You took that fantastic job offer in another state. Mom and dad were healthy and fine. As time passed, you were promoted and became successful. Dad passed away and mom is not doing well on her own. She’s reached an age where daily assistance may be necessary and you’re a 1,000 miles away. How do you manage this situation without picking up and moving your family or your mother? If this scenario sounds familiar, remote care giving might be the answer. Visiting Angels supports remote care giving, taking the burden off families and loved ones of those that need care. “Nursing homes and assisted living facilities are not the only options available,” says Richard Bitner, President of the national franchise, Visiting Angels. Non-medical home care services allows your loved ones to live where they want to be … their own home. Visiting Angels has over 300 senior home care agencies around the country to help educate families and provide care to seniors and people with disabilities. Here are some questions to consider when determining if your loved one needs professional care:
If your answers to these questions highlight a loss of ability for your loved one to care for themselves independently, professional elderly home care might be an option for you. When considering agencies, choose one that can offer more than basic homemaker services, including dressing, bathing and other hygienic activities. If the home care agency is based in Massachusetts, be sure to check that it is bonded, insured and accredited by Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts. For piece of mind for you and your loved one, understand the caregiver’s background and experience. Home care agencies should be able to provide you this along with conducting a criminal background check on its employees. You also should be able to meet with the caregiver before you agree to services to make sure that personalities match and you are comfortable with the service they provide. “And you should be entirely comfortable with the person helping your loved one,” adds Bitner. “For example, at Visiting Angels, we try to match the personalities of our clients with the personalities of our home caregivers. If something doesn’t fit, we find someone who does. This makes everyone happy and allows us to give the best care possible.” Since home care services are non-medical, they currently are not covered by Medicare. But you do have options. Elderly home care services can be paid individually or by long term care insurance. Often, funds from associations are available as well. For example, contact the organization that is involved with the illness that your loved one is afflicted with. Funds are sometimes available for their members. Veterans and their spouses might qualify for the Disability Pension for Aid and Attendance. Others decide to take out a reverse mortgage. Whatever your situation, the proper research can determine the best route for financing care. Most importantly, stay in contact with your loved one and the people involved in their care. Establish periodic phone calls and visit when you are able. Conversation shows you care whether you are in the same room or across the country. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton senior homecare agency provides high quality in-home care services to seniors and people with disabilities. Countless families have benefited from our dementia home care service, Alzheimer's care, companion care, elderly care, respite support, transitional aid, and elder home care services in Wellesley, Newton, Needham, Brookline, Chestnut Hill, Canton, Westwood, Dedham, Watertown, Natick, Stoughton, Roslindale, Norwood and nearby towns. While non-medical in nature, the care provided by Visiting Angels Newton/Canton can make a big impact on your loved one's happiness and quality of life. Call us today at 617-795-2727 for more information!
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Summary: There are many responsibilities when caring for an aging loved one and sometimes family members cannot be there all the time. Senior home care services from Visiting Angels Newton/Canton can provide a much-needed respite for families. ________________________________________________________________________ Many adult children are finding themselves in the role of primary caregiver for their aging parents (and other family members). There tends to be a great struggle to find the balance between juggling their own families, careers, and the responsibilities of caring for their parent(s). When at all possible, it is advised to seek support and ways to incorporate personal time and well-being into the caregivers’ schedule. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton respite senior home care is helpful with daily tasks, overnight support, and live-in care. A home health aide can take over tasks such as household maintenance and daily chores. Your Visiting Angels Newton/Canton caregiver can assist with bathing and grooming, changing of linens, and laundry, preparing meals, and helping your loved one prepare for bed. Having the help of a home health aide brings a substantial difference and much-needed balance and piece of mind to the family and senior receiving the care. In addition to chores and keeping up with household duties, maybe a challenge is overnight care, or even being responsible for someone who lives out of town. It is not unusual for loved ones to live in other states and countries, making transition challenging and decision making an immediate priority. If the adult child who is responsible for their parent lives out of town, how will their loved one get to a doctor’s appointment, have a companion to check in on them, or take their proper medication? Hired elderly home care is available, offering caring, secure, and trained caregivers. You may only need home care at night, so your loved one is not alone and has assistance as needed. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton can provide overnight coverage as well as live-in caregivers, offering 24 hour a day, seven days a week coverage. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton provides caring at-home caregivers offering respite for families, alleviating the stress of trying to balance career and family. Using Visiting Angels Newton/Canton’s services can assist with learning how to function in a new and unfamiliar role as caregiver to a parent. Our caregivers allow the maintenance of a family’s schedule while providing personalized home care to their loved one. If you are looking for home care services in Brookline, Watertown, Newton, Canton, Wellesley and nearby areas, call Visiting Angels Newton/Canton at 617-795-2727 for a free in-home consultation. When a loved one starts to be less independent, there are decisions to be made about how they can manage on their own. Many of their capabilities are perhaps very good, but some are failing. The ideal for maintaining their lifestyle and continuing with their routines is senior home care. If daily chores are being neglected, or there are concerns about whether their prescription drugs are being taken, elder home care will ensure that these and other important tasks are done. Their way of life can be preserved at home when these needs are met with some extra helping hands. Many seniors have a network of friends and family, and most importantly, a routine that actually helps them thrive and be happy. Retaining this standard of living is a positive part of their continued health, and studies have shown that seniors do well remaining in their homes. The life of a senior can be uncomplicated yet joyful. It could involve a weekly trip to the market, the care of a pet or garden, or something as simple as meeting a friend on a park bench. These daily acts help a person maintain their identity, and their continued interests can keep them stimulated and contented. Elderly homecare services can also aid in cooking, housekeeping, bathing, grooming, errands, and even offer easy companionship. Senior homecare is an alternative to nursing home care, and is a wonderful option to keep a loved one in their beloved homes. If a nursing home is not yet needed, considering this type of care in one’s home is just the support some elderly people would need. Best In-home CaregiversOur caregivers are trained in the use of Hoyer lifts, transfer boards and other mobility devices. Each caregiver has a full orientation program with sensitivity training, as well as guidance from their Case Managers who are all CDP certified and trained by one of the top instructors in dementia care. We match a caregiver’s personality traits, technical skills and experience with the client to ensure an excellent outcome in their relationship.
Visiting Angels Newton/Canton provides caring and experienced caregivers for senior home care in Watertown, Brookline, Canton, Newton, Wellesley and nearby areas as an alternative to an assisted living facility or nursing home. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.visitingangels.com/newton. With America’s population aging, billions of dollars are spent each year on senior care expenses. But with economic worries affecting many families, cutting costs has become more important than ever. With a little creativity, seniors and their families can save a substantial amount of money. Compare PricesFamily members and caregivers can help seniors out by comparison shopping for goods and services online. Changing homeowner’s insurance policies alone can save hundreds of dollars each year. Review all bills and find out if it is less expensive to bundle services like phone and cable. Take Advantage of Existing ServicesThe fall prevention alarms advertised on television can be a great tool to help seniors prevent serious injuries from falls and other medical emergencies, but most of them come with a costly monthly monitoring fee. Look for a personal alarm system that can connect directly to 911 and charges no monitoring fees and has no service contracts. Consider Home CareAccording to a 2007 MetLife survey, the average annual rate nationally for a private room in a nursing home is $77,745 and is steadily increasing each year. The annual base rate for an individual residing in an assisted living community is $35,628. The average annual cost of home care can be half the cost of nursing home care. An organization like Visiting Angels Newton/Canton provides a cost-effective alternative to assisted living facilities and nursing homes. Caregivers provide up to 24-hour elderly assistance in the comfort of the senior’s home. Homecare services makes it possible for seniors to remain in their homes and maintain their independence by providing help in areas such as light housekeeping, bathing and dressing, errands, transportation and mobility assistance. Choosing a home care agency is an important decision. You would want to hire a professional home care aide who is professional, experienced and compassionate, one who always treats the client with dignity and respect. This is all the more important when your loved one suffers from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Specially-trained Certified Dementia Practitioners (CDPs) can offer more specialized care that will make a difference to the well-being of your loved one. Reverse MortgageMany senior citizens have owned their homes for decades and can take advantage of a reverse mortgage -- a loan that allows a homeowner to convert a portion of their equity into cash. Unlike a traditional mortgage, repayment of a reverse mortgage is not required until the borrower no longer uses the home as their principal residence. Buy in BulkSeniors often use the same products, such as personal care items or incontinence supplies, month after month. Purchasing such nonperishable items in bulk online or from a warehouse store can save a great deal of money. Also consider signing up for automatic monthly delivery for health and personal care products. Auto delivery ensures products will no longer run out and shipping is often free.
To find out if home care is right for you or your loved one, please visit https://www.VisitingAngels.com/newton. According to 2015 statistics from the Pew Research Center, about 7 percent of spouses are caring for a partner. Although it may seem like the ideal arrangement, in reality, it’s very difficult for many caregiving partners to recognize the need for help and accept it before it’s too late. Spousal caregivers (aged 66-96) who experience caregiving-stress have a 63 percent higher mortality rate than non-caregiving peers, per a report from the Family Caregiver Alliance. Family Caregiving is Hard WorkIt’s easy to think of your parents as keeping each other company at home, but as spousal and family caregivers become more focused on the care receiver over time, they inadvertently cut off contact with friends and sometimes even family. They stop going to church, the library or out to their favorite restaurants. If your father is feeling lonely or depressed while caring for your mother, what kind of care will he be providing? Caregiving can take an emotional toll on the family caregiver because they are watching the person they love suffer from an illness, injury or disease. A spousal caregiver who feels inadequate to meet his spouse’s needs may feel a sense of guilt, failure, frustration. If the spouse’s personality has changed due dementia or another diagnosis, he may find himself struggling to feel love or compassion towards his partner. The house itself also tells the story of how caregiving has affected your parents. Dad can’t maintain the level of cleanliness he is used to if he’s afraid to leave Mom alone in a room for more than five minutes. Laundry may pile up, and bills, too. Family caregiving is hard work, emotionally, physically, and mentally. When one spouse takes on the hard work of managing a household along with their loved one’s daily care needs—all the while dealing with the roller coaster of emotions this role brings—that spouse is at risk of burnout and even early death. To give care, you must take care. To provide the best care, you must care for yourself in the best possible way. How In-Home Senior Care HelpsSenior home care services helps caregiving couples and the families who love them by providing companionship, light housekeeping, transportation, meal prep, grooming, bathing and help with activities of daily living. Homecare aides do not replace the vital work of the spousal caregiver. They complement it and enable it to go on for as long as possible. They lighten the load of caregiving so that family caregivers can work through grief as they provide care to their loved ones.
That said, you should always present the idea of home care support as a way for both parents to stay healthy and at home for as long as possible, affirming the value of the care they’re already providing and suggesting the benefits will go both ways—because they do. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton provides professional and compassionate in-home care services in Brookline, Watertown, Newton, Needham and nearby areas. We have received the Best of Home Care Leader of Excellence Award from Home Care Pulse four years in a row! For more information on why your elderly parent needs more help than a friend or family caregiver can provide, call us at 617-795-2727 or contact us today! |
AuthorVisiting Angels Newton/Canton is an award-winning in-home care agency that provides high quality home care to seniors and disabled adults in Greater Boston, MA. Archives
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