Posts Tagged ‘Quality’

When the entire baby boomer generation has reached retirement age in 2030, an astonishing number of U.S. families will have faced the challenge of providing care to an aging loved one. Today, caregivers are present in one out of every five U.S. households. With over 80% of these being family members, and with demand for caregiving only expected to increase as members of the boomer generation reaching retirement age grows steadily, there is becoming increasing need for outside help.

For millions of Americans who offer informal care to ill or disabled family members, caregiving is a Catch-22. On one hand, the commitment to provide care is a very rewarding personal experience. At the same time, numerous studies have quantified how exhaustion, worry and ongoing caregiver demands can cause chronic stress, depression, anxiety, premature aging, high blood pressure, headaches and back pain.

Given that most family members begin providing care to their loved ones without training or counseling, they often are not aware of the overwhelming stress associated with it. For many, caregiving is not the only role they are filling as adults. Most are married or living with a partner, have a full time job and children at home. Thus, friends, family, spouses and even family caregivers themselves should be aware of the stress associated with caring for a loved one.

Fortunately for family members, there are steps that can be taken to help alleviate some of the pressures associated with caring for others. Most of these steps are centered around self-care and personal well-being, as staying healthy while caring for a loved one is of supreme importance. Some things that family member caregivers can focus on include: eating nutritious meals, exercising, engaging in social activities, finding time for personal relaxation as well as joining a support group.

It is important for caregivers to take the necessary steps to ensure that they get the proper nutrition, exercise and respite they need. On top of this, in-home care can also be a viable option for many families. Professional home care agencies have well trained staff available to provide support for a wide range of situations.

Operating since 2004, Right at Home has been serving the needs of the Piedmont Triad area with in-home care and assistance for seniors and disabled adults. For more information about us or to learn more about our free in-home assessment, visit our Web site at: Senior Care North Carolina or call 336-760-7131.

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Choosing a Quality Senior Home Care Agency for Caregiving Needs

How to Choose a Senior Home Care Agency

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is part of the federal government’s Department of Health and Human Services. Because many Medicare and Medicaid recipients are elderly, much of the funding goes to nursing homes or eldercare services. Health agencies that receive certifications from Medicare undergo an assessment every three years. CMS assesses these home health agencies via quality measures and publishes each agency’s results. CMS & Home Health CMS provides scoring for all Medicare-certified home health agencies via Health Compare. The quality measures take into account: (1) the patient’s improvement in performing a variety of activities of daily living (ADLs), and (2) whether the patient’s health improves or stabilizes over time. It is important to note that the quality measures should only be used as a general guide. Many home health care recipients are elderly, and each patient’s needs are different. Some patients are recovering from surgery or a medical emergency. Others have chronic and worsening medical conditions. Therefore, the lack of improvement in some home health care recipients is not due to poor standards or substandard care, but rather due to declining health. In addition, Medicare’s quality measures for home health are fairly recent and are still being refined. Currently, the quality measures provide a baseline to help consumers see how a local agency compares to both state and national averages. CMS Quality Measures CMS quality measures are used in Medicare-certified home health care agencies in order to come up with the final scoring. Medicare details the following quality measures: * Three measures related to improvement in getting around: – Percentage of patients who get better at walking or moving around – Percentage of patients who get better at getting in and out of bed – Percentage of patients who have less pain when moving around * Four measures related to meeting the patient’s activities of daily living: – Percentage of patients whose bladder control improves – Percentage of patients who get better at bathing – Percentage of patients who get better at taking their medicines correctly (by mouth) – Percentage of patients who are short of breath less often * Two measures about how health care ends: – Percentage of patients who stay at home after an episode of home health care ends – Percentage of patients whose wounds improved or healed after an operation * Three measures related to patient medical emergencies: – Percentage of patients who had to be admitted to the hospital – Percentage of patients who need urgent, unplanned medical care – Percentage of patients who need unplanned medical care related to a wound that is new, is worse, or has become infected

Please visit the Gilbert Guide for the very best in Health Care Facility and for more information about Home Health Care.

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Quality Care for Elderly Loved One is Available

Many of us will sometime find ourselves dealing with the issue of eldercare. We could be facing the responsibility of managing the care of elder parents, an elderly loved one, spouse or maybe just a friend. The realization of this responsibility can come on us suddenly. Maybe an aging parent has broken a bone, or a spouse has begun to show severe signs of dementia. All these conditions may require some assistance in day to day activity. To relieve yourself of the uncertainty of their welfare, some form of eldercare should be put into play.


These issues are sure to confront many families daily, where an aging mother or father is in need of long term care. There are a number of signs to watch for that will indicate that your aging friend or family member is in need of eldercare. Maybe you are seeing constant and worsening illnesses, serious signs of forgetfulness, inability to feed themselves and inattention to cleanliness.


Time To Seek Professional Help


For some people, the acceptance of eldercare is an easy transition. Possibly this person has an easy going temperament that adjusts with change. Some people have given thought to and prepared mentally for the eventual need to move into a full care environment.


The type of care could vary from a rehab facility just to assist in returning to better health to moving into a full care nursing home. Virtually any area of North America now has a wide variety of nursing homes and government managed homes for the elderly. Conducting some local research will undoubtedly reveal some practical and affordable eldercare solutions. Today, caring for the elderly does not mean that you personally need not be present to effectively care for your loved one.


If your loved one is simply experiencing some minor disability; maybe some at home type medical needs can be satisfied using the endless variety of products on the market today. Manufacturers have developed a multitude of products to assist us with products to monitor health, help us in bathing, sugar and blood pressure monitoring and accessing all areas of the home.


In nearly any city or town in North America you can locate Support Groups for eldercare, where you can meet and discuss your issues and concerns. It will be extremely productive and beneficial to talk with people with practical experience from day to day exposure to the issues.


Discuss your experiences and concerns with them and listen to their advice and suggestions. Learning from others that have been through your situation will be a big step in determining successful solutions for your particular situation.


Changing Times


It seems that older family tradition and many old world cultures believed eldercare was the responsibility of the extended family. In recent years families have become smaller, in many cases living space much more restricted and life expectancy has increased.


All these factors have contributed to a noticeable dependency on outside resources to manage eldercare. Looking around will make it obvious that there are many more commercial homes for the elderly like seniors apartment complexes, old peoples homes or even on occasion charitable institutions.


Eldercare not only means medical care but also includes social care that the family and loved ones provide to the elderly. The satisfaction achieved by all parties of these care solutions would obviously require an element of love and care is demonstrated in their eldercare.


It is vital that your loved is satisfied that your goal is heartfelt care for them and not simply to satisfy a responsibility. That feeling of trust and comfort will go a long way towards successfully managing your eldercare requirements.

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