Seniors ETC - In-home senior, parent, companion care, hospice support in Colorado

On June 16, 2007, the FBI announced that they had discovered and were going to inform over 1 million home computer users that their computer had been hijacked to become a botnet. Botnets are created by hackers and malware writers who infect computers with viruses and Trojans that let them remotely control and take over a computer. They amass untold numbers of zombie computers from which they launch massive waves of spam, malware, ‘phishing’ attacks, denial-of-service attacks, identity theft, and to hide images of child pornography. Owners of these zombie computers generally have no awareness or sign that their computer is infected and controlled, at will, by someone else. The computer will typically operate normally; sometimes it will operate considerably slower when infected.

There is an insidious Post Script to this problem. The FBI warns that there will most likely be scam campaigns where con artists pose as FBI agents asking for information about you and your ‘infected’ computer so they can assist to cure your problem.

A few suggestions:
* If you have a high-speed Internet connection, turn off your computer when not in use;
* The FBI will not contact victims online concerning this issue. Remember that a government agency, your bank and/or credit card company will not contact you by E-mail concerning financial or personal issues;
* Make sure you have a good firewall installed and that it is turned on. Personal Computer magazine (www.pcmag.com) may be a source to evaluate firewall programs. Additionally, the Website for the Kim Komando National Radio Computer Program (www.komando.com) will compare computer products and offer free downloads;
* Trend Micro, a computer software company, will provide a free analysis of your computer (they ask for a donation to a charity). Go to www.trendmicro.com and click on the ‘Housecalls’ icon. They will remotely scan your computer for viruses and other damaging infections.

For more assistance, call the
CASE Fraud Hotline: 303-271-6980

CASE is a Partnership of the District Attorney and the Community to Prevent Financial Exploitation                                                                 

Today’s full time workers have a lot on their plate. They work a full workweek, often including overtime hours. They head home and concentrate on family life, spending time with spouses, children and other family activities. And now more than ever, they spend time at their parents’ homes taking care of daily chores they can’t attend to themselves.

Baby boomers today are now in their 40’s and 50’s, with a wide range of responsibilities. Because their parents are in their 70’s, 80’s and beyond, they are also facing the facts of making decisions for their parents; a responsibility that is often difficult and time consuming. It’s also having a huge impact on businesses, and employee productivity.

According to The MetLife Caregiving Costs Study: Productivity Losses to U.S. Business, produced jointly between MetLife Mature Market Institute and the National Alliance for Caregiving, U.S. businesses lose between $17.1 billion to $33.6 billion per year on employees taking time off to care for elderly family members. This is an increase of $4 billion in each category up from 10 years previously. And as baby boomers continue to age, this number will also continue to rise proportionately.

Today’s caregivers make up about 21 percent of the working population. They spend time shuffling their elderly loved ones to appointments, or spending time caring for their needs. Because of the changes in insurance and pension options, caregivers are opting to take on more responsibility, and bypassing the traditional elderly care options.

Increasingly men are also taking on the role of caregiver. Currently about 39 percent of caregivers are men assuming the primary caregiver position. Not only are they assuming this caregiver role, but they are also tackling it while holding down a full time managerial or executive position.

All of this is helping change the way businesses are handling employee relations. With these statistics, it’s easy to see why employers need to being making concessions for today’s caregivers, and take a proactive approach to caregiving in the future.

To start, an employer needs to move beyond awareness, and create programs to help their employees through different stages of life.

Education can begin in the workplace. Many employers offer brown bag lunch seminars, or other resources to offer ideas and solutions to their employees. In many cases, just knowing about resources and help in your community can take some of the burden off day-to-day chores.

Human resource departments are also beginning to hire geriatric managers that can help an employee assess their situation, and make recommendations based on the needs of the employee and his or her family.

Flexible work hours are also becoming more acceptable. Because of a variety of family needs, being able to come in early, or work later into the evening can be a big benefit. Telecommuting is also becoming an option with the high tech options available to employers.

Above all, being open to ideas and possibilities will be key in the future. As the needs of the elderly continue to increase, only time will tell how well employers can handle their needs. To be successful in the future will demand a variety of options, and the ability to change.

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Jonnelle Leimbach is the co-owner and President of Seniors Etc, an in-home caregiver company helping seniors stay in their homes for as long as possible. Seniors Etc currently serves the Denver Metro area in Colorado, and provides a variety of services, including light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders, hospice assist, respite care and companionship. Sign up for our report, How To Tell When Your Family Is Ready For Homecare at http://seniorsetc.com/

What if 33% of all seniors in this country could receive up to $1,800 a month in additional income from the government to cover their long term care costs? They can! Under the right circumstances, a little-known federal program will pay additional income to cover long term care costs for at least 1/3 of all US senior households. But the provisions of this program are such a well-kept secret that only 4.6% of eligible seniors are actually receiving the benefit. The great news about this program is the government will pay you to hire your family, friends or just about anyone to take care of you. The program is called “VA Pension.”

Only about 520,000 people are currently receiving Pension from the Veterans Benefits Administration and these are not all elderly. At the most, this number represents only about 4.6% of the eligible 11,400,000 senior households — 33% of the US senior population. Based on the incidence of long term care in the elderly, about 22% of eligibles or about 2,500,000 people should be receiving pension. That’s roughly five times more persons than are receiving it now.

Most people who have heard about Pension know that it will cover the costs of assisted living and, in some cases, cover nursing home costs as well. But the majority of those receiving long term care in this country are in their homes. Estimates are that approximately 70% to 80% of all long term care is being provided in the home. All of the information available about Pension overlooks the fact that this benefit could be used to pay for home care.

It also comes as a surprise to most people that VA will allow veterans’ households to include the annual cost of paying any person such as family members, friends or hired help for care when calculating the Pension benefit. This annual cost is deducted from household income and used to calculate a lower “countable income” which in turn enables families to receive this disability income from VA. Even though VA claims the benefit is for low income families, because of the deduction for care costs, households earning between $3,000 and $6,000 a month can still qualify for Pension.

This extra income can be a welcome benefit for families struggling to provide eldercare for loved ones at home. Under the right circumstances, this annualized medical expense for the cost of family members, friends or any other person providing care, could create an additional household income of up to $976 a month for a single surviving spouse of a veteran, up to $1,520 a month for a single veteran or up to $1,800 a month for a couple.

If the disabled care recipient has been rated “housebound” or in need of “aid and attendance” by VA, all fees paid to an in-home attendant will be allowed as long as the attendant provides some medical or nursing services for the disabled person. The attendant does not have to be a licensed health professional. There is also no need to distinguish between medical and nonmedical services — all are deductible.

It is our understanding that a nonlicensed in-home attendant could be just about anyone receiving pay for providing services. This might be members of the family, friends, or someone hired to live in the home. Examples of medical or nursing services would be help with activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, toileting, ambulating, feeding, diapering and so on. Other services might include medication reminders or supervision necessary to provide a protective environment for the care recipient — in the case of dementia or Alzheimer’s.

For a disabled person who has been rated, a family member will be considered an in-home attendant, but that family member has to be paid for services duly rendered. There is potential for fraud here where a family member may move into the home and ostensibly receive payment as a caregiver but not actually provide the level of care paid for. Documentation for this care must be provided to VA, and it is reasonable for VA to question whether the services being purchased from a family member living in the household are legitimate. Such arrangements should be extensively documented and completely arm’s-length.

The care arrangements and payment for home care must be made prior to application and there must be evidence that this care is needed on an ongoing and regular basis. We recommend a formal care contract and weekly invoice billing for services. Money must exchange hands and there must be evidence of this. All of this documentation must be provided as proof to VA when making application for the pension benefit. Costs for these services must be unreimbursed; meaning these costs are not paid by insurance, by contributions from the family or from other sources.

Information for this article came from the website — www.veteransaidbenefit.org. This website is not sponsored by the government but the site is currently the only complete source for information on the Pension benefit other than VA.

When your elderly family member reaches the point of needing assistance, it’s a very emotional time for both you and your family member. In many cases your elderly relative may not look at the situation the same way you do, and the stress of the situation can leave you overwhelmed.

Today there are many options available to you; and in many cases, in-home care may be the one with the largest benefits. But before you hire an in-home care provider, do your research. This person may spend a lot of time with your loved one. Make sure you trust the caregiver, and have confidence in the company.

Here are 7 tips to help you find a reputable in-home care company.
 
1. Look at the reputation of the company. A quality senior care company will have years of experience and will have good standing within the community. Does the company participate in local community events? Are they active in a variety of community activities?

2. Verify the credentials of the owners, management, and officers. A quality company starts at the top. Spend time visiting with one or two of the management members, if possible. Or spend some time researching the company, and discover what impact they have made on the community. A quality company will have heavy ties with the community, and will have positive reviews in many places.

3. Verify the credentials of the in-home care representatives. Before allowing anyone into the life of your elderly relative, evaluate and verify his or her credentials. In today’s high tech world, it’s easy to Google a person and find out information – good or bad. Be comfortable with the care representative before relying on them wholeheartedly.

4. Look at the company’s training requirements. What type of ongoing training do they provide for their caregivers? Keep in mind that different types of aides will have different levels of training. Select the agency that can provide you with the options you are looking for today.

5. Determine the payment options available to you. Does the company work with insurance providers and government programs? The more options available, the better connected the company may be.

6. Determine the fee structure and cost of programs. Reputable companies will have their entire fee structure specified in a simplified manner. You won’t find any ‘hidden’ costs, and everything will fit together in convenient packages. Make sure you ask about any additional fees, such as travel time, food expense for the aides, and any incidentals that may arise.

7. Determine the supervisory structure of the company. What is the communication process with the company? Many reputable in-home care companies provide you with an account manager, and allow you to communicate regularly with him or her. This person should be able to continually assess your needs, and provide you with additional resources, as needed.

Jonnelle Leimbach is the co-owner and President of Seniors Etc, an in-home caregiver company helping seniors stay in their homes for as long as possible. Seniors Etc currently serves the Denver Metro area in Colorado, and provides a variety of services, including light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders, hospice assist, respite care and companionship. Sign up for our report, How To Tell When Your Family Is Ready For Homecare at http://seniorsetc.com/

For many adult children, the thought of putting their aging parents into an assisted living facility is a difficult, and sometimes almost impossible decision. It’s hard to look at the people that took care of us and made decisions for us, not being able to make decisions on their own.

Yet for thousands of adults, that is a reality.

Thanks to today’s resources, more elderly are putting off the necessity of moving into assisted living facilities, and instead living comfortably in their homes with in-home care. In-home care offers a wide array of non-medical help, and can provide elderly with many different services, including help with meal preparation and medicine reminders, light housekeeping, and even travel companionship.

In order to offer these services to the elderly in your life, it’s important that you begin talking about it early on. Don’t wait until it’s a necessity in your lives; instead, bring up the topic early on, and have it become a welcome opportunity in your parents’ lives.

Below are 7 tips to help you introduce in-home care to your aging parents.

1. Start discussing the different options with your parents early on. Don’t wait until its too late, and you have an immediate need. Instead, introduce a few simple services while your parents are still in relatively good health, and can help you make the decision.

2. Communicate clearly and with a purpose. Have your ideas planned out, and have responses to any questions or arguments you anticipate from your parents. Remember to stay as calm as possible, and allow some room for your parents to make choices. Their independence may feel threatened, so allow them some room to make their own choices.

3. Help your parents establish good documentation and record keeping skills. While your parents are in good health, it’s easier to accumulate everything into one central location. Have them pull together doctors records, insurance information, estate information, wills, living wills, investment and financial information. It may be difficult for them to share this information with you, but explain the necessity of having it together in one location.

4. Become a resource. If your parents are missing key pieces of information, or are unaware of some of the options available to them, become a resource. Supply them with community resources, forms for Medicare and Medicaid, long-term care insurance options, and financial planning resources. 

5. Provide several options. Nobody likes to be told how to do something, especially your parents. They have always been there to provide for you; turning the tables can be a difficult moment. Instead, give them choices. They will feel more responsible and more accepting to the situation if they have had some choice in the matter.

6. Consistently evaluate the situation. If you have in-home are, its easier to make assessments. Communicate with your care manager regularly, and discuss your options. Also listen to your parents, and find out how they feel. Will simple adjustments make them happier? Sometimes small changes can make all the difference in the world.

7. Remember you aren’t alone. If you have family members near by, involve them in the decision making process. If that’s not an option, find local resources in your community to help. Many people face these same situations every day. Find support centers that can steer you in the right direction, and provide you with good reliable resources to help you through these changing times.

Jonnelle Leimbach is the co-owner and President of Seniors Etc, an in-home caregiver company helping seniors stay in their homes for as long as possible. Seniors Etc currently serves the Denver Metro area in Colorado, and provides a variety of services, including light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders, hospice assist, respite care and companionship. Sign up for our report, How To Tell When Your Family Is Ready For Homecare at http://seniorsetc.com/