Although the “dog days” of summer are dwindling, many cities still experience highs temperatures and low in precipitation. For some, this is only a minor inconvenience that requires a little planning and extra protection. But, for the elderly population the stress of intense heat can affect them a little differently.
Heat stress is a serious condition that can affect the body’s natural ability to deal with hot temperatures and regulate homeostasis in the body. Heat stress can include different levels of heat related illness. Two of the most common types of heat stress are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion is a milder form of heat-related illnesses that can develop after several days of exposure to high temperatures and inadequate or unbalanced replacement of fluids. Heat stroke is the most serious heat related illness. It is identified by the body’s inability to control the body’s temperature, primarily by sweating and cooling the body down. The sudden spike in the body’s temperature can result in serious injury or even death if emergency medical assistance is not provided.
According to the Center for Disease Control, elderly people are more prone to heat stress than younger people for several reasons related to the aging process. Two common reasons are they more likely to have chronic medical conditions that change normal body responses to heat, and they are more likely to use prescription medications that impair the body’s ability to regulate its temperature and possibly inhibit perspiration. Listed below are some ways to help elderly friends, family members and even neighbors to protect themselves from the heat:
1.) Make sure they are in an air conditioned environment -- if transportation is a problem, offer a ride to an air conditioned environment.
2.)Discourage the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
3.)Check to see if they are consuming an adequate amount of non-alcoholic beverages as appropriate to their medical conditions.
4.)Offer to provide support in the form of a phone call or a ride to doctor to help clarify the adequate amount of fluids with current their prescribed medications or health condition safely. (Some seniors are on “water-pills” or have fluid restrictions for chronic illness management.)
5.)Visit or check on older adults personally or with the support of family and friends at least twice a day at designated times. If possible, create a set schedule, and have a written safety plan in place with the elderly person in case they do not answer so they know what to expect.
6.)Consider using a senior service company to check on the elderly person if you live far away or do not have the family and friends available to provide this kind of support.
Overall, following these basic guidelines can help create a safer environment for our older loved ones and neighbors.
by Angela T. Graczyk, RN
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Important Community Services for Long Term Care
Listed below are 14 areas of private sector advisors or providers supporting long term care. We believe the average American is not aware of many if not all of these important services.
These are the specialists, advisers or providers that can make the difference in allowing someone needing care or his or her family to have a choice in care options. Without help, they family may not always choose the best care settings. Without help, untapped sources of government or private funding to pay the costs of care may go unrecognized. Much of this advice and many of these services will also help improve the condition or the environment of someone needing long term care.
Families that are prepared for care in advance and understand the services available are going to be significantly more successful than families that use a last-minute "do-it-yourself" approach. As a general rule, using a professional will save help conserve assets, uncover unknown sources of funding and relieve stress on family caregivers.
Here is a list of these services
1. Geriatric and Professional Care Managers or Geriatric Specialists
2. Geriatric Medical Services
3. Medical and Non-Medical Home Care Services
4. Home Maintenance, Transportation & Chore Services
5. Home Disability Support and Medical Alert Systems
6. Elder Law and Estate Planning Advice
7. Elder Mediation Services
8. Guardianship and Trust Administration
9. Financial Services Specialists
10. Reverse Mortgage Specialist
11. Seniors Relocation and Real Estate Specialist
12. Hospice Care Provider
13. PrePlanning, PreNeed Funeral Providers
14. Veterans Benefits Consultant
To learn more about these services and how they support family caregivers please contact Always Best Care Senior Services at 619-757-1114.
These are the specialists, advisers or providers that can make the difference in allowing someone needing care or his or her family to have a choice in care options. Without help, they family may not always choose the best care settings. Without help, untapped sources of government or private funding to pay the costs of care may go unrecognized. Much of this advice and many of these services will also help improve the condition or the environment of someone needing long term care.
Families that are prepared for care in advance and understand the services available are going to be significantly more successful than families that use a last-minute "do-it-yourself" approach. As a general rule, using a professional will save help conserve assets, uncover unknown sources of funding and relieve stress on family caregivers.
Here is a list of these services
1. Geriatric and Professional Care Managers or Geriatric Specialists
2. Geriatric Medical Services
3. Medical and Non-Medical Home Care Services
4. Home Maintenance, Transportation & Chore Services
5. Home Disability Support and Medical Alert Systems
6. Elder Law and Estate Planning Advice
7. Elder Mediation Services
8. Guardianship and Trust Administration
9. Financial Services Specialists
10. Reverse Mortgage Specialist
11. Seniors Relocation and Real Estate Specialist
12. Hospice Care Provider
13. PrePlanning, PreNeed Funeral Providers
14. Veterans Benefits Consultant
To learn more about these services and how they support family caregivers please contact Always Best Care Senior Services at 619-757-1114.
Recognizing the Need for outside Help in Caregiving
Caregivers often don’t recognize when they are in over their heads, and often get to a breaking point. After a prolonged period of time, caregiving can become too difficult to endure any longer. Short-term the caregiver can handle it. Long-term, help is needed. Outside help at this point is needed.
A typical pattern with an overloaded caregiver may unfold as follows:
• 1 to 18 months--the caregiver is confident, has everything under control and is coping well. Other friends and family are lending support.
• 20 to 36 months--the caregiver is taking medication to sleep and control mood swings. Outside help dwindles away and except for trips to the store or doctor, the caregiver has severed most social contacts. The caregiver feels alone and helpless.
• 38 to 50 months--Besides needing tranquilizers or antidepressants, the caregiver's physical health is beginning to deteriorate. Lack of focus and sheer fatigue cloud judgment and the caregiver is often unable to make rational decisions or ask for help.
It is often at this stage that family or friends intercede and find other solutions for care. This may include respite care, hiring home health aides or putting the disabled in a facility. Without intervention, the caregiver may become a candidate for long term care as well.
It is also important to use outside professional help in a caregiver setting. A financial planner, care funding specialist or a reverse mortgage specialist may find the funds to pay for professional help to keep a loved one at home. A care manager can guide the family and the caregiver through the maze of long-term care issues. The care manager has been there many times the family is experiencing it for the first time.
An elder law attorney can help iron out legal problems. And an elder mediator can help solve disputes between family members. Having competent advice can often make the difference between allowing a loved one to remain in the home or being forced to seek out government welfare assistance.
Due to pride or sheer determination some caregivers allow the situation to go beyond their control. They have gotten to a point where depression and fatigue have clouded their judgment. At some point the caregiver will have to admit that he or she can't handle it alone and a better solution must be found.
Caregivers often don’t recognize when they are in over their heads, and often get to a breaking point. After a prolonged period of time, caregiving can become too difficult to endure any longer. Short-term the caregiver can handle it. Long-term, help is needed. Outside help at this point is needed.
A typical pattern with an overloaded caregiver may unfold as follows:
• 1 to 18 months--the caregiver is confident, has everything under control and is coping well. Other friends and family are lending support.
• 20 to 36 months--the caregiver is taking medication to sleep and control mood swings. Outside help dwindles away and except for trips to the store or doctor, the caregiver has severed most social contacts. The caregiver feels alone and helpless.
• 38 to 50 months--Besides needing tranquilizers or antidepressants, the caregiver's physical health is beginning to deteriorate. Lack of focus and sheer fatigue cloud judgment and the caregiver is often unable to make rational decisions or ask for help.
It is often at this stage that family or friends intercede and find other solutions for care. This may include respite care, hiring home health aides or putting the disabled in a facility. Without intervention, the caregiver may become a candidate for long term care as well.
It is also important to use outside professional help in a caregiver setting. A financial planner, care funding specialist or a reverse mortgage specialist may find the funds to pay for professional help to keep a loved one at home. A care manager can guide the family and the caregiver through the maze of long-term care issues. The care manager has been there many times the family is experiencing it for the first time.
An elder law attorney can help iron out legal problems. And an elder mediator can help solve disputes between family members. Having competent advice can often make the difference between allowing a loved one to remain in the home or being forced to seek out government welfare assistance.
Due to pride or sheer determination some caregivers allow the situation to go beyond their control. They have gotten to a point where depression and fatigue have clouded their judgment. At some point the caregiver will have to admit that he or she can't handle it alone and a better solution must be found.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
As Boomers Age, the Need for Trained Care Providers Becomes Urgent
Article submitted by Marion Karpinski, RN, President of Medifecta HealthCare. For more information call 1-888-846-7008 or visit their website - www.medifecta.com.
The age wave we hear so much about today has been building for a century. Between 1900 and 2000, the number of people over 65 rose from 3 million to 33 million. In the next 30 years the number of people over 65 is expected to double.
It’s true that “old simply isn’t what it used to be” as gerontologist Ken Dychtwald says. People are living longer; many remain healthy longer, eating a good diet, getting plenty of exercise and remaining involved in their communities. The time of life when people become frail has been pushed back, but eventually people move from young-old to old-old. This group, 85 and older, is expected to reach at least 7 million in 2020. It is at these advanced ages that many people require help with activities of daily living. The 85+ group will double yet again in 2040, when the first baby boomers reach 85.
Currently, family caregivers and friends provide 80% of all elder care in the home, but that will change as baby boomers age. Not as many family caregivers will be available to care for baby boomers because boomers had fewer children and 12% had no children. Boomers are also more likely to be divorced and to live alone as they become elderly. With their interest in social change, boomers are likely to come up with some creative solutions, such as sharing the care with groups of friends to help replace the missing family members.
But the dwindling source of family caregivers does indicate that the demand for paraprofessional caregivers such as home health aides and personal home care aides will become even more urgent in coming decades. According to Department of Labor statistics, by 2020, the number of trained in-home caregivers needed will nearly double.
The current approach to health care education, which focuses primarily on training individuals with CNA (Certified Nurses Aide), LPN, and RN credentials, is destined to come up short. Although credentialed health care practitioners are greatly needed, they will not be providing the bulk of home care. That responsibility falls mainly on family, friends and private duty home care agencies.
The personal care attendant who has been invisible in our health care education system as well as our health care system is the new entry-level health care worker. They must be recognized as such and receive the appropriate training that provides them with the professional and behavioral skills they need to be confident and effective providers of home care.
If we don’t act soon to offer appropriate training for all home care providers, we will undoubtedly see greater incidences of elder abuse, neglect and a general decline in the quality of life and conditions of the elderly, while we grasp at straws to solve this healthcare crisis.
Article submitted by Marion Karpinski, RN, President of Medifecta HealthCare. For more information call 1-888-846-7008 or visit their website - www.medifecta.com.
The age wave we hear so much about today has been building for a century. Between 1900 and 2000, the number of people over 65 rose from 3 million to 33 million. In the next 30 years the number of people over 65 is expected to double.
It’s true that “old simply isn’t what it used to be” as gerontologist Ken Dychtwald says. People are living longer; many remain healthy longer, eating a good diet, getting plenty of exercise and remaining involved in their communities. The time of life when people become frail has been pushed back, but eventually people move from young-old to old-old. This group, 85 and older, is expected to reach at least 7 million in 2020. It is at these advanced ages that many people require help with activities of daily living. The 85+ group will double yet again in 2040, when the first baby boomers reach 85.
Currently, family caregivers and friends provide 80% of all elder care in the home, but that will change as baby boomers age. Not as many family caregivers will be available to care for baby boomers because boomers had fewer children and 12% had no children. Boomers are also more likely to be divorced and to live alone as they become elderly. With their interest in social change, boomers are likely to come up with some creative solutions, such as sharing the care with groups of friends to help replace the missing family members.
But the dwindling source of family caregivers does indicate that the demand for paraprofessional caregivers such as home health aides and personal home care aides will become even more urgent in coming decades. According to Department of Labor statistics, by 2020, the number of trained in-home caregivers needed will nearly double.
The current approach to health care education, which focuses primarily on training individuals with CNA (Certified Nurses Aide), LPN, and RN credentials, is destined to come up short. Although credentialed health care practitioners are greatly needed, they will not be providing the bulk of home care. That responsibility falls mainly on family, friends and private duty home care agencies.
The personal care attendant who has been invisible in our health care education system as well as our health care system is the new entry-level health care worker. They must be recognized as such and receive the appropriate training that provides them with the professional and behavioral skills they need to be confident and effective providers of home care.
If we don’t act soon to offer appropriate training for all home care providers, we will undoubtedly see greater incidences of elder abuse, neglect and a general decline in the quality of life and conditions of the elderly, while we grasp at straws to solve this healthcare crisis.
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