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

When you begin suspecting your parent or loved one has Alzheimer’s or dementia, make a commitment to yourself to begin gathering data. Even though your loved one may not admit she’s having memory trouble, or may not even go in to the doctor’s for an official diagnosis, there’s no better time than to start the organization process.

Put together a list of all insurance policies. Include companies, agent’s information, policy numbers and details. Ask about health, life, long term care, long term disability, home and car insurance.

Put together a list of all bank related information. Where does she have accounts, bank account numbers, detailed information, and where she keeps her safety deposit boxes.

Put together a file of important paper work. Include Wills, Veteran’s Administration paperwork, stocks, bonds, property deeds, mortgages, power of attorneys, car titles.

Now’s the time to initiate items that may be insufficient. Talk about updating wills, creating power of attorneys, and beliefs and wishes concerning living wills. 

List major assets. Jewelry, artwork, and other valuables will have more meaning if you understand the history behind it, and know its true value.

photo source Wade From Oklahoma

Sometimes you realize you need options after a medical crises opens your eyes. Other times it’s a slow and gradual process. In either case, you suddenly realize that your loved one needs some type of care. But what options are available? What’s the best choice for you?

1.  Self Care. Usually the easiest and natural way to provide care is to simply do it yourself. Your loved one relies on you to get things done, and slowly you take on more responsibilities in your loved one’s home.

2. In Home Care. When you find yourself in overwhelm and can’t keep up with managing your home and your loved one’s, you may decide to turn to in home care. This allows you more freedom, and allows your loved one to get the professional care she needs. In some cases it will also allow your loved one to remain in her home - a place she loves and feels secure in - much longer than any other way.

3. Adult Day Care. A place to take your loved one where she will receive supervision while you can’t be with her. Adult day cares offer supervised activities to stimulate your loved one and help her remain active.

4. Assisted Living. Assisted living facilities offer you a place where your loved one can have the privacy she wants, and the access to care she needs.

5. Nursing Care. When your loved one needs 24 hour assistance, she has two options: 24 hour in-home care or a nursing facility. Both provide the attention to detail you need.

photo source paolotich

When Jenny’s mom first went into the hospital, she started doing a few things around her home. She started getting it into order for the day she recovered and came back to resume her normal life.

After weeks of recovery, Jenny’s mom did come home - but not in the same state as before she went into the hospital. It was the little things that Jenny first started to notice. Her mom had trouble bathing herself. She couldn’t keep the house as clean as she once did. She wasn’t getting health meals on a regular basis.

While many of us need a helping hand to get back on our feet after surgery, there are some cases when a full recovery just isn’t possible. Long term care focuses on helping people cope  with carrying on life with a reduced level of functioning over a long period of time - possibly even for life. There isn’t the possibility of recovery from a medical condition, instead the focus is on accepting and living with the current conditions. 

Long term care isn’t synonymous with nursing home or assisted living. In many cases a person can continue to live in their home with some help from family, friends or in-home care.

For the most part, long term care is not covered by insurance or Medicaid. Because the person is not in recovery, it’s not seen as a medical issue. Instead, the costs will be absorbed by the individual or her family. Or with long term care insurance.

In many cases your loved one may still be available for long term care insurance, depending on her medical condition. The best way to find out if this is an option for you is to contact a financial planner or insurance agent with specialization in long term care.

Photo source valike