Tips For Taking Care of the Elderly

Caring for old people may be rough. At times, these old people become very hard to understand which makes it impossible for anyone to deal with their attitude. But patience is very important. During these instances, we are needed to show respect and provide help for them.

Numerous elder care arrangements have been provided for these senior citizens. The least expensive option is home care for the elderly. Only few house repairs and adjustments make up the expenses. When caring for the elderly at home, it is important for one to put handrails in the bathroom to hold the weight of the elderly; the bathroom floor could become slippery. The flooring should also be changed, linoleums are recommended, to prevent slip accidents in the house. In addition, a nurse or a caregiver may be hired if desired.

Home care for the elderly also gives the opportunity for the family members to spend quality time with their ageing loved ones. Personalized care and medication are provided while having the privilege of staying conveniently at home.

Other elder care options are assisted living facilities and nursing homes. Assisted living for the elderly is the most preferred option of families nowadays. This means of elder care provide assistance to old people while still giving them their independence. Nurses and caregivers assist in feeding, bathing, and dressing them. However, assisted living differs with nursing home care in the sense that old people in assisted living facilities do not need 24-hour medical assistance and supervision. Nursing homes, on the other hand, also provide assistance to old people especially the bedridden and very weak ones. Costs of assisted living facilities and nursing homes also differ. A room in a nursing home may cost three times that of an assisted living facility room. Extra charges for the use of certain amenities also apply.

Senior day care centers and independent living communities are also good choices. Busy family members who still want to live with their old loved ones may opt for senior day care centers. These day care centers offer fun activities and exercise programs for the elderly. They also provide nutritious meals and snacks. And similar to assisted living facilities and nursing homes, senior day care centers help the elderly become physically and socially active.

Independent living communities, however, do not provide medical assistance or supervision to senior citizens. This option is very popular among active old people who want to spend the rest of their lives relaxing and enjoying in health clubs and recreational centers around their community. An independent living community typically consists of low-maintenance apartments, condominiums, and town houses.

Whichever elder care arrangement is chosen, it is still best to keep in mind that a senior's personal safety and happiness are the most important.

Home Care Services Are Available For Every Senior's Needs

An elderly friend lives alone in a lovely apartment, but she's gotten to the point where she just isn't able to take care of things the way she used to. At 90, she finds that she needs a bit of assistance to maintain her home, but she's still unwilling to move into a nursing facility. Instead, she has opted for the new big trend in elder care service which is home care. She has a woman who comes into her home one day every two weeks to clean house, buy groceries, and do the laundry. Other than those chores, my friend is able to take care of herself, but home care allows her to stay in her apartment on her own.

It's no wonder that home care has become the biggest thing in elder care these days. The services are available from trained personnel who can deliver exactly what any individual needs. The various categories of home care include:

1. Homemaker care - this is exactly what it says. It means someone to come into the home to take care of household duties. Much like the woman who cares for my friend, it can mean someone to do light housekeeping, change the bed, do the laundry, and shop for groceries.

2. Personal care services - this service will include personal grooming such as bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, and toileting.

3. Meal services - means someone to come into the home, work out the menus, buy the food, and cook. This can be on a daily basis or less often as needed.

4. Home health care - involves care for those individuals who need simple medical care in their homes. These services could include dividing daily medicine doses, making sure the person takes their prescribed doses, and ordering and picking up prescriptions. It could also include temporary care for someone with a broken limb or a person who's just been released from the hospital and might include such things as taking vital signs or changing dressings.

5. Skilled health care - this type of care is given by experienced professionals. It might be an LPN, an RN, or some type of therapist. These caregivers allow the senior to stay in their own home while receiving the care they require and eliminates the need for extended hospital stays and rehabilitation facilities.

There are better options available for seniors these days that doesn't include putting them away in nursing facilities. If this is the type of assistance you need to stay healthy and remain in your own home, you should definitely check into it. Try the yellow pages or search online to find local agencies that will help put you in touch with the right people.

How To Identify Nursing Home Abuse

Making the decision to place an elderly family member in a nursing home is never easy. If you do choose a facility, you of course expect it to be efficient, well run and safe and assume that your loved one will be treated well. Most of the approximately 16,000 nursing homes in the US are well run and they employ dedicated and reliable staff, although unfortunately nursing home abuse does occur. It can also be surprisingly difficult to identify and verify and only about 20 percent of cases actually get reported.

When choosing a nursing home, you will want to visit the facility before making a firm decision and just about every facility will give you a guided tour. There are certain 'red flags' that you should look for to try to determine signs of abuse in a nursing home. Signs of physical abuse are perhaps easiest to spot; these can include bruising, wounds or cuts, or lingering illnesses or injuries.

Residents who are forced to remain in their rooms for a long period of time should be a warning, as should any signs of residents fighting with each other. Look for unusual behavior such as rocking, nail biting or hugging oneself. If you get the chance, observe the staff interacting with a patient; the patient should appear to be relaxed and at ease when being cared for.

You should also look for an appropriate ratio of patients to staff, which is regulated by law and designed to ensure that patients are adequately cared for. It is estimated that as many as 50 percent of homes are short staffed, which of course means that patients are not being cared for. The work is also often demanding and unpleasant, leading to a high turnover of staff. Financial exploitation is also surprisingly common in some nursing homes, as of course many older people have little or no idea how much money they have.

It can also be surprisingly difficult to differentiate between actual abuse and neglect, the big difference is that neglect is generally unintentional and is more common than deliberate abuse. Many employees are simply over worked; in some cases, they have not received adequate training. Although most nursing home employees are caring and responsible, some see the job simply as a means to a paycheck and tend to neglect their patients, often without meaning to. In a nursing home, all accidents and injuries, however minor, must be investigated and reported and all too often, this does not happen.

If you do suspect signs of nursing home abuse, your first step should be to talk to the administrator, followed by your local authority. You also have the legal right to see a copy of the most recent report on the facility. In extreme cases, you may have to consult with an attorney, preferably one experienced and knowledgeable in this area. Of course, you can also talk to your loved one, although sadly many residents are unwilling or unable to identify abuse and talk about it.

Senior Citizens And Their Housing Program

Fortunately for Americans, the U.S. Federal Government has established a comprehensive housing program for the senior citizens of the country through the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) primarily leading the implementation of affordable and useful alternatives for this sector.

In tandem with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the HUD seeks for organizers and volunteers in the respective communities all over the country to draw up plans and programs for senior citizen housing. This is also supported by the country's HOME Investment Partnership Program that gives out federal funds to localities within the states that need funding for housing particularly for them.

Among the highlights of the program is to give various options for oldsters to select their preferences. Elderly people can stay in their homes, rent an apartment or choose to go into an established care facility specializing to meet their emotional needs.

This type of accommodation has been foremost in the government's agenda to give medical and non-medical support to this sector that is oftentimes forgotten or ignored. Thus, the trend has been to grant independence and the privilege to choose which location or setup he or she wants.

When the older people have younger members of the family supporting them, the family can proceed to seek assistance through HUD approved counselors who provide the much-needed data and information about different programs and various appropriate housing communities.

A database on all the states is kept for rendering information about where the elderly can reside or the options made available for him to meet his needs. For those who can afford private housing, there is the privately-run institution that constructs homes or apartments designed either as a single and detached unit or communal accommodation where those who have reached the golden age can interact with each other.

There are even options for them to continue residing in their homes and to get a credit line against the equity on the home, either paid in full or has a small outstanding balance. The HECM, or simply housing assistance, persuades them continue to live in their own residences, to use some money for repairs, improvements, or to pay for monthly rentals.

Unlike before, nursing homes are not the only available option for oldsters to where they were automatically sent by their families upon reaching a certain age. Instead, the housing programs for the elderly in the country have been redesigned to make living comfortably also living healthily. However, senior citizen housing communities are not complete without the usual medical assistance or services offered by nurses, caregivers, or counselors who help in preserving the good health of the pensioners. The services also include non-medical needs like shopping and doing laundry.

Choices abound for retirement homes, whether living independently or communally, or for bigger communities that cater to social and emotional needs of senior citizens. Those who have been impaired by illness or have been affected mentally as in memory disorders or are in great risk from a terminal sickness are given priority by the federal government through the specialized centers for that purpose.

Housing woes like mortgage repayments have also been attended to carefully by the federal government by the Housing Choice Vouchers for the economically disadvantaged senior citizens. The multi-faceted housing program of the government for elderly people is indeed laudable. These programs make people look forward to their golden years as non-threatening to one's future. The federal government has been in full swing to continue to make housing programs for senior citizens and has specially handled this issue with care.

Elder Abuse In Nursing Homes - A Growing Problem

You have probably already seen the statistics about how many seniors reach retirement age every day. The numbers are really quite frightening. Nearly 80,000 seniors reach retirement age every day. That puts enormous strain on places like retirement homes, nursing homes and long-term care facilities and the people who are required to run them and support them. Therein lies at least part of the problem.

There aren't enough qualified people to go around. There's a terrible shortage of nurses and healthcare workers. There's even an ad running locally that you can be trained to be a nurse in 11 days. Oh my gosh! Keep me away from that place.

A study was done by the government not long ago showing that nearly 60% of all nursing homes had employees with some kind of criminal record. That is where a lot of the abuse comes from.

With more seniors going into nursing homes and long-term care facilities those facilities are scrambling to hire people-anyone-regardless of credentials.

And elder abuse is not just limited to the United States it is a worldwide problem. In Australia a study showed that 60% of elderly abusers were family members. It just gets worse.

In 2004 alone more than 500,000 cases of elder abuse were reported. One of the problems is that so many cases of elder abuse don't get reported because their victims have Alzheimer's or dementia and are unable to verbalize what they're going through.

Two years ago the well-known actor Mickey Rooney testified before Congress on his own personal experience of being exploited by a member of his family. Rooney is now in his 90's.

Rooney is now featured in a Hollywood documentary about financial abuse of the elderly. The film is called "Last Will And Embezzlement." The producers of the film are hoping that it will highlight and draw attention to the plight of so many elderly.

Rooney mentioned that if it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone.

Financial abuse of our seniors is just one type of abuse that seniors are subjected to in nursing homes. The more common types are verbal and physical abuse. If you suspect that your loved ones are victims of verbal or physical abuse, one of the best ways to catch them is with a hidden camera.

The iPod Dock Camera is one of the best hidden cameras with a DVR included for catching elder abuse. It records to an SD card for easy retrieval and playback.

Many states now have agreed that using a hidden camera in the rooms in a nursing home is legal. You can protect your loved ones with a hidden camera.

The Future of Healthcare for Seniors

Now that the so-called "age wave" has begun crashing on society's shores we are all re-examining the implications this demographic shift will have on the provision of healthcare, particularly with respect to senior citizens. Given that public healthcare in more and more jurisdictions is beginning to hit a wall that no amount of funding will breach, it is incumbent on us to come up with alternatives to public healthcare in the provision of long-term care for seniors.

It is clear that long-term care for seniors is not a real priority to most governments, given the resources that are allocated to this sector versus, say, resources allocated to prisons. For instance, in the province of Ontario, government-subsidization of care for seniors in long term care facilities appears to be a mere afterthought. The province recently raised the daily food subsidy for seniors from $7.15 to $7.31 per day. This amount is intended to cover breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and all beverages for the residents of such facilities. By comparison, the food allowance for a prisoner at an Ontario penitentiary is currently more than double that. In addition, the province has managed to find money to pay drug-addicted inmates to attend rehabilitation sessions.

The number of seniors in society is increasing dramatically for two reasons. The first is that baby-boomers, which comprise the largest single demographic in our society, are beginning to reach their 60s. Gradually, this demographic will account for close to 50% of the entire population within the next two decades. In addition, improvements in healthcare and the choice of a healthier lifestyle will ensure that people live longer. The average age of residents in most long-term care facilities right now is at about 87. Given the above advances in healthcare and lifestyle, there is little doubt that this average will increase by a good 10 years, if not more.

So what are the alternatives? There really isn't an easy answer to this question, as the thinking behind the policies that have created this dilemma really hasn't changed over the past decades, nor does it appear too many policy makers are even aware that there is a looming problem. But let's say that meaningful solutions will be found when we view the problem through a different paradigm. Jim Scott, the visionary developer of Serenity Care for Seniors, Inc. has looked at the problem through a different paradigm and devised an elegant solution with the concept of foster care for seniors. I met and wrote about Jim back in the fall of 2008, as I was greatly impressed by his concept.

Other concepts could include family cooperatives that work in association with government agencies to provide long-term care for small groups of seniors living in regular homes. The idea being that family members of the residents as well as individuals within the community volunteer on a rotating basis to care for the aged residents. The up side of such a plan would be that seniors would not be stigmatized with having to be institutionalized and would enjoy a higher level of care than that provided in a long term care facility. The down side, of course would be increased cost and a limitation of access to qualified nursing staff. But even that down side isn't insurmountable as most jurisdictions have a community care organization already in place to provide some level of care to those in need.

I believe that the best solution doesn't necessarily entail any one answer, but a melding of a number of different concepts. It's clear to me that larger and ever more extensive nursing homes are not the answer, given that these tend to breed blind and unbending bureaucracies exacerbated by employees that fall under the auspices of public sector unions. That's why long-term care has become so prohibitively expensive over the past decades and has yielded less than stellar outcomes.

If we are going to meet the challenges this demographic shift will pose, it's important that we look beyond what we currently know and explore options that focus on the health and wellness of those being served, rather than looking for the most expedient way to make the problem go away.

Turn the Supermarket Into a Classroom

Learning is an adventure and the universe is the classroom. Parents who hold this belief are able to turn the supermarket into a classroom and, indeed, turn every situation and circumstance a child encounters into a learning experience.

The supermarket is a great learning experience. With some imagination, it becomes a place where children can reinforce in a practical way some of the most important concepts they learn in the classroom. The supermarket allows them to relate the concepts they learn to real life. As we shop for food and teach the concepts of mathematics, geography and nutrition, a powerful link is made with learning and living.

The supermarket provides the opportunity to demonstrate the principles of mathematics in real life. Children, depending on their age can learn the concepts of division by watching and helping their parents make change. Helping their parents select items, total their costs and make change, make the concepts of addition and subtraction real to children.

There are fantastic opportunities in a supermarket to teach the concepts of consumer mathematics. Sales and discounted items help children to understand percentages and variations in prices and profit margins. These mathematical concepts can be tailored to the age of the children and allow them to have fun whilst they learn. Involving the children in supermarket shopping is also a great self-esteem builder.

Games built around the origin of foods are a great way to teach children geography. Grapes from California, olives from Spain, wine from France and yams from Africa can all be found in a supermarket. Parents can use the opportunity as they select food items, to teach children in a fun way, why certain foods grow in specific areas. This presents opportunities for simple to complex explanations on climate, transportation and other aspects of geography.

One of the most important lessons to be learnt in the supermarket is the importance of checking food ingredients. This presents an ideal opportunity to teach children about nutrition. Children will often be attracted by bright packaging and other attractive gimmicks. Parents will have the opportunity to teach children to look out for essential ingredients and to identify the ingredients that are bad for their health. As they teach children what to look for in healthy food, parents are well on the way to establishing sound life-long principles to good, healthy living.

Parents can turn the supermarket into a classroom by teaching fun games on categories and classifications. The goods in a supermarket are generally divided into categories according to types, prices and other classification. This is very similar to the way nature organizes species and groups of animals. Once again, age appropriate games can be developed for children.

Supermarkets are great classrooms. Parents with imagination can benefit greatly from developing creative games for their children as they do grocery shopping. The lessons that can be learnt from the supermarket range from basic to complex and can lay the groundwork for important subject areas in the life of a child.