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Caring Choices
Elder Care Choices counselors can help employees with many
different types of caregiving situations. Here
are some of the typical elder care scenarios in which we are able to help: What resources are available to help an
older adult live alone? My mother lives by herself in Ohio, more than 500
miles away. The doctor recently
recommended that she not drive any longer due to decreased vision and hearing.
Her general health remains good. She
wants to remain at home as long as possible, but we’re far away and there
aren’t many relatives nearby. Considerations: With overall good health, there are a variety of
resources to help this woman. Some
of these include: ¨ Home-Delivered Meals: Local agencies across the country provide hot, nutritionally balanced meals to home-bound older adults. ¨ Transportation Assistance: Transportation is provided to and/or from service providers, health care professionals and nutritional sites. ¨ Telephone Reassurance: Check-in calls are made on a regular basis to homebound older adults. ¨ Personal Emergency Response Systems: Electronic devices worn by older adults can be used to call emergency health care professionals. In addition, with vision and hearing difficulties, there may need to be some modifications made to the home to accommodate physical changes. Some of these include: ¨ Install fluorescent lighting underneath wall-hung cupboards to provide extra light for working in the kitchen. Also, you might want to consider installing light-colored counter tops that reflect available light. ¨ Make sure outside walkways, stairs and entrances are well-lit. Consider using lights that are activated by motion, sound or darkness. ¨ Check to see if you can hear your doorbell from every room in the house. For greater security, consider installing an intercom that doubles as a doorbell. There are also a variety of things that you can do as a long distance caregiver to help when you visit in their home. For more information, check the publications that are available from Elder Care Choices. When Is It Time To Move? My parents continue to live at home, although both
of them are in declining health. My
sisters and I suspect that Dad is in the early stages of alzheimer’s disease
and my mother has had three falls in the past year.
They are reluctant to give up their home but everyone is worried about
their well-being. Considerations: Although it’s not easy, here are some guidelines when you are wondering what steps to take: ¨ Get feedback from other people: When you’re not sure if what you’re seeing is a problem or just an isolated instance, get input from other family members and friends who have regular contact with your relative. Or, describe the situation to someone who doesn’t know your loved one. They may be able to give you a different perspective. ¨ Speak to the doctor: Talk to your parent’s physician about your concerns. Some doctors will speak freely to the children of their patients but because of the confidential nature of the doctor-patient relationship, it is best if you let your parent know that you plan to talk with his or her doctor. ¨ Look for patterns: If you don’t feel comfortable talking to your loved one, wait and see if the problem persists. Keep a written log of your observations. If the problem involves more than a few isolated incidents, you’ll have objective data to verify your perceptions. ¨ Talk with your relative about his or her needs and preferences. Inquire about the importance of things like privacy, activities, access to outdoor activities and nearness to family and friends. With this information, you may be able to work out suitable alternations…a private apartment in an independent living facility, a facility with space for gardening or a location near family and friends. The important thing is to be proactive and don’t wait until a crisis arises to consider housing and other choices involved in daily living. When a crisis happens, your choices will be limited and you will have only have a short amount of time to research options. What types of facilities are
available for older adults? My grandmother is open to the idea of moving but we don’t understand all of the different types of facilities. She needs more and more help with personal care and we’d like to make only one move if possible. Considerations: There are an increasing number of types of facilities
that are geared to the changing needs and preferences of older adults.
Here are a few of the most common: ¨ Independent Living: These facilities offer a housing option that generally includes many amenities, social activities and services like meals, laundry, housekeeping and transportation. Most offer little health care and do not accommodate residents with chronic health problems. ¨
Assisted Living: These
facilities provide daily assistance with a resident’s personal hygiene needs,
but offer less intensive care than skilled nursing facilities.
There are a wide range of services and amenities offered at this level of
care. ¨ Continuing Care Retirement Communities: These are large complexes that offer lifelong care. Residents must be in good health to enter at independent level. As a person needs more assistance or supervision, the resident moves to an assisted living unit and then the in-house skilled nursing unit as necessary. ¨ Senior Apartments: Subsidized senior housing is available to individuals over 62 years of age with limited financial resources. They may be publicly or privately owned. Apartments are handicap accessible and offer many safety features such as emergency call buzzers or lights and grab bars. What resources are available to
help older adults who do not have insurance coverage for prescription drugs? My parents have very little in the way of financial
resources. They each have multiple
medications that they take on a regular basis, but no insurance to cover the
costs. Their savings are being
rapidly depleted. Considerations: Anyone who does not have prescription coverage knows first hand about the rising costs of medications. Here are several points to consider that may help you save on prescription costs: ¨ Ask your parents' physician if he or she participates in the PHRMA, Prescription Drug Patient Assistance Program and if they are eligible. ¨ Discount prescription cards are available from some pharmaceutical companies as well as private organizations to help save money on medications. For more information on these organizations, contact Elder Care Choices. ¨ Ask your parents’ doctor is there is an over-the-counter medication equivalent to the prescription or another medication that costs less and has the same benefits. ¨ Always ask for the generic form. They are less expensive than the manufacturers’ brands. ¨ Full Medicaid benefits include coverage for medications. Elder Care Choices can help you locate the Medicaid office nearest your relative and provide you with eligibility information for this program. For more specific information on prescription discount cards, contact Elder Care Choices.
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Elder Care Choices is a division of: Senior Services, Inc. 2895 Shorefair Drive Winston-Salem, NC 27105 Copyright © 2003 [Senior Services,
Inc]. All rights
reserved. email about this site: webmaster@seniorservicesinc.org The information on this Website is provided for general informational purposes only and SHOULD NOT be relied upon as a substitute for sound professional medical or legal advice. The website privacy/disclaimer statements may be accessed at this link: privacy statement
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