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

Whether you are taking care of a parent or loved one, or have an in home care giver come into your loved one’s home, there are certain things you should have readily available at all times as the caregiver.

Use this checklist to create an information sheet and have it readily available. Tuck one into your loved one’s purse or wallet. Hang one on their refrigerator for easy access. Keep one with you as well.

• Health Insurance Plan Number
• Medicare Number
• Medicaid Number
• Doctors’ names, specialties, addresses and phone numbers
• Health care providers names, specialties, addresses and phone numbers
• In Home health care providers’ names, specialties, addresses and phone numbers
• Current medications, including name of drug, dosage, and how often taken

You may also wish to keep a second checklist available for you and immediate family members.

• Location of important documents, including living will, will, power of attorney, birth certificate, divorce decree, property deeds and safe deposit boxes.
• Sources of income, including where it’s coming from and how much
• Bank accounts
• Investments, including CDs, stocks, bonds, mutal funds, IRAs
• Insurance policies
• Funeral and Burial information
• Social security numbers

Studies continually show that seniors thrive far more when living in their own homes with their comfortable surroundings than when they are placed in assisted living or nursing homes. 

With 4.2 million Americans currently over the age of 85, and the number expecting to grow to 5.9 million by 2014, the need for in home care is definitely growing. The exploding need for long term care is changing the way we look at health care, and especially long term care. And in some cases, has policy experts worried over the quality of businesses being started in this industry.

While many of us are used to looking into the quality of day care facilities for our children, it’s equally important that you spend the time looking at the quality of the services offered by the care giving facility for your elderly loved one. In many ways the senior population is just as vulnerable as children, often not being able to speak for themselves.

To make sure you have a reputable caregiving service provider, do your due diligence. Ask for references. Look towards the community to see how active they are. Do your research. Just by typing the company into Google and doing a few searches you can often discover a world of information.

Has your life been touched by Alzheimer’s or dementia?

According to the 2007 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, one out of eight people 65 and older, and nearly one out of every two over the age of 85 has it. Currently in the United States there are more than 5 million people living with Alzheimer’s and almost 10 million caring for someone with the disease.

For early stage patients, concentrate on giving a gift that will help them through the early states of the disease.

Keep them organized with things such as magnetic reminder refrigerator pads, baskets and trays for labeling, journal or notebook for hand reminders, and erasable whiteboards for each room of the house. Create memorable calendars, notepads, and other items using family photos. Be sure to record important dates, such as birthdays, to help alleviate stress.

Also look for items that can help with daily activities in new and fun ways. Memory phones offer the ability to store family and friends’ numbers, and be easily connected by pushing a button with a photograph. Clocks come in all shapes and sizes, and can provide large type and displays. Consider a clock that tells the day of the week, dates, as well as time.

Want to add some entertainment to your loved one’s life? Try taking him out to a play, concert, sporting event, or museum. A CD or DVD can also bring enjoyment. Or consider scrapbooks or other craft projects that bring social activity into his/her life.

Have a caregiver in your life? Don’t forget this special person during the holidays. Provide them with a gift to help relieve stress, or provides a few hours of free time.

Gift certificates, either handmade within the family or through a service, for items like house cleaning, meal preparation, lawn mowing/snow removal, laundry services, and personal pampering such as massages, facials or manicures/pedicures.

Books are also great gifts. Try giving a novel-for-pleasure paired with a book created to assist caregivers, such as:
· “Alzheimer’s: A Caregiver’s Guide and Sourcebook,” by H. Gruetzner
· “Caring for Your Parents In Their Senior Years: A Guide For Grown-up Children” by William Molloy

Above all, give of yourself. Whether you have a caregiver, a loved one with Alzheimer’s, or both, time is the most precious gift you can give. Give your time throughout this holiday season. Ask what means the most to them. You’ll all be rewarded!

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/

The days are long. Often there is no message of “thanks” or “I appreciate you”. In fact at times it can be down right difficult to make it through the day.

The life of a caregiver can be all consuming. In fact family caregivers suffer from major depression much more frequently than the rest of the population. Yet when a caregiver suffers, ultimately so does the family member or friend he or she is taking care of.

If you are a caregiver, or have a caregiver in your life, learn to watch for the warning signs of depression. Depression is more than feeling sad, or being unhappy. It’s a disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss or frustration last for long periods of time, and actually interfere with everyday life.

Depression is usually triggered by stressful or unhappy life events, and caregiving can play on both. Family caregiving is considered the most stressful experience because of the high emotions and attachment to the patient. Family caregivers caring for a parent experience symptoms of depression twice as often as non-caregivers, and family caregiving spouses experience symptoms six times as often as non-caregivers.

One of the quickest ways of determining whether you are experiencing symptoms of depression is to take a depression-screening test. You can find resources online, such as depression-screening.org, or consult with your physician. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help.

As a family caregiver, ask for both emotional and physical help from the beginning. Don’t wait until you become overwhelmed. Ask other family members for support, and reach out to your community, such as your church group. The more connected you feel to others, the less isolated you will feel.

Be conscious of what you are capable of. Planning is often one of the best steps to prevention, as it allows you to limit your activities to those things that matter most to you. Don’t be afraid to say no, and don’t take on more than you can handle. Realize caregiving often takes more time than you imagine, and constantly worrying about other activities will not only add to your stress, but also to your loved one.

If you think you are becoming overwhelmed, or have feelings of depression, start connecting with others. Talk to you doctor and seek medical help. Also reach out to caregiving communicates that can put you in touch with like-minded people. Check with your doctors for local resources, or jump online and join family caregiver discussion groups, such as the boards on National Family Caregivers Association’s website nfcacares.org. 

Remember to take care of yourself first. You won’t be able to care for your loved one if you are sick or in the hospital. Taking care of you is the start of taking care of your loved one.

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/

We are a charitable and giving nation. Assistance provided to needy families during the holiday season is just one reminder of how good-hearted Americans prove themselves to be. Unfortunately our benevolent nature is one more area that criminals may exploit.

Many people review their financial and tax status at year’s end and make a gift to a charity. These gifts of generosity need to be made with wisdom and some investigation. Please recall that no Federal law exists governing how charities or non-profits spend any certain portion of the funds they raise for the programs and services they state to support. Consequently, the charitable giver should check out the organization receiving their donor gift. Some suggestions follow:

• You may receive a report on how a particular charity uses its funds by calling the Better Business Bureau or downloading a report online at www.give.org or www.charitynavigator.org;
• If you receive a telephone solicitation from a charity, do not immediately pledge funds; ask that a charitable report be sent and check them out first;
• Remember that crooks can imitate a charity when contacting you by telephone or e-mail; you never know who is really at the end of the line when you receive an unsolicited contact. Never give out a bank account or credit card number when a contact has been initiated with you by telephone, e-mail, or U.S mail;
• Use caution when you hear the name of a charity. It is not unusual for less reputable or fraudulent endeavors to find a close imitation to an established and well-known charity. For example, instead of the “American Red Cross” it might be “The United States Red Cross.”
• Make a “Charitable Plan” for your giving each year and stick to it; try not to give on impulse.

Source: Office of Jefferson/Gilpin Counties District Attorney Scott Storey

AARP has listed a consumer alert on ways to avoid telemarketer scams, and what to do if you fall for a “good deal” on a phone call. If you make a purchase that you later regret, and want to prevent unwanted phone calls:

Re-register for the do not call list.

Check caller ID before answering phone calls.

Never make an instant decision. Get a phone number and call back later after you’ve had time to think about it.

File a complaint if you receive unwanted calls.

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