Senior Care 101

We’re more like home town, developing personal connections with our local Senior Service Network nationwide and with the adult children of aging parents.


Are Seniors and Families seeking help on the Internet?

Are you worried about your aging family member living home alone? Do you need quick access to qualified senior service providers who can help when living at a distance from your aging relative or when you’re juggling a to-do list? We are currently putting the finishing touches on our nationwide directory of well-qualified Home Care and Home Health Services that insure your aging parent or relative’s safety at home.


What do you need help with?

If you need help locating In Home Care Services for Mom and Dad, then you’ve come to the right place. They want to stay in their home but need help with daily activities such as homemakers or chore workers, HCAs, and companions who support individuals through meal preparation, bathing, dressing, and housekeeping.

In Home Care Services are used when:

  • Seniors who prefer to stay at home but needs ongoing care that cannot easily be provided solely by family and friends.
  • Older seniors or aging family members electing to live independent, non-institutionalized lives, are receiving home care services as their physical capabilities diminish.
  • Adults diagnosed with terminal illness also are being cared for at home, receiving compassion and maintaining dignity at the end of life.

We can help you find local caregivers in your city.


If you need help locating Home Health Care Services for your aging relatives, there are numerous care providers that provide a superb service. For example, my aunt broke her hip and she was released from the hospital and after completing rehabilitation the doctor asked that she be checked on my a nurse.

Home health agency often indicates that a home care provider is Medicare certified and provides Medicare and Medicaid home health services.

Individuals requiring skilled home care services usually receive their care from a home health agency. Some agencies deliver a variety of home care services through:

  • Physicians
  • Nurses
  • Therapists
  • Social workers
  • Homemakers and HCAs
  • Durable medical equipment and supply dealers

Other home health agencies limit their services to nursing and one or two other specialties. For cases in which an individual requires care from more than one specialist, home health agencies coordinate a caregiving team to administer services that are comprehensive and efficient. Home health agencies recruit and supervise their personnel; as a result, they assume liability for all care.


How do I know if we need a Geriatric Case Manager?

 

First question you may have is What do they do? Geriatric Case or Care Managers are health and human services specialists who help families care for older relatives, while encouraging as much independence as possible. They may be trained in:

  • Long-term care
  • Nursing,
  • Gerontology,
  • Social work,
  • Psychology, with a specialized focus on issues related to aging and elder care.
  • Geriatric Case Managers are guides, advocates, and experts in identifying problems and offering solutions.

Tell me anout Assisted Living Homes and Communities

These residences offer room and board in a small home-like environment, generally housing 10 persons or fewer. However, some such facilities can accommodate 100 residents or more. They are often located in residential neighborhoods and offer a less institutional alternative to skilled nursing facilities (nursing homes) or hospitals.

Assisted Living offers:

  • 24-hour on-call service for emergencies
  • Social interaction with other residents
  • Recreational activities
  • Assistance in arranging medical appointments
  • Help with monitoring medications
  • Meals
  • A common dining area
  • A living room or gathering area for socializing or TV
  • Supervision for residents with mild physical or cognitive impairments
  • Assistance with activities of daily living
  • Housekeeping and laundry

We can help you find local Assisted Living Homes and Communities!


What about Nursing Homes?

Skilled nursing facilities, sometimes referred to as nursing homes, offer the most intensive level of care on the residential care continuum.

  • Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are equipped to handle:
  • Individuals with 24-hour nursing needs,
  • Post-operative recuperation, or
  • Complex medical care demands,
  • Chronically-ill individuals who can no longer live independently.

SNFs must be licensed by the state to meet standards of safety, staffing, and care procedures. And you guessed it, we can help you find a local nursing home as well.


What are Independent Living Communities?

Independent living centers (ILCs) are typically private nonprofit community-based organizations which provide services and advocacy to people with all types of disabilities. Most are also consumer-controlled by individuals with disabilities. The emphasis is on helping individuals to maximize their potential and live as independently as possible in the community.


Are there care providers for Alzheimer’s patients?

Yes, there are numerous care providers that specialize in taking care of Alzheimer’s patients. Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. Scientists have learned a great deal about Alzheimer’s disease since. As many as 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal.

  • Stage 1: No impairment
  • Stage 2: Very mild decline
  • Stage 3: Mild decline
  • Stage 4: Moderate decline (mild or early stage)
  • Stage 5: Moderately severe decline (moderate or mid-stage)
  • Stage 6: Severe decline (moderately severe or mid-stage)
  • Stage 7: Very severe decline (severe or late stage)

For more information on the disease go to ALZ.ORG.


You will be glad to know, the key to elder and senior care is our comprehensive website, WorkingCaregivers.com, which aims to give clear and concise answers to difficult aging concerns. To begin with, you most likely do not have a clue where to start. Think about it, how many of your family members do not even understand what the aging relative needs?

Plus, hot concerns of aging:

Physical and Mental Conditions of Aging

Living Arrangements

Financial & Legal Assistance

Self Help for the Caregiver

Dealing with Change


And there is more – we will not stop at just answering questions. We will continue working for you, the family caregiver or senior, and help deliver to you Elder Care solutions and Senior Services! Family caregivers will have have access to quailified senior service providers nationwide who can help when in a pinch. And you have an opportunity to learn about their work, what their approach is, even before you talk with them! Our network of providers includes some of the following:

Adult Day Care
Assisted Living
Dementia
Activities to do for people with Alzheimer’s
Stages of Dementia
Estate Planning
End of life
Elder Law

It is true! Caregiving for an elder is viewed quite differently in the workplace than caring for a child. Here is why-  we are in denial. It all comes down to this, we do not want to get old. Think about it.  We have HGH to make us feel younger, we have anti-aging supplements and processes, in sum, we all want to be 35 again.  Quite simply, who wants to get old?

That means we ignore the inevitable.  That’s right.  All of us ignore aging.  So, what’s the answer?  Let me tell you – this may surprise you but it’s planning ahead.  To begin with, take the big step and admit to yourself, you and your family will age.  Period.  Truthfully, we all do and it’s a natural life process.

What does this have to do with the workplace?  What I’m saying is, start planning now so that senior care or aging issues do not get in the way of your work and production on the job!  Trouble is, if you do not plan now, you will be absent from work, or interrupted while at work, or be forced to take a part-time job!  Worst of all, you could quit altogether!  Do you truly understand what that means?  Quiting your job is a safe bet that your retirement will go south.  So, what’s the answer?  You decide.  Take control of your future. That is something that we can help you with.