Posts Tagged ‘elderly care’
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
 The decision to consider nursing home care for your loved one is tough and making the choice between in-home care and nursing home care can be frustrating. It’s one of the most important decisions that you can make for you loved one, so take your time to make sure you are making the best possible one.
A nursing home provides round-the-clock care for those whose conditions requires nursing care and do not require intensive care like is received in a hospital setting. The nursing home provides medical care as well as personal care such as dressing, bathing or eating.
Nursing homes are available for long-term and short-term care. For patients who are recovering from an illness or injury, a nursing home can provide care until the patient is recovered and ready to go home. Long-term care is for those individuals who have more serious medical conditions. Admission to a nursing home requires a doctor’s order.
Choosing a nursing home is not easy and you might be confused as to where you need to begin. Here are a few things to consider:
- What are your loved one’s needs? Talk to their doctor about what kind of care is required and how long they might need to be there. Ask what the patient can do for himself or herself and how intense their medical needs might be. For example, caring for someone with diabetes is much different than one with Alzheimer’s.
- What can you afford? A few weeks or months of short-term care can be covered by Medicare, but long-term care may not be covered. Medicaid and private insurance might pay for some of the costs; however, the majority of the financial burden could fall on the family.
- Choose nursing homes to visit. Narrow down the nursing homes in your area and research them by reading inspection reports. Also if the patient is capable of helping to make the decision, discuss options with them so that they can feel a part of the plan.
- Visit the nursing homes. Plan to see each one you have selected and speak with the administrators and staff and even say hello to the residents. Ask to see private as well as public areas. Have a list of questions and don’t accept any vague answers.
- Compare notes on each facility before making a final decision. Make sure you have all the answers you need before making a decision.
The best nursing home will offer medical and custodial care. It can also offer you a peace of mind. Take your time in your research so that you can make the best decision possible for your loved one.
Tags: Alzheimer's disease, Dementia, elderly, elderly care, Home Care, home care provider, nursing home, senior citizens, Senior Health
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Monday, October 18th, 2010
 There are many senior citizens who want to work again despite the limitations that society imposes on them. While there are physical limitations to the kind of work that they are able to do, elderly individuals must be permitted to take on jobs that will help them to continue to lead a happy, productive life. With the current state of the economy, jobs for anyone are hard to come by or find, but that is not saying that it’s an impossible task to accomplish. Work for the elderly is more difficult due to limitations and age, however, jobs for the elderly can be found if you know where to look.
For the most part, elderly work should be free from strenuous activities. This includes jobs that require a lot of movement, lifting heavy objects, or stay up until the wee hours of the morning. Physical exhaustion and too much effort would not be conducive to a job for an elderly individual.
What sort of work would then be appropriate for an elderly individual given these conditions? This job should not only be physically mild but also it needs to be meaningful. A job for an elderly individual does not need to be monotonous or absent of emotion to be a good fit for them.
The elderly could work from home and earn money and feel fulfilled without leaving home. There are many job opportunities out there for those who want to work without leaving home. These types of jobs can be based on previous employment such as tutoring, teaching piano, or a craft.
Many elderly want to reach out to others and often either volunteer for charities or non-government organizations. There are many opportunities for elderly social work that is open for employees as well as volunteers. This can be a rewarding experience.
Leading a happy and fulfilled life does not stop at retirement. There are plenty of work opportunities for the elderly that will allow them to earn a bit of money and feel productive as well as feel good about themselves by helping their community. Being happy, productive and fulfilled can lead to a healthier mental well-being.
Tags: elderly, elderly activities, elderly appreciation, elderly care, elderly enjoyment, elderly exercise, elderly independence, elderly living, elderly volunteering, financial stability, Independence, maintaining independence, senior citizens
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Sunday, October 17th, 2010
 For the most part, Thanksgiving is a day where family and friends travel far and wide to celebrate the day with a huge feast of traditional favorites like turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy and pumpkin pie. For senior citizens, this day often means loneliness.
Each year, many elderly rely on community outreach programs such as Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army, and many local organizations to celebrate Thanksgiving. These elderly face many challenges such as being unable to cook a large meal, no family or family that is too far away, as well as other issues.
Below is a small sampling of organizations who help with a Thanksgiving Meal:
- Self-Help for the Elderly, who opened their doors in 1966, has a Thanksgiving Luncheon at 3 locations. They also deliver meals. Please click here for more information.
- Glide Memorial Church operates one of the largest free meal programs in San Francisco. The church is located at 330 Ellis Street in San Francisco. Call the church to find out times and days.
- Tenderloin Tessie’s is one of San Francisco’s oldest community meals. Last year was its 32nd year and the meal was served at the First Unitarian Church at 1187 Franklin Street. Call the church to find out times and days.
Holidays are times to be spent with family, friends, and those you love; the elderly often are unable to do this. These community organizations mentioned as well as many others, help to make the holidays a bit brighter. Please consider donating or volunteering.
Tags: bay area, California, delivery services, elderly, elderly activities, elderly activity, elderly care, elderly independence, Home Care, Independence, quality time, senior citizens
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Saturday, October 16th, 2010
 Justice is served in Redwood City, CA. A caretaker of an elderly woman was convicted of stealing more than $138,000.00. She was sentenced to four years in prison. She will serve her time in Chowchilla, which is the Valley State Prison.
The caretaker was ordered to pay $145, 00.00 in restitution to the elderly woman she had been hired to take care of. Niumai Adele Lawanivalu was hired to look after the elderly woman who suffers from dementia. She immediately started writing herself checks from the elderly woman’s account. She was charged with three counts each of commercial burglary and elder financial abuse, which are all felonies.
The police began investigating Lawanivalu not long after a worker at one of the elderly lady’s banks became suspicious over a large amount of account activity and contacted them.
An investigation traced the activity back to Lawanivalu. She begged the family not to turn her in to the police. This phone call was recorded by law enforcement.
She was later arrested as she was returning from a Las Vegas trip with the Fijian rugby team. She was initially hired through a local referral agency, From the Heart Homecare; however, two weeks later, she offered to work directly for the family at a cheaper price and they accepted her offer.
Please visit here for more information.
Tags: bay area, California, Dementia, elderly, elderly care, Health, Health care, Home Care, home care provider, Home Health, senior citizens, Senior Health, Service Providers
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Friday, October 15th, 2010
 The Christmas season is a beautiful time of the year full of friends, family, presents, and yummy goodies. In the hustle and bustle of this busy season, the elderly and shut-ins are often overlooked. There are many ways to squeeze in a little time to share with an elderly neighbor and make their holidays just a bit brighter.
Here are a few ideas but the sky is the limit!
- Take a senior out to a special dinner. Check out local festivals, plays, tree lightings, or parties. Go tree shopping—an elderly person might enjoy helping you shop for a tree or even their own. Take them on a drive and look at the Christmas lights. Many areas have a ‘festival of lights’ show through a local park. Make sure on any outing that you consider any special needs and be sure you can
- The elderly enjoy shopping; however due to no longer driving or mobility issues, they may not be able to get out much so taking them shopping could provide a nice service for them.
- Help them do things that they are unable to do for themselves such as shoveling their sidewalk if it snows, helping them decorate the tree or how, or anything else they might need you to do for them.
- Hugs and lots of them. Who doesn’t need a hug? For some reason, the elderly aren’t often touched and would welcome a genuine, heart-felt hug at Christmas.
- Visit an elderly person in a nursing home or simply someone who is a shut in and bring them a Christmas card or a small gift.
- Help the elderly through a local charity that supports seniors at the holidays. Charities are always looking for volunteers and can help you to find somewhere to volunteer your time.
The elderly are thankful for being remembered at Christmas and you will feel warmth in your heart for helping to make their holidays a bit brighter!
Tags: elderly, elderly activities, elderly activity, elderly care, elderly enjoyment, elderly entertainment, elderly independence, elderly living, elderly volunteering, Independence, maintaining independence
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Thursday, October 14th, 2010
 Elderly grocery shopping is so much different than shopping for a family. When grocery shopping elderly style, you are no longer buying in large quantities as you would for a family. Instead, you are looking for products that are easy to open and handle and in smaller sizes.
Here are some guidelines for your shopping trip:
- Easy to Handle Products: Seniors do not have neither the strength nor dexterity as they did when they were younger. Lifting bottles of cleaning supplies, milk, juice, or other items found in large, bulky containers, are awkward. Smaller containers may cost more; however they are easier to lift and carry. Buy milk and juice in quart bottles, coffee in 1 lb cans, ketchup and mustard in small bottles as well as mayonnaise, salad dressing, laundry detergent and cleaning supplies.
- Easy to Open Items: Make sure asprin and all over-the-counter medications are in easy to open bottles instead of child proof bottles. When purchasing cans of soup, vegetables, fruit and meat, look for the pop top cans so that the elder doesn’t have to use a can opener.
- Smaller Portion Sizes: Think smaller when it comes to food that can go bad. For example, ask the butcher at the grocery store to package just 1-2 chicken breasts, pork chops, or steaks. Look for canned food in small cans. Many vegetables have the single-serve portions available.
For elderly shopping, it isn’t so much about buying in quantity to save money; it’s more about convenience and ease. With a little bit of practice, you can learn to shop for the elderly. And trust me; they will let you know when something doesn’t work for them.
Information in this article obtained here
Tags: elderly, elderly activities, elderly activity, elderly care, elderly enjoyment, elderly entertainment, elderly independence, elderly living, Health, Health care, Home Care, Independence, maintaining independence, senior citizens
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Wednesday, October 13th, 2010
 Incontinence simply means loss of bladder control and it is a common condition that many who care for the elderly must deal with. It is more of a symptom and not a disease and is caused by a wide range of conditions and disorders including pelvic surgery, injuries, certain medications, and just basic degenerative changes that occur with aging.
Elderly with incontinence can experience both physical and emotional uneasiness. These are many things that can be done to treat and manage the condition. The first step in treatment is to see your doctor to find the cause and establish a treatment plan.
The following are some additional tips to help you, the caregiver, deal with some of the challenges associated with incontinence:
- Make the bathroom easy to find by using night lights in the bedrooms and hallways.
- Many elderly have accidents because they are unable to make to the bathroom in time; consider purchasing a bedside commode. This can be used in the bathroom over the regular toilet or it can be used bedside at night.
- Keep pathways through the home safe and clear; rearrange furniture and remove clutter; make sure throw rugs have a non-slip backing on them.
- Encourage the use of a walker or can to increase mobility.
- Get a waterproof bed sheet to help protect your mattress from night time accidents.
- Provide chairs with sturdy arms so that it reduces the strain of getting up; straining to get in or out of a chair can put pressure on the bladder.
- Make sure the elder is allowed enough time in the bathroom to completely empty the bladder.
- Remove wet clothing immediately after an accident and rinse out to cut down on odor; if the wet item cannot be rinsed right away, store in an airtight container or plastic bag.
- Have a schedule for toileting needs; start with every 2 hours and progress from there.
- Consider a raised toilet seat and handrails beside the toilet to make toileting more comfortable. A raised seat helps an elder get up and the handrails help to steady.
It only takes time and a little patience to work through the symptoms of incontinence.
Tags: elderly, elderly care, elderly independence, elderly living, Health, Health care, Home Care, home care provider, Home Health, incontinence, Independence, maintaining independence, senior citizens, Senior Health, staying social
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Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
 What do you think of when you hear the words, “social worker”? If you are like most people, you think of one of those people in the welfare office. Social work has been associated for a long time with Child Protective Services and other non-profit organizations that work to help improve the lives of children and help to remove them from abusive situations.
Adult Protective Services is also an important part of the field of social work; however, APS is understaffed in many places throughout the United States and some cities do not even have an APS department. Cases involving the elderly have increased in recent years and the increase in reports added with the media attention on the issue has finally given APS the focus it deserves.
Choosing to be a social worker for elderly citizens is going to give you a challenge. You have to be willing to learn specific skills both personally and academically in order to succeed at working with the elderly.
Working with the elderly demands a level of education that can only be obtained through a college or university; a social worker must have at the minimum, a bachelor’s degree, to start a career. Many times, however, it is necessary to have a master’s degree. While working on a degree, electives can be taken to give the more specialized training you may need to work with the elderly.
Some of your coursework might include:
- Death, Loss and Grief
- Social Work with the Elderly
- Evaluation in Adults and Elderly
- Basic Social Work Research
- Adulthood and Aging
- Policies and Services for the Elderly
To work with seniors, you must have compassion and patience. You have to see things through their eyes; many times they won’t understand with a younger person coming to help them. While most elderly are wonderful to know, just like any other group of people, there are bumps along the way. And if the elderly is a victim of abuse or neglect, this may amplify the negativity in them and they may call you names and seem very angry.
It is also good to be able to work with those that have mental illnesses. Many of the individuals in nursing homes are there because of dementia, Alzheimer’s, or some other mental illness and require constant care. It is important to know how to talk with these elderly and be able to tell the difference between fact and fiction as these individuals will often have issues with confusion.
Being a social worker and working for the elderly can provide you with a fulfilling career.
Tags: adult protective services, elderly, elderly care, elderly independence, elderly living, Health, home care provider, Independence, maintaining independence, senior citizens, Service Providers, social work
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Monday, October 11th, 2010
 For many elderly, the idea of living alone can be scary, especially if it is the first time. Some elderly haven’t ever living alone and have oftentimes relied on others to do things like the household budget. Other are having problems with health issues and one fall could be scary, or even life-threatening.
It doesn’t take a whole lot to insure that your elderly relative or friend is safe.
Use the following as a check-list:
- Lighting is important to insure that those with problems seeing can motor through the home easier. Nightlights are a great way to light up the floor.
- Consider moving their bedroom downstairs; stairs can be hard to maneuver if the elderly has mobility problems like arthritis. If stairs just can’t be avoided, insure that the handrails are sturdy and useable.
- Test all smoke alarms on a regular basis
- In the bathroom, use non-slip mats and grab bars for ease of getting in and out of the shower; a shower chair could also be considered.
- Insure that all electrical cords are out of the way safely. This could be a trip hazard.
- Consider putting a timer on small appliances; the elderly can forget to turn things off and these timers could save their life in the long run.
- Have an emergency escape route planned so that in the event the normal route is unable to reached, that they can get in and out of the house safely.
- Help make a list of emergency numbers and have them posted by a phone. This list should include doctors, hospital and nearby family and friends.
Planning ahead for a possible emergency eliminates a rush in the event of one and could save a life or lives.
Tags: elderly, elderly care, elderly independence, elderly living, Health, Health care, Home Care, Independence, maintaining independence, safety, senior citizens, Senior Health
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Sunday, October 10th, 2010
 Richard Ow, an 80 year old gentleman, lives in the North Beach Hotel. He has been a resident there for the past 40 years. He earns less than $24,000 a year from his pension as a former postal worker. He retired 20 years ago. By what the federal government says, this man is not poor; but by San Francisco’s calculations, this elderly Chinatown man is living in poverty.
Mr. Ow considers himself fortunate; some of his friends are earning less than $800 a month from Social Security. The average check in San Francisco is $11, 319 annually which is a mere $500 above the federal poverty line.
Elderly residents are increasing in numbers to line up for the food banks and free meals. And, in the same breath, the federal government doesn’t consider them poor enough to qualify for many of the federal assistance programs.
For example, the federal government considers a single person earning $10, 830 or less a year as living in poverty; however, there are many seniors that earn as much as double that figure and still living in impoverished conditions.
A recent report by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development showed that 61% of San Francisco residents ages 65 and over earn less than $27,282 annually which is the bare minimum that a senior needs to cover necessary costs of living.
To help bridge the gap in costs, seniors will end up skipping meals or cutting pills in half to make them last longer. The economic recession has added to the problems of homelessness among senior citizens. In San Francisco, the number of food stamp, or SNAP, cases have grown by 55% in the past 17 months and the San Francisco Food Bank has seen a 25% increase in their case load over the past 12 months.
Based on an article located here; please visit for more information
Tags: bay area, California, elderly, elderly care, elderly independence, elderly living, food pantry, food services, Health, Health care, Independence, maintaining independence, Medicine, pension, san francisco, senior citizens, Senior Health, social security, soup kitchen
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