elderly Archives - Ella Home Care

September 10, 2018 by Kirk Brechbiel Leave a Comment

Ways to Protect Your Aging Loved Ones from Scams

Your aging parents could be a prime target for any number of the many scammers out there that prey on innocent and vulnerable people. Our aging population is an ideal demographic for scams because cognitive function may be impaired, they may be less aware of new technology that makes some scams very convincing and they more easily believe claims that are simply too good to be true.

While the threat of being scammed is very scary, especially for adult children who are looking out for their aging parents, the good news is there are ways you can take a stand and stay in the know so that you can spot red flags as soon as they arise and help guide your aging loved one away from a scam before it takes place. Take a look at these tips for protecting a friend or family member from scams.

Stay Involved

Foremost, you don’t know what you don’t know. If you’re not able to check in on your parents regularly to monitor their mail and the types of phone calls and emails they are receiving, you may leave them open to engaging with scammers. If you live close by, be sure to visit regularly to make note of any suspicious behaviors or interactions you parents may seem to have with outside contacts. If you’re not local, ask a neighbor, friend or professional caregiver to the do the same. The more involved you remain, the sooner you can put an end to scam-like activity before it becomes serious.

Help Them Think Through the Reality of the Situation

One of the best things you can do is help your aging loved one take a step back and examine the reality and probability of the situation. Remind them of simple truths such as you can’t win a contest you never entered and you never have to pay money to collect lottery winnings. Explain the way things work as well as current laws that make such actions illegal. With a dose of common sense, and your reinforcement, your aging loved one is more likely to see the reality of the situation.

Don’t Spread Shame or Blame

Even if you become angry or disappointed by your parents’ actions, never shame or blame them. Scammers are very convincing and persistent, sometimes even hostile! Keep in mind that they may have harassed your parents to the point of complying. Instead, focus on finding solutions and justice. How can you immediately put an end to the scammers’ contacting your parents? Who can you call to report this activity and possibly work to get their money back? Rather than focusing on shame or blame, focus on preventing this from happening again.

Use Reverse Psychology

Many have found reverse psychology to help an aging loved one understand when a scam is taking place. If your aging parent or loved one claims that they’ve been offered a “double your money” guarantee, ask them how you can get in on the offer and do the same. Most often, they want to protect you, like you want to protect them, and in explaining the details of the offer, they realize the holes and risk that exist.

Empower Them to Help Others

If your aging parent or loved one does fall victim to a scam, work to find ways that their story and experience can be shared with others as a cautionary tale. Report the incident to higher authorities and take to social media. Warn people about the details of what took place and you will find that others will be grateful for the advice and may even have some advice of their own to share.

Ask for Oversight

Finally and most importantly, have the conversation with your parent about why it might be a good idea for you to have oversight of their bank accounts, bills, phone records and mail. This may feel uncomfortable at first, as your loved one may wish to keep their independence as long as possible. However, if the scamming won’t seem to stop, and your loved one is not capable of making good decisions on their own, the best thing you can do is explain that it’s truly out of love and care for them that you wish to take on this role. Work to set boundaries that everyone feels comfortable with.

Do you have a loved one that has been a victim of a scam? Or do you have another piece of advice to share that may prevent this from happening? Join in the conversation by sharing your experience below!

September 6, 2018 by Kirk Brechbiel Leave a Comment

6 Reasons Why Seniors Are Able to Live Longer in Their Home

With every passing year, technology, medicine, life-expectancy and a variety of a number of other factors continue to allow more and more seniors to live in their home longer, before moving into a continuing care retirement community or something similar.

So what are these factors and how do they impact our ability to age in our home? Take a look at the top 6 reasons we see seniors choosing to live in their home, long into retirement.

More Ways to Afford a Professional Caregiver

The good news is that there are now more ways to save for and pay for a professional caregiver to care for you in your home as you age. You can make this part of your retirement savings, invest in long-term care insurance, or use life insurance or Medicaid. Also, veterans may quality for additional assistance. It’s important to do your research to know your options.

Medical Advancements

Science and medicine is advancing at a rapid pace and with these advances comes advantages to allowing people to age in their own homes longer. This means illnesses and injuries can be quickly treated and people can be returned back to their homes rather than spending lengths of time in the hospital or rehabilitation facilities. More illnesses and diseases can also be prevented before they become an issue that has to be addressed in a medical facility.

New and Improved Medical Alert Devices

With the various medical alert devices on the market today, families have a ton of options as to the best model for their aging loved one. Really, there’s no reason for anyone living alone to not own and wear one of these devices. Accidents can happen at any hour of the day and in any part of the home. By having one of these devices on your person at all times, you know help is always within reach which makes living independently more feasible.

Improved Safety Measures

There are also many more ways in which we can safety-proof a home. By going room to room, it’s easy to identify various safety hazards from the placement of knives and heavy pots in the kitchen, to loose cords or slippery rugs in the living area. A professional caregiver can assist with auditing a home and making recommendations of ways you can make the space much safe for an aging loved one to live in independently.

24/7 Monitoring Technology

Granny cams, much like a baby monitoring system provides families with peace of mind knowing they can check in on their loved one whenever needed. For example, if you try to call your parent and they don’t immediately answer the phone, you can call up their camera to confirm their simply sleeping or outside. This alleviates the fear and frustration of not being able to reach a loved one and then assuming the worst.

Family and Friends Who Live Nearby

Finally, it’s becoming more and more common for aging loved ones living independently in their home to have family or friends who live very close by. This is a huge asset that enables people to live longer in their own home because they have the care and companionship of other people who can easily stop by throughout the day. This also offers the social and emotional support that could be lost if you lived alone but without companions nearby. Having the love and support of friends and family close to you as you age is key for maintaining the highest quality of life!

Do you wish to be able to live in your home as long as possible? Which of these factors do you think will have the greatest impact on your ability to do so? Share your thoughts!

August 14, 2018 by Kirk Brechbiel Leave a Comment

How to Grow a Stronger Family Bond at Any Age

The bond of a family is one of the greatest gifts you’ll ever have I your life. But as families grow and change over the years, it can be challenging to keep a close bond with those you love. You may not see each other as often as you wish or schedules can get so full that there hardly seems time for quality visits.

However, growing a stronger family bond can happen at any time, no matter how much time has passed or the distance that may between family members. Take a look at several things you can do right now to grow a stronger family bond at any age!

Be intentional about visiting one another

Months and then years can fly by in between visits with family, especially if you don’t take care to schedule your visits. Some families take annual vacations together, some spend certain holidays together. Figure out what works for your family, then stick to it! The most important point about growing a stronger family bond is to stay connected. Be intentional about seeing one another on a regular basis. Schedule it like you would any other important commitment!

Use technology to your advantage

Thought technology is often seen to be a replacement for face-to-face connections, in situations where family is spread out across the globe, technology can actually help you to reconnect. Use apps like FaceTime or Skype to be able to see family members as you talk to them. Though it will never replace seeing each other in person, you feel more connected than if you were only communicating by email or phone. There are many other apps, like Marco Polo which allows you to easily send short video clips to family so they can hear your voice and see your face every day.

Remember the milestones

Remembering family members’ birthdays, anniversaries and other major milestones is another great way to strengthen your family bond by showing them you care. Mark these special dates on your calendar so you remember to send a card, small gift or text on these days. If you have a big family, it might be easier to keep these dates in a spreadsheet and then at the start of each new month spend an hour or so writing all the cards you wish to send so that they’re ready to go!

Create something together
One final idea to strengthen your family bond is to start a family “project.” Pick something that everyone can help with! Creating a family scrapbook is a great idea because it allows everyone incorporate their own unique memories and add things that someone else might forget. Near or far, you can collaborate on this project together, sharing pictures, captions and stories to include.

A similar idea is a “memory quilt” where family members each create their own square to be sewn together into a larger quilt. Everyone’s square will be different which will create a colorful and fun quilt! Best of all you can share the blanket, with one family member keeping it for a year before sending it on to another family member to enjoy.

Is your family bond as strong as you would like to be? What steps have you taken to strengthen this bond? Share your ideas by leaving a comment below!

July 5, 2018 by Kirk Brechbiel Leave a Comment

Why You Might Love a Career as a Professional Caregiver

Are you thinking about a career change? Do you desire a job where you can provide love and care for another person and truly see the impact you have on their quality of life? If you have a heart for service and enjoy helping other people, a career as a professional caregiver might be your calling.

While certainly every job has its pros and cons, being a professional caregiver can provide a ton of benefits for the right type of person. Take a look at the following reasons why you might want to consider a career as a professional caregiver.

Fulfillment – Foremost, the best professional caregivers are fulfilled by helping other people. They get enjoyment from helping another person live the highest quality of life. Even when the work is hard or they encounter challenging situations, they remain focused on the most important thing which is caring for the client and treating them just like a member of their own family.

Comfortable and Casual Work Environment – Professional caregivers also benefit from a comfortable and causal work environment. You get to work in someone else’s home and help them with essential, day-to-day activities. Sometimes your job includes going for a leisurely stroll or watching a movie together. As you bond with your client, your job can be just as enjoyable as time spent with family– because your client becomes like family!

Flexible Schedule – You can choose the schedule the best fits your needs. Do you prefer long shifts or short shifts? Can you work certain days of the week? Do you want nights and weekends off? All of this is flexible and negotiable, within reason.

Convenient Commute – You also get to work near where you live. Most home care agencies, like Ella Home Care, service a specific radius so all of our clients live in a close proximity.

Support and Education – You will have the continuous support of the home care agency’s staff to answer questions and develop solutions. Additionally, professional caregivers benefit from ongoing education to ensure the highest quality of care. You will learn and grow in your job!

Competitive Pay – Professional caregiving offers competitive pay. We want to hire qualified caregivers who are committed to their work and who go the extra mile to care for our clients. And we’re willing to offer competitive salaries and attractive work options to ensure we’re hiring the best!

Does your personality and desire for your career align with those of a professional caregiver? Learn more about what all this entails!

June 12, 2018 by Kirk Brechbiel Leave a Comment

5 Tips to Improve Caregiver-Patient Communication

Communication is challenging. We use it in every part of our life, whether it’s verbal or non-verbal, and we rely on communication to convey our wants and needs.

Now imagine the unique challenges caregivers and patients face when trying to communicate with one another in a new and unfamiliar environment, or when health issues create roadblocks. If you have an aging friend or family member who relies on the help of a professional caregiver, know that there are tips and resources that can help you facilitate stronger, clearer communication between both parties. Take a look!

Set a weekly meeting to talk about important issues.

Pick a day and time and make it a weekly, recurring meeting where the patient and caregiver can go over important issues. It may be helpful to have a third-party sit in on these meetings, like the patients spouse or adult children. Some common topics that should be discussed are health concerns, changes in moods or behaviors, changes in needs and expectations for care, the schedule for the upcoming week and ways to improve everyone’s experience. Through weekly meetings, you will have scheduled time for discussion so issues are left unaddressed for long periods of time.

Have multiple ways to communicate.

Not everyone prefers the same communication channels. Especially with aging adults, certain technologies or skills such as speaking, typing or writing can become increasingly difficult. Be sure to have multiple ways for caregivers and patients to communicate with each other and with other members of the family. Caregivers may want to call, text or email with family members to communicate important information. But when communicating with their patient, caregivers may prefer speaking face-to-face or writing things down for them to read. Often it’s trial and error! Be patient to find the communication channels that work best for your situation – and be flexible!

Check in with each party independently.

If you are the friend or family member of an aging loved one who has a professional caregiver, you should check in with the caregiver independently of your loved one, and vice versa. This creates a safe space for open communication about hard-to-address topics. For example, a caregiver may have noticed a decline in health and need to recommend additional care and assistance for your loved one. Or your loved one may feel their needs are not being fully met and want to talk about their expectations for quality care. As a third-party listener, you are a valuable communication channel who can help mediate issues before they grow into larger concerns.

Address concerns quickly.

And when it comes to voiced concerns, the key is to address them quickly. Any issue is worth examining because a caregiver-patient relationship is quite intimate and greatly impacts quality of life for both parties. Even something as minor as a negative attitude or resistance to care can manifest into larger, more concerning issues, if not addressed immediately. Don’t forget to include your home care provider in the conversation, as they have vast experience working with both caregivers and patients to resolve just about every issue you can imagine.

Pay attention to non-verbal communication.

Equally as important as verbal communication is non-verbal cues that can give you insight into larger issues that are slowly coming to a boil. For example, a patient’s body language around a caregiver, facial expressions and mood can alert you of negative emotions that could manifest into negative behavior in the future. Likewise, a caregiver’s non-verbal communication toward a patient is another way they can demonstrate love, respect, comfort and friendship. If these important cues feel “off” or indicate there may be tension between the two parties, it’s worth addressing this early and often.

What is your favorite tip for improving caregiver communication? Or do you have another to share? Leave a comment below!

Ways to Protect Your Aging Loved Ones from Scams

6 Reasons Why Seniors Are Able to Live Longer in Their Home

How to Grow a Stronger Family Bond at Any Age

Why You Might Love a Career as a Professional Caregiver

5 Tips to Improve Caregiver-Patient Communication

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