Survive (and Enjoy!) the Holidays with Home Care Help

Instead of heading to the mall to check a few items off your holiday shopping list, you’re taking mom to a doctor’s appointment and then heading out to the pharmacy to pick up her meds. Instead of looking forward to spending time with the relatives at your annual holiday gathering, you’re dreading the extra housework you’ll have to do on top of making sure Dad gets bathed each morning.

Can you identify with the lyrics to the Faith Hill song, “Where are you Christmas? Why can’t I find you? Why have you gone away?” It’s easy to get so lost in the responsibilities that come with caring for an aging parent that you can’t pause to enjoy the festivities of the season.

Yet, it’s possible to survive and enjoy the holidays if you ask for help. Get in touch with an in-home senior care agency to find out more about how the following five home care services can help to save your sanity during the holiday season and throughout the year.

1. Transportation – Having trouble fitting all your loved one’s myriad doctor appointments and errands into your schedule? Enlist the help of a professional caregiver to accompany your loved one on routine trips to the doctor’s or grocery store. Caregivers employed by a senior home care agency are typically bonded and insured, and provide assistance for your loved one before, during and after the outing.
   
   While a caregiver helps your loved one with errands, you can use that time to check off items on your own to-do list. Or, you can devote the time you would have spent sitting in the doctor’s office doing something that you and your loved one will both enjoy instead, such as gift shopping or attending a holiday event.
2. Housekeeping – Visits from friends and family members around the holidays create a lot of extra chores around the house that your loved one may be unable to handle due to lack of mobility or stamina. A professional caregiver can help out by accomplishing light housekeeping tasks such as dusting, vacuuming, changing bed sheets, doing laundry, or taking out the trash.
   
   Instead of dreading the arrival of family members because of all the work you’ll have to put into cleaning up the house, you and your loved one will be able to fully enjoy the visit and appreciate the family togetherness—one of the aspects of the holiday that older adults most look forward to.
3. Companionship – The holidays can be a sad and lonely time for seniors who have lost a spouse or have busy families that cannot come visit as much as they would like. Receiving regular visits from a hired caregiver, who often quickly becomes more of a friend, can help lift your loved one’s spirits by offering conversation, creating opportunities to reminisce, and encouraging mind-stimulating activities.
   
   Visit as much as you can, but instead of feeling guilty about the times you can’t spend with Mom or Dad, rest assured your loved one can still receive healthy social interaction.
4. Meal Assistance – Mom might now need extra help preparing the traditional Thanksgiving meal as she has always done, or perhaps even planning and preparing daily meals has become too much. Instead of worrying about how Mom might leave the stove on all night or that she’s not eating well, let a professional caregiver assist with planning out healthy meals for the week, creating a shopping list, and supervising meal preparation and cleanup.
5. Personal Care – If your loved one needs help with bathing, managing incontinence and other personal tasks of daily living , as a family caregiver, you likely spend a great deal of time each day attending to those needs. Hiring a trained professional caregiver to provide that assistance will not only spare you time and stress, but may also spare your loved one a little dignity.
   
   Instead of spending your mornings on nursing duty as you walk Dad through his wake-up routine, you’ll be able to spend quality time with him as a son or daughter again.

Receiving extra help for even just a few hours a week can free you up to spend the holidays with your loved one how you would like to, not how you have to.

For more information about how a professional caregiver can meet your loved one’s specific needs and to discuss scheduling and pricing information, call alocal in-home senior care agency.

For more info: http://www.caregiverstress.com

November is National Family Caregiver Month AND National Alzheimer's Awareness Month

Did you know November is National Family Caregiver Month AND National Alzheimer's Awareness Month? Perfect time to take advantage of these FREE Alzheimer's care training opportunities.

What do you do when you don’t know how to handle an Alzheimer’s situation?

Click for more info: Help for alzheimers families

Live Online Chats with Alzheimer's Experts

The next Live Chat for those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 16th at 12 pm EST. What questions would you like to ask the expert? Do you have any tips you'd like to share for capturing memories? Please share and be sure to register for this informative chat.

Please take time to register today:

https://www.helpforalzheimersfamilies.com

Senior Safety For Halloween

The fun of Halloween can be exciting for most but the pounding on doors is nerve-wracking for seniors who worry masked villains will take note that an elderly person is frail and living alone. 

If you are a caregiver and/or loved one of a senior, or a senior themselves, one way to avoid problems is to have a caregiver, younger relative or neighbor drop by to help you greet trick-or-treaters. The presence of a young or middle-aged adult will deter troublemakers and give the impression there is more than one person living in the home.

Another option for seniors is to leave a note on the door that reads something like "Candy for this house is being passed out  300 Clyborne Street next door, collect your trick or treat there."   You have the option of either passing out candy with the neighbors or simply giving the candy to the neighbor to pass out on your behalf.

Keep a chain lock in place when opening a door. Candy can be passed through the limited opening the chain provides.

It's not a good idea to simply turn off lights and keep a house dark to dissuade trick-or-treaters. A dark house is an invitation for burglars and vandals. Turn on the interior and exterior lights, even if you will not be home or you choose not to answer the door.

Finally, never let an unknown trick-or-treater into your home to use the bathroom or make a phone call. Make up an excuse such as "I have company right now, this isn't a good time, but you can try so-and-so's house," and refer them to a neighbor's home where there are multiple adults.

Halloween should be fun, safe and enjoyable for all.  use these tips and have yourself a Happy Halloween.

Our CAREGiver Meeting

What a great CAREGiver meeting we had last week!  We had a chance to provide our CAREGivers with more information on Alzheimer's, upcoming training classes as well as honoring the many CAREGivers outstanding efforts and compassionate hearts.

Help For Alzheimer's Families

In conjunction with the Alzheimer's training workshops and network-wide emphasis on Alzheimer's disease and other dementia's during Alzheimer's Awareness Month in November, we will hold a series of four Live Chats led by Alzheimer's and caregiving experts to address questions from family caregivers. Registration will start on October 19. Please register at http://helpforalzheimersfamilies.com

Medicare open enrollment starting

 Millions of seniors enrolled in some of the most popular Medicare prescription drug plans face double-digit premium hikes next year if they don't shop for a better deal, says a private firm that analyzes the market. / ASSOCIATED PRESS

The open enrollment period for seniors choosing their 2013 Medicare plan starts today, and U.S. health officials say there are more high-quality health plans to choose from this time around.

“In 2013, people with Medicare will have access to a wide range of plan choices, including more four- and five-star plans than ever before,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement released Friday.

This year, there will be 127 four- and five-star plans offered, versus 106 such plans offered last year. There also will be an increase in four- and five-star prescription drug plans for seniors on Medicare, with 26 offered in 2013 compared with 13 such plans in 2012, the statement said.During the open enrollment period, which ends Dec. 7, seniors can use the star ratings system to guide them in choosing their health and drug plan options, health officials said. Medicare plans are given an overall rating on a one- to five-star scale, with five stars being the highest rating.

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Medicare can alert beneficiaries who have been enrolled in lower-quality plans (three stars or fewer) and let them know how they can change to a higher-rated plan, HHS officials added. Five-star plans also are being rewarded by being allowed to recruit and enroll beneficiaries throughout the year. In 2012, thousands of people with Medicare joined a higher-rated plan, health officials noted.

New benefits also have been added to Medicare because of the Affordable Care Act. The Medicare prescription drug coverage gap, also known as the “donut hole,” is being phased out. Next year, people with Medicare who reach the “donut hole” will receive about 53 percent off the cost of brand-name drugs and 21 percent off the cost of generic drugs, the statement said.

Article can be seen here:  http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20121015/LIFE/310150002/Medicare-open-enrollment-starting?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs