Hiring Home Help for Aging Parents

When it comes to caregiving assistance for aging parents, there are many questions that usually follow. What assistance is needed? Will it be few hours per day, a few hours per week, or is it full time 24 hour assistance that we need? For families wanting to proceed on their own, there are a number of considerations.

 

What type of care is required? Differences between caregivers can vary from those of a registered nurse, a registered practical nurse, a personal support worker or a companion.  Understanding your specific level of need and what the caregiver is trained to do and is legally able to do (ie such as administering medications) which may vary from Province to Province or may be defined within the caregiver’s Scope of Practice (for RN’s and RPN’s) as well as cost factors, need to be understood and considered.

 

What are the needs of the family of aging parents?  These needs can usually broken down to three basic needs:  In-home respite care during the day only; care away from the home during working hours which may include participation in an adult day program; or 24-hour full time care over a weekend or longer.

 

Hire a home health care agency or hire privately?  Understanding the advantages of each option is vital.  Several considerations inform the decision making process including ensuring references, experience and qualifications are in place; insurance coverage; illness coverage for the caregiver in the event they should get sick; billing format and practices; confidentiality; are the services tax deductible; and record-keeping, among others.

 

What overnight care solutions are available?  If overnight care is required for aging parents, should someone move into the home or should the loved one be moved into a facility.  If eligible, the Provincial Ministry of Health may be able to provide respite care in a long term facility.  If not available, short stays are often available at many retirement residences and daily costs and amount of personal care varies.

 

What is the cost of care?  In some cases, local community agencies may be able to provide minimal assistance of a few hours per week of a Personal Support Worker at no cost.  For Personal Support Workers hired through and agency, hourly costs vary and there may be a minimum time requirement.

 

What role does personality play?  While professional care is a foremost consideration ensuring personality matches is also important in the selection process.  Ensure more than once candidate is interviewed, speak to other families of aging parents and get references, and suggest an afternoon trial to assess engagement between caregiver, family and the senior in the home.

 

What information should your provide the caregiver?  Facilitating a quick and effective transition into the caregiver responsibility can be made that much easier by providing personal information such as how the older person prefers to be addressed; food likes or dislikes; allergies; whether they prefer companionship at mealtime; activities they like or dislike; areas of required assistance; best and worst times of days and other like considerations.

 

How do you find a caregiver?  If hiring through an agency, there are several home care agencies in most communities. They are listed in the phone book and seniors directories. You can also speak to a Geriatric Care Manager about reputable agencies in the community. They can also assist with screening candidates to ensure a good match is made.

 

If hiring privately, a referral from a friend or family is usually the preferred route. Note however that if someone’s previous experience has been looking after children, it is not the same as caring for an older adult.

 

Also consider joining a support group for caregivers which can provide an excellent forum for discussion and individual support to assist you in this journey.

Can our Economy and Health Care System Survive Aging Baby Boomers?

There have been improvements in the Social Security system that includes the introduction of Medicare that has had important effects on the economic well-being of senior citizens in the United States. Today, the percentage of senior citizens with incomes below the poverty line is about 10%. These gains have not been shared by all senior citizens. Poverty rates are higher among certain groups of senior citizens that include:

•Black Americans

•Hispanic Americans

•People who never finished high school

•People living alone

•People 85 and older

•People living in central cites

•People living in rural areas

Level of education among US senior citizens in the future is one of the most dramatic changes. By the year 2030, 83% of seniors will have completed high school. Senior citizens with a bachelor degree or more will have increased to 24%. These changes are significant for health and social service systems because education is closely related to lifetime income, and people with more education generally are in better health and at lower risk of disability. However, the better-educated seniors are expected to be more demanding health care consumers.

Widowhood is much more common among senior citizens due to the fact that women generally live longer than men. Senior citizens who live alone after losing a spouse usually prefer to remain independent and continue living alone as long as health and finances allow it. Even though many of this group of senior citizens have families or friends nearby they are still more likely than those who live with others to feel lonelier and more isolated.

Average life expectancy in the United States is currently highest for white women, followed by black women, white men, and black men. As an average, women who live until age 65 can expect to live to age 84. Those who live to age 85 can expect live to age 92. The number of people living to age 100 in the United States is certainly growing.

Disability and diseases are much more common in senior citizens than in people younger than 65. Common chronic conditions among senior citizens include:

•Arthritis

•High blood pressure

•Heart disease

•Diabetes

•Lung disease

•Stroke

•Cancer

•Hip fractures

•Parkinson’s Disease

•Alzheimer’s disease

•Dementia

An increase in the senior citizen population means more health care expense, and the likelihood of having more than one disease among senior citizens also increases. Among people age 65 and older, 30% have three or more chronic diseases. Having more than one disease complicates care. Sudden change or illness in one body system may stress another body system and make it difficult to interpret symptoms for a definitive diagnosis. Sometimes the symptoms one disease may hide the symptoms of another disease. For example, a person with arthritis may never be physically active enough to show symptoms of heart disease, which makes making the heart disease difficult to recognize.

Senior citizens who need assistance with routine ADLs rely first on family. The use of paid helpers, however, is consistently higher among older adults living alone and increases with age.

On the average, senior citizens go to the doctor more often than younger adults. Senior citizens are also hospitalized more frequently than younger people.

Senior citizens utilize the services of home health care that includes medical treatment, physical therapy and homemaker services more than the younger population. Prescription drugs are a major part of medical treatment. At least 80% of senior citizens take one or more prescribed medicines.

One of the most important, unanswered questions is whether or not our increased lifespan will be filled with good days and years. It is not likely one answer can be applied to all senior citizens because of the great variations in health and functioning from one senior citizen to the next.

Other unanswered questions can only be answered by the passage of time. These questions include:

•Will the increasing numbers of senior citizens with more education and longer lives contribute productively to the larger society?

•Can the health care system handle the greater number of senior citizens?

Some analysts fear the great increase in the numbers of senior citizens from the baby boomer generation of people born between the years of 1940 and 1960 may place a strain on the medical care system and the public programs that finance health care and retirement to the breaking point. What we have on our side is:

•Improvements in health behavior

•Medical breakthroughs

•Financial prosperity

These three may help diminish the threats from the increased senior citizens from the baby boomer generation of people born between the years of 1940 and 1960.

Source: Foundation for Health in Aging

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information in this article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All health concerns should be addressed by a qualified health care professional.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved

By: Connie Limon -

Retirement Living: An Environment for Healthy Aging

As more of the population pushes the previous life-span boundaries, more and more of us become concerned with aging in such a way that we can maintain our quality of life. Of course, at the core of healthy aging is making good choices about eating right, maintaining a healthy body weight, and having regular medical checkups, but did you know that where you live can have a factor in your overall health as well?

In many of our neighbourhoods there are not readily available exercise facilities or social opportunities. This can make it difficult for retired people to maintain a previously healthy lifestyle. Keep in mind, a healthy lifestyle doesn’t just include exercise, but also social connections and mental stimulation as well. All of these factors can be supported by a good retirement community.

Exercise helps keep as healthy as we age, even moderate exercise can help keep you more mobile and able to enjoy both daily life as well as special outings. Mental exercise is also an important factor to consider; the more mental stimulation we participate in, the sharper our minds remain. Mental exercise can be as simple as having regular trips to the library for reading materials, playing a game of bingo with friends, visiting a local museum, or connecting with friends and family. Both kinds of exercise also help keep our stress levels down as well. Prolonged stress can deteriorate most of the systems of the body and even affect your memory. Enjoying a relaxing living environment can be one way to help combat stress in your life.

A good retirement community can help you with all of these issues and more. It might include such simple elements as walking paths and close proximity to shopping, medical care, as well as entertainment such as a theatre. Some retirement communities have swimming pools or shuffleboard as well, giving you that holiday cruise feel!

Some aspects of healthy living, such as choosing whether or not to smoke, having regular medical checkups, and eating healthy are very personal decisions; while other aspects can be greatly influenced by the environment you live in. Whether choosing either a new residence for living in all year round, or just winter accommodations to help you escape a harsh climate, keep in mind what kind of environment would support you best in your retirement.

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