There are many in-home health care workers that have been charged with neglect or abuse of their patients. There are still others that have been charged with theft of the client’s items or even their identity. But what about staff that have been abused themselves? These stories are not as well known or publicized as when staff are the criminals.
Assistance for Caregivers
Space Shuttles are Gone, but Their Innovations Help Home Healthcare Aides
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care News
Some things are just not discussed about the personal needs of the manned space program. How do astronauts deal with urges during takeoff? Or eliminate waste? Or take care of any number of personal needs. Well, the answer to the needs to eliminate waste could help home health agency patients with limited mobility.
Short-term Home Care
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Choosing Home Care, Short term Home Care
Most home health care agencies provide nursing care based on the needs of home clients. The care can be full-time, twenty four hours a day or for a short period of time — a day or only a few hours in a day. Even a short break from care giving can be what a family member needs to keep their sanity.
Family Caregiver or Professional Home Health Nurse?
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Choosing Home Care
This is a guest post by Julie Fletcher.
Vacations with Your Home Health Nurse
Sunday, October 9th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Staff
Using a home health agency does not mean that you have to forgo family vacations! There are nurses that are ready and willing to travel with families and provide the care needed during those outings. If you have been using a health care agency for some time, you may already have a close relationship with one or a few nurses or aides that come to your home.
Tips for Home Health Caregivers
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
As a home health care provider, you have a very demanding job. Responsible for the health and general care of another person, you will sometimes feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. At other times, you will reap the personal rewards of doing your job well. Your patients and their families will truly be overwhelmed with thanks for the important services you provide.
Memory Loss: Normal Sign of Aging or Something More?
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips, Home Health Care Safety
Most of us experience moments of forgetfulness. We might forget where we left our car keys or have trouble finding our vehicle in a crowded parking lot. Some of us forget why we walked into a room or forget what we were going to say to someone in the time it takes us to dial their phone number.
Understanding and Preventing Malnutrition in Seniors
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
Most seniors are at risk for being undernourished or malnourished. As a home health provider or family caregiver, you won’t always be able to tell when a client or loved one isn’t getting the proper nutrition. It’s easy to tell when someone is losing weight, muscle tone, and getting weaker and weaker. The real challenge is in identifying the seniors that are malnourished but otherwise seem healthy, confident, and outgoing.
Travel Tips for Seniors
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips, Home Health Care Safety
Just because seniors receive home health care doesn’t mean they can’t travel. Whether you’re helping your elderly loved one plan for a week-long vacation or short weekend jaunt, it’s important to help them prepare for travel. Sometimes problems pop up while on the road. Being prepared for the worst can make your vacation plans go more smoothly.
Meeting Emotional Needs as a Caregiver
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
If you are caring for an elderly relative, you know what a difficult process it can be. But, you, also, know how difficult it can be for your loved one to receive care. It’s not easy dealing with aging and illness, and it is particularly difficult to deal with a loss of independence. For seniors with illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, the process of aging becomes even more complicated.
Meeting Spiritual Needs as a Caregiver
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
As a caregiver, your first priority and natural inclination is to be an advocate for your loved one’s physical health. Each day you make sure that your loved has everything he or she needs to be healthy. You administer medications, you help prepare meals, you help with housekeeping chores, and you make sure your loved one gets to each of his doctor’s appointments on time. It’s a lot of responsibility all on its own. However, for people who spend the majority of their lives engaged in spiritual activities, it is also important to help them find a way to stay spiritually connected. As a caregiver, there are several things you can do to nurture your elderly loved one’s spiritual needs. 1. Take them to worship. It might not always be possible to take your loved one to worship services, but getting them to their house of worship even a few times a year can go a long way in helping the elderly get a spiritual tune-up. Many churches, synagogues, and other places of worship have transportation available for elderly members. Seeing old friends and meeting with spiritual leaders can help encourage socialization and ward off depression.
Caregivers and Anticipatory Grief
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers
Caregivers face a lot of challenges in order to meet the needs of their loved ones. Many caregivers also face the burden of anticipatory grief in addition to the daily tasks and responsibilities they take on. Anticipatory grief is what experts refer to as the sorrow and anxiety that comes along with the knowledge that your loved one will eventually die from whatever illness or disease she currently has. In anticipation of this profound loss, you begin to fear the future before you actually feel the emotion of grief.
Top Internet Resources for Caregivers
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers
As a caregiver, you can’t provide the best for your loved one if you don’t take care of yourself as well. The following is a list of caregiver resources that can help you deal with common challenges and the pitfalls associated with providing care for a family member.
Eating Meals with Family Benefits Seniors Receiving Home Health Care
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
It can be difficult for families to sit down and eat together. We live at a blazing pace, trying to balance the kids’ school and extracurricular activities while staying on top of our jobs and trying to find a little time to have fun. When family members also work as home health caregivers for elderly loved ones, it makes family meal preparation that much harder. But just as meal time together is important for your children, it is also important for your aging parents, grandparents and older relatives and friends.
Caring for Someone with a Cognitive Disability
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips, Short term Home Care
When we think of family caregivers, we often think of caring for elderly loved ones as they deal with the problems of growing older. However, a significant number of family caregivers work with adults who suffer from a range of cognitive disabilities. These tips can help caregivers find the resources and strength they need to provide the best possible care for their loved ones.
5 Tips for Relieving Caregiver Stress
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
Today many seniors and their families are looking for ways to keep elderly loved ones at home for as long as possible. In addition to this, many also struggle with the rising costs of home health care. Often, family members choose to provide informal care for their loved ones to prevent seniors from going to assisted care facilities.
Long-Distance Caregiving
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
While many families would like to remain close to their aging loved ones who need caregiving services, it is not always possible. Jobs and economic circumstances often dictate where we need to live these days. Long-distance caregiving, as a result, is getting more attention. These tips for long-distance caregivers can help you coordinate the care your aging parent or grandparent needs.
6 Tips for Organizing Senior Medications
Wednesday, May 4th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips, Home Health Care Safety
Experts say that over 80 percent of seniors take at least one prescription medication every day. Of those seniors, half also frequently use supplements and other over-the-counter meds. With so many seniors taking medications and supplements, it’s no wonder that nearly a quarter of all seniors will experience some kind of drug interaction complication.
8 Tips for Adults Caring for Their Parents
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
When elderly parents are no longer able to manage daily activities on their own, the responsibility often falls to their adult children. Planning ahead can make caregiving much easier on adult children who often have families of their own to manage and a number of other responsibilities including household chores and professional careers.
Job Requirements for Home Health Providers
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Choosing Home Care, Home Care Staff, Private Duty Home Care, Short term Home Care
Whether you are considering becoming a home health aide or you are thinking about hiring a home health aide to help you care for a loved one, you need to know more about the job and the specific duties it entails. The following is a list of common duties performed by home health aides:
Caregiver Tips: Keeping an Eye Out for Alzheimer’s
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care News, Home Care Tips
While family members are uniquely qualified to meet many of the needs of elderly patients, they may not always feel prepared to adequately meet the health needs of their loved one.
Tips for Moving a Senior into Your Home
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Choosing Home Care, Home Care Tips
Home health care is an increasingly popular option for seniors who can no longer manage all aspects of their personal care. For some families the best and most affordable option is to have an aging parent or grandparent move in with their children or grandchildren. In this situation, a relative is most often responsible for the daily personal care of the elderly adult.
Caregiving Tips for Spouses
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
Caregiving arrangements can be especially difficult to navigate when the elder you are caring for is also your spouse. Many people often misunderstand just what it means to be a caregiver in this role. Adult children are often unaware of the huge impact this kind of caregiving arrangement can have on both parents. As a result, it is common for the relationships of both parents and their children to become very strained. If you are a caregiver for your spouse, these tips can help.
Inspiration for Caregivers
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips
Senior Fall Prevention Checklist
Friday, February 25th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips, Home Health Care Safety
Falls happen all the time, and people of every age are susceptible to injuries from falls. However, seniors are more at risk for falling and sustaining injuries as a result of falling. For home health caregivers, fall prevention should be a top priority. Whether your elderly loved one is staying in his or her own home or has come to live with you, there are several things you can do to prevent falls in the home.
Home Care Tips for Stroke Patients
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care Tips, Short term Home Care
When an elderly loved one has a stroke, they commonly suffer from one or more permanent mental or physical disabilities. Things they once did with ease can become extremely difficult or even impossible. When stroke patients return home, they often require a number of home modifications to help them regain as much of their independence as possible.
Neighbors – An Untapped Resource for Family Caregivers
Friday, February 18th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Short term Home Care
As family caregivers struggle to fulfill their roles as providers for their loved ones while working to maintain their own household, it can be difficult to know who to reach out to for last minute assistance caring for a loved one. Your neighbors may be one of your most reliable untapped resources for helping you out in a pinch. Not only are they close by, but they are often people you have known and trusted for many years.
16 Ways to Improve Home Safety for Seniors
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011, Assistance for Caregivers, Home Care News, Home Health Care Safety
Whenever possible more and more seniors and their families are choosing home health care as an alternative to assisted living and nursing home facilities. Whether patients choose to live in their own homes or they move in with family members, it is a good idea to make some modifications to the home to make it safer for seniors.
