Long-Term Care Archives - Page 6 of 6

Who wants to be in a nursing home or assisted living facility? My dad certainly didn’t.

But I couldn’t quite figure out how to manage and afford the care that he would need at home. At the time, I couldn’t quit my job to provide that care myself. Maybe I should have. But that’s another story.

When searching online, it is hard to find an unbiased source. It turns out that it may have been more possible than I imagined to find home health care with the community resources already around me. Drumroll, please . . . this is the one unexpected source of local homecare referrals, even in these crazy times.

Call your local hospital and nursing home social workers.

Ask them for homecare referrals—even if your senior is not in the facility currently. Sounds simple, right? But it’s a gem.

Social workers can provide the following facilities:

A referral for home health services like physical therapy (covered by Medicare for a limited time.)
A referral for a homemaker evaluation. The agency will send someone to your senior’s home to discuss services that are needed. After an authorized agency makes their free evaluation, your state may provide caregiving services at no cost.
Their “preferred provider” list of caregivers (which you would pay for out-of-pocket.)

After narrowing your list, use Medicare’s checklist to interview each agency.
Their list includes questions like:

Do you have staff available at night and on weekends for emergencies?
Can you explain what my insurance will cover and what I must pay out-of-pocket?
Do you do background checks on all staff?

Also ask specifically about the sanitation and protection protocols they use during COVID-19.

Blessings as you help you senior well in these challenging times.

He careened around the grocery store aisles driving the scooter they provided. I followed, picking up fallen cans and apologizing to shoppers who jumped out of his way.

My 80-year-old father was a home chef who was thrilled to put the dinner of his choice in his basket: ribs, asparagus and potatoes.

Sadly, those same ribs, asparagus and potatoes were molding in his fridge two weeks later.

Why didn’t he cook them? This really struck me because he loved to cook. Looking back, there were many reasons that all came down to . . . he just needed more help.

I think too, he was pretending that he was more capable than he truly was. We didn’t know that in the next year he would develop dementia and live in a hospital ICU, a nursing home, an assisted living memory care unit and a senior group home.

Look for these warning signs in our own senior’s home. Your elderly mom or dad may need more help than they are letting on.

Environment

The yard or house is not maintained.
There’s nothing to eat in the house.
The fridge contains expired or spoiled food.
Potholders or pans contain burn marks or a burning stove is left unattended.
There are multiples of the same item–10 bottles of ketchup?
Your senior has traffic tickets or the car has dents.
The car’s warning lights are on–gas, oil, check engine.

Social

Your senior stops doing the things they used to enjoy.
Your senior is spending days without leaving the house.
Your senior would benefit from someone checking on them every day.
Your senior complains of feeling lonely or abandoned when you are away.

Financial

Piles of mail in various places.
Unopened personal mail.
Increased thank you messages from charities.
Letters from banks or creditors.
The mail is unopened or bills are unpaid.

Up Close

Your senior is unsteady, wobbly, dizzy or very weak.
Your senior is looking unkempt, skipping showers, forgetting to shave.
Your senior has gained or lost weight, potentially having difficulty with cooking or shopping.
Your senior refuses to take medications or seek medical treatment.
Their personality has changed, become irritable or quiet.
To do lists that never seem to get done.
The house is overly cluttered.
Your senior is recovering more slowly from injuries or surgeries.

Cognitive

Your senior misses appointments, gets lost, forgets important information.
Your senior has difficulty performing familiar tasks.
Your senior substitutes unusual words
Your senior forgets recently learned information.
Your senior puts items in illogical places.
Your senior loses initiative and becomes passive or lethargic.
Your senior has trouble following directions.

Is it time to have a gentle conversation with your mom or dad about assisted living or in-home care?

Find templates and comparison tools for that housing or in-home help with the Digital Social Worker tool. It is full of curated links and to help you compare in-home care, a nursing home or assisted living options.

If you want the Warning Signs Checklist from above, download it here.

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way as you help your senior in their waning phase of life.