Category Archives: Outside Resources

Tips for Hiring Help for Your Senior Parent

Posted on January 25, 2010 by jpon| 2 Comments

By Joe Ponepinto

Many seniors who are healthy enough to stay in their homes, rather than move to a care facility or move in with relatives, prefer to remain in an environment that they know and feel comfortable in. But often these seniors need a little help around the house, whether it’s cleaning, doing laundry, or personal care like bathing. If children can’t provide it, then hiring a service or agency may be an option.

Before you or your parent enters into such an arrangement, there are a few steps to consider to make sure the safety of the senior is not at stake. Here are a few tips for hiring in-home help for seniors. These come from the California Bar Foundation.

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Posted in Care Givers, Elder Heath, Family Issues, Financial Issues, Insurance, Outside Resources

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Coping with the Stress of Senior Home Care

Posted on December 15, 2009 by jpon| Leave a comment

This article was submitted by Linda Dunkelberger, a freelance writer and editor working for Visiting Angels (www.visitingangels.com). Visiting Angels is a nationwide senior home care provider that helps seniors with everyday tasks, errands, meals, transportation, and more.

Caring for aging parents or loved ones carries a lot of responsibility and a range of emotions. No matter how much love you have in your heart, carrying the load of caring for your loved one will leave you drained physically, emotionally and possibly financially. Coping with the stress of senior home care has to be managed or you will not be an effective caregiver.

Managing the stress of senior home care is all about taking charge. Take charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment and the way you deal with problems and unexpected situations. The ultimate goal of coping with the stress of senior home care is to achieve a balanced life.

Suggestions to reduce, prevent, and cope with the stress of senior home care:

Senior home care requires organization: Organize your time and your schedule. Write everything down so that you or another family member has reference to phone numbers, doctors, medications, in-home senior care providers, important insurance and financial numbers.

Start a personal journal: Share your feelings about the stress of senior home care. Writing down your thoughts will help you to take charge of your emotions.

Prioritize your health and well-being. Nurturing yourself is a necessary not a luxury. Healthy ways to relax and recharge:

  • Go for a walk
  • Call a good friend
  • Sweat out the tension with a good workout
  • Write in your journal
  • Curl up with a good book
  • Take a long bath
  • Eat healthy and exercise regularly
  • Play with your pet
  • Work in your garden
  • Listen to music
  • Savor a cup of warm coffee or tea

Give yourself a break: Enlist the help of a professional senior home care provider. These professionals can provide daily or weekly help for everyday chores, errands, hygiene, meals or transportation needs. Some senior home care providers can also provide a respite from your responsibilities with as little as 15-minutes notice.

Coping with the stress of senior home care is the only possible way to be an effective caregiver to your loved ones. Your mental and physical health must take priority or you will not be able to manage what needs to be done.

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Posted in Care Givers, Elder Heath, Emotional Issues, Family Issues, Medical Issues, Outside Resources, Stress

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Taking Care of Your Aging Parent’s Spiritual Matters

Posted on November 25, 2009 by jpon| Leave a comment

Submitted by Richard Hetzler

My brother had worked with my mother many years before she came to Chicago to outline her desires for funeral services.  One of her requests was for me to do the readings at her funeral mass.  When mother moved near me, I contacted the local Catholic Church, and found that there is a book, “Through Death to Life,” which allowed me to plan all the readings and songs ahead of time.

I selected the passages I would read, then later selected songs and other readings.  I was able to determine her comfort with many songs and readings, without specifically referencing a funeral.  When her death came, being able to simply fax the printed outline to the church removed a burden during that difficult time.

Once mother was under hospice care, one of the services offered was a chaplain.  I was skeptical, but gave it a try.  These turned out to be very well qualified chaplains who are sensitive to individual religious preferences.  Ours was a Methodist minister who did an excellent job of meeting the needs of a Catholic person, even saying the rosary with her.  This turned out to be a valuable service, and they earned my greatest respect for how they handled the situation.

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Posted in Emotional Issues, Faith Issues, Family Issues, Outside Resources

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Congress Debates Adding Long-Term Care to Health Bill

Posted on November 22, 2009 by jpon| 1 Comment

By Joe Ponepinto

Recently the House of Representatives voted to include a long-term care benefit in the pending health-care legislation. The Senate is still debating whether to include that option. Whatever they decide, a federal program would likely only cover part of the cost of long-term care for most people. That means the decisions about whether and when to purchase this coverage are still up the individual.

Long-term care insurance requires policyholders to pay premiums in advance of them needing a long-term care facility. Premiums vary widely depending on the insured’s age. According to Consumer Reports, a plan that costs a 50-year-old $1,625 annually will run a 60-year-old $3,100 and a 70-year-old $7,575. So it might seem that purchasing earlier would save money, and many insurance agents encourage people as young as 40 to buy at a lower monthly cost. But consider that you can’t actually use the policy until you qualify for what is defined in the policy as “long-term care,” which for many people isn’t until age 80 or beyond. That means up to 40 years of premiums, or more, with no return. Although there’s no perfect age to begin coverage, some experts say 60 is a good time to start. But also remember that it is harder to qualify for a policy as you get older. One out of four 65-year-olds flunk the physical; at 75, it’s one in three.

Whether you need it or not is another matter. Currently, average nursing-home costs for a semiprivate room are $198 a day, while home health aides get $21 per hour, according to a survey from MetLife Inc.’s Mature Market Institute. (A pdf file of the survey is here.) Those rates are bound to go up. The federal benefit being discussed would pay only $75 per day, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The costs can deplete an average person’s savings very quickly. Personal and family health histories can be factors in determining when you might need this benefit, but no one can predict this with any accuracy.

If you do decide to purchase long-term care coverage, one of the most important aspects to weigh is what, exactly, the policy considers to be the qualification for long-term care. Policies vary widely in what they will pay for. Many only pay 50 percent for in-home care, so at $10.50 per hour it adds up fast.

A federal option for long-term care would eventually change how much insurance each person needs, but it probably won’t eliminate the need to carry some additional insurance. It’s good to understand the options no matter what the government decides.

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Posted in Care Givers, Elder Heath, Family Issues, Financial Issues, Insurance, Outside Resources

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Many Options Allow You to Customize Wheelchairs for Parents

Posted on November 15, 2009 by jpon| Leave a comment

By Susan Melanie Levy

There are many devices designed to aid seniors physically, and of course many of these come in various levels of quality. During the seven years I helped care for my mother I learned just how important the differences can be.

My mother suffered from a form of polio when she was a child, and when she became older she had a great deal of trouble with her legs. Doctors prefer for people to try to stay on their feet as long as possible, so mom progressed from walking to the use of a cane, to a walker, but finally, after two falls, she needed a wheelchair.

When it came to selecting a wheelchair we were amazed at the level of options available. Mom first visited the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta, where the technicians tested and measured her. Then they customized the wheelchair she would receive to make it as functional as possible, and give her freedom to move around. Although it took a couple of months to have the chair built, it was worth the wait. When the chair was delivered the techs also provided training so we both understood its uses and functions.

Her chair had a tilt that could be employed to take pressure off her spine. It also was designed to go anywhere in her facility, including the beauty shop, and it adjusted to the stylists’ height, so mother didn’t even have to switch chairs. It was a great help to her during some difficult times.

If your parent needs special equipment to support their physical needs, it’s definitely worth it to check out all the options available, so your mom or dad still has as much freedom as possible.

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Posted in Care Givers, Elder Heath, Family Issues, Medical Issues, Outside Resources, Safety

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Moving Your Aging Parent

Posted on October 23, 2009 by jpon| 2 Comments

Contributed by Richard Hetzler

My mother lived to be almost 98, and in the course of her aging my brother and sister and I had to move her several times, from her home to facilities that provided increasingly greater levels of assisted living. As we learned through those years, moving a parent can become a very trying experience.

In moving from Arizona to Dallas my mother was fully capable, both physically and mentally. She had much more than would fit in her new apartment, but stood firm that her long sofa must accompany her. We had to arrange for many things to be moved from the house to be auctioned off. Much of the remainder was loaded onto a trailer and donated to charity. It was difficult for her to watch that, but she accepted the decisions.

A move to Chicago was discussed with her, and she accepted it. She was at that point willing to accept our decisions on most of what was to go, and how the move was handled.

The key is to understand and comply with the parent’s desire to control the move. We had developed a great deal of trust and respect prior to the moves, but there were still difficult decisions that needed to be made. You can advise and recommend, but the final decision must be left to the parent.

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Posted in Emotional Issues, Family Issues, General Information, Moving Your Parent(s), Outside Resources

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A Basic Checklist For Managing Loved Ones’ Affairs

Posted on October 13, 2009 by jpon| 1 Comment

By Lynn O’Hearn Wagner

Our friend Lynn O’Hearn Wagner experienced many of the same issues our readers do while caring for her mother. She has compiled the following basic checklist as an introductory guide to caring for aging parents.

1)    Financial and Medical Power of Attorneys – this enables you to quickly access funds and make medical decisions. Without the Medical Power of Attorney, you aren’t allowed to make any changes in medical care or place your loved one in a facility. The parent also needs to specify “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR) requests.

2)    Placing your name on banking and investment documents. If you have the Power of Attorney, you can do this after your loved one passes away. Try to avoid having to do so “after the fact” and plan ahead (the emotional burden of handling this after a loved one passes is significant).

3)    Medical insurance information and the medications a loved one is taking. You’re the one who will be called to Emergency; the hospital needs this information to admit a patient. In addition, a list of surgeries is helpful. It’s tough to remember everything in a crisis.

4)    Know if there are any survivor benefits (pensions or life insurance benefits). Having the phone numbers of the institutions managing any pensions would be icing on the cake! My Mom was not lucid immediately after my dad’s passing and as a result, wasn’t aware there was a death benefit. In addition, she could not remember the survivor information. It took me several days to locate this data, and it took an emotional toll.

5)    Your parents should tell you where they store important papers such as tax returns, pension documentation, safety deposit box keys etc… My Dad served in a special service unit in World War II; as a result he was entitled to special honors at his funeral service. However, the Army veteran’s group required his discharge papers as proof (luckily, we found the documents). It would have been helpful to know where the documents were located.

6)    Nursing Homes, Board and Care and Assisted Living Faculties: It’s a good idea to create a notebook that summarizes available facilities and choices. You can also add personal notes after you’ve toured a facility.

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Posted in Care Givers, Elder Heath, Emotional Issues, Family Issues, Financial Issues, Medical Issues, Outside Resources

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Coordinating Billing for Your Aging Parent’s Health Care

Posted on September 10, 2009 by jpon| Leave a comment

One of our readers has submitted a guest column regarding billing services for people struggling with the many tasks involved in caring for aging parents. The names have been withheld by request.

My mother, who is 73, has suffered from an atypical form of bi-polar disorder for the past 40 years. This means she often doesn’t respond to the medications prescribed by her doctors, and sometimes has to be institutionalized for anywhere from three weeks to nine months.

For years, my sisters and I tried to manage her health care ourselves, juggling her living arrangements (we had to move her six times), doctor and hospital visits and prescription needs, as well as dealing with insurance companies and Medicare. As you might imagine, her constantly changing condition placed a tremendous strain on the family—it was basically a full-time job—and after struggling with the weight of all these health care issues for years, we finally decided that it was too much. We began to do research that would allow us to surround our mother with professionals, in both health care and related fields.

One business that has been invaluable to us, and which many people caring for aging parents may not be aware of, is a professional billing service. This is a company that coordinates all the bills from health care providers, and acts as our representative to make sure everything is paid and that services we are billed for were delivered for anticipated amounts.

As you probably know, insurance billing practices are sometimes fraught with errors. For a situation like ours, the avalanche of insurance forms and invoices were almost impossible to manage. Our service provider not only coordinates the bills and provides us with a simple monthly amount due, she works with doctors and insurance companies to make sure everything invoiced was delivered with no duplicate or unauthorized charges. She also obtains refunds, negotiates discounts, investigates and resolves collection notices, and appeals denied claims. Businesses like this are certainly worth their hourly fee to families in our situation.

To find a billing service in your area, I recommend a Google search that includes “billing service” and your city.

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Posted in Family Issues, Financial Issues, Outside Resources

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Finding a Specialist in Geriatric Medicine

Posted on August 4, 2009 by jstarkweather| 6 Comments

By Judy Starkweather

When my Mom moved to Atlanta, I needed to find a new doctor for her.  I received a recommendation from someone at the Assisted Living Facility where she would be residing and made an appointment. After each visit, however, I had to make additional appointments with specialists, which meant carting my 91 year old Mom from one to another. It was tough since I was working full time. My mother wasn’t very helpful. She was always saying “Why are you taking me to another doctor? I’m sick of doctors!”

I learned that the Assisted Living Facility had a doctor who did “house calls” at the facility every Thursday. It sounded convenient, but the doctor always arrived at different times, so I seldom got a chance to connect with him and he eventually stopped coming to the facility all together.

I finally discovered that there were doctors called “geriatricians,” who deal exclusively with the elderly. When Mom had another fall, my sister and I went to work to find one. Unfortunately there aren’t too many of them out there and the one that was recommended to us wasn’t taking new patients. Could it possibly be this hard to find the right doctor?

I was getting desperate so I asked my personal physician and she recommended a very good one in the same office, who wasn’t a geriatrician, but who worked with many older people. After almost four years, we finally had our doctor!

This one truly understands the problems specific to the aging, and it’s made managing my Mom’s health care so much easier. She’s even trying to reduce the number of medications she takes, which is something my sister and I had been trying to do for years. She is also associated with the hospital nearest the Assisted Living Facility and will be able to guide her treatment the next time the inevitable occurs and she lands in the hospital. This is another important thing to consider.

The American Geriatrics Society has a Web site (http://www.americangeriatrics.org/) with a great deal of information about caring for your aging parents. If you go there, you’ll see that they are also concerned about the shortage of geriatricians in the country. Hopefully, as more of the population ages this specialty will become a more popular practice among doctors.

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Posted in Elder Heath, Medical Issues, Outside Resources

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