Long Term Senior Care Costs | Distance Learning Systems (DLSI)

Beating the Problems of Senior Care

Looking after for an aging mother or father, domestic partner, household partner or good friend provides challenging difficulties, especially when a problem strikes and you are instantly faced with the required senior care. Perhaps your aging mother slipped, is put in the hospital with a broken hip and needs to go to a rehabilitation facility or senior care facility to recover. Care giving can also begin as a result of disturbing incidents and signs that indicate a need for lengthy lasting senior care. Perhaps your domestic partner has wandered off and went missing several times. Or a long-time buddy has lost a lot of body weight and hardly ever leaves the house. You may be the only person available to provide care. Or, you may be the linchpin of a network of close relatives and friends willing to help take care of your elderly. Whatever the situation, you are not sure of the next phase, or even the first thing to do.

Take a deep breath slowly. This may be the most important advice you receive throughout the care giving journey. All along the way, remember to stop every now and then and collect your thoughts. Clear your mind and relax. It may be challenging, but it will help maintain your mood and prevent you from falling under the weight of care giving problems. Make sure you know the senior’s birth date and Social Security number. You will need these details to access many services. Collect details about medical providers. If you haven’t done so already, collect details about your loved one’s doctors and health insurance coverage.

Another good advice is to call a family meeting. Try to get as many people as possible engaged from the start. Early feedback from them will accomplish interaction and decision-making down the line. Allow all close relatives an opportunity to show themselves and their emotions about what should be done. If possible, assign a person to be accountable for each process. These are just some steps that you can follow to avoid issues or problems when facing the task of senior care.

Senior Care Job: Preparing for an Interview

Before landing a job as a senior care giver, you will need to undergo an interview. Employers primarily want to determine if you are a perfect candidate for the position. So, how are you able to show that you are the right person for the job?

An interviewer will ask questions about your characteristics. They prefer someone who:

is responsible, trustworthy, reliable, empathetic and patient. Since seniors have limited capabilities the aforementioned characteristics are vital. Make sure you have these qualities.
is reputable, experienced, and knowledgeable. A good track record of past senior care services is a huge advantage during interviews. They might ask you about your previous client, former responsibilities, and the reason for leaving the position. Remember to put in good references too.
who has a positive attitude towards work. You will not be alone in performing senior care services, you will also work with a group of health care professionals. Having qualities that make you easy to work with and enjoyable is a plus factor. Expect questions about your personality and attitude, such as what are your weaknesses and strengths and what do you like and dislike about the job.

Also, prepare yourself with situational questions like what you will do when an emergency occurs, how you can show dignity and respect in life-ending situations, and how you handle difficult patients. If you are able to answer these questions satisfyingly, then you might be a good fit.

As the interview commences, ask the interviewer questions as well. You have the right to know what are the specific needs and personality of the patient, experiences of previous senior care givers with the said patient, schedule of tasks, and any special precautions to take with the elder.

Of course, after the interview, you will need to know if you push through with the job. Decide whether or not you want to work with your employer, the elder patient, working settings, and responsibilities you will perform.

Proper Nutrition for Senior

Everyone should know that appropriate nutrition plays a role in our health. This is also true for seniors and individuals who have serious diseases. Terrible physical health, depressive disorders and lonesomeness can also play a vital role in poor eating routine. Many seniors who experience these problems overlook their nutritional needs, and this can result in more severe medical conditions. They may tend to eat more sugary or high cholesterol foods that may lead to diabetes or hypertension.

The food we eat may determine the health of the senior. Thus, it is necessary to monitor the food they eat as part of the senior care program. As an example, it is essential for a person with diabetes to regulate how many sugary and starchy foods in his or her diet and for someone struggling with high blood pressure to cut out salt from their diet. It is of course difficult for a senior to monitor the food that he eats on their own. A physician or a nurse may guide the patient on what is healthy and what is not. Seniors must have good sources of nutrients to sustain their systems and for them to avoid diseases. The healthier they eat, the healthier they become.

The nurse can educate the individual and family the amount of carbohydrates in the food typically eaten by the patient; or the aide will shop for and prepare food with low sodium content, avoiding those that are high in sodium. Getting a proper meal on a daily basis often leads to better nutrition. It will also avoid unneeded hospitalization thus saving money by avoiding hospital bills and medicines.

Senior Care Health Insurance

Medical health insurance policies may help cover part of the expense of elder-care. It is very important to know that to which a policyholder is eligible and it’s also essential to understand the restrictions of your respective insurance so you will not waste time pursuing benefits that they may never acquire. For people doing extended planning, comprehending the limits of coverage is important to avoid misunderstandings about who covers the cost for care later on.

As “elder-care” is a wide term and one not utilized by most medical health insurance corporations, it is useful to consider insurance benefits in categories instead of the whole.

As the majority of senior Americans have Medicare as their main health care insurance coverage, it is helpful to be aware of its benefits and coverage. To start with, it needs to be said that Medicare is only going to pay money for medical care; it doesn’t cover the expense of personal care. This means Medicare will not pay for assistance to help the elderly execute their activities of everyday living like bathing, grooming, eating and mobility. Therefore with little exclusion, Medicare will not pay money for home-care or assisted living. Medicare does cover elderly care, although not at 100% and only for a restricted time period.

In relation to medical equipment, healthcare supplies and medicines, Medicare offers benefits in each of such areas provided the items are medically important, determined by a physician and are among the list of approved items.

With regards to assisting people to age in place, Medicare will not pay for home improvements. However, Medicare offers a distinctive program in some spots through which all of a participating senior’s healthcare requirements are covered. These programs are usually well liked by individuals who are lucky enough to get to live in an area of the country where this sort of insurance is provided.

Deciding on Senior Housing Plan

Choosing a senior house for you or your loved one is not an easy decision. It is a tough and demanding decision for you and your family. However, when there is a serious medical problem involved, you need to consider some of your options to avoid more problems. There are so many different senior housing programs out there; you just have to make a good choice. Everyone needs a healthy, safe and fulfilling home atmosphere while you age, so you need to know the best program that offers good senior care.

As we grow old, we experienced some major changes physically or simply our current situation. Planning your future housing needs is an integral part of making sure that you can still survive as you become older. Obviously, every senior differs in needs; therefore, the senior housing choice for another person might not be appropriate for you personally. You need to match the housing plan with your lifestyle, financial needs and health condition. You can also consider living with a retirement community or a nursing home where nearly all tenants are older than 65 and senior care is proven and tested.

While you age, you need some assistance with your physical needs, including activities of everyday living. This might vary from shopping, cleaning, cooking, and taking care of pets to intensive assistance with bathing, walking around, and eating. This can arise from the sudden condition, like a stroke or heart attack, or perhaps a more gradual condition that gradually needs increasing care, for example Alzheimer’s disease.

If you are living alone and far from your family, your current home can be too hard or too costly to keep. You might have health issues making it difficult to manage tasks like house work and yard maintenance. While you age, your situation will change, buddies or family might not be as close, or neighbors may move or transfer. You may not be able to continue driving or get access to public transit to be able to get together with family and buddies. Modifying your house and long-term care can both be costly, so balancing the concern you’ll need with where you need to live requires careful evaluation of your budget.

Lowering Senior Care Costs Using Technology

There is an increasing demand for Long-term Care (LTC) in the country which is estimated to reach 27 million by the year 2050; this is according to a research conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center. LTC is given to patients with long-term or chronic diseases, mostly seniors who have complications and inability to monitor themselves. There are many existing LTC options offered to seniors like assisted living facilities and retirement homes. They offer around the clock services with equipments to monitor the patients, as needed. However, the senior care cost may be a burden to the patient and their family.

Many researches and programs have been created to find a solution to reduce the cost. The ideal situation is for the senior to stay at their houses, but the lack of equipments may hinder it from happening. According to a separate study, most of the seniors (90%) prefer to stay at their homes. This is why technology is continually being improved to make it affordable and convenient to use. Researchers are now looking for ways to improve the sensor technology where it can remotely detect the vitals and the overall health of the patient. This technology will reduce the cost since the patient will no longer stay long at the hospital for monitoring and check-up. It will likely reduce the patient’s stress in transportation.

The main purpose of the sensor is to alert the hospital whenever the patient is in an emergency; for instance of fire or a fall; but their capabilities are limited. The research makes the sensors more advanced by giving it the ability to detect the real-time health condition of the patient, making it a “smart sensor”. The sensor will send a regular report to the physician as well as an emergency report that detects abrupt changes in the health condition of the patient. Improving the sensor technology will definitely lower the cost of maintenance of long-term senior care. And it will give them a sense of independence and allow them to stay closer to their home and their family.

Home Care Services for Seniors

When one of our loved ones reaches retirement age, concerns start to arise regarding their condition, like whenever they are alone in the house, they are starting to forget a lot of things or they already need assistance in doing basic chores. One option to be assured of their well-being is to have a senior home care service. Through this, you don’t have to fear for their safety whenever you are away from home, while allowing you to have time to see them when you return home. There are a lot of institutions that offer the home care services. But, it would be nice to choose the most committed to the highest quality of service they can provide. In choosing a service, you will need to check the record of the institution. You may ask friends or neighbors who know such senior care services.

The home care service must be able to provide respite care to the senior as well as companionship and someone to talk to. It is very necessary to keep the social activity of the senior; holding a conversation with them will keep their mind active. The service must also be able to assist with the diet and eating of the senior as well as check the expiration of the food they are eating. Keeping track of the daily activities of the senior is also part of their job. They must have a daily plan of their activities which might include the bathing, grocery, entertainment, visits to friends or hospital, as well as set schedule for trips on vacation.

Personal needs of the senior must also be assisted like eating, dressing, medication and mobility. Home maintenance may be included. Since it is the place where the senior will stay most of the time, it must be cleaned and be safe for the senior. Making a decision in choosing a caring service for your loved one is complicated. They must offer a wide variety of home care services; so that it may include activities and support that will be very appropriate your elderly loved one’s needs.

What Senior Care can Bring to the Table

Perhaps you cannot think about the situation, but for a short time, just close your eyes and think about what it could be like to be looking after your partner, an individual whom you’ve spent almost all your life with and looking after his or her needs because their health is starting to decline. Over time, the psychological and physical exertion for this act of love can affect even the best of us. If your parent or guardian is offering senior care to their partner, know that it could be more than they can handle.

But when your dad, for example, had a stroke or cardiac arrest and the physicians informed your mom that he was going to need extra help getting around the house and looking after his own well being, she said that she would deal with him. Maybe she considers that it’s her responsibility, or she loves him so much that she would not even think twice about being the individual to provide that stage of proper care for him.

And while you may think that she has everything under control, that she is doing well, the psychological cost can be even greater than the actual one. Dealing with being a senior care service agency to a partner is one of those things that are often an unmentioned pressure. She will not say that it’s wearing her down and she will continue to do what she can to make sure that her spouse, the love of her life, has what he needs and that he is safe and healthy.

However, what happens if that degree of care means that her wellness is affected as well? The best thing that anyone can do when their partner needs some form of senior medical care services is to consider choosing a professional care company to assist. This does not mean that your mom would not be there for your dad, but rather that she will get some much needed help so that she can be there for him psychologically as well. Senior care can create all the distinction in the world for a partner who is looking after the love of their life.

Senior Care and the Role of Lawmakers

Underfunded elderly care facility has been a major task to the senior care and state recently and will continue to be resolved in the future, many law makers and medical experts estimate. During the last session of the Minnesota Legislature, elderly care facility regulation was implemented, creating a 5 percent across-the-board increase. That activity by the Legislature showed the first increase in financing in the past five years. Nursing home employees have had their income freezing since 2008 and will now be seeing a rise in income come September 1, 2013. Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, said, of the $83 million it will cost for four years, $74 million was reprocessed out of the senior care facility market.

“Workers will see an increase, but it will come out of the other elderly care facility cash that was reprocessed,” Abeler said. “It’s like taking your wallet out of your right pocket and putting it into your left pocket and saying, ‘I’ve got some cash now,’” Abeler said. “The program is hungry for cash and we cannot give the people a good increase because of the demands about minimum salary,” Abeler continued. Abeler, last session, served as the ranking Republican on the Health and Human Services Finance Committee. He chaired the committee the two past years with Republicans being in authority control.

Gayle Kvenvold, president and CEO of Aging Services of Minnesota, said needs of assisted living facilities have not been effectively resolved by the Legislature and by others. The activity by the Legislature “was a step in the right direction and we are thankful for it, but our job is not done,” Kvenvold said. On the average, the distinction between what it costs to manage a senior is a deficiency of $28 per day, Kvenvold said. She said it will take more than one legal session to make up that difference. Aging Services of Minnesota is the state’s biggest organization of getting senior care services companies. Its account involves more than 1,000 participant companies such as 700-plus company participant sites. In cooperation with its members, the organization works with more than 50,000 care suppliers throughout the state and provides more than 100,000 elderly people each year in configurations across the continuum from their house to assemble real estate to assisted living to senior care facilities. Patti Cullen, president and CEO of Care Providers of Minnesota, said the legal activity in 2013 showed a significant improvement and is a “good start.”

Senior Care Awareness

June is a lot more than Father’s Day for older people. June is also the month senior care suppliers have to be able to encourage their ageing male family members to take the time to concentrate on their wellness and well-being. National Men’s Health Month is a nationwide observation that celebrates that and encourages them and or their family members to be conscious of their wellness risks and get educated on the ways that they could take better care of themselves throughout their lives.

If you provide senior care for your ageing father or grandfather, you are likely already conscious of the threats associated with ageing men. Offering care is essential, but would you have dedicated yourself to providing care to an ageing man, you encounter challenges in situations different from those of wellness care suppliers for women. Often, ageing men are more resistant to care and are likely to ignore indications of potentially serious wellness issues. This makes it a critical responsibility of any care provider for an ageing man to not only be vigilant of their loved one’s wellness, but also supportive in that man’s pursuit of ongoing wellness and well-being.

National Men’s Health Month is all about teaching men that focusing on their wellness is essential for them to be the best that they can be. This is about showing men how they can manage themselves and therefore manage their loved ones better. Aging men face a variety of prospective wellness issues, but many of them are either not conscious of the signs of these issues, or are reluctant to look for them. There are many ways that you can make this a meaningful National Men’s Health Month. Take the time to enjoy quality activities with the important men in your life, schedule screenings and checkups and make the commitment to adopt healthier lifestyle choices together. Contact the senior care agency in your area to find out where community activities are being held so you can get involved. If there are no activities planned, get together with some important men in your life and hold your own event.