ms. Worth died of a heart attack. CPR won’t save someone from a heart attack or stroke. Emergencies at Independent Living Facilities
Important Points to Remember
Independent living facilities are not medical facilities. They are not legally liable to provide medical care, even emergency care. Those that do provide it may end up legally liable if something happens to the person during the live saving techniques. For this reason, many people will not step in and help.
Emergency care is not a requirement. Basic first-aid training may be provided IF there is someone there who knows how to perform it. Otherwise, that may not even be offered.
Tips for Choosing an Independent Living Facility
If you are considering an independent living facility, you need to ask the director what you can expect if the same happens to you or your loved one. It’s better to know what you will or will not receive rather than being surprised if something happens and it’s not handled in the way you want it.
It’s a good idea to ask for a DNR (Do-Not-Resuscitate order) if you haven’t had one yet. This will prevent the facility from doing anything that may prolong your life if you end up in an emergency.
If you are seeking for medical care during an emergency, you may want to try a different setting.
I hope this information gives you the insight you need as you search for an independent living facility. If need to discuss the emotional impact of an independent living facility, please consider personal consulting. As a personal consultant, I help many people cope with the changes that happen when moving to a different place for senior care. Contact me now for more information on personal consulting. Emergencies at Independent Living Facilities
Helping seniors downsize can be difficult, especially if they have spent most of their life in a house. It can make the senior feel as though it’s another piece of their life that is coming to an end. This is why it’s is essential you approach helping your senior loved one downsize with sensitivity. The following will help you do that, so the process isn’t so painful. Tips for Seniors Downsizing
Questions to Ask Tips for Seniors Downsizing
One of the questions you need to ask when helping seniors downsize is if they need to move in the first place. Downsizing often means throwing away possessions that they have become attached to over the years, and with those possessions many memories are ripped away from them.
Usually, if the senior is unable to keep up with the maintenance of the home or needs special accommodations the house cannot provide, he or she needs to downsize. If this is the case, it might be wise to ask your loved what he or she would like to do with the possessions. A storage unit might be a good idea, so that the possessions don’t have to be lost forever. It might also be possible to bring most of the possessions to the new house with some organization and good packing.
Be sure to work with your loved one as you discuss what will happen with the possessions. This is one of the most disturbing parts of moving, so it must be handled with compassion.
Another question to ask yourself is if the possessions in the home have crossed into hoarding behavior. Many seniors will start collecting items because they feel as though they have sentimental value. When the health and safety become threatened by the amount of possessions in the home, it may be time to downsize.
Again, this can be highly disturbing to a senior, especially if he or she is suffering from elderly hoarding behavior. It may be wise to speak to a professional before approaching this situation, as it can cause problems in your relationship.
What to Say When Helping Seniors Downsize
What you say and how you say it matters when helping senior downsize. Never demand your loved one must move. It’s best to mention it first to see how he or she feels, and then approach it again when your loved one has had a chance to think about it.
If he or she is open to it, consider touring some new places to live. This may help get your loved one excited about moving. Treat it as a positive step in life, rather than one based on getting older.
If your loved one is adamant about staying where he or she has been living, identify some of the reasons you have been thinking about this change. He or she may not pay attention, but what you say will seep in a little, and as you bring it up you may find your loved one will soften up to it.
Identify the benefits of downsizing. Sometimes, seniors don’t realize how much easier it is to live when there isn’t so much house to care for each day.
If you need additional information on helping seniors downsize, consider contacting me – Kendall Van Blarcom. I have been helping seniors and their caregivers for a while, and I can help you deal with this situation effectively. Tips for Seniors Downsizing
Caring for someone with cancer is a stressful job. While doctors handle the cancer treatment, caregivers often manage their patients’ everyday needs — transportation, food, recreation, medications and visits with friends. All the while caregivers must deal with feelings of helplessness and frustration as they watch their loved ones fight battles in which they cannot help. Many people feel guilty if they focus any attention on themselves. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, studies have consistently reported higher levels of depressive symptoms and mental health problems among caregivers than among their non-caregiving peers. Cancer Caregiver Tips
But caregivers can learn to manage their stress. For example, talking with a trusted friend or counselor can help caregivers reduce stress, feel less helpless and understand how to respond to their loved ones. Cancer Caregiver Tips
Many of the same methods that help caregivers can apply to anyone facing a stressful situation. Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) offers the following tips:
Find a treatment center that will help. CTCA’s mind-body medicine team work closely with both patients and caregivers to listen and provide support. CTCA also helps ease stress by coordinating appointments, providing transportation and scheduling travel arrangements and hotel accommodations.
Ask for and accept help. If another family member is willing to help out, let them ease your burden. Depending on the source of your stress, you should also seek out additional community resources. For example, cancer caregivers can find support groups for both themselves and patients.
Know your limits. Determine what you can and can’t handle, based on your responsibilities to your family and professional life. If adding another obligation is too much, either say, “No” or find someone with whom to split duties.
Take care of yourself. Sufficient sleep will help you manage challenges more easily. Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. Start exercising — regular activity can help reduce irritability, fatigue and overall stress levels.
Make time for yourself. Relaxing or doing something that you enjoy — even for a few minutes — can go a long way towards lifting your mood. Caregivers should set aside at least five minutes a day to meditate or simply be still and relax.
If you need to help elderly delirium, you are in the right place. With my extensive experience working with seniors, I know what needs to be done to help the condition. I would like to offer this information to you to help you care for your loved one.
What Is Delirium? Help with Elderly Delirium
Delirium is a mental disturbance that causes confusion and reduces environmental awareness. Delirium can start suddenly and become severe within a few hours or over a few days. Help Elderly Delirium with These Tips
People who suffer from delirium often have other conditions that predispose them to it. For example, they may suffer from mental illness, infection, alcohol or drug abuse, and metabolic balance.
Many people mix up delirium and dementia, since they have similar symptoms. Consulting with a medical professional can help diagnose the condition.
Treatment for Delirium
When a medical professional suspects delirium, he or she will attempt to find the cause of it to treat that rather than the delirium. A small population, delirium has no cause. It is simply a part of growing older and the brain slowing down.
When the cause cannot be identified or solved, the best way to treat delirium is through delirium management. This include supportive therapy.
Help with Elderly Delirium Supportive Therapy
Supportive therapy offers help for elderly sufferers of delirium. This means allowing them to discuss what is confusing them with someone who understand the condition. By speaking to the sufferer slowly and providing bits of information, most people can put the pieces together to make sense of it.
Through supportive therapy, people with delirium can also remain in touch with their environment much easier. It can slow down the progression of the condition because they are making connections they wouldn’t otherwise make when not receiving the supportive therapy.
How to Find Supportive Therapy
It’s possible to find supportive therapy here. I am a personal consultant. I have worked with all ages as a marriage and family therapist, but I am not specializing in seniors. I have been working with seniors who suffer from delirium and their caregivers to guide them in how to help elderly delirium.
This can be an extremely difficult time for everyone. I can help you understand the situation and what to do about it. Having someone on your side willing to listen can greatly help you get through this stage of life. Contact me today for more information on how to help elderly delirium. I can help you as a caregiver as well as your older loved one. Help with Elderly Delirium
The Joys of Professional Caregivers & Senior Care Franchise Owners
One of the greatest pleasures in life is knowing that your work is making a positive impact. In few industries is this felt as much as when you work as a professional caregiver or run a senior care franchise. By helping the elderly find comfort and contentment at home, caregivers bring more happiness minute-by-minute into other people’s lives than almost any other kind of professional.
At Visiting Angels, our work in the home care industry has taught us that as well as anyone. As the #1 rated senior care franchise in Franchise Business Review’s 2015 Satisfaction survey, we’ve helped countless entrepreneurs, senior care experts, and professional caregivers discover the satisfaction that comes through delivering high-quality senior care.
Here are some of the joys that our team and our caregivers have found in over 18 years of professional caregiving…
Little Gestures, Lasting Happiness
When it comes to senior home care, sometimes even the littlest gestures bring out the biggest smiles. Every one of our senior care franchise owners has some story of a tiny moment that delivered lasting memories. As people age, they grow to cherish the little things more and more. A cup of tea at the right moment. A steadying hand walking up the front steps. Someone to share a fond memory with. By being there with a helping hand and a sympathetic ear, you’ll discover how the small things lead to lasting happiness.
A Link to the Past
When you work with the elderly, you’re given a first-hand window into history that no other line of work can afford. Many of our senior care franchise owners pass along the stories their own clients have shared with them. From major moments in American history to small-town family memories, caregivers often see a side of the past that they never would have otherwise.
Aging Made Graceful
It’s no secret that aging can be difficult. As we grow older, our bodies and minds sometimes fail us, leaving us feeling vulnerable, weak, or embarrassed. As a professional caregiver or senior care franchise owner, you’re able to relieve these feelings of helplessness. Often all it takes is a supportive reminder or a little bit of help with a common household task. You might not notice it at first, but the relief that comes in these moments can be immense for the care recipient.
Extraordinary Relationships
Unlike any number of other industries, caregiving leads to close relationships. When you become part of a senior’s life, you can’t help but form a bond. For many of our clients, senior care franchise owners, and caregivers, these relationships are a two-way street. Our elders are often sources of great warmth and great wisdom, and many caregivers find that they receive just as much from their care recipients as their care recipients receive from them.
A Far-Reaching Impact
From the outside, a caregiver’s work might seem like it has a limited impact. But any caregiver or senior care franchise owner can tell you that senior care helps more than just individual seniors. In many cases, our work is a lifeline for busy, overburdened families. For children and other family members of elderly persons, the difference made by high-quality senior care is tremendous. At Visiting Angels, we’ve received open appreciation from so many of our clients’ families – thanks that we truly cherish.
To discover more about the joys of professional caregiving, listen to Visiting Angels franchise owners talk about the joys of being a senior care franchise owner/operator.
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Social engagement is an important factor in quality of life. Seniors who involve themselves in activity they enjoy are more likely to be satisfied and happy with their life. It’s not always easy to be social in an assisted living facility, especially when you’re new. Groups form over time, and it can be difficult to know if you fit into them. Boost Socialization in Assisted Living
The good news is that there are ways for you to make socializing easier in an assisted living facility. The following 5 ways to help you make friends in your new home.
Making Friends in an Assisted Living Facility
#1: Participate in Activities You Enjoy
To meet people who are similar to you, participate in activities you enjoy. For example, if you like to paint, join a painting class or group. At first, you don’t need to speak to anyone. You can just enjoy painting. However, over time, you will likely strike up conversations with people. This will most likely lead to speaking with them outside of the class or group, and can turn into a friendship.
#2: Offer to Help
You don’t have to go above and beyond to make friends with people. You can simply be nice. When you see someone needs help, go ahead and lend a hand. The person will appreciate you being so nice, and that might lead to a friendship.
#3: Be Friendly
When you see someone sitting by him or herself, say hello and offer to join the person. That person is probably feeling the same way you are, and making the first move is probably relief for him or her.
#4: Ask People for Help
When you need help, don’t feel ashamed to ask for it. As the person is helping, communicate your appreciation. When you see him or her again, you will already know each other so starting a conversation may be easy.
#5: Spend Time in the Common Areas
You won’t meet many people when you stay in your room most of the day. Move out into the common areas to be part of the action. Bring a book or a hobby you enjoy, so you can have something to do. After some time, you may just find that people will approach you to say hello and strike up a conversation. Some of those people will make great friends, while others will just be acquaintances you say hi to from time to time.
Living in a new place can be hard, but making friends can make it easier. Try these tips, and you may just find that it greatly improves your quality of life.
If you find you need additional help with becoming comfortable in your new home at an assisted living facility, contact Kendall Van Blarcom – a personal consultant.5 Ways to Boost Socialization in an Assisted Living Facility
It’s no surprise that many people want to do all that they can for an aging parent or relative. But life sometimes gets in the way. From work, to family, to the difficulties that aging brings about, its rare that you can do it all on your own. When that happens, you may need at-home assistance from a senior care professional. When Is At-Home Senior Care Necessary?
At Visiting Angels, our caregivers provide high-quality at-home senior care to families in need, so we know what kinds of situations make senior care necessary. We’ve helped countless families navigate the decision around senior care, and we can do the same for you.
Are you concerned that a parent or relative may need at-home senior care? If so, the following signs may let you know whether or not you and your loved one can benefit from professional care:
You Find Yourself Overwhelmed
Does caring for your parent or relative eat up most of your free time? Do you regularly find yourself tired, overworked, or exhausted from the burden of caregiving? Are you finding it hard to make time for work, family, or relationships due to the time you spend caring for your loved one?
If so, at-home senior care may be exactly what you need. Professional caregivers provide much needed respite for overwhelmed family members charged with the care of a loved one. One option you may wish to explore is part-time care, which will allow you to manage the amount of time, effort, and energy you spend caring for your parent or relative.
Your Loved One Is Starting to Struggle
Often, the need for at-home senior care stems from challenges and difficulties related to advanced aging. Generally, these challenges fall into one of three categories: physical, mental, or emotional.
Physical Challenges. As your loved one ages, they may begin to struggle with movement, balance, everyday tasks, or bodily functions. These kinds of challenges can be tough to deal with. Sometimes you may feel physically overmatched. Other times, your loved one may be embarrassed to ask for your help and would prefer the help offered by a non-family member.
Mental Challenges. Problems with memory can occur naturally with aging, making it difficult to leave a loved one unattended. Even bigger challenges are posed by memory disorders like dementia or Alzheimer’s, which can be tough to handle without the help of a professional and are often particularly taxing on family members.
Emotional Challenges. Aging can sometimes trigger feelings of depression or loneliness. Blue feelings can be brought about or made worse by the death of friends or the loss of a spouse. If you find that your loved one is struggling with mood or emotional issues, you may find that a service such as companion care can help.
You Worry About Leaving Them on Their Own
You can’t be in two places at once, so it can be tough to make sure someone’s there to look after your loved one. If you find that you worry about leaving your loved one at home alone, then at-home senior can help. A care provider will be able to watch over your parent or relative throughout the day, ensuring someone is always there in case anything happens.
Distance Is Getting in the Way
In today’s world, many of us live miles and miles away from our loved ones. While phone calls and emails can keep you connected, they’re not enough when your loved one starts to struggle with day-to-day living. In this case, you may wish to explore long distance at-home senior care. Long distance care programs help families look after and regularly check-in on aging loved ones – all without the need for a red-eye flight or several hours on the highway.
If you find yourself in need of at-home senior care, contact your local Visiting Angels office. Our at-home senior care providers help the elderly and their families make aging at home easier.
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