11th Annual Caregiver Connections Conference on November 7th

The North Shore Alzheimer’s Partnership is sponsoring our 11th Annual Caregiver Connections Conference on November 7th at the Peabody Holiday Inn on Route 1. This is a great event for families of Alzheimer’s patients to attend for information on the latest updates, legal and financial updates, community resources, and support groups. There will be 30 tables of elder care professionals to speak with during the breaks. Please see www.alzheimerspartnership.org for the program. It runs from 8:30AM to 1:30PM.

ALSO, there is a respite room – meaning that you can bring you Alzheimer’s person with you and attend conference knowing that they are safe and being taken care of by professionals. It is only $10 to attend. Please call 781-231-7890 to preregister.3 CEU’s available for professionals for $25. See you there and please come by the Right at Home booth and say hello.

Stay Alert on Alzheimer's Disease in Marblehead, Massachusetts

This is a great article for anyone who is affected, or newly affected by Alzheimer’s Disease, and is trying to understand it’s effects on our loved ones. If you need help with an aging senior in the area, visit www.rightathomemass.net.

Stay Alert on Alzheimer's Disease

By: Barbara Rockwell

The term dementia refers to a brain disorder that demonstrates itself in several ways. A person may easily become confused even in known settings, may ask questions repeatedly, or may neglect such basic things as their own hygiene or basic safety issues. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia linked with old age.

The disease is named after German Doctor Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed variations in the brain tissue of a patient of his that died with unusual mental illnesses and dementia. His study guided him to discover anomalous clumps and tangles of fiber in the brains of those patients who were suffering from this same disease.

Thus, whilst it was common for persons who were older and losing their mental faculties to be dismissed as "senile," Dr. Alzheimer was able to pinpoint the actual breakdown in the brain that led to the loss of their mental faculties.

According to the National Institute on Aging varied test conclusions, there are actual brain changes in persons with Alzheimer's disease. They can find out how nerve cells die in areas of the brain that affect memory and basic abilities. It may seem strange, but everything that we do on a daily basis is because of memory.

We remember that we need to take a shower on a regular basis that we need to shut the door behind us when we leave the house. We don't realize that we're doing these things because of memory, and assume that they just happen naturally. But when those memories break down because of Alzheimer's or any other mental disorder, even the most basic everyday functions begin to be confusing or neglected.

In fact, the brain works by a series of connections between nerve endings, all of which are related. For example, the part of the brain that controls speech sends signals to the nerves that spark the muscles and parts of the mouth when we wish to talk. Of course, all of our mental and physical functions work this way.

With Alzheimer's disease, these nerve signals are disrupted or broken. If the brain cannot continue to make connections in the nerve cells that control memory, all the basic functions are disrupted. The brain can't memorize that it just asked a question, so a person repeats it. They can't remember their own children, so they are now strangers. Alzheimer's can be a very frightening and debilitating disease for the patients and the families as well.

Article Source: http://myeldercarearticles.com

Marblehead, Massachusetts Senior Home Care Services Benefits

This is a great article that highlights the many benefits of home care for seniors! Visit us at www.rightathomemass.net if you need help for an aging loved one in the Marblehead MA area.

Senior Home Care Services Has Many Benefits Over a Nursing Home

By Chuck Parsens

As the United States people age, the focus on the number of looked for services will have to line up with the quality of the care rendered. For many years a spotlight has been placed on how well residents who reside in a nursing home are treated. Some understand that the level of care an individual obtains is dependent on how much family members are involved. Some mature children have trouble with placing their senior parents in a nursing home because of the negative press. Price is also a part in making this choice. An alternative to nursing homes is senior home care services, which allow a person to stay put in their home and receive the level of care that they will need.

Along with determining the price and care, the types of elderly home care services are chosen based on an individual's situation. Insurance companies have sought ways to trim down the costs of hospitalization and therapy services, which has opened the door for service providers who concentrate in giving these services at an individual's home. This reduces health care costs and allows an older adult to remain in their homes. The home care landscape has grown into a cutthroat business, giving greater options for people to choose from.

The advantages of having home care services rather than staying in a nursing home cannot be miscalculated. The intellectual portion of being able to keep some level of liberty can go a long way to improving the excellence of life for numerous elder adults. Most elderly only require assistance with regular, daily activities which may include transportation to doctor's appointments, grocery shopping, or bathing. Still, others may require more steady care, depending on their disease and how far it has developed.

A person who receives senior home care services can have more private attention than someone who lives in a nursing home. In a nursing home, a partial number of personnel must attend to a number of different people with varying degrees of needs. Receiving care at home can cost less than it does in a nursing home because of equipment costs that are factored into nursing homes. The annual costs of a nursing home differ by state, but in most cases, the costs far go above and beyond the median income of many older people. Those with Medicare soon find out that it only covers a little portion of long-term care, and that treatment is limited to the sort and number of days. The people that cannot come up with the money to supplement the costs of a nursing home could want to give home care services serious thought.

The topic of elderly home care is very broad in nature and I enjoy looking at all the aspects of it. Feel free to look at my other post about the options of senior home care services for your loved ones.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chuck_Parsens

Long Distance Care Givers Receive Help with Aging Parents in Marblehead, Massachusetts

Living in a different city or state -- miles from aging parents -- can be very difficult. Keeping in touch by telephone and making long trips to help parents or aging relatives with their needs can be time consuming and not nearly as effective as being available full time in person.

Mark Sessions spent two years juggling his restaurant business with multiple daily phone calls to his elderly parents, checking on their needs and answering their questions. Family vacations were spent traveling the 500 miles to his parent's home to personally take care of home maintenance and provide health care visits to their doctor. During his last visit, Mark noticed his father had difficulty walking and his mother was confused as to which medications she was to take and at what time. This alarming change in his parent's condition concerned Mark that his parents' care needs required more than frequent phone calls and vacation visits. Running his business and handling his parent's long distance care was now becoming very challenging.

According to a report by the Alzheimer's Association of Los Angeles & Riverside, California, there are approximately 3.3 million long distance caregivers in this country with an average distance of 480 miles from the people they care for. The report also states that 15 million days are missed from work each year because of long distance care giving. Seven million Americans provide 80% of the care to ailing family members and the number of long distance caregivers will DOUBLE over the next 15 years.
Long Distance Caregiver Project – Alzheimer's Association LA & Riverside, Los Angeles, CA (May 15, 2002, National Web Seminar by Judith Delaney, MFT, Clinical Coordinator)

The long distance caregiver is a new role that is thrust upon children and younger family members. Families used to live closer together, with children residing and working near their parents. But nowadays family members are more distant from each other. Society, today, is recognizing this. Some caregiver services have tweaked their programs to work as liaisons between long distance caregivers, senior loved ones and local medical professionals.

Professional care managers -- a lso known as Geriatric Care Managers, Elder Care Managers or Aging Care Managers -- represent a growing trend to help full time, employed family caregivers provide care for loved ones. Care managers are expert in assisting caregivers, friends or family members find government-paid and private resources to help with long term care decisions.

They are professionals -- trained to evaluate and recommend care for the aged. A care manager might be a nurse, social worker, psychologist, or gerontologist who specializes in assessing the abilities and needs of the elderly. Care manger professionals are also becoming extremely popular as the caretaker liaison between long distant family members and their aging elder loved ones.

Jacqueline Marcell -- author of "Elder Rage, or Take My Father...Please! How to Survive Caring for Aging Parents" (Impressive, 2000) -- says,

"The most important thing to do is to find a geriatric care manager in the area where your loved one lives. She will have knowledge of all the services in the area and can be your eyes."

Below is a partial list of what a care manager or Professional Geriatric Care Manager might do:

• Assess the level and type of care needed and develop a care plan.
• Take steps to start the care plan and keep it functioning.
• Make sure care is in a safe and disability friendly environment.
• Resolve family conflicts and other issues with long term care.
• Become an advocate for the care recipient and the caregiver.
• Manage care for a loved one for out-of-town families .
• Conduct ongoing assessments to implement changes in care.
• Oversee and direct care provided at home.
• Coordinate the efforts of key support systems.
• Provide personal counseling.
• Help with Medicaid qualification and application.
• Arrange for services of legal and financial advisors.
• Provide placement in assisted living facilities or nursing homes.
• Monitor the care received in a nursing home or in assisted living.
• Assist with the monitoring of medications.
• Find appropriate solutions to avoid a crisis.
• Coordinate medical appointments and medical information.
• Provide transportation to medical appointments
• Assist families in positive decision making
• Develop care plans for older loved ones not now needing care
  “The 4 Steps of Long Term Care Planning,” National Care Planning Council

Services offered will depend on the educational and professional background of the care manager, but most are qualified to cover items in the list above or can recommend a professional who can. Fees may vary. There is often an initial consultation fee that is followed by hourly fees for services. Health insurance does not generally cover these fees but long-term care insurance might.

In 2002, the AARP published a survey from geriatric care mangers about their fees:

“Respondents were asked how much they charged for their services, which might include: an initial consultation; fees on an hourly or per visit basis; fees for development of a care plan; and fees on a fixed-price contract basis. Hourly fees averaged $74 an hour. GCMs charged an average $168 to develop a care plan. Initial consultations averaged $175. Seven of ten current GCMs responded in the affirmative when asked if they had a statement that listed their fees. ” Written by Robyn Stone, DrPH, Principal Investigator; Susan Reinhard, RN, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator; Jean Machemer, MSG, Research Associate; and Danylle Rudin, MSW, Research Associate of The Institute for the Future of Aging Services, Washington, D.C.Barbara Coleman, Project Manager, AARP Public Policy Institute November 2002

When you take into account the time absent from work and time to find the right care resources for your loved ones, along with the cost of travel expenses to monitor their care, you will probably concur that using a caregiver is money well spent. Add on to this the stress of handling your own life circumstances combined with being a caregiver and you will probably wonder how you could have ever done without the care manager.

A professional or geriatric care manager can be an important asset to all families in elder care situations. Here is an example of how a care manager can help.

Mary is taking care of her aging husband at home. He has diabetes and is overweight. Because of the diabetes, her husband has severe neuropathy in his legs and feet and it is difficult for him to walk. He also has diabetic retinopathy and, therefore, cannot see very well. She has to be careful that he does not injure his feet, since the last time that happened he was in the hospital for four weeks with a severe infection. She is having difficulty helping him out of bed and with dressing and using the bathroom. She relies heavily on her son, who lives nearby, to help her manage her husband's care.

On the advice of a friend, Mary is told about a professional care manager, Sharon Brown. The cost of an initial assessment and care plan from the care manager is $175.00. Mary thinks she has the situation under control and $175.00 for someone from the outside to come in and tell her how to deal with her situation seems ridiculous.

One day Mary is trying to lift her husband and injures her back severely. She is bedridden and cannot care for her husband. Her son, who works fulltime, now has two parents to care for. On the advice of the same friend, he decides to bring in Sharon Brown and pay her fee himself.

Sharon does a thorough assessment of the family's needs. She arranges for Mary's doctor to order Medicare home care during Mary's recovery. Therapists come in and help Mary with exercises and advice on lifting. Sharon advertises for and finds a private individual who is willing to live in the home for a period of time to help Mary with her recovery and watch over her husband. Sharon makes sure the new caregiver is reliable and honest and that taxes are paid for the employment. Sharon enlists the support of the local area agency on aging and makes sure all services available are provided for the family.

Sharon also calls a meeting with Mary's family and explains to them the care needs and how they need to commit to help with those needs. Sharon makes arrangements to rent or purchase medical equipment for lifting, moving and easier use of the bathroom facilities. Medicare will pay much of this cost. Sharon also works closely with an elder law attorney and a financial planner who specializes in the elderly. The attorney prepares documents for the family including powers of attorney, a living will and advice on preserving Mary's remaining assets. The financial planner recommends a reverse mortgage specialist to help Mary and her husband tap unused assets in their home's equity. Some reverse mortgage proceeds are used to pay off debt. The remaining proceeds are converted into income with a single premium immediate income annuity in order to provide Mary adequate income when her husband is gone and she looses one of the Social Security payments.

With the help of the care manager, Mary's life and future have been significantly improved. Her husband as well, if he adheres to the care plan, may end up having a better quality of life for his remaining years.
“The 4 Steps of Long Term Care Planning,” National Care Planning Council

The National Care Planning Council promotes and supports professional and geriatric care managers on its website www.longtermcarelink.net .

Visit us at www.rightathomemass.net if you need help for an aging loved one in the Marblehead MA area.

As funds dwindle, elders must wait for home care in Marblehead Mass and other areas.

The Boston Globe just published a story that I think is important information for all seniors and their family members to consider. Especially those families and seniors who have limited resources for home care. Don't wait! Get on the "list". Here's a summary and the link:

Local agencies that serve seniors are warning that state budget cuts will leave many area elders unable to obtain needed home care services.

The state’s 27 elder home care agencies, at the direction of the state Executive Office of Elder Affairs, on Sept. 8 initiated waiting lists for the state’s basic home service, according to Al Norman, executive director of Mass Home Care, an association of senior care agencies.

Jim Cunningham, executive director of Chelsea Revere Winthrop Elder Services, said his agency’s waiting list for home care already has reached 18 to 20.

Read the rest of the story HERE.