An aging population creates a need for specialized care for seniors

Story by Diane Poulton | Posted: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 12:00 am
            
Helen Seaman has something anyone with Parkinson's disease shouldn't live without: a companion
   
This companion helps her in her daily struggles – organizing her medications, light housekeeping and taking her on errands and to doctor appointments.
   
Seamen, 85, of Dyer, is a client of Home Helpers of Schererville.
   
"I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have them," Seamen said. "They make sure I get to my appointments; I don't have to worry about imposing on my friends."
   
Seamen said she enjoys the break in the routine and the companion's eagerness to help with anything she needs.
   
"The service helps keep me in my home," Seamen says.
   
AARP estimates 7,000 baby boomers turn 65 each day. As the population ages and faces associated health concerns, coupled with the steadily increased cost of nursing home care, there is a growing need for home health care services that enabling senior citizens to stay comfortably in their own environment. It is a quality of life issue, local home health caregivers say. Most of these services were started because their owners through personal experience saw a need that wasn't being filled. All report substantial business growth.
   
Tammy and Bill Spearson started Home Helpers of Schererville in 2010.
   
"Our motivation was caring for Tammy's mother who had cancer for 13 years," Bill Spearson says. "Then Tammy's father was diagnosed with lung cancer."
   
Being the primary caretakers for Tammy's aging grandmother, mother and father while working two hard-hitting jobs, the couple didn't know where to turn, Spearson says.
   
"It was a roller coaster ride," Spearson says. "You want to be there for your family; it taxes you emotionally and physically."
   
Home Helpers provides nonmedical daily living home care and companion care.
   
"If clients like to bake, the companions will help them, Spearson says. "One caregiver, who is 82, is teaching an 84–year–old client to play the piano; I have never done anything in my life that has meant so much to so many people. Our services give the elderly the opportunity to stay at home at about half the cost of nursing facilities."
   
Spearson says of his 27 trained employees, 90 percent are Certified Nursing Assistants and the rest are companions.
   
Home Helpers provides a host of personal emergency response equipment including a fall sensor, which summons help if a person is unconscious and also has a button the patient can push to speak to a person. Care watches provide global positioning tracking systems. Automatic medication dispensers have sound and light alarms, which are activated when the patient fails to take their medication at the proper time and a call center is alerted. If the patient cannot be reached, emergency contacts are called.
   
Tammy Spearson is a Hospice of the Calumet Area volunteer and a Certified Senior Advisor, providing free advice on Veteran's benefits, Medicare and Medicaid.
   
Spearson estimates business, which covers Lake, Jasper, Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, has increased tenfold since the first six months of operation.
   
A growing need
Patricia Hayes quit her job in physician reimbursement to take care of her aging parents. During the four years she helped them full-time, Hayes saw a growing need for specialized care for seniors.
   
"I would sit at the Veteran's Administration Clinic with my dad and see people coming in who shouldn't be driving but had nobody to bring them in," Hayes said.
   
After her father died, Hayes, who has an MBA, obtained a degree in gerontology and was certified as a geriatric care manager. On March 17, 2011, her late father Tony's birthday, Hayes opened her Crown Point-based business, Hayes Helping Hearts.
   
Hayes' company has two separate divisions. The first, geriatric care management, helps families find needed legal and financial aid resources through links on the company website.
   
The second division provides trained certified nonmedical caregivers who help with daily living activities and transportation and serve as companions.
   
"It needs to be about their quality of life," Hayes said. "Their generation was frugal. They saved; they worked their whole lives. Most of them have pension and Social Security income, but that can quickly diminish."
   
Hayes said her business, which has seven employees and covers Lake and Porter counties, has doubled in the past year.
   
First-hand experience
Owner Gina Kelly she started her business, ComForcare of Valparaiso, two years ago. It has 30 employees and covers Porter, LaPorte and part of Lake County.
   
"My father has Alzheimer's disease and I experienced first-hand the struggles people were going through," Kelly said. "With the population growing, people living longer and the baby boomers aging, there was a big need to be filled."
   
Kelly said business has more than doubled.
   
ComForcare assists with daily living activities, medication reminders, safety supervision, family respite care, transportation/errands, chore services and light housekeeping both at home and at assisted living facilities.
   
"It is most satisfying to know that we can keep people in their homes longer through their last stages of life, making them more comfortable in their own surroundings," Kelly said.
   
Kelly said she enjoys meeting and helping family members.
   
"Many children today live out of town because of their jobs," Kelly said. "We give them the security of knowing their parents are being taken care of and we keep them informed."
   
ComForcare has a 10–step requirement process for employees, which includes testing, professional and personal references, background checks, drug testing, orientation and training. Additional training includes the topics of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, COPD, congestive heart failure, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and a program for fraud prevention.
   
ComForcare provides transitional care from hospital to home and the company partners with skilled care facilities and the Visiting Nurses Association. All employees are insured and the majority of caregivers are certified nursing assistants or home health aids.
   
A one-stop shop
Michele Weathreford–Towle is Regional Director of Marketing Services for Total Home Health Services and Complete Home Health of Illinois The companies serve Cook, DuPage, Will and Kankakee counties in Illinois and Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Marshall, Starke, St. Joseph and Elkhart counties in Indiana with 150 employees. It provides skilled nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapists, medical social workers, home health aides and private duty services.
   
Founding board member of both companies, Stan Sroka, is a physical therapist by trade. For 18 years, Sroka worked in nursing homes and home health services.
   
Sroka decided to venture into home health care after noticing that patients had improved in rehabilitation only to decline after a month at home. Sroka said home help in rehabilitation was lacking in Northwest Indiana. He said both the service areas and client base has increased significantly since the companies were established in 2005. He expects further growth when new Medicare regulations take effect in March.
   
"If a patient is admitted to the hospital within 30 days of being discharged, with the same diagnosis the hospital does not get paid for the second stay," Sroka said.
   
"We keep people in their setting; we provide the medical care." Sroka said. "We believe that quality prevails. We believe that the industry is on strong footing and will emerge stronger after health care reform takes full force."
   
Sroka said the best part of his business is patient satisfaction. Many of their clients are repeat business or word of mouth referrals, Sroka said.
   
Sroka said his companies follow strict Medicare guidelines for providing services to home bound patients.
   
"From a clinical perspective, we are truly a one-stop shop," Weatherford–Towle said. "When people come home from the hospital they don't have to worry about their supplies or medications. We follow them from the moment they get home."

Story by Diane Poulton  Posted in Inbusiness on Tuesday, February 21, 2012

http://www.nwitimes.com/niche/inbusiness/an-aging-population-creates-a-need-for-specialized-care-for/article_5fc9c1ce-7ec9-5783-a645-382d3455f3fb.html


"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Fountain Valley, California

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Fountain Valley, California area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Aliso Viejo, Corona Del Mar, Costa Mesa,, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Sunset Beach, Surfside, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Fountain Valley Home Health Care Company. "

The Elderly Lose Their Ability To Distinguish Between Odors, Posing Hazards

14 Nov 2011   

Scientists studying how the sense of smell changes as people age, found that olfactory sensory neurons in those 60 and over showed an unexpected response to odor that made it more difficult to distinguish specific smells, putting them at greater risk from dangerous chemicals and poor nutrition.

"We found clear changes in olfactory sensory neuron responses to odors for those 60 and up," said Professor Diego Restrepo, Ph.D., director of the Center for NeuroScience at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who led the researchers. "When we presented two different odors to the olfactory sensory neurons of younger people they responded to one or the other. The sensory neurons from the elderly responded to both. This would make it harder for the elderly to differentiate between them."

According to the study published in the latest issue of Neurobiology of Aging, those losing their sense of smell are at a higher risk of malnutrition since taste and smell are closely related, they may also be unable to detect spoiled food, leaking gas or toxic vapors.

Researchers looked at 440 subjects in two age groups - those 45- years-old and younger and those 60 and over. Their olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) were tested for their responses to two distinct odors as well as subsets of those odors.

Restrepo wanted to determine if age-related differences in the function of OSNs might contribute to an impairment of the sense of smell. For this, in a collaboration with Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, researchers biopsied cells from both age groups.

"Whereas cells from younger donors were highly selective in the odorants to which they responded, cells from older donors were more likely to respond to multiple odor stimuli... suggesting a loss of specificity," the study said.

The scientists had expected to find less OSNs in older subjects and they thought the neurons would be less likely to respond to stimuli. In fact, they found as many neurons in the old as the young but those over 60 could not differentiate between two odors, they blended together.

The study suggests that changes in nose and the brain contribute to smell loss in the elderly, Restrepo said.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

References:   University of Colorado Denver  University of Colorado Denver. (2011, November 14). "The Elderly Lose Their Ability To Distinguish Between Odors, Posing Hazards." Medical News Today. Retrieved from

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/237524.php

"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Fountain Valley, California

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Fountain Valley, California area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Aliso Viejo, Corona Del Mar, Costa Mesa,, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Sunset Beach, Surfside, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Fountain Valley Home Health Care Company. "

Senior Boom Creates A Demand For Home Health Workers

By Jessica Marcy
KHN Staff Writer
Aug 15, 2011
This story was produced in collaboration with
            
WASHINGTON, D.C. - At her home health care agency here, Venus Ray quizzes 65 job applicants assembled before her: Can they cook? Do they know the right way to wash their hands? Can they safely transfer patients into wheelchairs? If they give wrong answers, speak English poorly or — God forbid — forget to turn off their cell phones, she asks them to leave.

By the end of the session, Ray has dismissed 42 of the applicants, almost two-thirds, even though she's in dire need of employees.
Ray is executive director of Health Management Inc., which employs about 410 people, including 395 home health aides. With business booming, she is constantly looking to hire more, and she holds group interviews once or twice a month.
"There's a huge demand, and it's only going to get larger as the years go by," Ray said. With the nation's aging population, she added, many people "will tell you that they are more comfortable in their home."
The demand for workers by Ray's company mirrors national trends and is fueled in part by stepped-up efforts to keep seniors and the disabled out of nursing homes. The growth is likely to pick up in coming years as the 2010 federal health law tries to reduce hospital readmissions and expands programs such as Money Follows the Person, which encourages Medicaid recipients to receive care at home.

But experts warn that a shortage of qualified labor is looming. Workers often lack the training and support needed to properly care for patients, and poor working conditions lead to high turnover, experts say. In addition, salaries are low: In 2009, the median national hourly wage for direct-care workers — a term that includes home health aides — was $10.58, substantially below the $15.95 median for all U.S. workers. Nearly half lived in households that received food stamps, Medicaid or other government aid, according to PHI, an advocacy group for direct-care workers.
In addition, experts say, regulations about training and background checks for direct-care workers vary across states, and often leave consumers without adequate protection.
"I see tremendous challenges on the care side and the consumer side," said Peggy Powell, national director of curriculum and workforce development at PHI, which is based in New York. "My fear, my deep concern, is that in this quick switch [to provide care at home], there is the potential for care to get worse and for the direct-care workers' job to get harder, with less support and training."
A Growing Force
There are several types of direct-care workers, and their titles often vary:

• Certified nursing assistants provide basic clinical care such as taking blood pressure and caring for wounds. They also help with the activities of daily living such as eating, dressing and bathing. They usually work in nursing homes or assisted living facilities and have at least the 75 hours of training required by the federal government for positions at a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified facility.
• Home health aides provide similar care but in private homes and under the supervision of a nurse or therapist. If they're employees of a home care agency, these aides also may need at least 75 hours of training because the federal requirement extends to agencies that serve Medicare and Medicaid patients.
• Personal care aides work in the home and help with everyday activities such as bathing and also perform light housekeeping and cooking chores. There are no federal requirements for their training, which is generally minimal. About a quarter of these workers are not employed by agencies, according to PHI.

In some states, certified nursing assistants and home health aides can administer medication, although some states require that they get extra training to do that. Personal care aides cannot.

More than 3.2 million people work in direct care, according to 2008 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is 52 percent more than in 1998. Jobs in direct care are projected to account for four of every 10 new health-care jobs between 2008 and 2018, according to PHI.
'What's Your Passion?'
Venus Ray begins her group interview by asking: "Why do you want to be a home health care worker? What's your passion?"
Many describe caring for a loved one, while others say they have been drawn to the field by their deep religious faith. Latreaviette Stewart, 21, says she decided to become an aide after caring for her grandmother, great-aunts and her mother's best friend, who recently died of breast cancer. She just completed a home health aide program at the Community College of the District of Columbia.
Pamela Nfor, a 34-year-old aide from Cameroon who has a child with disabilities, says she enjoys seeing how clients, even those who are depressed and can't go out, improve under her care. "I love the job and I hate the money," she tells other applicants, who erupt in laughter.
Emotions run deep during the morning's activities. One West African woman passionately describes how God revealed her vocation to be in home health care after she prayed intensely, while another woman nearly breaks into tears when she's asked to leave after her cell phone goes off. Both women fail to pass the interview process.
Later, Ray said that she once had to dismiss an entire group of 12 applicants after all of their cell phones rang.
The applicants provide a visual snapshot of national trends. Direct-care workers are disproportionately minorities, and 23 percent are foreign-born. Almost 90 percent are female. The average age is 42, but the number of workers older than 55 is increasing rapidly, according to PHI.
To ensure a qualified workforce, experts say, it's important to increase wages, improve training and beef up licensing requirements.
"It's really important to figure out how to build career ladders for these workers so that they can advance and see this as a real career," said Bob Konrad, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "We have to turn these folks into really active and engaged people in the health policy world."

Washington D.C. Area Requirements Vary

The area is a good example of how regulation of direct-care workers can really depend on geography.

• In Maryland, the Board of Nursing licenses all certified nursing assistants and home health aides. The state requires them to complete 100 hours of training. Those working in homes must also undergo an additional 12 hours of training annually, and pass a competency evaluation. They must also undergo a criminal background check. Although Maryland does not standards for personal care aires, some people hire companions to help with household chores, but they are not supposed to provide any care.
• Virginia requires that certified nurse assistants have 120 hours of training and that home health aides have the 75 hours specified by federal law. Personal care aides must have 40 hours of training if they work for a Medicaid agency. The state requires all employees of home health agencies to have a Virginia State Police check, which does not include fingerprinting.
• The District mandates that certified nursing assistants have 120 hours of training and that home health aides and personal care aides have 75 hours. People in all three professions also must receive 12 hours of annual training.

-Jessica Marcy

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2011/august/16/direct-care-workers-in-demand-as-seniors-ranks-grow.aspx

"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Fountain Valley, California

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Fountain Valley, California area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Aliso Viejo, Corona Del Mar, Costa Mesa,, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Sunset Beach, Surfside, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Fountain Valley Home Health Care Company. "

Loss Of Independent Living For Seniors Greatly Influenced By Death Of Spouse

25 Oct 2011

The death of a spouse is always a tragedy, but for seniors, that tragedy can spur some significant life changes. And one University of Alberta researcher says the choices they make are something policymakers need to pay attention to.

Sociologist Lisa Strohschein says that losing a partner can precipitate the need for the surviving spouse to leave the residence they once shared. And the bereavement period is often key for them or their family members to decide whether it makes sense for that person to continue living alone or whether they give up living independently.

"Two people can take care of each other; they can share the burden of household tasks and may share income sources that allow them to live the kind of life that allows them to live independently," she said. "What this study shows is that, in fact, bereavement is a triggering mechanism (for the surviving spouse to move out of independent living)."

Strohschein's research noted that these seniors choose to either move into an institution or to reside with family members, most often their adult children. She says that when it came to these decisions, men and women were both equally likely to having to move when their partner died. She also noted that immigrants to Canada were more likely to reside with their families than their Canadian-born counterparts. Yet, she says, more needs to be done to help seniors make the final choice of where to live, but when to move should be left to the seniors themselves.

"Perhaps we can do a better job of providing services and/or counseling for recently widowed seniors to help them make decisions that are going to be right for them," said Strohschein, "and provide more services for those ones that really do want to move out of independent living who say, 'I can no longer bear these burdens,' to ensure that they are supported."

Strohschein says that understanding the processes that lead to seniors' decisions to leave their homes is important for the government to acknowledge, especially with an aging population. She says that developing processes and putting services in place would allow these people to retain their independence and their dignity in their twilight years, which is critical to ensuring the system does not become needlessly taxed.

"How do we delay that onset of moving a person to institutional care, care that tends to be quite costly, and can be depersonalizing for the person who's receiving it," Strohschein said. "As people come towards the end of their lives, how do we give them the most ability and the greatest dignity to exercise their right or their need for independence?

"Coming up with other kinds of options that are going to maintain seniors' independence as long as possible and give them the services that they need to help maintain that are going to be absolutely critical."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/236503.php

"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Fountain Valley, California

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Fountain Valley, California area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Aliso Viejo, Corona Del Mar, Costa Mesa,, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Sunset Beach, Surfside, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Fountain Valley Home Health Care Company. "

10 Best Resources for In-Home Care Help

These services, groups, and individuals can solve problems and cut your stress.
By Paula Spencer Scott, Caring.com senior editor
Last updated: November 03, 2011

Most people don't start as caregivers knowing the ropes. To the contrary, most caregivers tend to learn as they go along, with a fair amount of wrong turns and struggles. What helps: knowing where to find reliable help.

The following ten organizations and individuals can help you meet your responsibilities, make you feel less alone, and cut your stress if you're helping someone who's receiving care at home.

1. Companion care services

What they are: Companion care providers do just what the name says: provide company for older adults, especially those who are shut-ins because of frailty or a dementing illness (such as mild- to moderate-stage Alzheimer's disease), or who live alone. Sometimes called "elder companions," these aides keep a watchful eye, dispense daily medications, drive to haircut appointments, safeguard someone unsteady on his or her feet, read aloud, play cards, prepare light meals and snacks, and otherwise function as an extra set of hands, eyes, and feet for your loved one. Companion care is a growing subset of in-home care services.

How they help: Companion care is ideal for someone who would otherwise have to spend part of the day alone and who requires some light assistance. Family members can work or handle other activities knowing their loved one isn't left alone. Companion care also provides a valuable social benefit, decreasing isolation and improving mood. Warm relationships are often formed when a consistent companion is on the job.

How to get started: You can find companions on your own in much the same way you'd find a babysitter: by talking to neighbors, friends, or family members. Or use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to seach for in-home care agencies by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.

2. Personal care assistants
What they are: In addition to providing companion care, personal care assistants offer assistance with all kinds of activities of daily living, from grocery shopping to such nonmedical personal care as toileting, dressing, grooming, and bathing. They can also provide temporary respite care for families.

How they help: Many families enlist personal care assistants -- hired independently or through in-home care agencies -- to solve problems in their home care situation, such as a small woman hiring a strong aide who can lift a spouse for bathing, or a son concerned about privacy hiring a woman to bathe his mother. Personal care assistants can arrange for meal preparation, escorts to doctor visits, and any other type of nonmedical assistance your loved one may need in order to live at home longer. If you need to get away for a few hours a week or overnight, in-home care can ease the worry, especially if the in-home caregiver is familiar to your loved one because he or she provides regular services.

How to get started: You can find personal care assistants on your own by asking friends and neighbors for referrals. Or use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for in-home care agencies (most provide personal care assistants) by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.

3. Adult day services

What they are: Adult day services -- also called adult day health services, adult daycare, or respite care -- provide care and supervision outside the home for older adults with physical or mental limitations. Many provide limited health services, mind and body exercise, social activities, meals, transportation, and other support services. Most offer a safe, supervised environment -- even for those with dementia or who are so frail they'd otherwise have to be cared for in a skilled nursing facility. Adult day services often operate as stand-alone centers or in connection with senior centers, churches, hospitals, or residential care facilities.

How they help: Adult day services provide an important option to families who can't afford full-time, in-home care and need some way to keep their loved busy and engaged in a safe, supportive, supervised place. Adult day services also provide caregivers with much-needed temporary relief, whether the services are used for a few hours a week or more extensively.

How to get started: It's a good idea to tour possible adult day services providers to get the best fit. Two good places to find leads:

• Use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for adult day services by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.
• Contact the staff at your local Area Agency on Aging and ask for a referral.
  

4. Home health agencies

What they are: Home health agencies are the go-to source when your loved one needs a higher level of care, including minor medical care. Certified nursing assistants have more medical training than elder companions or personal care assistants and must pass exams to receive certification; they usually work under a supervising registered nurse.

How they help: If your loved one is going to be discharged from a hospital stay, having someone around the house who can change bandages or check vital signs can provide peace of mind. Home health agencies are sometimes recommended for certain kinds of in-home rehabilitation, such as physical therapy. You may also welcome these services if your loved one needs personal care or health care that the family is uncomfortable providing or is unable to provide, such as ostomy or wound care, incontinence care, insulin management, or other medical services.

How to get started: Talk to your doctor if you'd prefer to work with a specific home health agency. Use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for home health agencies by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.

5. Your local Area Agency on Aging

What it is: Your local Area Agency on Aging is a government-mandated clearinghouse for general information about nearby eldercare services. These agencies offer free referrals to local services that provide transportation, meals, adult day services, in-home caregivers, legal assistance, home-based training programs for caregivers, and other forms of help -- all the kinds of services that can help you keep a loved one at home longer. The names of these agencies often vary by community. But the services they refer to are usually free or low-cost, and calling the agency is free.

How it helps: Calls to area agencies on aging are among the best first actions a caregiver can make to learn the local lay of the land on eldercare: what kinds of programs, facilities, and expertise are available in the community. Staffers can answer common questions and refer you to resources that are most likely to match your family's specific needs -- speeding your research process and perhaps making you aware of resources you never knew existed.

How to get started: Contact the staff at your local Area Agency on Aging.

6. Geriatric care managers

What they are: Geriatric care managers, or GCMs, assess needs and identify and coordinate resources for older adults. Geriatric care managers can take over nearly all aspects of eldercare in some cases. Some local government agencies and charities offer geriatric care consulting services free or on a sliding scale. If hired privately, expect to pay a GCM $75 to $250 an hour.

How they help: Geriatric care managers are best at helping you organize care needs when there's a change in situation, such as when your loved one is moving in or has had a health crisis. They can also manage complicated ongoing care, such as cases in which a number of doctors and therapists are involved. Working caregivers and long-distance caregivers find their support cost-effective.

How to get started: Use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for geriatric care managers by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.

7. Senior move managers

What they are: Senior move managers help plan and manage a move of any distance, such as from a longtime home or to a communal living situation. They will hire and supervise movers, help sort and pack belongings, and unpack at the new home.

How they help: Senior move managers don't just handle the time-consuming (and often backbreaking) logistics; they have expertise in navigating tricky emotional terrain that's involved with someone who has accumulated a lifetime of possessions. Caregivers who work or whose older loved ones live far away find such services especially useful. You can also hire a senior move manager to help downsize possessions if a loved one is moving in with you, to accommodate multiple generations under one roof.

How to get started: Use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for senior move managers by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.

8. Elder law attorneys

What they are: Elder law attorneys are lawyers who specialize in legal and financial matters that are especially relevant to older adults -- and to their families --including estate planning, trusts, and documents to ensure that medical wishes and financial wishes will be honored.
How they help: Getting documents in order that ensure your ability to communicate with doctors and banks will streamline your ability to be an effective advocate and caregiver. Among the legal documents you need for your loved ones: an advance healthcare directive, a durable power of attorney for healthcare, a revocable living trust, and a will.
How to get started: Use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for elder law attorneys by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.

9. Family mediators

What they are: Family mediators are lawyers, social workers, or other professionals with special training in the fine art of negotiation and compromise. They work with families to solve problems that are often highly emotional and polarized. "Elder mediators" specialize in matters concerning aging parents or partners, including questions of guardianship, living situations, charges of favoritism, and stepfamily tangles.
How they help: Unfortunately, not all crises bring families together; sometimes issues crop up that pull them apart. A good family mediator can be an impartial third party who can cut through old grievances and childhood pigeonholes to resolve tough situations. Aging parents may welcome this service to bring a strained family back together. Mediators can also get siblings on the same page, help far-flung families see eye to eye, help formulate care plans -- and curb the stress levels of hands-on caregivers, who often feel smack in the middle of family disagreements.
How to get started: To find a family mediator, ask a local geriatric care manager or elder law attorney. Many mediators are themselves GCMs or attorneys, although the person you use should be an impartial third party to all involved. Try for someone with a lot of experience working with elder concerns; look for the moniker "elder mediator."

10. Senior home remodelers

What they are: Senior home remodelers are builders and home-repair services that specialize in retrofitting homes to make them safe and accessible; many also create new construction with eldercare needs in mind. As a fairly recent subset of the home building industry, they're experts at assessing danger spots and inconveniences in existing homes, making safe upgrades (such as installing grab bars, widening access for wheelchairs, building ramps), and designing new living spaces. They apply universal design principles to create a house you can live in forever.
How they help: Whether a loved one is moving in with you or aging in place in his or her own home, getting an assessment from a senior home remodeler is useful for identifying dated fixtures and designs that put the person at risk for falls and other mishaps. Given that an increasing number of families are becoming multigenerational households, senior home remodelers can also make suggestions for altering an existing structure to give everyone privacy.
How to get started: Use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for senior home remodelers by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.

http://www.caring.com/articles/more-top-resources-for-in-home-care-help-2


"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Fountain Valley, California

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Fountain Valley, California area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Aliso Viejo, Corona Del Mar, Costa Mesa,, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Sunset Beach, Surfside, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Fountain Valley Home Health Care Company. "