Global Public Articles

Assisted living centers are facilities that help and provide a home for people who need some assistance in their daily lives but wish to maintain a measure of independence. These centers serve as a bridge between completely independent living and a nursing home facility. An assisted living center may have many names, but its function is essentially the same: residential care, personal care, adult living facilities, enhanced care, adult home, retirement residence, and so on.

Who lives in an assisted living center?

A resident typically requires help three or more activities of daily living, such as bathing, eating, and dressing. The resident may not be able to keep up with housekeeping duties and may even suffer temporary memory loss or confusion, requiring a little extra supervision. He or she is usually elderly, does not need the intensive care provided by nursing homes, but wants to live in a community of peers where they can benefit from a social atmosphere. The social component of assisted living is integral to avoiding the feeling of isolation often felt by senior citizens. Most facilities have a communal dining area where residents can be served up to three meals a day. This way, residents need not bother with cooking but can enjoy the social aspects of eating with friends and neighbors.

What is it like to live in an assisted living center?

Most living centers consist of individual apartments which afford a great deal of privacy. There is no set size for a center: it may be tiny or it may be quite large, housing hundreds of residents.
Many apartments have small kitchens and living areas separate from bedrooms. In addition to mealtimes, there are many social activities planned for residents on a regular basis.

Living centers usually offer a van service, giving its residents who can no longer drive a chance to get out and grocery shop or run other errands. It is important to keep in mind that, unlike nursing homes, assisted living centers do not provide onsite medical services. Residents typically keep using their own doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals, although staff is usually more than happy to help make appointments. Most new facilities are equipped for residents in wheelchairs, and this condition does not usually prevent a senior from enjoying the benefits of assisted living.

If you or a loved one thinks assisted living may be a good option, the best thing to do is to visit one of the many facilities in the community. Representatives are more than willing to give tours and answer any questions pertaining to their assisted living facility.

If you are looking for California assisted living information, make sure to visit Heritage Senior Care (http://heritageseniorcare.com/). They have been providing quality care for over 25 years and will be happy to assist you. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

As a family caregiver, it is important to safe-proof your home. Falls are the seventh leading cause of death in persons over the age of 65. There are a variety of reasons for falls, such as falls from ladders or scaffolding, falls from slipping, tumbling or tripping.
It is important to know the hazards and then take the necessary precautions. It is important to constantly be alert.
Here are some general safety tips to help reduce or eliminate hazards in your home.
1. Emergency telephone numbers and your address should be posted by each telephone.
2. Ideally the home or living area should be on one level, and preferably the ground level. Stairs are a big danger for elderly people.
3. Inside and outside door handles and locks should be easy to operate. Lever-action handles are easier to operate rather than round knobs.
4. Install at least one stairway handrail that extends beyond the first and last steps.
5. Remove any furniture that is not needed. Avoid clutter.
6. All remaining furniture should be stable and without sharp corners, to minimize the effects of a fall.
7. Remove throw rugs, sharp objects and clutter.
8. Place carpet or safety grip strips on stairs.
9. Keep the layout of furniture and pathways the same.
10. Make sure halls are three feet wide and six to eight feet high.
11. Make sure chair seats are twenty inches high.
12. Make sure all rooms have adequate lighting. In addition, use automatic night lights in every room.
13. Develop and practice a fire-escape plan. Keep clear the fire escape routes.
14. Place a smoke alarm in every bedroom and on every floor.
15. Place a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and bedroom. Make sure it is in date.
16. The water heater thermostat is set at 120 degrees F or lower.
17. Medications are stored in a safe place.
18. Keep several flashlights (and back-up batteries) on hand in case of a power failure. Do not use candles as they are a fire hazard.
19. Never use a chair or a box in place of sturdy ladder.
20. Do not have an electric lamp cord trailing across the floor. Have additional base plugs installed so long cords are not necessary.
21. Wear nonslip, low-heeled shoes or slippers that fit snugly. Don’t walk around in stocking feet.
22. Consider putting a bench or stool in the shower.
23. Watch your alcohol intake. More than two drinks per day can cause unsteadiness.
24. Stand up slowly to avoid unsteadiness.
25. Have your hearing and eyesight tested. Inner ear problems can affect balance.
It is a good idea to regularly check your house for hazards. Make sure you have a well stocked first aid kit in a handy place in your home.

Rebecca Colmer is an Eldercare Expert, Author, Speaker, Publisher, and Caregiver Expert. You can find more caregiving tools and resources at her website:
Caregiving Tools

If you are a caregiver you are probably already familiar with the effects of stress. With the upcoming holidays it is almost a sure bet your stress level will go up.

You may start to feel more tired than usual. You may worry more. You may feel like everyone else is piling their stress onto you.

Here are a few things you can do to help lessen your stress level. Even the relatively small things can add up.

1. Keep your expectations in check. You have no control over anyone else’s behavior. There are going to be a number of people who are frazzled just because it is the holiday season.

You have complete control over how you respond to their behavior.

2. Don’t try to do too much. If you are a caregiver, your plate is already full.

Encourage your friends and family to reach out to both you and the care-receiver.

Remember what is important, stay focused. Find out what is important to the care-receiver.

3. Stay healthy. Wash your hands frequently.

Stay away from the booze and junk food. Make a concerted effort to get some exercise.

Practice deep breathing several times a day.

4. Practice the power of a positive attitude. Put a positive spin on everything you say and do. Turn-off negative self-talk.

5. Stay organized. Don’t forget the basics. It is okay to streamline holiday traditions. In fact, it is okay to start new trend.

6. Get enough sleep. Don’t burn the candle at both ends.

7. Schedule some time off. This time is invaluable to both the caregiver and care-receiver. Ask for respite help from family members, neighbors, and friends.

8. Keep a “Joy Journal”. Every day write down your top five joys of the day.

Finding joy and compassion in your surroundings is very freeing. It takes a lot more energy to be angry and inpatient.

9. Utilize your support system. Share your feelings with family and friends you trust. You are not alone.

Help is available. There are millions of people in similar situations.

Be proactive and locate resources within your family circle and within your community, whether or not you intend to use them.

10. Tune in to the care-receiver and encourage him/her to talk from the heart and share their wisdom. This can be a wonderful gift and rewarding experience.

Use this holiday season to capture special memories. Don’t be afraid to laugh and enjoy the season.
It is natural to have emotional reactions to the challenges and responsibilities of your job.

Stay aware of your feelings because they influence your behavior and judgment. Don’t use the holidays as an excuse to let your stress level boil over. Take it easy, one day at a time.

Rebecca Colmer is an Eldercare Advocate and Expert, Author, Speaker, Publisher, and Caregiver Expert. You can find more caregiving tools and resources at her website:
Caregiving Tools

If you are a family caregiver there will come a time when you need a break. It usually comes sooner rather than later.
You may only need help for an hour or two or for a day or two. This is when a respite caregiver will step in.
Respite services cover a wide range.

They may include volunteer services or adult day care for the care-receiver. Or, it may even a care-receiver’s brief stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility.

They also could include a private duty nurse or adult foster care.
Respite caregiving may be provided by a different family member or a friend. This person stays with the care-receiver to give you a short break.

It is a good idea to schedule regular respite care so the primary caregiver always has a scheduled, much needed break.

Without respite care, the caregiver stands a good chance of developing stress overload or burnout. It is important that the caregiver and care-receiver have some time away from each other.

Assistance from a respite caregiver is invaluable to the primary caregiver. The primary caregiver needs to have time for him/herself.

You can help make the respite caregiver’s job easier if you supply him/her with specific information about the care-receiver.

Here are ten topics to discuss in advance.

1. Does the care-receiver understand instructions?

2. Emergency Preparedness. Discuss 911 preferences.

Review emergency procedures. Review your exit and escape plan. Where are the Advance Directives located?

3. Does the care-receiver use any medical equipment or have any special needs? These may include catheter care, hearing aid, shaving, or peri-care. It may also include mouth/oral care, foley bag, dressings changed, dentures, etc.

If yes, when, and does he/she need assistance?

4. Can the care-receiver move around unassisted? Is he/she bedbound, need help repositioning?
Can he/she transfer from the bed to a chair without assistance?

5. Does the care-receiver walk unassisted or with a cane or walker or wheelchair?

6. Does the care-receiver need help toileting? Can she/he go unassisted? Does he/she need a bedpan, urinal, cathete? Does he/she have a colostomy, bedside commode, or incontinence pads?

7. Does the care-receiver need help with bathing? This may include a bedbath, help in the shower or tub.
How often does the care-receiver bathe? Does he/she need a transfer bench or shower bench?

8. What are the care-receiver’s sleep habits? When is bed time and wake time? Does he/she take naps?
Does he/she prefer the room to be dark or a certain temperature?

9. Does the care-receiver need help with meals and snacks? Does he/she need assistance with feeding?
Does he/she have difficulty with swallowing? Is there tube feeding? Are there certain foods and drinks to be avoided?

10. Are there any special house rules? Are visitors okay? Are there any pet rules? Where is the gas/water shut-off valve? Where are the fire extinguishers?

It is a good idea to have these instructions written out and ready for the respite caregiver.
Do not wait for an emergency to start answering the questions.

Keep this information with the care-receiver’s other important documents.

Rebecca Colmer is an Eldercare Advocate, Author, Speaker, Publisher, and Caregiver. You can find more caregiving tools and resources at her website:
Caregiving Tools

In recent months I have met with an increasing number of families trying to figure out how to access long term care for their parents. The challenge for most is that they never for a moment considered that they would have to pay for care; they simply assumed the government would take care of it. This illustrates very clearly the looming long term care problem in the United States. We do not have a system that educates or requires individuals to pay for their own long term care so the default is to access the government Medicaid program.

More importantly, families are angry about the requirements and seek to figure out creative ways to avoid giving up assets in order to spend down to the financial level required to access Medicaid. After all, the children want their inheritance and due to recent economic issues, many children see accessing the retirement savings or home equity of their parents as way to bail themselves out of financial difficulties. To many, this sounds cold; children seeking to use their parent’s assets for their own financial good. It happens more often than one would think and is one of the most underreported crimes against the elderly. In fact a summit was held in Denver on October 23rd to seek solutions against financial abuse of the elderly, most committed by family members.

How does this financial abuse occur and why shouldn’t these families be angry about Medicaid? The government has taught us an important lesson, why pay for care when the government gives it away? So why would families not seek ways to keep money, investments and assets away from the government? The difficulty is the ethical decision between retaining assets and accessing quality care for family members. Government programs show it’s nearly impossible to accomplish one without giving up the other.

This is clearly illustrated by public perception of the quality of care in nursing homes. How many people do you personally know who cannot wait to spend the rest of their life in a nursing home? Yet how many people realize that nursing home care represents the most significant portion of Medicaid spending? By not planning to fund long term care expenses most individuals are pushed into the nursing home system.

Sure, it’s easy to complain about the poor quality of care in nursing homes. How many people realize that Medicaid reimbursed $13.15 per bed per day below break even costs for nursing homes in 2006? How can individuals receive quality care in nursing facilities that lose money on large numbers of patients? It’s time for us to realize that we get what we pay for and if we want to access quality care we, not the government, are going to have to pay for the care.

The latest financial issues occurring with the economy has shown that a lack of education leaves consumers holding the bag in the way of foreclosures and financial issues. It may not be the government’s responsibility to educate consumers so we have to educate ourselves.

There are many older adults and parents scarcely managing in private homes while families are trying to hold onto assets so as not to spend them for care. Is the thought that the parents will die more quickly if care isn’t provided and then the inheritance can be gained? Where is the logic? Where is the ethical responsibility and balance between accepting personal responsibility for our own care by spending our own resources for quality care versus the expectation that our money is our own and the government should pay for care? How many care more about retaining family money and inheritances versus providing needed care that is in the best interests of family members?

These are tough questions to ask and even more difficult to answer especially when the immediacy of reality and the need for care is upon us. Often I find myself the bearer of bad news when I give families the list of requirements for Medicaid. I become the adversary versus the advocate when families want to retain assets and they feel I now have too much information or am in a position to judge their decisions. It’s difficult enough to find oneself in a position of having to make difficult decisions about the care of a family member, let alone to then live with the consequences and the guilt of choice made. Research shows an abundance of cases where family caregivers experience a great deal of guilt regardless of the outcome of their decisions. My position is not as a judge; my position is to give families and individuals information to allow them to make their own decisions and then look to their own future.

If we don’t want to end up in the same situations we are experiencing with family members, we must plan and pay for our own long term care. Examining and educating ourselves about long term care insurance is one way to plan for a future of quality care not reliant on strained government programs resulting in financial losses for those providing care.

Even the best of us cannot continue to maintain long term when our monthly expenses are greater than our income. How can we expect those providing services reimbursed by government programs to do the same and then complain about their ability to provide quality care? Many service providers reimbursed by government Medicaid programs cannot financially afford to provide the level of care expected by the public. It’s time to wake up and make your own plans.

Pamela D. Wilson helps individuals and families navigate health care and aging issues.Contact her at The Care Navigator or visit The Care Navigator Blogfor free information.