Large Amounts of Money in the Home

I heard a terrible incident today regarding an elder (not a Right at Home client) that kept several thousand dollars of cash in their home. For whatever reason, the hiding place for this money became evident to the home care worker in the home. It is sad to report that the temptation became too much and the elder had their money go missing.

The reason that I share this is to warn potential families that keeping large sums of money in the home is not a good choice. Because the client above used a reliable agency, they are protected by insurance. There were criminal background checks done on the employee, however an incident still occurred.

Many elders and families hire individual through the Internet or through a referral. They do not have an agency's protection. Home health aides are usually in a personal, low income situation. They are just like any other group - the vast majority of them are honest, hard working people, but unfortunately a very small percentage make wrong choices.

The bottom line is.....whether it is home health, contractors, repair people....any service people...please don't keep large amounts of cash in your house. It is the safe choice.

Home Care this Week

As the founder of a successful senior home care agency in Massachusetts, I get to see the most wonderful situations and the saddest situations that occur with our seniors. It is heart warming to see the families that sacrifice their lives for their elder who suffers from advanced dementia and it is heart breaking to see the elder that lives alone and has no one that cares for them except their home health aide.

This week I met a family that has been caregiving their 90 year old mother with Alzheimer's Disease for five years. From 9 AM to 5 PM, one sister does all the care. Her mother is advanced and losing her language skills, so she needs to be supervised every minute. This daughter is relieved by her brother and his wife for the overnight shift and the weekend. The care and example that this mother must have given her children must have been extraordinary. Their dedication is unwavering. The son and his wife have not slept at their own house for five years.

When I look at my kids, I wonder if they would do that for me? Would I want them to?