Elder Care - How to Overcome Objections to Moving to a Senior Care Community

When family members see their parents or loved ones staring to need additional help they are faced with having to make the decision to move them to Assisted Living. The assisted living environment offers seniors the freedom to live independently in a supportive setting. They can have as little or as much help as needed. The socialization that seniors get in Assisted Living leads to a much better quality of life. I have had several residents tell me over the years, that they wish they would have moved in sooner.

The problem arises when the senior refuses to move. Here are a couple of effective strategies for helping a senior make the transition to assisted living.

1. Try before you buy- The best thing to do for a reluctant senior is to get them used to the idea slowly. There are several options for getting seniors slowly acclimated to the idea of moving into assisted living. You can try a Respite stay which is a short term stay, in a community that does not require a long term contract. Respite stays are generally from 2 days to 2 weeks. Having your loved one stay for the weekend will give them a good feel for what the community has to offer and often, is enough to dispel some of the dated misconceptions that seniors hold. Most communities charge a fee for a respite stay, but many will allow a perspective resident to enjoy a complimentary meal or two. This experience allows the senior to meet some of the residents and sample the food and services of the community. The senior may also want to attend a special event or a particular activity that interest them. All of these things should be done without putting pressure on the senior to make a decision. If the senior feels forced they will be more hesitant to move.

2. Listen to what is being said- Is the senior afraid of losing their freedom or independence, are they afraid of giving up their personal belongings, or are they holding on to an outdated concept of senior housing? You have to listen closely and help the senior work through their concerns. Sometimes the concerns are simply a cover for not wanting to move at all. If this is the case time and patience will are your best ally.

These tips are great starting points and the professionals at the community can help you to come up with other strategies. Keep an open mind, use some creativity, and be as patient as possible and most of the time you will be able to help the senior make the move to a senior living community.

Vernon Roberson, M.A., L.N.H.A

Assisted Living Safety - What to Look For

Tripping, falling and breaking a hip is a bad news scenario for seniors. That is why senior fitness expert Betty Perkins-Carpenter, Ph.D. of Rochester, New York, stresses the importance of fall prevention and other safety measures when evaluating assisted living safety. A recipient of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Achievement Award, the 79-year-old suggests individuals and families look for physical safety measures in combination with an atmosphere that encourages residents' personal responsibility.

Where to start for assisted living safety

For starters, the author of "How to Prevent Falls" recommends assisted living communities provide a baseline of fire and supportive device safety. Smoke detectors and fire sprinklers as well as handrails and ample lighting need to be available not only in the hallways, but also in common or community areas such as dining rooms and activity rooms.

Otherwise, does the assisted living community provide safety locks on the windows, an emergency generator or alternative power source? Ask if the facility has fire drills and an emergency plan that is publicly displayed. Check apartments to see if the carpeting allows for the easy movement of walkers and canes. Is the bathroom equipped with a safety-signaling device, proper matting and safety bars?

Fall prevention

Beyond these safety measures, Perkins-Carpenter provides further fall prevention tips. When walking through a facility, check if the bottom step has recessed lighting or a strip of colored tape. "When the last step is not differentiated, it's an accident waiting to happen," says the former Olympic diving coach. "In addition, make sure area rugs are not allowed to creep or project over the top step of a stairway. These little things tell you if a facility is alert to preventing falls."

When evaluating assisted living safety also keep in mind, says Perkins-Carpenter, "The brighter the light the better, especially for people with vision loss, cataracts or trifocals."

Bathrooms are another area of special concern for those evaluating the safety of an assisted living community. Appropriately placed handrails near the toilet and in and out of the shower are imperative. And does the shower (no tub, please) have a seat? Because many seniors experience occasional dizzy spells, shower seats are a critical measure in the prevention of falls.

Enhancing balance

Dr. Perkins-Carpenter advocates that individuals in assisted living communities take personal responsibility for fall prevention and their overall safety. In her book, she teaches people how to enhance their balance and strength through an easy six-step method, that includes stretching in bed, ball balancing and, yes, dancing with pillows.

Just as it sounds, seniors at assisted living communities are invited to hold a pillow to their chest with one arm and lift the other in the air. Then, move with the flow. "Dancing with pillows takes seniors to another time and place when they had no infirmities," observes Perkins-Carpenter. "It's fun and they discover they are capable of more activity than they thought."

Assisted living safety starts with an awareness of the issues that seniors have and a pro-active approach to looking for possible problem areas.

Learn From a Registered Nurse How to Advocate For Your Self in the Health Care Setting

Are you interested in advocating for yourself in the health care setting? Then you will want to read this article. In this article, we will discuss the fact that only YOU can advocate for your health. Before your next Medical Visit start by having a list of all the medications you take, name, dosage amount and how many times a day you take it. Write down any side effects such as diarrhea or decreased energy or if your appetite has changed. It also helps to note when the side effect occurs, for instance right after you take the medication or later on. Also write down any allergies you have to either food or medication. Keep a copy of this information on your computer and a hard copy in your wallet or purse. You can even down load it to a "thumb or flash drive", then the physicians office can open it up and print a copy for your medical chart so it will be readily available for the clinician. Lastly, write down any questions you may have for the clinician regarding either medication, treatment or maybe the lab results previously completed. Perhaps you have questions about an upcoming test that you are going to be scheduled for.

Years ago it was very common not to question your health care provider. After all, he was the Doctor right? Not any more, with the advances in health care and access to knowledge and education, it has really become our responsibility to advocate for our health care. If you put this information to use you should feel confident you are receiving the health care you need.

Only you can advocate for your health, as a Registered Nurse I listen to what my patient is telling me. If he or she is saying something is wrong I listen to them, ask questions and help solve the problem. A wise clinician always listens to their patients, I learned this early in my career. Advocating for yourself in health care is essential because you know yourself the best. Even though the clinician has the education to put the information you are providing together, they still need the what only you as the historian can provide. You are the main piece of the puzzle.

It is also important to know what to do if you or a loved one is Hospitalized. If you feel that either something is wrong and needs to be corrected or your loved ones health is deteriorating and it seems like no one is listening to you. Then you need to use what is referred to as the "Chain of Command." First you would start with the staff RN or LVN that is providing care for your loved one. If they do not resolve the issue, or you feel like you are not being heard or they are too busy, then go to the next person in line. That would be the charge nurse on the floor and so on until someone listens to you.

For example, your loved one needs to have the bed linen changed, the hospital staff is busy. How long do you wait before saying anything? Not long, first let them know. You can start with the CNA or certified nurses aide, if they are too busy then ask the primary care nurse, either RN or LVN. I would think that the staff RN would provide help immediately. As a staff RN I would always help my CNA's change my patients position or help change their linen, it was a part of my job. I wanted my patients taken care of. If that does not get results the next person in line is the Charge RN on the floor, still nothing? Then you could either ask to speak with the House Supervisor if it is a weekend, or either the Director of Nursing for the facility or administrative person in charge. This could be the Hospital administrator or someone who has the responsibility to take care of customer service issues. Some hospitals even have a specific position for this, a patient service ambassador.

Does this seem like how a hotel or airline would handle problems? In fact, it is similar. Now days you can go online and find out how individual hospitals are rated. Good or bad. Believe me, hospitals are aware of not only customer service issues but the fact that happy people do not sue as often as unhappy people. That is the bottom line. Additionally, I worked for a small community hospital that had a problem with people being exposed to hepatitis through contaminated scopes used for endoscopys. What did they do? They immediately called the media and the chief of staff addressed the issue, reassuring the community that they were acting responsibly by communicating to the public what had happened. I believe that was the smartest thing they could have done. Not only that, I was proud to be a part of a health care system that was responsible enough and cared enough to address the problem first. I know the community appreciated it too. Yes, there were a few people that were upset, understandably so. They were all offered testing and to my knowledge there were not any reports of people contracting hepatitis.

Again, before your next medical visit take the time to write down any questions you have regarding your treatment, medications or something you may need to have clarified. Advocating during your medical visit is vital to your health care. Just as it would be if you were charged for something in error. Most health care clinicians welcome patients that ask questions. It gives the provider an excuse to educate and as a Registered Nurse, I love to educate. Even people that do not want me to educate them, I do, for example smokers. I educate them, then tell them I am a nurse and they usually appreciate it. They usually also agree with me and tell me they know smoking is bad for their health.

You can be assured your receiving the health care you need when you are an active participant. Your concerns should be important to your clinician, if not find a new one! One that will take the time to listen to you, you deserve it. Would you keep the same mechanic if every time you took your car to be repaired he just did what he thought was needed? No! It should not be that way with your health care provider either. Advocating for Yourself in the health care setting is possible and again, usually welcomed. Only you can do what it takes to safeguard your health and the health of your loved ones. So start today, you will feel confident you are receiving the health care you need.

How to Help Elderly People Adjust to Nursing Home Living

As people have reached a certain age, they tend to produce an impairment of their functions and capabilities. When they are unable to perform their regular duties, often assisted by another person is necessary. If it is necessary to require assistance of another individual, this can be difficult for the older people. It's the same difficulty level with the person who provided care for an elderly patient. The best way to provide effective care and support for older people is to understand their needs. There may be making unreasonable demands at some point, but merely serves as an extension of their desire to achieve the goals you still want to achieve. If you have been accustomed to being independent, then you understand the feeling of no control over what can and constantly having to depend on someone to perform certain tasks. It is therefore important that caregiver for the elderly to understand and fulfill its service, this will promotes the elder confidence in their ability, and confidence to make their career.

What are the steps?

Apart from the difficulties involved in physical and emotional care of the elderly is a multifaceted undertaking involving both medical and non-medical aspects arising from the care of an elderly parent or relative. To ensure that quality care and service are provided for the elderly, the following should be considered and addressed:
• Provide a space efficient and practical life and a condition for the person who took account of their special needs.
• Legal and reliable support.
• Manage the financial responsibilities for caring for an elderly.
• Hire a nurse or caregiver for more help or care when someone in the family is able to provide this service.
• Consideration of health issues that older people can suffer.
• Keep Active older and live their last years at his full potential.

Challenges for elderly care

After considering all the factors of elderly care, you probably know by now the nature of multi-side makes it difficult. In fact, it's a huge responsibility in this; it is easy to overlook one at the same time taking care of others. Before acting on the needs of elderly health problems, resulting from aging, and decline of these elderly.

If it is difficult to manage personal care, and more parents themselves who have to deal with them. If you find this difficult and seemingly insurmountable challenge, then keep in mind the following tips:

• Find senior supportive care organization that helps provide counseling and professional support to their elderly patients.
• Make sure you have enough free time. Caring for a parent is a difficult task, which can download a lot of energy. Therefore, you should allow yourself to have a few breaks from these increasing demands.
• Seek help from other family members. You can get more success with elderly care if everyone in the family is involved, instead you do it alone.

Dementia

Dementia is one of the most common conditions set by the elderly. It's associate with decreasing the amount of independence, and inability to protect the security at home. There is a wide range of activities it can influence, which includes swimming the most basic, such as self-care, hygiene procedures, administration, medicine, food preparation, lack coordination, lack of attention to risks in the environment, communication skills impaired, and more. These problems can either be subtle or blatant forms, but still requires constant attention and immediate action. Consulting a professional if dementia is extremely important because some cases may be potentially dangerous for the individual, it takes the right medication.

Functional limitations in elderly

When cases such as dementia began to be performed by a person ages, the functional limitations that are present in older people require a great deal of attention directed toward the media. This means that you should keep a watchful eye on all their daily activities, from simple to complex. This is to ensure that not only meet your needs, but also for their safety. Therefore, some people who care for elderly at home to install the safety modifications to their homes to the limited functions of these people. Therefore, they have now reached a certain level of independence without compromising their safety.

Nursing Home Abuse - What You Must Know

The elderly are in a vulnerable position, especially if they are living in a nursing home. They rely upon others to help them with daily activities and many require medical care that is vital to their survival. Care workers are screened before they work in a home, but even the most precise screening cannot always detect someone who may be abusive towards residents. That is why keeping an eye out is the best way to stop abuse.

Types of Abuse

Nursing home abuse can take many forms. It can be abuse that is easily detected in the physical, it may be emotional or it can be financial. Some types of abuse may not be completely noticeable, but when you are properly informed about abuse you should be able to notice the signs of any type of abuse.

Physical abuse is the easiest type of abuse to recognize. It is apparent in physical signs like bruises or other injuries that are unexplained or abnormal for the resident. Physical abuse may also include the inappropriate use of drugs, which could present itself as odd behavior or more frequent and unusual complaints about pain.

Emotional abuse may be more difficult to recognize immediately. However, it is easily caught when workers are carefully monitored. Emotional abuse can include yelling at residents or talking to them in a disrespectful nature. It can also include ignoring the resident or keeping them from interacting with others.

Sexual abuse of elderly persons may also occur. It is any sexual contact with a person without their consent. It can also include showing pornographic materials to elders without their consent or making them watch sexual acts.

Neglectful behavior also constitutes abuse. Neglect involves not caring for the resident in the proper way. It can include things like not bathing the resident properly or not feeding them properly. In general, neglect is when the resident is not receiving the proper level of care and their needs are not being met.

A common form of abuse is financial exploitation. In some homes residents' personal property is stolen or their finances mishandled. Stealing anything from a resident is considered a form of abuse.

Reporting Nursing Home Abuse

Any suspicion of abuse should be reported right away. If you are the relative of a resident and suspect abuse you should immediately contact the home management and demand to speak to someone about your suspicions. If the nursing home management does not seem to want to handle the situation then you should get your relative out of the nursing home and report the home to the proper authorities.

Never let nursing home abuse go unhandled. At the first signs of any type of abuse steps must be taken. The elderly cannot always care for themselves or keep themselves safe. They may have physical or mental problems that prevent them from defending themselves. It is up to those of us in a care giving position to ensure that they are properly cared for and not subjected to abuse.

Salary for Different Lawyer

A lawyer is a professional providing legal advice to its clients. The salaried lawyers work in nonprofit organizations, corporations, law firms or in government. They are either self employed or practice as partners in law firms or doing solo practices.

They who are partners in a law firm earn more than lawyers who do individual practices. They working in legal services also earn less as compared to the corporate lawyers. The individuals who have started their individual practice as a lawyer should also resort to doing other part time jobs to earn more income till they are well established as a lawyer. This high salary is one of the important factors which have lured many individuals to opt for this profession. The starting salary of a lawyer is about 57,000 USD per year and the average salary is about 94,000 USD.

There are some factors which affect a there salary. They are:

•Experience: An experienced lawyer would earn more than a new lawyer. The salaries of experienced lawyers also depend on the location, size and type of their employer.
•Level of education
•Field of specialization, whether it is criminal or corporate
•Size of the firm
•Location of working
•Type of employer or your clients

Lawyers usually specialize in some specific areas such as family law, civil, criminal company laws or environmental laws. Based on these specializations, lawyers are categorized into different types. Here we provide you information about the different types of lawyers and average salaries earned by them:

•Assault lawyer: The average annual salary of an Assault lawyer is about 49,000 USD. The salary depends on the factors such as location, educational qualification and employer.
•Divorce lawyer: The divorce lawyers settle some common issues such as property division, spousal support, alimony and child custody. The median salary range for divorce lawyers is about 48,000 USD to 80,000 USD. The average salary earned would be about 96,000 USD per year.
•Nursing home lawyer: Nursing home lawyers should be well informed about the laws relating to the nursing homes. The average annual salary for nursing home abuse lawyer is about 97,000 USD.
•Insurance lawyer: The average insurance lawyer salary is about 65,000 USD.
•Criminal lawyer: The salary of the criminal lawyer depends on factors such as experience, location, size of the law firm, type of criminal law practiced and the lawyer's specialty within the law. The median salary for a criminal lawyer in private firm is about 78,593 USD and for the lawyers doing individual practice is about 95,195 USD per year.
•Employment lawyers: The average salary of employment lawyer is about 60,000 USD.
•Corporate lawyers: These lawyers handle cases related to business and industry. The average salary of a corporate lawyer with about one to four years of experience is about 65,872 USD to 122,121 USD.
•Intellectual property Lawyers: An intellectual property lawyer is an excellent career option for all those individuals who have strong understanding of the intellectual property laws. The average salary of intellectual property lawyer is about 89,000 USD.

Thus, the information mentioned above gives you the details about the salary for different lawyers and factors that determine their salary.

Slip Accident or Corporate Negligence?

Slip Injury Matters

Slip accidents cause thousands of serious injuries every year. In the UK alone there are 10,000+ serious injuries to people at work every year. In the USA and Australia experts are predicting that 50% of over 65's will suffer a serious fall each year - some of those caused by slipping. Worst of all, in developed countries while accidents and injuries are declining, the level of slipping injuries is rising. Despite being the biggest cause of serious injuries, most businesses will not have a slip prevention plan, they won't know how or when to test for slip risk, the risk assessment will overlook slip hazards, and staff will have no training on slip prevention. It is time for a change in attitudes towards slip prevention.

Most Floors Can Be Kept Safer

According to experts, most slip accidents could be prevented. Standards for slip testing are poor. Some slip tests do not detect contamination or the effects of wet floors, and yet most slips happen on wet or contaminated floors. Most businesses have a poor understanding of how to monitor and manage floor safety, most do not monitor slip risks or even test new floors for slip resistance. Cleaning and maintenance staff should all appreciate floor safety and know how to keep floors safe. Every business should have simple policies and procedures that ensure new floors are fit for purpose and that floor cleaning and maintenance keeps the floor safe throughout its life.

Slips: the Cinderella of the Safety industry

Slip prevention is the Cinderella of the safety industry. Every commercial building you visit will have a fire safety certificate, fire exits, trained fire officers etc. They will be aware of trip hazards, they will test electrical equipment and they will only use certified gas engineers or plumbers. But most floors you walk on will be slippery if they are wet or contaminated and most Health & Safety Managers will have no idea how to measure or monitor slip risk. When floors are purchased or modified there probably won't be a test done for change to slip resistance. Cleaning and maintenance methods could easily be checked to ensure that floors are kept free from risk... but the chances are no slip testing is done.

Improving slip safety - it is really easy

It is easy to improve slip safety. In most businesses a simple slip test whenever floors are changed will result in floors being many times safer. The slip risk of some floors will change. For example, a kitchen floor gets slippery every day, while a swimming pool shower room may get slippery over time as body fats collect on the floor. So, it is important to monitor the changes that matter. You don't need to monitor the kitchen floor 3 times every day because you know the slipperiness of the floor will change, but you do need to know how safe it is when clean and dry, how slippery it can become during the day, and how you will control the risk. It is also essential to monitor the slip resistance whenever the floor is changed or damaged so that the risk is understood and managed. In a pool changing room, it is important to know if the normal cleaning regime is cleaning off the contamination, or if the slip risk is rising. Then you can manage the risks and take action before the risk of someone slipping reaches an unacceptable level and someone is injured. In a shopping mall a small change to the cleaning machines or pads or cleaning fluids can lead to the floor becoming slippery over time... until on the first occasion someone walks on a wet floor there is a slipping accident.

Insurance costs may force a change

The insurance industry is currently picking up most of the costs of slipping accidents. Currently, an insurance company may pay out for several slip accidents on the same floor. As the insurance industry begins to realise they are paying for the rising cost of slip accidents, they will begin to take action, and charge higher premiums for businesses that do not manage slip risks.

Compensation claims may force businesses to improve floor safety

Compensation claims after a slip injury generally result in small payouts and many companies will consider it a lower cost than proactive slip prevention. Every building owner/manager should consider slipping risks, should conduct risk assessments, and should have trained staff who monitor the effectiveness of their cleaning, and take action when the level of risk changes. Some building owners try to get away with using a slip test that are known to be unable to detect contamination in order to suggest that floors are safe. That kind of deception should be outlawed. Perhaps the growing compensation culture will have the silver lining of forcing businesses to take slips seriously.

The Happy Ending...

Let's rescue the Cinderella of health and safety and give her the importance she deserves. A slip prevention policy can save your business money on flooring, cleaning, maintenance, insurance and it will save you time, money and headaches associated with slip injury claims. All public buildings should have a plan to keep floors safe for staff, customers or anyone using the building and should have staff trained and equipped to monitor and manage slipping risks.