What is long-distance caregiving? Long-distance caregiving refers to the times when a family needs to find at home living assistance for a loved one who does not live in their area. For example, your mom and dad still live in your family’s home stat, while you and your siblings have moved out of state. What do you do when your parent needs help, and you can’t relocate to be there for them? Long-distance caregiving is the answer. At Visiting Angels Newton/Canton, we recognize that not all families live close together. In today’s fast-paced world, adult children are relocated for jobs, parents move for retirement and sometimes retired adult children relocate far from where their parents have retired. No matter why you live far away from a loved one, you don’t have to worry if they need care. Our long-distance caregiving services can help. Getting Started with Long-Distance CaregivingWhen you find yourself in need of care for a loved one who lives in Newton, Canton, Needham, Wellesley, Brookline, Natick, Westwood, Dedham, Norwood, Stoughton, Roslindale, Watertown, and nearby areas, call Visiting Angels Newton/Canton at 617-795-2727 anytime. Our friendly and helpful team can help you get started with in-home care services. Over the phone, they will discuss topics that include:
Once we have the basics established, we can discuss setting up a free, no-obligation one-on-one visit by one of our case managers at your loved one’s home. The case manager will meet with your loved one and go over the guidelines you have established and to see if there is anything else that may concern them. From here it’s easy, we’ll match your family member with a carefully screened home caregiver who can meet your loved one’s needs and scheduling requirements. The home health aide will visit based on the schedule determined and provide feedback to the case manager. Our team will keep in regular contact with your family to ensure we are meeting all your needs. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton provides a variety of non-medical elder care on an hourly, overnight, respite, and 24-hour care basis. Care plans include a range of services that attend to personal care, housekeeping, personal hygiene, meal preparation, transportation, medication reminders, and more. We also offer a cognitive health program as well as dementia & Alzheimer’s home care. If you are concerned about the well-being of a loved one who lives far from you, long-distance caregiving can provide the solution you need. Call Visiting Angels Newton/Canton today at 617-795-2727 for a free in-home consultation! About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton:Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning local home care agency providing high caliber in-home care services to the elderly and people with disabilities. Countless families have benefited from our Alzheimer's care, dementia home care, companion care, senior care, respite support, transitional aid, and at home living assistance services in Westwood, Norwood, Brookline, Watertown, Needham, Dedham, Canton, Stoughton, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Chestnut Hill, Roslindale, and nearby towns. We are honored to have been awarded Top Places to Work by the Boston Globe for five years. We have also earned the Best of Home Care – Leader in Excellence, Trusted Provider, Best of Home Care Provider, and Best of Home Care Employer by Home Care Pulse. We are proudly accredited by the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts.
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Maybe you’ve been concerned about your mom recently. As she ages, you’re noticing a few worrisome signs that her needs at home are about to evolve beyond her independence. Sure, you’d love to stop by the house more frequently to help, but with a career and family schedule, it’s nearly impossible for you to take on this massive responsibility. It's a typical scenario in families, and it usually results in uprooting a senior to a nursing home or assisted living facility or retaining professional home care. However, people can be stubborn, especially parents who may be insecure about a type of "role reversal" happening. Your parent not only refuses to leave home, but Mom or Dad is rejecting the very idea of a professional caregiver. So how do you get them on board when they want to stay home but don’t want help from a professional caregiver? Here are five ways to find a caregiving compromise. Talk Through Their Fears — and YoursIt’s not easy for your parents to admit they need help. The thought of having another person in the home to help them perform tasks that used to be routine could make them quite uncomfortable. Of course, over time, that professional home health aide can become a close friend and partner, but it may take a while and trust-building. Work through these fears with your parents instead of forcing a solution. When an adult child becomes too controlling, the resistance from your parents is bound to increase. A 2004 study from SUNY Albany found this to be accurate, stating that participants were ambivalent about receiving care and “use a variety of strategies to deal with their ambivalent feelings, such as minimizing the help they receive, ignoring or resisting children’s attempts to control.” Though you may be frustrated by rejection and reticence, put yourself in their shoes. Be understanding, and once your parent feels understood, explain your point of view. Remember not to be patronizing or disrespectful, but share your genuine concerns about being able to stay home safely. More Dancing, Less WrestlingAn expert in geriatric communication and family relationships, David Solie, wrote a book about the best ways to navigate these difficult conversations. It was called “How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders.” Solie recommends the partnership approach and advocates for adult children to “put control on the table” rather than commandeering the process. He believes conversations about care should be “more dancing, less wrestling.” To that end, he offers many tools to talk in more concrete, visual ways about the current situation and the proposed solution. His "dance cards" provide go-to strategies on topics like resetting expectations and minding the gap, and his caregiver “mind maps” allow a caregiver to lay out in detail all the aspects of care to be considered. You could also keep a journal of your parents’ changing in-home senior care needs. All of these checklists and resources are especially helpful in getting buy-in from siblings as well, as your parents may not be the only ones opposed to bringing in-home care. Consider the RisksStaying home without any support can be risky. For one family, an aging spouse refused any at-home living assistance. The family has been worried about his waning mobility. Ultimately, he suffered a fall, which led to a hospitalization and, unfortunately, his passing — as he was not able to recover from the injuries he sustained. While no family can be fully prepared for a fall or other type of sudden health event, there are ways to prevent injuries and incidents that lead to such devastating outcomes — and having a professional caregiver as a presence in the home is one of them. Of course, not every fall results in such a tragic outcome; however, the road to recovery can be a turbulent one for a senior who has fallen. Along with doubling the risk of falling again after falling just once, the sheer financial impact can be crippling. All of this is to say, the risk of leaving Mom or Dad alone when he or she needs help isn't worth it, and you must discuss the risks with your parent. Work With a MediatorYou’ve explored every avenue of persuasion, using all the logic at your disposal, but it may be there is just no convincing Mom or Dad that this is the best option. That’s when bringing in a neutral third party to moderate the conversation could make a difference in the outcome. Sometimes your parents need to hear the options, risks, benefits, and challenges presented by someone who is not as emotionally invested as you are. A mediator may also help lessen the guilt burden many parents put on their children for considering home care. AARP offers these resources for finding a mediator, should this approach work best for your family. Present Options and Let Them ChooseEmpower your parents to decide on home care by gathering information on some providers. Ask for their input: what do they value in a home care company? What’s the budget? Talk about what a professional caregiver can do that they maybe never considered as an option: like providing companionship, or helping with housework and transportation to doctor’s appointments. Once you’ve gathered information on a few options, sit down together to discuss the pros and cons. Remember: even as you partner with a professional caregiver, you will still play an essential role as coordinator and advocate. Your opinion on a trusted in-home caregiver is equally valuable. Need more advice on building consensus on home care among the family? Visiting Angels Newton/Canton can help. Contact us today at 617-795-2727. About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning local home care agency providing high caliber in-home care services to the elderly and people with disabilities. Countless families have benefited from our Alzheimer's care, dementia home care, companion care, senior care, respite support, transitional aid, and at home living assistance services in Westwood, Norwood, Brookline, Watertown, Needham, Dedham, Canton, Stoughton, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Chestnut Hill, Roslindale, and nearby towns.
We are honored to have been awarded Top Places to Work by the Boston Globe for five years. We have also earned the Best of Home Care – Leader in Excellence, Trusted Provider, Best of Home Care Provider, and Best of Home Care Employer by Home Care Pulse. We are proudly accredited by the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts. While non-medical in nature, the care provided by Visiting Angels Newton/Canton can make a significant impact on your loved one's happiness and quality of life. Call us at 617-795-2727 for information. Summary: Routine tasks and responsibilities, such as housekeeping, personal grooming, and health maintenance may become overwhelming for a senior. In-home eldercare can help with these chores and be the support one needs to remain in their homes.
________________________________________________________________________ Many seniors are able to live independently, but there are some daily tasks that may become too much for them. In their younger days, one would take for granted the ability to do the laundry or clean the kitchen. To an elderly person, with perhaps some physical limitations, these tasks are daunting and overwhelming. In-home caregivers are great supports for families who need help with a loved-one with these tasks. Statistics are showing more and more seniors choosing to age at home (1). The goal is to be able to live on their own with support, as needed. The continuation of their routines in their homes and communities is good for their physical and mental health. A family may consider a nursing home or assisted living facility when a parent starts having trouble with basic responsibilities. In some cases, this may be necessary, but with some daily assistance with their routines, aging at home is becoming achievable to more and more seniors and people with disabilities. Some everyday routines that loved-ones may need assistance with are meal preparation, housekeeping and errands. The choice to have specialized meals prepared, daily exercise routines, cognitive health exercises and monitoring and reminders on which medications to take, can, in some cases, enhance someone’s life and well-being. Perhaps tasks like getting dressed and basic grooming and hygiene are a challenge for an individual, but with assistance, these tasks can be accomplished with little stress. Having a daily grooming routine has been shown to improve mental health and elevate a person’s mood (2). A companion can assist with these chores and more while allowing a person to remain in their homes. An in-home elder care service provides loving and secure caregivers to help with shopping, light cleaning and food preparation. They assist with tasks of which an individual may no longer be capable, day or night; therefore allowing them to stay in their homes safely and happily. An in-home elder care service can be an alternative to an assisted living facility or nursing home, and their caregivers are available part or full time. 1. https://www.inclinator.com/5-benefits-aging-in-place/ 2. http://miamihomecareservices.com/blog/personal-hygiene-and-its-importance-for-seniors/ About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton: Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning local home care agency providing high caliber in-home care services to elderly and people with disabilities. Countless families have benefited from our dementia care, Alzheimer's care, companion care, elderly care, respite support, transitional aid, and senior 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 at 617-795-2727 for information or fill out the form below! As the number of seniors in the U.S. continues to grow—indeed, the first “Baby Boomers” will turn 65 in 2011—so does the market for non-medical senior homecare services. Chances are, you will at some point be looking for a caregiver for an elderly family member. Visiting Angels is one of the nations leading providers of non-medical senior homecare, with over 170 locations nationwide.
According to Barney Freiberg-Dale, co-owner of Visiting Angels Newton/Canton, Massachusetts, “At Visiting Angels, we are dedicated to working with clients and their families to ensure the best possible non-medical home care services. Nothing is better than providing the quality care that allows an elderly client to stay in the comfort of their own home.” “Today’s seniors wish to maintain their independence and quality of life as long as possible,” states Barney Freiberg-Dale. “At the same time, their adult children are often sandwiched between taking care of their own offspring and helping their elderly parent, who may live hours away. That’s why our non-medical home care agency has become popular in the Newton, Canton and nearby areas.” “Many seniors do not require a nurse, but simply need the assistance Visiting Angels provides helping with the tasks of daily living,” continues Barney Freiberg-Dale. Visiting Angels’ services include, meal preparation, basic household chores, personal hygiene, shopping, companionship and, in some case, providing a respite for family caregivers. In addition, for clients who suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia, Visiting Angels provide caregivers who are trained in dementia care techniques, and we provide guidance to family members, so they have tools and skills to assist with their loved-ones as well. Our Alzheimer’s home caregivers and dementia home caregivers always treat clients with dignity and respect. Due to the increased need for such assistance, many non-medical homecare agencies are sprouting up across the landscape. However, not all agencies are alike, and it’s important to understand the differences. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton understands that each client has unique needs. Therefore, we design a personalized care plan for each client, based on the results of an initial in-home consultation by one of our case managers. Then we carefully choose the right caregiver for the client, considering factors such as technical skills, personality traits, and experience. Our home caregivers are professional, experienced and always treat clients with respect and dignity. They are trained with the use of Hoyer lifts, gait belt or other transfer equipment. We are on call 24/7 at 617-795-2727, always ready to provide help to your loved one. And, we have a large pool of back-up caregivers. Your loved one will not be alone if your regular caregiver cannot provide service due to unexpected circumstances. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has won the Best of Home Care Provider of Choice, Leader in Excellence and Employer of Choice from Home Care Pulse for years. Our quality is recognized! If you loved one needs senior home care assistance in Wellesley, Newton, Needham, Canton, Watertown, Brookline and nearby areas, please call us at 617-795-2727 for a free consultation. In a perfect world, you would be able to take care of your aging parent in your home or theirs, relying only on family to help you. But the reality is that caring for an aging or ill parent is a full-time job that can take a toll on the caregiver. Add to that the demands of raising a family, working, and other responsibilities, and chances are you’ll need a little assistance along the way. That’s where the angels come in. Visiting Angels is a national network of franchised non-medical senior home care agencies providing senior homecare to help elderly and older adults continue to live in their homes. These caring, experienced home caregivers provide up to 24-hour care in the comfort of your own home. You can be confident that your caregiver is qualified and has excellent references. “Character counts,” says Richard Bitner, of Visiting Angels. “We hire only experienced caregivers who pass a rigorous screening process.” The company also emphasizes the intangible traits of the caregiver, such as a caring personality. Many of the company’s caregivers have grown tired of the Medicare model taking over healthcare and appreciate the opportunity to do one-on-one personal care for elders. The staff at Visiting Angels works with each family to develop an individualized program to manage the daily needs of the client. They then match those needs to the best possible caregiver; caregivers are then introduced to the family, who has the final say in the selection process. “We want our clients to look forward to a visit by their caregiver,” says Bitner. “That’s why the client is in complete control from start to finish.” After the caregiver has been placed in your home, the company continues its personalized contact through telephone check-in and home visits to make sure you and your caregiver are a good match. Although Visiting Angels are non-medical home care providers, they can provide a vital link in patient care. In cases where seniors are coming home from the hospital or a nursing home, the caregiver will consult with doctors, nursing home staff, social workers, physical therapists, and of course, the family, to establish each client’s personalized needs. Although Visiting Angels do not dispense drugs, they can help monitor whether the patient is taking their medication. In addition to offering joyful companionship, Visiting Angels will do light housekeeping, run errands, prepare meals or do shopping. They can also serve as a respite care provider for families dealing with the care of a loved one. They can also provide special assistance for adults who need Alzheimer's home care or dementia care. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton is an award-winning senior home care agency serving Wellesley, Natick, Newton, Needham, Canton, Watertown, Brookline and nearby communities. Since 2004, countless families have benefited from our dementia home care, Alzheimer's care, companion care, elderly care, respite support, transitional aid, and senior care services. If your loved one needs home care assistance, please contact us at 617-795-2727 for a free in-home consultation! |
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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