10 Frequently asked questions for Caregivers
#1
How do I know when it’s time to make a change and my loved one or family member can no longer live safely at home?
Generally speaking, families and seniors begin to consider alternatives when it becomes difficult for the elderly family member to carry on with important activities of daily living without significant support and assistance from others. Some of the challenges elderly adults can face as they age include:
Loss of vision
Vision can deteriorate to the point where reading is very difficult and even the ability to navigate within the household is impaired.
Poor balance
Many seniors become increasingly frail and develop a high risk of falling. Repeated episodes of imbalance or falling may make it clear to those people close to them that the Senior needs an environment constructed to minimize risk of falls. This can be done with in-home retrofitting with appropriate placement of railings and outdoor ramps.
Memory loss; Forgetfulness
Memory loss and forgetfulness can dramatically impact the well-being and safety of an elderly person living alone. Simple matters such as forgetting to turn off the stove or lock the door at night become safety hazards. Management of medications, forgetting when and how much to take, is another potentially serious or deadly risk factor.
Fatigue
Many seniors reach a point when they’re no longer able to consistently care for themselves or their home. Meal preparation, home maintenance, and personal care can become overwhelming.
Loneliness
For many seniors, isolation and loneliness can become a problem far more serious than you might at first expect. When regular interaction with others becomes infrequent, seniors quickly lose their sense of involvement and motivation for activity.
Dementia
When Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is diagnosed, it is often time to consider alternative care to maintain the safety and quality of life for the individual as well as for the caregiver’s quality of life and peace of mind.
Physician prescribed
An elderly person’s physician may determine whether or not he/she can be left at home alone or unattended due to health conditions that require constant or near-constant monitoring.
Often loved ones will resist such changes. Their resistance is usually due to fear.
Senior Care of Sacramento helps family caregivers put systems into place which help to avoid a crisis. Examples include the hiring of an -n-home health aide, Meals on Wheels, adult day services, and a personal emergency response system in order to help keep your loved one safe.
We can also make recommendations for creating a safe environment for your loved one. such as modifying the bathroom with grab bars and removing slip and fall risky throw rugs.
Reassure your loved one that these services will keep him or her at home safely.
If you’re loved one is cognitively impaired or has dementia and you worry about his or her safety, please contact us. We can customize a long-term care plan for your loved one so that, in case a crisis does occur, you’ll have the information you need about community and other services in order to make good decisions about your loved ones future.
#2
How much does In-Home-Care cost?
Many people are under the impression that Medicare and/or Medicaid will pay for care of an aging relative. Medicare has very limited benefits to cover long-term care needs either in a home or in an assisted living community or nursing home. MediCal, a state-funded program typically for low income persons, pays for partial costs of in-home and nursing home care as long as the Senior’s income is low enough to qualify for benefits.
The majority of costs associated with the chronic illness or disabilities of Senior’s are assumed by the family and/or the loved one’s own private resources or private insurance if they have long-term care insurance.
Generally the average family caregiver for someone 50 years or older spends well over $5000 per year on out-of-pocket caregiving expenses.
A large number of seniors depend on help from trained professionals and home health aides to assist with personal care such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation, medication management, transportation, and light housekeeping.
The average cost of home health aides is $10-$12 an hour and the cost of hiring home health aides through an agency will be higher – somewhere in the range of $20 per hour.
If you choose to hire a home health aide privately, we recommend you check with your homeowners insurance agent to ensure adequate coverage of an in-home employee and with the IRS about tax implications. We recommend you consider using an In-Home-Health service that provides thorough background checks so that you avoid issues with the home health aide becoming frequently ill, quitting, proves untrustworthy or lazy, or otherwise just doesn’t work out.
You can purchase monthly subscriptions from companies that offer medication reminders and a personal emergency response system. These services cost $20-$90 per month or higher depending on the service plan.
Meals on Wheels are available on a sliding fee scale depending on the Senior’s income.
Adult day services, which are very limited to a very few areas, cost from $60 per day and higher. Some include transportation.
The average cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home or skilled nursing facility is $250 a day and up depending on the area and the senior’s care needs.
The average length of stay in a nursing home is two-and-a-half years. After the first 30 to 90 days, the senior pays a share of costs based on their income.
Medicare provides coverage for a short-term rehab stay in a nursing home or to recover from a hospitalization.
Room and board in an assisted living facility or residential care facility or board and care home may cost from $40,000 annually and upward. In addition to the cost of room and board in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, senior’s also assume the cost of medications supplies and personal care items.
We can help create a long-term care plan to help you explore ways to finance care and services. We can also help you with executing important documents such as power of attorney forms for healthcare and finances for seniors.
#3
Am I able to be the caregiver for my loved one or am I up for this?
Typically the family caregiver is a daughter or daughter-in-law.
Everyone has his or her limits as a caregiver. It’s important to respect yours.
You are responsible for providing a safe and healthy living environment whether that’s in your home, their home, or an assisted living or nursing home.
It’s important to remember that it’s impossible to do it all. That’s where Senior Care of Sacramento can help you find support from your family’s friend, healthcare professionals, community services, and volunteers to fill the void.
#4
How long can I expect to be caregiving for my Senior?
Most family caregivers expect to be caregiving for at least five years with many anticipating having to do it for 10 years.
Carefully consider the senior’s financial resources, your emotional resources, and your community’s resources. We can help in this long-term commitment by creating a long-term care plan for the future for your senior and connecting you to services and resources that make long-term caregiving doable.
#5
If I don’t like an in-home health aide or volunteer or nurse that an agency sends me, am I stuck with them?
Absolutely not. Call the agency and speak with the social worker supervisor, explain your concerns and ask for suggestions. Personality conflicts can happen and the supervisor will work with you to find a caregiver that best meets your and your senior’s needs.
#6
I am so depressed. I didn’t realize I would feel this way! What can I do?
Caregiving is a depressing experience. You are grieving losses suffered by the Senior, by the family, and by yourself.
It is important to find support, unburden your load and to have a day off regularly.
Many family caregivers overlook this important part of their experience.
Call us and we will put you in touch with support groups in your area.
#7
What is respite care?
Respite care allows caregivers to have a short-term break or vacation from caregiving. Some assisted-living facilities provide this short-term care anywhere from one week to a month or more.
You can also receive respite care by having a caregiver come into your home and take care of your loved one while you leave on vacation or just go away for the weekend.
We can help you find the facilities/Care Homes that provide respite care or we can assist you in getting professional caregivers to come in and give you a break with respite care based on the Senior’s budget and care needs.
#8
What are my oblegations?
You’re obligated to protect your senior from physical, emotional, and financial abuse, and to generally provide a safe and healthy living environment for your senior.
A durable power of attorney for healthcare allows a responsible party to make financial and healthcare decisions on behalf of a family member or friend if that family member or friend is no longer able to make such decisions.
If you do not have this document for an aging relative please contact us for a consult as soon as possible. We can provide these documents to you.
#9
How do I take care of myself and do this caregiving?
In order to effectively manage this experience you must take time for yourself daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. Astonishingly, 65% of Caregivers die before the person they’re taking care of due to the stress! If you don’t take care of yourself who will take care of your loved one?
When you take regular breaks you can cope with the stresses the decisions and responsibilities. Otherwise the situation can become unbearable for you for your senior and for your family.
Seniors tend to make you feel guilty which only makes things worse when you’re already carring around enough guilt.
Does your Senior expect you to make him or her happy? That’s not your job. Does your partner or spouse complain that you don’t have enough time for them because you’re caring for your Senior?
We can help you work out a compromise so that you have a workable schedule for your Senior, yourself, and your spouse. It’s important to ask for and receive help so you can minimize your guilt.
#10
Who can I contact for help?
Senior Care of Sacramento can create a long-term-care plan and help you determine what you want and need each week, then provide you with referrals to vetted services to help.
We can help you save time, energy, and money by directing you to the correct services for the customized needs for the loved one.
Do you have more questions? For example, is your loved one driving and you know it’s not safe but you don’t know what to do about it? Call us – we can advise you on how to correct this situation.
We will help you to obtain in-home health services in your area. We can help you find the appropriate assisted-living, board and care, or residential community, in the geographical area you prefer, that fits your Senior’s budget and that also meets their needs whether they are diabetic, on oxygen, have dementia, or just looking for an Independent Living community that provides transportation and activities and socialization.
We can also assist you in preparing Power of Attorney documents for healthcare, finding veteran benefits and other financial resources, and community services customized to your individual needs and circumstances.
Contact us now – we will lighten your caregiving burden quickly!
