Caregivers can make a huge difference in the life of a senior. Some caregivers assist with household chores while others provide medical assistance. No matter what services are needed, there are many agencies, like Home Health Dallas, that provide qualified caregivers for seniors in need. The list below contains some important tips to consider when hiring a caregiver for a senior.

1. Check local Home Care Agencies. These companies staff many caregivers. However, they do provide different levels of service, so take the time to make sure all services that are needed can be provided.

2. If the senior in need of a caregiver is approved for care that will be paid for by Medicare, the Health Care Agency must be Medicare certified. This ensures that the agency meets the minimal federal requirements.

3. If the senior only requires personal care or homemaking services, caregivers do not have to come from an agency that is certified for Medicare.

4. If there is no Medicare coverage, the cost of the caregiver will have to be paid by the person receiving services. These services can be expensive, but there are some low rates for personal care attendants, also known as PCA’s. They are typically paid by the hour at rates between $13 and $35.

5. Do not be afraid to contact multiple agencies. It is important to find the right caregiver that will provide all services needed by the senior.

Source: thefamilycaregiver.org

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

With a new study indicating that upcoming generations of seniors may face greater issues that might compromise their mobility, health and ability to live independently; society needs to learn how to cope and manage increased senior disability.  All aspects of senior care need to be focused upon.

1. Caregivers can arm themselves with knowledge – with this study already circulating, professional caregivers and families with other generations alike can take this opportunity to become more knowledgeable. Professional caregivers can increase their knowledge about dealing with disabled seniors on a large scale, and families can take a long hard look at their prospective care options should this issue become a reality for their family

2. Organizations can improve personal mobility devices – new technology that can assist in the senior care industry is constantly becoming available on the market, but if  there is a greater need that’s upcoming, there’s room for further development and preparation

3. Studies can focus on preventative measures – increased numbers of disabled seniors, particularly if the boomer demographic is affected, could put a strain on the health care system. With this knowledge, health care professionals care work proactively to try and find preventative medicine or establish techniques that may reduce the likelihood that the number of disabled seniors will increase

Via: MedicalNewsToday

Image source: sxc.hu

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

When my mother turned 75, she finally admitted that her home was becoming too much for her. Our family knew how much the memories in her home meant to her, especially since that’s where she had lived with my father during their retirement before he passed away. She didn’t want to give up her lifestyle or her memories, but she felt she would have to move on for the sake of her health. After talking to her primary physician about the situation, he suggested that it was possible to have the best of both worlds by hiring a Dallas professional caregiver. He said that rather than moving my mother into a nursing home or assisted living home in Dallas, she could maintain her lifestyle and independence by getting help at home in the areas she was struggling with. Sure enough, after hiring a caregiver to help my mother out, we saw fast changes and the stress had been lifted off my mother’s shoulders. Who knows what the future may bring, but for now my mother is happy and healthy, and she’s had the chance to keep her life!

- Susan, 49, Dallas

Home Instead Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

After a senior has suffered from a medical emergency or accident, the last thing they need to worry about when returning home from a hospital or rehabilitation center is to worry about how they’re going to manage to take care of themselves and their Dallas home. After retuning home from the hospital, Dallas seniors need to focus on their recovery, regaining their strength and health so they can get on with their lives; however, this is a process that just cannot be rushed as much as they might want it to be. In order to help seniors with the transition from hospital or rehab to home, Home Instead Senior Care in-home caregivers can ensure that all seniors need to focus on is getting better and that they don’t take on any unnecessary burdens that might compromise their recovery.

Bringing a caregiver into a senior’s home can help them through the recovery process; Home Instead Senior Care’s caregivers can help seniors with dressing and bathing, getting in and out of bed, and can even help them to complete any assigned physiotherapy exercises. Having a caregiver help a senior around the house, also ensures that they don’t need to worry about maintaining their home, since caregivers can take care of those tasks; from light-housekeeping, to laundry, cooking and errand running.

Hire a home caregiver for your aging loved one when they leave the hospital, and know that all they need to worry about is their recovery.

Sources:

1. Caring.com

Home Instead Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

It’s known that at least 5% to 10% of Dallas seniors suffer from elder abuse, but many choose to suffer in silence, especially when their abuser is a family caregiver. Some seniors may be reluctant to report the abuse because they fear the consequences, which for some might be loss of support from the family, loss of independence, or a move to an undesired residence like an assisted living facility. Since many seniors won’t speak up when they’re being victimized by elder abuse, it’s our responsibility to look for the signs and speak for seniors when it comes to elder abuse to give them a voice.

How to Detect Elder Abuse

• The senior is showing physical signs of injury, including bruising, sprains and cuts

• There are bedsores on the senior’s body, which may show signs of neglect

• The senior seems to be tense and argumentative around his or her caregiver

• The senior has withdrawn from many social activities that they once enjoyed

• The senior’s general attitude has changed

• The senior refuses to seek treatment for any issues with drugs, alcohol or depression

• The senior tries to avoid the topic of his/her care

• The senior appears to be losing excessive amounts of weight

• The senior’s caregiver seems “too good to be true”, if you get the impression, that may very well be the case. A good caregiver should be open and honest about their dealings with a senior.

Sources:

Planning for Eldercare

Home Instead Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Q – I suspect that my elderly grandfather, who has an elder care provider assisting him in his home in Dallas might be a victim of home care negligence. He doesn’t seem to get along with his caregiver and is reluctant to look her in the eyes. I don’t want to make a big deal out of nothing, so what are the signs I can look for to determine if he’s a victim of negligence?

A – If you believe that your father in Dallas might be a victim of negligence, or doesn’t get along with his caregiver. Don’t hesitate to talk to the caregiving agency about your suspicions and request another elder care expert to provide home care services. However, if you want to justify your concerns, there are other signs that could indicate your father is being neglected.

• Sudden changes in his behavior, such as becoming more withdrawn, depressed or angry

• Physical injuries like bruises, scrapes, cuts, or even broken bones

• The home care provider not allowing seniors to spend time alone with family members for fear something might be revealed

• Pressure sores or signs that restraints have been used

• Sudden, inexplicable weight loss in the senior

Sources:
1. Care Home Negligence
2. EZine Articles

Home Instead Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Q – Is medical care available to seniors in Dallas at home?

A – While many doctors do continue to make traditional health calls to visit seniors who have issues with mobility that make it difficult for them to get into their doctors’ offices, these services tend to be costly and are often not covered by medical insurance programs like Medicare. However, new technologies which are emerging into the home care market for seniors, hope to make medical care available to all seniors from the comfort and safety of their own homes. General Electric and Intel recently announced their partnership and commitment to donate $250 million dollars towards the research and development of home health care technologies for the elderly over the next 5 years. Already available on the market are the Intel Health Guide, which allows seniors to interact with medical professionals using a 2-way video computer and the GE QuietCare; a home monitoring system which allows senior caregivers to keep track of the senior’s well-being remotely.

Over the upcoming years, these two partnered technology giants hope to create health technologies that will allow doctors and nurses to monitor their senior patients’ health, quality of life and diagnose elderly health issues remotely, while the senior remains in their Dallas residence. Hopefully, these new technological developments will help more seniors get the medical care they require in a convenient and affordable manner.

Sources:
1.   New York Times Steve Lohr
2.   Intel & GE Health Care Alliance

Home Instead Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Choosing a caregiver for an elderly relative or parent is not a task that anyone can take lightly. While you want to make the best decision to ensure your Dallas senior receives the highest quality of eldercare and remains satisfied with the decision you make for their in-home care, it’s hard to know what to look for in a caregiver. Well, worry no further, because we’re about to tell you about the qualities and skills every Dallas in-home caregiver should have.

1.    Experience – the amount of experience a caregiver should have depends on the level of care a senior requires. If a caregiver is strictly there for companionship, they may not need direct eldercare experience, but ensure you check references from previous employers to learn about personality and depedability. If a caregiver will have higher levels of responsibilities, consider looking for a caregiver with more direct experience in eldercare.
2.    Commitment – choose a caregiver with a track record of committing to their care recipients. It’s easier on your senior to have just one main caregiver once you find one you like.
3.    Emergency Training – While a caregiver doesn’t need a medical background, some level of CPR or first-aid training can be beneficial, so they know how to assist a senior in an emergency while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
4.    Driver’s License – a senior caregiver with a license is a must for running errands, going to appointments, and responding to emergency situations!
5.    Good personality – a senior caregiver must be dependable, patient, and demonstrate compassion, but above all; their personality must be a good fit with that of a senior.

Sources:
1.   Associated Content
2.    AMazines

Home Instead Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

With the growth of the senior care industry in Dallas and with many seniors requiring some form of in-home care or assisted living services, it comes as no surprise that almost everyday there seem to be new developments that surround the eldercare business. The best developments in Dallas senior services are those that improve the lives of seniors and ease the stress of caregivers caring for their elderly family members.

1.    In-home monitoring systems – Big Brother style monitoring systems allow family members and eldercare professionals to monitor the safety of a senior living independently through motion detectors, cameras, and vital monitoring.

2.    Safety gadgets – electronic alert devices and personal alarms allow seniors to call for help when they’re in danger. Many come equipped with GPS for locating.

3.    Transportation services – many communities offer free transportation for seniors over a certain age, so they can get around independently.

4.    Exercise information and resources – it’s no longer believed that exercise is bad for seniors joints or their hearts when completed safely. Many gyms offer programs that cater to the older demographic.

5.    Luxury goods – personal care products, like canes and walkers no longer have a sterile medical feel. Seniors can purchase items that fit their style and personality.

6.    Elderlaw – with the number of baby boomers approaching their senior years, Elderlaw is addressing more needs of the elderly with legislation.

7.    Gadgets – technologies cater to senior living, can improve their lifestyle and increase independence.

8.    Resources for family caregivers – support groups, information sources and other resources are available to help family caregivers learn about senior care and connect with one another.

9.    Peer care – caregiving agencies may have older adults on staff to provide care to their peers that might better relate to senior issues, offer companionship and increase a care recipients comfort level.

10.    In-home Care – non-medical senior care is widely available through agencies like Home Instead Senior Care, to allow seniors to maintain their independence at home with the assistance they require.

Sources:
1.    Eldercare ABC Blog
2.    Franchise Prospector

Home Instead Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

For many Dallas seniors, arthritis is one of the unfortunate realities of getting older. Fortunately, there are arthritis therapies that can alleviate some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and the associated pain that seniors experience and tools which can assist with the physical challenges that can occur. Simple arthritic therapies can be incorporated into the daily life of a senior, like an exercise program as recommended by a doctor or therapist; using thermal therapies and ice therapies with ice packs or heating packs to relieve local pain, tension and muscle spasms; and rest using splits or supports, or laying down in bed. An occupational therapist can also help seniors to learn techniques to cope with their arthritis and complete tasks hard on the joint safely.

While Dallas elder care professionals or family caregivers can assist seniors with day-to-day tasks, seniors who live independently at home and suffer from arthritis may benefit from use of assistive devices to help with tasks that are made to difficult by the arthritis like grasping, holding, getting dressed, walking, sitting, standing, climbing stairs, walking and driving. Assistive devices and gadgets are available online from websites like Comfort House, Dynamic Living, and Ableware.

Arthritis may create additional challenges for independent seniors, but with knowledge and understanding, it can be managed without a great impact on a senior’s chosen lifestyle.

Sources:
1.    About
2.    WebMD

Home Instead Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.