The key to choosing the ideal home care agency is knowing the amount of care needed by your mother or father. There are primarily two categories of in-home care: custodial care and professional care. Custodial care includes help with shopping, housekeeping, preparing meals, and also personal care like dressing, feeding and bathing. Skilled care, on the other hand, attends to the medical requirements of the senior. Some companies provide only one type of care while others have both choices.

Listed below are some pointers for selecting a home care agency for your loved one:

You really need to thoroughly evaluate what type of assistance is needed by your mother or father when it comes to their health care, household care and personal care. Do they need aid with home health care like supervising their medications or physical therapy?

• Write a job summarization. After you have analyzed your loved one’s demands, it’s time to write a job description that will help you recognize the most suitable choices for the job. If you’re going to an elder care agency, the job description will also help them in choosing the right caregiver for your mother or father.
• Have a job contract. Your in home care company should be able to draft a contract but it’s very important to make sure all the important details are included.
• Try to find prospective elder care professionals. You can ask around– good friends, acquaintances or perhaps the people you work with– may be able to direct you to a few really good companies or they may know of a caregiver personally. You can also examine online for credible agencies. On a related tone, if your senior loved one calls for specific care, such as if they are dealing with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, you should also ensure that the caregivers you are taking into consideration have the appropriate training and experience in dealing with patients who have these health issues.
• Get ready for the meeting. Once you have selected an agency that utilizes home health aides, it’s time to get ready for the consultation. You need to have a list of questions to ask, not only the caregivers but also the agency itself. Ask how long they have been in the industry, if their caregivers are bonded, if they are licensed, and what kind of training the home care service providers have undergone. Pick an agency that is very helpful in answering your questions. Avoid those who seem too busy to answer your questions in addition to those that do not offer competent answers.

When talking to the caregiver applicants, always make it a point to observe their demeanor and temperament. Invite a family member to take part the interview so you can get a second opinion. Ideally, you also should observe the interaction and communications between the caregiver and the loved one who is requiring elderly care.

A lot of agency workers seem good on paper but may not really be qualified to give care to the elder. You need to look past their resumes and you should truly do your best to learn as much about them and their character before you choose who will take care of your aging mom or dad.

• You should also examine if they have any reports of alcohol or drug use, if they have offenses that present a safety and security risk, and if they have a driver’s license. Find out as much as you can about the company and the caregiver. You want the best potential care for your parent and this begins by giving her or him a caregiver who is knowledgeable and trained to provide the services needed, someone who is thoughtful, understanding and patient, and someone you can trust to look after your parent when you’re not around.

Learn how the caregivers at Home Helpers can help provide the finest possible quality of life at home for your loved one– get in touch with us to schedule your free in-home consultation today.

Home Helpers of Appleton and Southeast Wisconsin is a locally-owned, trusted home health care agency and offers quality, compassionate senior in-home care services including home care assistance, personal care, companion care, respite care, Alzheimer’s & dementia care as well as homemaker services in Appleton, Oshkosh, Neenah, Grand Chute, Menasha, Little Chute, Greenville, and Kaukauna.

Approximately seven million Americans, many of them seniors, develop delirium during hospital stays annually. Although Delirium has no age restriction, those 65 or older are at the highest risk.

Delirium can cause lack of focus, delusions, and frightening hallucinations. These symptoms frequently are misdiagnosed and treated as Dementia, which results in incorrect treatment and, in some cases, admission into nursing homes where treatment continues but never actually addresses the Delirium.

Patients with Delirium are also subject to further risks: falls, longer-than-expected hospital stays, development of Dementia, and elevated death rate.

How does Delirium differ from Dementia?
Although Delirium patients’ symptoms may be similar to some symptoms of Dementia, they are two distinct conditions. Delirium occurs suddenly, usually changing as the day wears on. Symptoms may include agitation, inability to pay attention, lethargy and sleepiness, or combative behavior.

Delirium patients suffer memory and cognitive issues, frightful hallucinations, and some symptoms of PTSD such as anxiety, paranoia, or anger.

Symptoms of Delirium
Hallucinations are quite common in patients with Delirium — such as mistaking an MRI machine for an oven which will burn them alive. Sometimes patients distort things that actually happened into horrible things that seem connected in their delirious mind. For instance, a catheter insertion might be mistaken as a sexual assault.

Causes of hospital-related Delirium
Seniors have as great as an 85% chance of developing Delirium while heavily sedated, in ICU (intensive care unit), in surgical recovery, and/or on ventilators. Other simple problems, such as a bladder infection, can be exacerbated by hospitalization and can lead to development of Delirium. It is important that you make known to your loved one’s hospital care team or treating physician any altered mental status exhibited by the patient. While your senior may recover as expected from the initial condition that led to hospitalization, Delirium, once begun, can take months to abate.

Prevention is critical
Almost half of Delirium occurrences are preventable. Prevention, however, is often thwarted by a lack of proper recognition and diagnosis Delirium prevention is critical because of a dearth of good treatment protocols after onset.

Older adults are particularly sensitive to some treatments. Many Delirium cases are caused by such treatments as meds for anxiety and narcotics. Environmental triggers can also cause delirium. These include the noise from busy staff going about their tasks, overly bright rooms, and frequent interruption of sleep.

Some hospitals try prevention
Some hospitals try to prevent Delirium by striving to shorten the length of time ICU patients spend on ventilators, limiting the use of restraints, and getting patients out of bed more quickly. They are also taking more precautions with medication, especially benzodiazepines.

Environmental precautions taken by some hospitals include installing large, easily read clocks; keeping audible alarms to a minimum; and turning off room lights at night.

The bottom line
Delirium is serious and adds suffering to the recovery of a hospitalized patient’s initial medical condition. And sometimes, recovering from that initial condition takes far less time than recovering from Delirium.

If your senior suddenly starts showing symptoms of an altered mental status during or after hospitalization, then don’t jump, or let your senior’s doctor jump, to the conclusion that it’s Dementia. Make sure to have your loved one evaluated for Delirium. The sooner Delirium is diagnosed, the better your senior’s chance of recovery and survival.

For professional and compassionate assistance caring for your loved one, please call Home Helpers or visit our website today.

Home Helpers of Appleton and Southeast Wisconsin is a locally-owned, trusted home health care agency and offers quality, compassionate senior in-home care services including home care assistance, personal care, companion care, respite care, Alzheimer’s & dementia care as well as homemaker services in Appleton, Oshkosh, Neenah, Grand Chute, Menasha, Little Chute, Greenville, and Kaukauna.

Family Caregivers vs. Denial
When family members refuse to face the fact that their aging loved one needs help, they can create anger, stress, and frustration for family caregivers. Whether it’s a mental or physical need, or both, it’s crucial that their seniors get the care they need.

Denial is often the coping mechanism used to gain time to adjust to a loved one’s decline. People often feel anxiety or fear when trying to face changes in a senior’s condition. Or denial is used as a way to avoid taking responsibility or becoming an active caretaker for that senior. Here are some tips on how to deal with a relative’s denial.

Remain calm and take the high road
Even though you may want to respond to family members’ denial about your parent needing care by dropping a brick on their heads to encourage clarity of sight, it’s best to take the high road and stay above any agitated or argumentative response. Do your best to be calm and understanding with a person in denial. Any sarcastic or angry posture or remarks will only reinforce their stubborn or resistant attitude.

Knowledge is power
Sometimes the root of a relative’s denial is a lack of understanding the situation. Offer them comprehensive educational materials that explain what their senior is facing and what care they will need. For instance, you can ask your parent’s doctor for pamphlets or other materials. You can also find good information on the web and then share the web addresses with your relatives.
Having access to doctor’s reports and really understanding the nature of your loved one’s condition will help relatives avoid stereotypical myths and focus on what is actually needed — like well-deserved help for your senior and for you!

Seek expert advice
Some family members refuse to acknowledge the need for help. As long as they don’t admit there’s a need, then, for them, there isn’t one. Maybe they won’t believe you entirely or, perhaps, not at all. Often, family members think caregivers are exaggerating the situation or campaigning for unneeded help. Or they might just refuse to believe whatever information you give them, but be willing to believe an impartial expert, instead.

Try to meet together with a credible expert that understands the situation such as your parent’s doctor or minister, or an elder mediator or care manager. An expert may just reinforce what you’ve already said but, for whatever reason, be perceived as more credible to a sibling or other family member. Don’t take it personally if that happens. Just be grateful that it worked and that your senior will get the care they need.

The bottom line
Is it fair for you to have to be both mediator and caregiver all by yourself? No. Try the suggested techniques to convince relatives that your senior (and you, too!) require more help. If you are unable to help family members out of their denial, then take them out of the equation and move on. If nothing else, you’ll have the relief of no longer banging your head against their denial.

For professional and compassionate assistance caring for your loved one, please call Home Helpers or visit our website today.

Home Helpers of Appleton and Southeast Wisconsin is a locally-owned, trusted home health care agency and offers quality, compassionate senior in-home care services including home care assistance, personal care, companion care, respite care, Alzheimer’s & dementia care as well as homemaker services in Appleton, Oshkosh, Neenah, Grand Chute, Menasha, Little Chute, Greenville, and Kaukauna.

No one wants to think about their aging loved one’s end-of-life. Many view bringing up the subject as tacky or disrespectful. Some equate it with appearing greedy or trying to edge out other family from the decision-making process. Others even see it as bad luck.

But planning ahead for seniors’ final time on earth is critical to making sure that their wishes are honored. Sure, having this conversation is hard, but it’s also one of the most important things you can do for your loved one. And yet, most people struggle with how to approach the topic, while others simply put it off indefinitely.

Denial doesn’t help
We all know that, at some unknown time, we will all face our end-of-life. But many of us just can’t face it happening to those we love. Denial won’t make it go away. We can ignore death, but death will not ignore us.

It’s impossible to know the wishes of a senior unless you ask. Be ready to accept the answers, if you are willing to ask the questions. Often, the wishes of a loved one may be surprising or even upsetting to you. The important thing is that your senior’s wishes are honored, not that you agree with them. Be sure to have your loved one put these wishes in writing to avoid any confusion later on.

Being proactive about an end-of-life conversation can protect not only your senior, but your family as well. The last thing you need while dealing with the death or approaching death of a loved one is the stress and uncertainty of deciding (or arguing about) what your loved one would want.

What, exactly, is end-of-life?
End-of-life is more than the actual end of a person’s life. It’s to do with the care and support we will need or agree to receive as our physical bodies move toward death. How long this will take depends on many factors such as age, type or severity of illness or injury, etc.

When talking to loved ones about their wishes, you will need to know things like:

•  Whether or not to continue certain medicines or treatments
•  Where do they want to spend their final days
•  What types of treatment they want to receive
•  What sort of palliative and/or hospice care they want to receive

Starting the conversation
As with all difficult things, the first step is usually the hardest to take. Seniors and their loved ones alike have a hard time starting an end-of-life conversation. Usually fear of how the other will react to the subject matter prevents talking about it. Don’t be timid. Broach the subject. After all, it’s more important for you to protect your loved one than for you to be unafraid.

But how to actually broach the subject? You can seek wisdom from your pastor or doctor, or even from a trusted friend who has been through the same situation. You can even search the web for ideas.

The Conversation Project is a non-profit organization which helps people talk about end-of-life wishes. Visit their website for a great free guide. It’s called a Conversation Starter Kit. This tool can make it easier for you and your senior to have a thorough and successful end-of- life conversation.

The nitty gritty
None of us knows when end-of-life will happen. We only know that it will happen. So if you are a beloved senior and have not told your family your wishes for end-of-life, get on with it. You will ensure you get the care you want and protect your family at the same time.

If instead, you a family member of a senior and have no idea if your loved one has even thought about end-of-life, much planned for it, make time to discuss it with them while they are still able to choose what is to happen to them when the time comes.

Browse our blog for more caregiving tips. For professional assistance in caring for your loved one, please call Home Helpers of Appleton today.

Home Helpers of Appleton and Southeast Wisconsin is a locally-owned, trusted home health care agency and offers quality, compassionate senior in-home care services including home care assistance, personal care, companion care, respite care, Alzheimer’s & dementia care as well as homemaker services in Appleton, Oshkosh, Neenah, Grand Chute, Menasha, Little Chute, Greenville, and Kaukauna.