Archive

Archive for September, 2008

Resources for Caregivers

September 24th, 2008
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In partnership with the MetLife Mature Market Institute, a well-established and pioneering think tank on issues surrounding aging and retirement, we have compiled some helpful information in our Caregivers Resources Center, for people assisting someone who needs long term care.

Hiring and Independent Caregiver (opens PDF)

Medicare and Medicaid Programs – The Basics (opens PDF)

Medications and the Older Adult (PDF, 605 kb)

Becoming An Effective Advocate for Care (opens PDF)

Alzheimer’s Disease: Caregiving Challenges (opens PDF)

Long Distance Caregiving (opens PDF)

Legal Matters (opens PDF)

Preventing Elder Abuse (opens PDF)

Final Arrangements (opens PDF)

Hospice (opens PDF)

Community Services (opens PDF)

Adult Day Centers (opens PDF)

Falls and Fall Prevention (opens PDF)

Choosing an Assisted Living Facility (opens PDF)

Family Caregiving (opens PDF)

Making the Nursing Home Choice (opens PDF)

Understanding Home Care Agency Options (opens PDF)

We hope this information is helpful for those who are caring for loved ones.

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Long Distance Caregiving

September 9th, 2008
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We live in a transient society these days which means families are often spread apart in different towns and often different states. This distance raises concerns and challenges for the 34 million Americans that currently provide care to older loved ones (15% of those live a minimum of 1 hour away from that loved one). Setting up and managing care for a loved one from a distance can be tricky and if you are facing this situation, please take a look at the Long Distance Caregiving guide we have available for download in our Resource Center.

The guide details the specifics of setting up and managing care from a distance including

  1. Assessing the situation

With what does the loved one need assistance? Do they need help with Activities of Daily Living (also known as “ADLs” and include bathing, transporting, feeding) or “supportive care” (laundry, housekeeping grocery shopping etc).

  1. Locating and implementing community resources

Depending on the needs determined in the assessment you will need to locate resources locally to support those needs. If they have a long term care insurance policy and qualify for receiving care, contact their insurance agent for guidance. If they do not have a policy or only need supportive care, some resources include local hospitals, social workers, senior centers. A federally funded program to assist in locating help for elders is Eldercare Locator.

  1. Organizing and tracking important documents

Keep track of copies of important docuements and information such as Social Security and Medicare cards, birth certificates, physician names and numbers.

  1. Ongoing Care Monitoring

When you have care in place you will need to routinely and randomly monitor the quality by visiting (both announced and unannounced) and through phone calls and email.

  1. Maintaining control of your own life while caring for an older loved one

Often personal lives are put on the backburner when caring for a loved one. The guide provides tips on how to avoid neglecting those areas.

The task of caring for a loved one can have a huge emotional and financial impact. But preparation and ongoing management of the situation can lessen these impacts.

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