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Tag: Senior Care

Why Does Your Mom Struggle to Recognize Scams?

Posted in Caregiver Tips, Senior Care, Senior Scams |

March 30, 2022

| by Thad and Allyson Johnson

Two years ago, older adults lost around $600 million to scammers. Pandemic-related scams fooled many people, leading to a swift increase in many scams. Shopping scams increased by 129%. You’ve told your mom all about recognizing scams, yet she still believes many of the emails or calls she gets. You can’t take her phone away, but you see that as the only way to keep her from answering calls. Why does she have such a hard time recognizing scams? Having a senior care services provider on hand to help out with this is a great idea.

 

Senior Care in Dothan AL: Senior Scams

Senior Care in Dothan AL: Senior Scams

 

Scams Can Be Incredibly Convincing

Some scams are extremely convincing. Scammers use the power of social media and the internet to find out as much as they can about your mom. The grandparent scam is a good example of this.

Scammers will look at social media accounts to find photos that show where a grandchild is going to college or on vacation. They know information that convinces your mom the caller knows or is the grandchild in question.

Mail scams are also common. One person received a letter from a major cellphone company thanking the customer for applying for a new phone account. The letterhead seemed authentic. The company address checked out.

Nothing in the letter seemed false, but the person hadn’t applied for a new phone. Questions arose as to why it claimed credit reports were pulled. The recipient had credit freezes in place. One number in the credit report section turned out to be a fake. Had the recipient called that number, they would have connected with the scammers.

Scammers Work to Improve Their Tactics

As scams fail, the reasons why they failed help con artists improve their tactics. When people smartened up to gift cards or money orders being a sure sign of a scam, con artists asked people to withdraw cash, put it in a box, and send it via a delivery service.

Some scams could use something as simple as answering the phone and saying “yes” to pull off scams. Recording the “yes” was all it took to sign people up for costly services or charges they never agreed to.

Does She Lack Companionship?

Sometimes, older adults don’t have many people to talk to. If the phone rings, they answer it. Once they’re on the line, the scammer can use persuasive techniques to convince your mom they genuinely want to help her.

Have you considered that your mom is lonely and likes having someone to talk to? If she keeps answering the phone due to loneliness, hire senior home care aides for companionship and assistance with her mail, phone calls, and emails.

When she has caregivers available to talk to each week, she may no longer feel the need to rush to answer the phone. Call a senior care agency to learn more.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Senior Care in Dothan, AL, please contact the caring staff at Wiregrass HomeCare today. Call us at 334-539-5900.

Sources:

https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2020/ftc-top-scams.html

Senior Caresenior care in dothan alSenior Scams

Senior Care: 6 Ways that Senior Care Makes CHF Easier for Your Family Member

Posted in Congestive Heart Failure, Senior Care |

December 22, 2021

| by Thad and Allyson Johnson
Senior Care in Ozark AL: Congestive Heart Failure

Senior Care: CHF, or congestive heart failure, can be incredibly draining for your senior on a daily basis.

One way to help her to deal with her illness is to make sure that she’s got help from senior care providers. This one change can improve your senior’s quality of life immensely.

 

Companion Home Care in Manhattan NY: Congestive Heart Failure

Companion Home Care in Manhattan NY: Congestive Heart Failure

 

Preparing Meals

Eating the right foods and eating them regularly is very important for someone with congestive heart failure. Senior care at home can assist your senior with this, reminding her to eat and providing healthy options. Having companionship during meals can also be important.

Reminding Her about Medications

Medications can be crucial for someone with CHF, and your senior is no different. Reminders to take her medication as prescribed can be incredibly helpful. Whether they’re new medications or ones your senior has taken for a while, it can still be way too easy to forget them.

Helping with Household Tasks

Conserving energy is often crucial for someone with heart disease. Your elderly family member can rely on home care providers to keep up with those tasks for her so that her home is clean and safe for her. Knowing that’s handled can be a tremendous stress reliever for your senior as well.

Helping with Mobility

Safe mobility is always vital. Your elderly family member doesn’t need to complicate her life by adding fall injuries to her CHF symptoms and daily challenges. If there are ever times that she feels dizzy or unstable, it’s crucial to know that she’s got help when she needs it.

Senior Care: Watching for Symptoms of Trouble

CHF symptoms can worsen very quickly with no notice. Senior care at home can watch for signs of trouble and can help your senior to get the help that she needs right away. That can make all the difference for both you and your senior, especially if you’ve been worried that she might have difficulty and no one there to help.

Senior Care: Offering Companionship

Companionship means so much, especially if it’s difficult for your elderly family member to socialize as much as she used to. Knowing that caregivers are there for her can be a huge weight off your mind. That’s especially true if you and your senior don’t live near each other.

Your senior can live at home safely with congestive heart failure for a long time. It’s a lot easier and less stressful when she has the right assistance such as a senior care provider, there with her.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Senior Care in Ozark, AL, please contact the caring staff at Wiregrass HomeCare today. Call us at 334-539-5900.

Congestive Heart FailureSenior CareSenior Care in Ozark AL

Senior Care: Is It Possible to Be a Family Caregiver When You Live in Another Country?

Posted in Long Distance Caregiving, Senior Care |

November 24, 2021

| by Thad and Allyson Johnson

Senior Care: Your job brought you to Europe, but you worry about your mom and dad being alone as your parents get older.

You can’t visit often enough to make sure they’re doing well. Phone calls and video chats are the only way you can check on them. Have you ever considered the benefits of senior care services?

 

Senior Care in Elba AL: Long Distance Caregiving

Senior Care in Elba AL: Long-Distance Caregiving

 

What Can Senior Home Care Aides Do?

Senior home care aides help your parents with all daily activities of a non-medical nature. Suppose your mom fell and broke her hip. She’s not confident getting in and out of the bathtub/shower unit anymore. She can have a caregiver available to help her with bathing and grooming.

Your dad doesn’t cook. He’s never been good at it, so he limits his meals to canned soup or pasta that he can microwave. He could have a caregiver cook nutritious meals for him.

Caregivers can do the housework. If your parents don’t have the stamina or strength to do things like vacuum pet hair from the stairs or wipe down counters, a caregiver can do it for them. They can vacuum, mop, wipe surfaces, organize cupboards, and do the laundry.

Your parents can have their caregiver drive them to stores, local businesses, area attractions, and medical offices. If they don’t want to go to their doctor’s appointment on their own, their caregiver can accompany them. Caregivers can take them grocery shopping, pick up prescription refills, and put their purchases away when they return to your parents’ house.

 

Are You Locked Into a Care Plan?

One of the best features of a home care plan is that it can be adapted to fit your parents’ changing needs. Your parents only need companionship services right now. But, a year from now, a health issue arises that requires daily help with bathing and personal care. It’s easy to make those changes.

You’re not locked into anything. If your parents decide to visit you in Europe for a month, they can put their care services on a hiatus for those weeks and resume services when they return.

 

How Do You Make Arrangements?

Call a home care agency and ask about services in your parents’ city or town. You’ll discuss availability and prices. Once you’ve narrowed down the services they need, arrange the days and times for caregiver visits.

Senior care services can be there for your parents when you live too far away. Support them through video chats and phone calls. Leave the rest up to their caregivers to handle. Together, you and your parents’ caregivers will ensure they age at home independently and safely.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Senior Care in Elba, AL, please contact the caring staff at Wiregrass HomeCare today. Call us at 334-539-5900.

Long Distance CaregivingSenior CareSenior Care in Elba AL

Senior Care Tips: Ways That You Can Help Your Elderly Loved One Stop Hoarding?

Posted in Senior Care, Senior Care Tips |

August 6, 2021

| by Thad and Allyson Johnson

Senior Care Tips: When you go to your elderly loved one’s house, what do you see?

Does it seem like your elderly loved one has their belongings on every surface of their home? Does your elderly loved one keep all old newspapers? Maybe, your elderly loved one has hundreds of books they never read. These are just a couple of things that many senior citizens hoard. However, it could be anything else, as well. Hoarding is often a sign of depression, dementia, or loneliness. Learn more about it today with these senior care tips, so you can start helping your elderly loved one.

 

Senior Care Tips: Hoarding

Senior Care Tips: Hoarding

Talk About Safety

One of the ways that you can help your elderly loved one to stop hoarding is to talk to them about safety. Many senior citizens don’t realize the dangers of having so much in their house. Some of these dangers include:

  • Fire safety
  • Tripping

These are the most common safety issues with hoarding. If you talk to your elderly loved one about these dangers, hopefully, they will see that having so much in their house could be a huge problem.

After having this talk, if your elderly loved one is willing to let go of some belongings, you or an elder care provider can help them sort through things.

Getting Extra Help

If it seems like your elderly loved one is hoarding, you should talk to them. They may not be purposefully keeping everything. There could be many reasons why your elderly loved one doesn’t get rid of things. Some of these things include:

  • Hurting too much to pick things up
  • Feeling overwhelmed with all their belongings
  • Needing help doing household chores
  • Needing help sorting through items to decide what to keep and what to get rid of

If these things are happening, hopefully, you or an elder care provider can help your elderly loved one. All it would take is for someone to help your elderly loved one work through each section of their house.

Regular Cleaning

Once you can help your elderly loved one get their hoarding under control, regular cleaning is important. If you or an elder care provider can help your elderly loved one clean their home at least once a week, hopefully, it won’t get that messy or cluttered anymore.

If you go to your elderly loved one’s house and clutter keeps accumulating, be sure to talk to them again before it gets too bad. Find out what is happening again and see what your elderly loved one might need help with. The senior care tips above can help you with this.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Senior Care in Abbeville, AL, please contact the caring staff at Wiregrass HomeCare today. Call us at 334-539-5900.

Sources

https://www.oprah.com/home/how-to-overcome-hoarding/all

HoardingSenior CareSenior Care in Abbeville ALSenior Care Tips

Senior Health: What is Causing Your Elderly Loved One’s Sleep Issues?

Posted in Senior Health, Sleep Care |

July 13, 2021

| by Thad and Allyson Johnson

Senior Health: Has your elderly loved one mentioned that they can’t fall asleep easily at night?

Maybe they lay in bed thinking about a bunch of things. Your elderly loved one might be experiencing sleep issues after they fall asleep, too. These issues might include a range of problems. You should learn about the things that commonly cause sleep issues in the elderly. This would be a great place to start in helping your loved one sleep better for good senior health.

 

Senior Care in Daleville AL: Senior Care

Senior Care in Daleville AL: Senior Care

Medication Side Effects

There are many medications that elderly people often need to take. Some elderly people are on 5 or more medications. There more medications your elderly loved one is taking – prescribed and over the counter – increase the chances of them having sleep issues. If your elderly loved one’s sleep issues are moderate to severe and they believe medications are the problem, this should be discussed with their doctor. It is important for you and home care providers to remind your loved one to never stop taking medications with the approval of their doctor.

Sleep Apnea

Another reason for sleep issues in the elderly is sleep apnea. Your elderly loved one may not think they have sleep apnea because they didn’t have it when they were younger. However, people’s bodies change as they get older. This is a condition that can develop over time. If your elderly loved one snores a lot or has trouble sleeping, you may want to see if their doctor will perform a sleep study. This is the way that sleep apnea gets diagnosed. If sleep apnea is the problem, your elderly loved one might be prescribed a CPAP machine to help them sleep better.

Nocturia

Many elderly people experience nocturia. This is when they have to get up in the night to go pee. If you or a senior care provider notices that your loved one is constantly getting up at night to use the bathroom, this could be the problem. If they only get up at night to pee every once in a while, this isn’t likely the cause. However, you should still schedule your elderly loved one an appointment to discuss this with their doctor. There are different treatments for nocturia. If your elderly loved one has this condition, once the proper treatment is found, they should be able to sleep better at night.

Senior Health: Conclusion

These are some of the things that commonly cause sleep issues in the elderly. Not being able to sleep well can affect people in many ways. Just think about the times when you don’t get enough sleep. It is important to help your elderly loved ones find the reason for their sleep issues, so the proper solutions can be implemented and she will enjoy better senior health.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Senior Care in Daleville, AL, please contact the caring staff at Wiregrass HomeCare today. Call us at 334-539-5900.

 

Sources
https://medlineplus.gov/

Senior CareSenior HealthSleep Care

The Sandwich Generation: How In-Home Care Can Help

Posted in Respite Care |

February 17, 2017

| by Thad and Allyson Johnson

As we honor WHC’s caregivers on National Caregiving Day, we also remember those who provide the first line of care when needed:  the family. Family caregivers are becoming more common, and the struggle is real.

In America today, there is a juggling act occurring within the Sandwich Generation of caregivers — the group defined as 24 million Americans who are juggling children, careers and caring for an older parent — and it is a juggling act that lasts for much longer than two hours (nextavenue.com).

We hear you: you want to continue to participate in the care of your elderly parents.  Yet, as time goes on, there is often a need for assistance, from respite care to daily or even nighttime care for better rest.

How can a home care agency team up with family caregivers?  How can it remove some of the stresses, offer emotional support, and enhance the lives of seniors?

Imagine this scenario: You and your spouse leave for work, and your elderly parent is left alone for the day. The senior parent is able to be alone for a while, but might forget to eat and take medications.  Also, safety is becoming a bigger concern. You are able to provide breakfast and medication reminders before leaving. A professional caregiver arrives at 11 a.m., prepares lunch, offers companionship during lunchtime, and provides additional medication reminders. Light housekeeping, linen care, and preparation of the evening meal fill the afternoon hours. When needed, the caregiver provides transportation to doctors’ appointments and social outings.

Around 5 p.m., you arrive home and are able to hear helpful details from the caregiver pertaining to eating and rest patterns as well as health and/or memory concerns.

Here are some other ideas on how the use of professional in-home care can enhance the quality of life for both your aging parents and you:

  • Scheduled weekday outings for the senior.

Keeping seniors active is a priority. You may choose to have a caregiver grocery shop with an aging parent or have a lunch outing 2 – 3 times each week. Emotionally, this provides needed one-on-one time, activity, and allows family caregivers to breathe easy when working.

  • Nighttime rest.

Rest for the senior and for you is key to balancing caregiving with family and career. Caregivers often provide night time care only, offering you peace of mind and the opportunity to rest more deeply while ensuring seniors are attended to during these hours.

  • Outings for the family caregiver(s) or respite care.

It may be that you and your spouse need planned times for dates and dinners, shopping, errands, household chores, and church. Caregivers from outside the home could be scheduled regularly to allow for these activities.  For instance, two Friday nights per month and two Saturdays per month would be a great start.

  • Supplemental care.

Between the care you provide and the care provided by other family members and friends, care needs may almost be covered.  Home care services often begin with a need to fill in the gaps, covering times and events out of reach for family and friends.

  • Emergency or unexpected care needs.

When an elderly parent is hospitalized, the stay in the hospital is typically longer and there are often concerns around leaving the person alone, especially at night.  In addition, following hospital stays or surgeries, seniors may need additional care. Professional caregivers are well-versed in providing support to families during these times. These caregivers can be helpful in covering 12-hour nighttime shifts at the hospital, freeing the family up to return home for rest, and can also cover daytime hours for those needing to return to work.

The good news is that “home” care can now become “hospital” care, “nursing home” care, and “assisted living” care – meeting you when and where care is needed. And, most professional care can Sandwich Generation, In-Home Care | Dothan, AL | Wiregrass HomeCarebe scheduled to begin in 24 hours or less. Don’t tackle the juggling act alone, and remember that home care is not an all or nothing option.  Reach out, get creative, and help bring balance back to your life and the lives of your loved ones.

Call Wiregrass HomeCare today, and let us offer the creative solutions you need to provide care that will improve your life and the life of the seniors you love!

CaregiverIn-Home CareRespite CareSenior Care

The After-Holiday Checklist: Evaluating the Needs of Aging Parents

Posted in Needs Assessment |

January 2, 2017

| by Thad and Allyson Johnson

As families gather during the holidays, the time spent with aging parents can be revealing. Talking by phone is not quite the same as having the opportunity to observe aging parents or loved ones in their own surroundings. We are able to see our parents planning for meals, managing the daily schedule and housekeeping, assisting others, having conversation, and driving. It is during these times that we are often reminded that age has a way of creeping up on us, making both the adult children and aging loved ones unaware of the subtle changes taking place.

Before too much time passes, think about these five areas to evaluate if your parents or loved ones need extra help with everyday tasks:

1. Memory Issues
Repeating questions, mail piling up, forgetting appointments, unable to join in conversations (sit passively), or make untimely/illogical comments.
2. Personal Mobility
Grasping for rails, shuffling through the house/yard, seeming wobbly, unable to open jars, or bend down to retrieve an item.
3. Personal Care
Difficulty bathing, noticeable decline in hygiene, difficulty laundering clothes, or lack of care for feet and hands. Difficulty exercising independently (for example, walking outside).
4. Meal Preparation
Difficulty grocery shopping (especially lifting/carrying bags), following a schedule and lists, refrigerator and cabinets not well stocked, difficulty handling pots and pans, or unclean dishes/silverware in the cabinets.
5. Driving Ability
Not using turn signals, not routinely checking blind spots, unable to accelerate to full speed, missing exits/entrances, and not seeing stop signs in time for a safe stop. Experience “pedal confusion”.

If you notice an obvious decline in any of these five areas, it may be time for a conversation about how to continue living at home — safely. The conversation can be positive, focusing on ways to decrease risks and increase independence, freedom, and physical health. Give the gift of aging well at home!

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional senior care
in the Wiregrass area, call and talk with Wiregrass HomeCare at (334) 539-5900.

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Comparing the Cost of Home Care for Seniors

Posted in Costs of Senior Care |

January 2, 2017

| by Thad and Allyson Johnson

What if you could decrease the risks of living at home in the latter years of life, increase independence and freedom, provide the dignity of aging at home to your loved one and save money?

In-home care offers that solution.

In-home care is more budget-friendly than institutionalized care. According to the Genworth 2015 Cost of Care Survey, in-home care was less than half the cost of nursing home care with a private room (see the graph below).

In-home care improves health outcomes for seniors. Studies have shown hospital admissions and doctor visits often decrease.

The physical and mental well-being of most care recipients is greatly improved. In-home care helps prevent falls, keep medications on track, provide well-balanced meals, and maintain personal hygiene. All of this in addition to companionship and real-time reporting of information that may assist doctors and family in managing the treatment of seniors.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional senior care
in the Wiregrass area, call and talk with Wiregrass HomeCare at (334) 539-5900.

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