Get Your Act Together -- Plan for Long Term Care

Here is a brief outline of the process of creating a long term care plan:

Providing Planning Documents and Instructions

Include sample planning documents to be given to family members or trusted advisers. This includes instructions regarding wishes pertaining to care preferences, wishes pertaining to end-of-life, wishes concerning preferred medical treatments, desires for disposition of property and instructions to the Care Advocate or Personal Care Representative. These instructions do not replace formal legal documents designed for the same purpose but will provide in one place the preferences further outlined in legal documents. Family should be referred to legal documents if they exist.

Determining a Care Advocate in Advance

 The Care Advocate or Personal Care Representative represents the interests of a loved one receiving care. This person could also be the caregiver, a child, a friend or a trusted adviser. This Care Advocate plays an important role in making caregiving decisions, in arranging funding for services, in arranging services and in coordinating care. The person could also be given responsibility with a power of attorney or as a representative.

Planning for End-Of-Life

Issues considered are preplanning of final arrangements, expressing wishes for a place to die and information and instructions for advance planning documents. Forms are provided for instructions on providing these services.

Preparing Legal Documents and End-Of-Life Arrangements

Detailed instructions on arranging estate planning documents and establishing various powers of attorney. We recommend using an attorney.

Providing Financial Information for Future Care Costs

This form is provided to the family with a listing of assets, income and insurance plans. Particular funding strategies for long-term care services are detailed.

Providing Copies of Checklists for All Involved in Care

 Each checklist provides specific instructions in a particular area of long-term care services or provider settings. These instructions allow the caregiver and/or the Care Advocate to make informed choices in choosing settings and services. The intent is to save these people a great deal of time, heartache, stress and money in choosing services and settings for the loved ones.

Making Your Wishes Known

This final step is the most important. No plan has value unless those involved in making the decisions are aware of it.

Always in Touch

Introducing Always in Touch - a free telephone reassurance program that provides a friendly voice each weekday for seniors and disabled adults. Always in Touch provides daily socialization and the reassurance that the senior "is not alone."

http://ping.fm/RU0M3

Always In Touch

Introducing Always in Touch....Anyone can fall or become ill during the night. If someone lives alone, a fall or illness during the night can be disastrous. Who will know? When will help come?

Introducing Always in Touch - an absolutely free telephone reassurance service sponsored by Always Best Care Senior Services.

We provide a daily "safety check" phone call and peace of mind to seniors who live alone.If you or a loved one would like to receive a free phone call every day, Monday thru Friday, contact us today!

http://www.always-in-touch.com/

For an interesting article:

Dementia Bingo: Easier to play, and it may help patients

http://ping.fm/Pfast

Six Ways to Help Seniors Deal with the Heat

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

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.

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.