Andover Caregiving - Right at Home

Check out Howard Aronson, our Merrimack Valley Community Relations Coordinator and the Right at Home, In Home Care booth at the expo at the Andover Senior Center tomorrow. This comes from their Boomer Venture program, so it is for all you Boomers who are taking care of frail parents.

May 28: Caregiving Expo.

A trade show event featuring numerous organizations providing elder services, including 50-plus communities, visiting nurses, assisted living, nursing home and hospice care. Hosted by the Town of Andover and the Andover Senior Center. Special time: 5:30-7:30PM.

Sandra Day O'Connor talks about Alzheimer's

In today's Boston Globe, ex-justice O'Connor told the Special Committee on Aging in the Senate that more attention needs to be focused on research for this disease. She has become one of the most prominent Alzheimer's caregivers in today's world, next to Nancy Reagan. She states the statistics that we have 5 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer's and it is poised to skyrocket to 16 million. The statistics show that one of the fastest growing age groups in America is those over the age of 80, yet one in every two people over the age of 85 are diagnosed with this disease! This is a health crisis that we cannot ignore, yet we don't seem to have the inclination to really bring Alzheimer's to the front burner.

She talked about the 10 million people who are taking care of relatives or friends with dementia. The loss of income and the added stress to these caregivers is intense. The article says that the Alzheimer's Association values this unpaid care at $89 billion.

Whenever I talk to someone about Alzheimer's- they have a loved one or someone close who is living with the disease. I have a relative living with Alzheimer's- DO YOU?

Does Managing Bills for Your Loved One Drive You Crazy?

Many of our adult caregivers are managing bills for their elder relatives with or without truly having a Power of Attorney. Sometimes, an elder client must give away managing their affairs, not because of dementia or confusion, but maybe eyesight is failing or there are organizational issues. We have been recommending a local company to help our clients in this area. The company is named Commonwealth Cash Management. They offer a professional daily money management service to get those bookkeeping tasks done. Their Personal Cash Management services encompass personal bookkeeping, recordkeeping, bill paying and investment data aggregation services. Each customer is assigned a dedicated CCM Client Assistant who works with the customer/caregiver, operating within a system of institution-quality checks and balances. The Client Assistant is available to make personal visits on a schedule of the person's choosing, and the frequency of your contact with CCM is always up to the client. This company is based right here in Salem, MA and the founders KC Kommoss and Jeff Plakans have extensive experience offering financial services right here on the North Shore. Our adult caregivers always have WAY too much on their plates. When they look for local cash managers, there is not much choice up in this area. Sometimes individuals will "bill pay" for elders, but they are not real companies and they open up the elder to fraud or as the victim of horrible mistakes. Using a professional company for Daily Money Manage, only makes sense. We here at Right at Home understand that if our clients use a professional service, then they have some level of protection. Sometimes we see Geriatric Care Managers getting involved with money as conservators. These services can run upward of $100 per hour just to get the bills done and the accounts reconciled! That is crazy! My article on the 7 Questions has been featured on their partner Newsletter. Be sure to check it out! Happy Valentines Day!

Wings Cares Women's Expo

I am speaking on March 8th at the Salem Waterfront Hotel for the Wings Cares North Shore Women's Expo. Wings Cares stands for Women in Networking Giving Support. Proceeds from the event are being donated to Art for Life Foundation, here on the North Shore. This group funds programs to help children in hospitals through art.

This is the first time that this event is being held and I think it will be very interesting. The topic that I am speaking on is Caring for an Aging Parent. The attendees are businesswomen on the North Shore who are balancing careers, kids and possibly other responsibilities, like taking care of their parents. People are always so baffled when they are thrown into the process of adult caregiving. It is almost like we feel that "this will never happen to me!"

I hope that I can give them a little direction in the time that I have allotted. The other topics are financial, balance related and political topics. It should definitely be interesting and it is GREAT to have it in Salem!!

What You Need to Know Before Hiring an In-home Caregiver for an Aging Adult or a Disabled Adult

Right at Home Provides Seven Key Questions to Ask Before Making a Decision

Recent studies estimate that 24 million caregivers, or about 16 percent of the population, provide care to adults ages 50 years or older in the United States. These people feel unprecedented pressure to find immediate assistance as they try to balance their own career and family with the care needs of their loved one. In the process, many unknowingly create a risky situation for everyone involved.

More and more families, in an attempt to save time and money, are hiring “underground” caregivers—those caregivers who are not affiliated with a company or professional organization that provides proper caregiver management and training. In fact, most underground caregivers are hired by families without a background check and thorough pre-screening process. Family members doing the hiring may not even know if the caregiver has legal status to work in the United States and are unaware of the ramifications of doing so. Moreover, most families are unaware of their responsibilities regarding employer taxes, insurance needs and provisions of workers compensation.

Many states have or are passing laws to protect families and against senior caregiver “horror stories”. In the meantime, Right at Home urges families to give the process of hiring a caregiver careful consideration. Right at Home encourages families to ask the caregiver agency or the independent caregiver the following questions at the start of the hiring process:

Seven Critical Questions to Ask Before Hiring In-home Caregivers:

1. What happens if the caregiver becomes ill or isn’t available? In other words, can the agency or the independent caregiver make immediate arrangements to provide continuous service to the person in need?

2. Who has legal responsibilities for social security and federal and state taxes, as well as unemployment insurance?

3. Is the caregiver legal to work in the U.S. and can the agency or the caregiver provide legal documentation of the caregiver’s status?

4. If the caregiver is injured, who is responsible for medical and other costs, such as unemployment and workers compensation insurance? Remember: Many homeowner insurance policies specifically exclude such injuries via clauses called domestic employee exclusions. This means the homeowner can be held responsible for the medical costs of an injured independent caregiver.

5. Have all proper checks been completed including a criminal history background check, a state abuse registry check, and have prior work references been contacted? A reliable agency will have completed these before hiring the caregiver. Families who hire caregivers not associated with an agency should conduct these procedures at their own expense.

6. Is the caregiver bonded and insured to cover any injury to the client, damage or theft? In addition, when an agency says it is “bonded,” family members should be sure to ask if their bond covers both injury and damages related to the caregiver working in the home.

7. Assuming a family member is not available to supervise paid caregivers at all times, what kind of documentation will be provided to substantiate the completion of services? In other words, what kind of proof will the family have that their loved one is actually receiving the much needed care for which the family is paying?

If a potential caregiver doesn’t have the time or resources to answer these important questions, it’s probably best to seek out a professional home care agency that takes responsibility for background checks, taxes and insurance liabilities. At Right at Home of Salem, we have the resources to take those precautions in order to provide peace of mind to those we serve. An important part of providing highly personalized and flexible care is making sure the family is protected, too.

About Right at Home

Right at Home offers in-home supportive care, personal care, home health aide and nursing assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently. Right at Home directly employs all caregiving staff, each of whom are thoroughly screened, trained, bonded and insured prior to entering a client’s home. All ongoing care is monitored and supervised RN field staff supervisors. For more information on Right at Home, visit the company’s Web site at www.rightathomemass.net. To sign up for Right at Home’s free adult caregiving e-newsletter, Caring Right at Home, please go to www.caringnews.com.

Rosaleen in Salem Gazette and Marblehead Reporter

I was installed as the Second Vice President of North Shore Women in Business and there were a few really nice write ups.

I have always served the group, however now I see that I will definitely have more work!! This is a great group for me to talk with women about adult caregiving and issues that they may be facing with aging parents.

Parade Magazine Piece About Adult Caregiving

Did anyone see the piece that Parade Magazine did last month on Adult Caregiving? I thought that it did good job of bringing to light the difficulties that so many of my families are faced with and were not entirely prepared to deal with. It talks about how caregiving can even be life threatening. It states that between 40% and 70% of caregivers have clinically significant symptoms of depression and depression often leads to a neglect of the caregivers own physical and mental health. It also stated a financially devastating fact- over a lifetime, family caregivers sacrifice and average of more than $500,000 in total income. The conclusion to the article is that we all need to spend more time thinking about what we will do when and if we become a caregiver, because the federal government is basically leaving middle America to "figure it out". States are actively trying to support caregivers through many innovative programs and companies are trying to help their employees that may be caregiving an adult. It is a situation that we all have some exposure to, but it doesn't seem that we have any one answer. There are good links in the article that I will add to my blog.

Recent Speaking Engagements

I have been asked to do a number of speaking engagements over the past month. It has been a great experience. In early September, I spoke to John Hancock Insurance employees in Boston in an educational program on Medicaid and Medicare. It was part of their employee assistance program to help inform them about health insurance issues that they may face when helping an elder or looking more down the road for themselves. I thought it was a terrific topic to discuss, because I find that so many families don't know anything about the Medicare and Medicaid until it is time to use it. To start to think about the "gaps" in care and how to prepare for it is important. I was able to share my experiences with families who were in crisis mode because they never planned to manage their family member's health care. Information will not change the "suprise" moment when we start caregiving another adult, however information on Medicare and Medicaid will take some of the fire out of the crisis.

On September 21st, I spoke to the Haverhill Rotary Club about Adult Caregiving. The group was very welcoming and asked many good questions. I brought the Adult Caregiving Guide that Right at Home has produced with Secure Horizons. In the end, I didn't bring enough. It was a really nice group. You can download a copy of our Adult Caregiving Show Me Guide by going to the national Right at Home website and you will see the PDF option on the left.

Next week, I am speaking on a panel for the law offices of Vincent Bonazzolli. His office specializes in estate planning and he runs informational seminars for his clients and their families. His office is in Lynnfield, MA and I have found him and his office staff to be extremely professional and great to work with.

The other members of the panel will be Dianne Savistano of HealthAssist. Healthassist offers expert consulting, coaching, information and assistance to demystify healthcare and help consumers make the best decisions for their health. She is particularly helpful with helping people with a hard diagnosis (cancer) and helping them navigate through the insurance and the healthcare decisions.

Eileen Berman of Independent Living Solutions. Eileen is an excellent Geriatric Care Manager that works with families all over the North Shore. Right at Home works with her to help many clients.

Dick Cote of Good Life Providers will also be on the panel. This service provides home safety, modification and property maintenance service specializing in the needs of senior home owners. Ongoing maintenance is critical to maintaining a safe and comfortable home as well as enhancing the property value while preventing minor problems from developing into major headaches. I am honored to be presenting with them all