Mastercare In Home Service Providers

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:48:54 +0000

Get valuable information about the VA Aid & Attendance Special Pension

Getting Quality Care In A Nursing Home

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:41 +0000

This page contains resources and information to help you advocate for quality long-term care. Click on the topic areas below to find more information.

Residents’ Rights

Residents’ Rights are guaranteed by the federal 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law, and nursing homes must meet federal residents’ rights requirements if they participate in Medicare or Medicaid. Visit the links below for consumer information and resources that can help you support an individual resident’s rights or be involved in an important national awareness campaign.

View the Residents’ Rights fact sheet to learn more about the topic.

National Residents’ Rights Week 2009 is October 4-10, 2009: “HEAR OUR VOICE: RESIDENTS OF LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES SPEAK OUT ON RESIDENTS’ RIGHTS.” Residents’ Rights Week is the first full week of October each year. Click on the link above to learn about this and previous years’ events, activities and resident entries.

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Law and Regulations

The Nursing Home Reform Law is the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA ’87) was landmark legislation for federal standards for nursing home care. Click on the above link to learn more about OBRA.

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Resident Councils

Residents in a facility can join together to form a united consumer voice which can communicate concerns to facility administrators and work for resolutions and improvements by forming a resident council. Visit the Resident Council Center to learn more about resident council rights, regulations applying to long-term care facilities, effective council advocacy, and tools for forming an effective council and more!

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Fact Sheets – Residents

Fact sheets are to-the-point summaries on the most common issues facing nursing home residents. Each document answers key, frequently asked questions. View NCCNHR’s fact sheets for residents of nursing homes.

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Citizen Advocacy Groups

Citizen advocacy groups (CAGs) are groups of concerned citizens who work to improve the quality of care for nursing home residents in their locality, state, or region. Members of these groups are often people who have had loved ones in nursing homes and are concerned about nursing home residents. The groups share a commitment to improving the quality of care and life for residents who are in need of long-term care. They may be able to inform you about resources in your state, the quality of care in particular facilities, and the current status of nursing home reform in your state. Visit the Citizen Advocacy Group Center to learn more about CAGs, and to find a CAG in your state so that you can connect with others who are interested long-term care reform.

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NCCNHR Projects with Residents

Giving Voice to Quality project
Thiis project trained nursing home residents and their families nationwide through teleconference seminars and a web-based consumer education center. Topics addressed include: Resident-Directed Care Planning; Restraint-Free Nursing Home Care; Residents’ Rights; Communication; Eating with Dignity; Incontinence and Quality Care.

Great New York Times Article

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:48:50 +0000

Helping Elderly Leave Nursing Homes for a Home

Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times

Walter Brown was moved into public housing after having spent two years in a nursing home.

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By JOHN LELAND

Published: September 18, 2009

PHILADELPHIA — Walter Brown never wanted to live in a nursing home, but when he had a stroke two years ago, he saw little choice. Mr. Brown, 72, could not walk, use his left arm or transfer himself into his wheelchair.

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Back Story With John Leland

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Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times

Walter Brown said that after a while, being in a nursing home “was like being in jail.” Now, he is “more confident in the future.”

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Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times

Elizabeth Kamara was in a nursing home, but says of her apartment, “This is my home; I’m free.”

“It was like being in jail,” Mr. Brown said on a recent afternoon. “In the nursing home you’ve got to do what they say when they say it, go to bed when they tell you, eat what they want you to eat. The food was terrible.”

But recently state workers helped Mr. Brown find a two-bedroom apartment in public housing here, which he shares with his daughter. “It just makes me more relaxed, more confident in myself,” he said, speaking with some difficulty, but with a broad smile. “More confident in the future.”

A growing number of states are reaching out to people like Mr. Brown, who have been in nursing homes for more than six months, aiming to disprove the notion that once people have settled into a nursing home, they will be there forever. Since 2007, Medicaid has teamed up with 29 states to finance such programs, enabling the low-income elderly and people with disabilities to receive many services in their own homes.

The program in Pennsylvania provides up to $4,000 in moving expenses, including a furniture allowance and modifications to the apartment, and Mr. Brown has a home health aide every morning and a care manager to arrange for services like physical therapy. The new programs, financed largely by $1.75 billion from Medicaid, are a sharp departure from past practices, where Medicaid practically steered people into nursing homes.

“Medicaid has had an institutional bias in favor of nursing homes,” even for people who do not need them, said Gene Coffey, a staff lawyer at the nonprofit National Senior Citizens Law Center. “Federal law requires states to provide nursing home services. They don’t have to provide home or community-based services.”

For Mr. Brown, the transition to his own home has changed his life, he said. Now, with his motorized wheelchair, he travels the city on public buses, visiting friends in other neighborhoods.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “In the nursing home I got up at 5 o’clock in the morning, then the rest of the day was just watching the TV or my VCR. I wanted to be able to get out and see people, see the world. I didn’t want to be confined. Now I go where I want to go.”

States and the federal government hope to save money, though research about cost savings has so far been inconclusive. A recent study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found that home care costs taxpayers $44,000 a year less than a nursing home stay — though this number cannot be used to estimate total savings, because often home-based services replace family care, not nursing home care.

About 1.5 million Americans are living in nursing homes.

“It’s amazing how quickly people can end up in a nursing home,” said Jean Janik, the director of community living options at the nonprofit Philadelphia Corporation for Aging. “Say you’re a single man and have a stroke, and need to go into a nursing home to rehab. You’re elderly so you don’t quite bounce back quickly. After 60 days, Medicare doesn’t pay any longer, so you need a Medicaid grant to stay in the nursing home. Then your Social Security will go to the nursing home.”

Many lose their apartments and regular support from family members, Ms. Janik said.

“We meet people who say, ‘I went to the hospital and next thing I know, here I am. I don’t know what happened to my apartment.’ ” Ms. Janik added, “We go and check, and it’s not in their name. Especially if they don’t have a strong family support system in place. A lot of people just think, Uncle Joe fell and broke his hip and now he’s in a nursing home, so be it, that’s where he’ll be. People don’t realize they can get services in their home.”

Each participating state has designed its own program, called Money Follows the Person. The federal government, which shares Medicaid costs, provides extra financing for the first year.

Some experts worry that the programs will end up transferring some of the expenses of caring for the elderly or the disabled to their family members.

Carol Irvin, a senior researcher at Mathematica Policy Research has been contracted by Medicare and Medicaid Services to study the costs of the program in its first five years.

“It could be shifting costs onto a person’s relatives,” Ms. Irvin said. “But even if it’s not saving money, a lot of people believe living in the community is the right thing for individuals.”

Elizabeth Kamara, 72, spent 18 months in a nursing home after having her left foot amputated because of diabetes. Mrs. Kamara can get around using a walker, but in the nursing home she spent whole days in a wheelchair.

“I just let people do things for me,” she said. “They say, ‘If you fall, we’ll get in trouble. Please sit down.’ ”

Mrs. Kamara has moved into a independent living facility, where she cooks dishes from her native Sierra Leone and navigates the hallways on her own. She gives herself insulin injections and gets a friend to drive her to doctors’ appointments. An aide comes twice a week to help clean. “This is my home; I’m free,” she said. “In the nursing home it was two persons in one room. Here I have my privacy. I can get my hair done, my nails done.”

Susan C. Reinhard, a senior vice president of the AARP Public Policy Institute, said of Money Follows the Person: “It’s gotten Congress’s attention, and shown that people can leave a nursing home. That is a wake-up.”

For Esther Pinckney, 88, who ended up in a nursing home after a stroke, moving out has been literally a breath of fresh air. Ms. Pinckney now lives in a bright subsidized apartment where home aides visit twice a day.

“What didn’t I like about the nursing home?” she asked recently. “What would you like about smell, smell, smell, morning, noon and night?”

Because Ms. Pinckney lost her apartment and furniture while she was in the nursing home, the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging bought her new furniture and a microwave oven. Before, she said, her Social Security check went to the nursing home; now she pays 30 percent of her check for her rent. “I couldn’t even buy a soda,” Ms. Pinckney said. “You want to be independent, don’t you? That’s what I wanted.”

Life on her own has not been perfect, she admitted. Aides often fail to show up or spend their time talking on the telephone.

But her pastor takes her to church four times a week, and she can go to stores near her building. If her health should fail again, she said, she did not like to think about going back into a nursing home.

“Don’t mention it,” she said, her face tightening. “I don’t want to do that.”

Sign in to Recommend More Articles in Health » A version of this article appeared in print on September 19, 2009, on page A10 of the New York edition.

FCA: Coping with Behavior Problems after Head Injury

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:25:26 +0000

FCA: Coping with Behavior Problems after Head Injury.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:06:49 +0000

Traumatic Brain Injury from The Family Caregiver Alliance

Introduction

Each year, an estimated 1.5 million people in the U.S. sustain a traumatic brain injury. The impact on their families and caregivers is immense. This fact sheet discusses traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its consequences, and provides information about the helpful resources available to families caring for a loved one affected by TBI.

Definition

Traumatic brain injury, also called brain injury or head injury, occurs when a blow or jolt to the head results in damage to the brain. TBIs range in severity from mild to severe.

Mild TBI occurs when a person has a brief change in mental status or loss of consciousness. The most common type of brain injury, a concussion, is classified as a mild traumatic brain injury. Mild TBI often goes undiagnosed and consequently the person suffering the injury loses out on the benefits of rehabilitation and medical care.

Severe TBIs may involve loss of consciousness for hours or weeks and can result in permanent disability. Any TBI, whether mild or severe, can result in short- or long-term disability.

There are many different types of traumatic brain injury, including:

Concussions – the most common type of TBI
Penetration injury – from bullets or other objects entering the skull
Contusions – bleeding that results from blows to the head
Diffuse axonal injury – damage from tearing of the brain tissue (includes shaken baby syndrome and some bicycle, car or motorcyle accident injuries)

Facts

5.3 million Americans, approximately 2% of the population, currently live with disabilities related to brain injury.
Males are more than twice as likely as females to experience a TBI.
TBI is most common among adolescents (aged 15-24) and older adults (75 and older).
The most common causes of TBI:
- Motor vehicle collisions
- Falls
- Violence
- Sports
Research has shown that approximately 85% of head injuries from bicycle accidents can be prevented with the use of helmets.

Consequences

A TBI may result in mild, moderate or severe changes in one or more areas, including thinking, speech, physical functions and social behavior. The consequences of TBI can be lifelong for some people, while others may be able to recover and resume activities they enjoyed before the injury occurred.

A partial list of Cognitive Changes (or Changes in Thinking) which can occur due to a brain injury include:

Shortened attention span
Memory problems
Problem-solving difficulties
Poor judgment
Partial or complete loss of reading and writing skills
Language problems, including communication deficits and loss of vocabulary
Inability to understand abstract concepts
Difficulty learning new things

Some of the Physical Changes that can occur due to a brain injury include:

Weakness
Muscle coordination problems
Full or partial paralysis
Changes in sexual functioning
Changes in the senses (hearing, sight, touch, etc.)
Seizures (also called traumatic epilepsy)
Sleep problems
Speech difficulties

Personality and Behavioral Changes may be subtle or severe and include:

Difficulty with social skills
Inability to empathize with others
Tendency to be more self-centered
Inability to control one’s emotions
Increases in irritability and frustration
Inappropriate and/or aggressive behavior
Extreme mood swings
Depression (individuals with TBI are considered to be at a high risk for depression)

For further information about how to cope with behavior problems that result from a TBI, see the FCA Fact Sheet “Coping with Behavior Problems after Head Injury.”

Prognosis (or Chance of Recovery)

It is difficult to predict how well someone who has had a brain injury will recover, partly because there is no test a doctor can use to predict recovery. The Glasgow Coma Scale is used to determine the initial severity of a brain injury. It is often used at the scene of the accident or in the emergency room. This scale uses eye movements and ability to speak and move other parts of the body to determine the seriousness of the injury. Ask your doctor to explain the tests used to determine your loved one’s ability to recover.

Your loved one’s prognosis will depend on many factors, including the severity of the injury, the type of injury, and what parts of the brain have been affected. Prompt diagnosis and treatment will help the recovery process.

Recovery Tips for People Who Have Had a TBI

The recovery process is different for everyone. Just as no two people are alike, no two brain injuries are alike. Recovery is typically lengthy—from months to years—because the brain takes a long time to heal. These tips, directed at the person with a brain injury, will help your loved one improve after the injury:

Get lots of rest.
Avoid doing anything that could cause another blow or jolt to the head.
Ask the doctor when it’s safe to drive a car, ride a bike, play sports or use heavy equipment, because reaction time may be slower after a brain injury.
Take prescription medication according to thedoctor’s instructions.
Do not drink alcohol or use street drugs.
Write things down to help with memory problems.
Ask the doctor to recommend rehabilitation services that might help recovery, and follow those recommendations.

Rehabilitation

The goal of rehabilitation is to help your loved one live and function as independently as possible. Rehabilitation helps the body heal and assists the brain in relearning processes so that an individual recovers as quickly and efficiently as possible. Rehabilitation will also help the person with TBI learn new ways to do things if any previous abilities have been lost.

After your loved one’s initial life-saving treatment at the time of the injury, he or she will most likely start a rehabilitation program and will work with a team of specialists. The person with TBI and his or her family are the most important members of the rehabilitation team. Family members should be included in the rehabilitation and treatment as much as possible. Some of the other professionals who may be part of this team include:

Physiatrists – doctors who are experts in rehabilitation medicine who typically oversee the rehabilitation process.
Neurologists – doctors who are trained in the diagnosis and treatment of nervous system disorders, including diseases of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles.
Occupational, physical, speech and language therapists – therapists that help the person regain thinking skills, communication skills, physical abilities and behavioral skills.
Neuropsychologists – specialized psychologists who focus on thinking skills and behavior problems.
Vocational rehabilitation experts – employment coaches who help with regaining job skills.

It is important to remember that rehabilitation may last years and that your loved one will benefit from the ability to receive rehabilitation services throughout this time. Appropriate programs and treatments will also change as your family member’s needs change.

A variety of treatment and rehabilitation programs may help your loved one. Some of the different types of rehabilitation facilities include:

Acute rehabilitation – an intensive rehabilitation program.
Coma treatment centers – provide coma-specific medical care.
Transitional living programs – nonmedical residential programs that teach skills for community living.
Long-term care and supervised living programs – residential facilities that provide care and
rehabilitation to people with TBI who are not able to live independently.
Behavior management programs – typically community-based (i.e., not residential) programs that teach self-control and appropriate social behaviors.
Day treatment programs – provide rehabilitation during the day so the person can return home at night.

The Brain Injury Association of America’s Guide to Selecting and Monitoring Brain Injury Rehabilitation Programs is a good resource for figuring out what questions to ask a rehabilitation provider and can help in choosing a rehabilitation facility. The Brain Injury Association of America also publishes the National Directory of Brain Injury Rehabilitation Services, which lists services in each state.

Caregiving

When someone suffers a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), the entire family is affected. Studies show that caregivers of people who have suffered a brain injury may experience feelings of burden, distress, anxiety, anger and depression. If you are caring for a partner, spouse, child, relative or close friend with TBI, it is important to recognize how stressful this situation can be and to seek support services.

Services that may be most helpful to you include in-home assistance (home health aides or personal care assistants), respite care to provide breaks from caregiving, brain injury support groups, and ongoing or short-term counseling for caregivers to adjust to the changes that have come as a result of the injury. You also may need to ask your support system of family, friends and community members for help with your loved one’s care, so that you don’t get burned out. (See Family Caregiver Alliance’s Fact Sheet: Taking Care of YOU: Self-Care for Family Caregivers for additional tips on taking care of yourself.)

In your role as a caregiver, you will probably find that it can be difficult to find appropriate and adequate services for your loved one. It is important to know that you will most likely need to be persistent in your search for assistance. You should use your network of family and friends, as well as professionals, to get tips about available resources.

Useful Resources & Services for Families Affected by TBI

National Disability Rights Network Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Disabilities
Protection and Advocacy (P&A) System and Client Assistance Program (CAP)
This nationwide network of congressionally mandated disability rights agencies provides various services to people with disabilities, including TBI. P&A agencies provide information and referral services and help people with disabilities find solutions to problems involving discrimination and employment, education, health care and transportation, personal decision-making, and Social Security disability benefits. These agencies also provide individual and family advocacy. CAP agencies help clients seeking vocational rehabilitation. For more information on P&A and CAP programs, contact the National Disability Rights Network at: www.napas.org or (202) 408-9514.

Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems
Funded through the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the TBI Model Systems consist of 16 TBI treatment centers throughout the U.S. The TBI Model Systems have extensive experience treating people with TBI and are linked to well established medical centers which provide high quality trauma care from the onset of head injury through the rehabilitation process.

For more information on the TBI Model Systems, go to www.tbindsc.org/Centers/centers.asp or call the TBI Project Coordinator at (973) 414-4723 to find the center nearest you.

Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) Chartered State Affiliates
BIAA is a national program with a network of more than 40 chartered state affiliates, as well as hundreds of local chapters providing information, education and support to individuals, families and professionals affected by brain injury.
To locate your state’s TBI programs that can be of assistance, visit the Brain Injury Association of America’s online listing of chartered state affiliates at www.biausa.org/stateoffices.htm, or call (800) 444-6443.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) & Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
It is possible that your loved one may be entitled to SSDI and/or SSI. SSDI and SSI eligibility is dependent on a number of factors including the severity of the disability and what assets and income your loved one has. You should contact the Social Security Administration to find out more about these programs and whether your loved one will qualify for these benefits. For more information on SSDI and SSI, contact the Social Security Administration at www.ssa.gov or (800) 772-1213.

Centers for Independent Living (CIL)
Some families have found that it is important to encourage their loved one with a TBI to continually learn skills that can allow them to live independently in the community.

The CILs exist nationwide to help people with disabilities live independently in the community and may have resources to help your loved one reach a goal of living alone. CIL services include advocacy, peer counseling, case management, personal assistance and counseling, information and referral, and independent living skills development. For more information on the CIL system, contact the National Council on Independent Living at www.virtualcil.net/cils or (703) 525-3406.

Credits

Brain Injury Association of America. Guide to Selecting and Monitoring Brain Injury Rehabilitation Programs.

Brain Injury Association of America. Treatment and Rehabilitation.

Brain Injury Association of America. What Is Brain Injury?

National Institutes of Health. (1998). Rehabilitation of Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury. Consensus, NIH Consensus Statement. October 26-28, 1998.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (NCIPC). Traumatic Brain Injury Fact Sheet.

Vaughn, S.L. & King, A. (2001). A survey of state programs to finance rehabilitation and community services for individuals with brain injury, Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, Vol. 16, 20-33.

Fujii, D., Schaefer Hanes, S., & Kokuni, Y. (1996). Family intervention in the rehabilitation and community reintegration of individuals with brain injury, The Journal of Cognitive Rehabilitation, March/April, 6-10.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. NINDS Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page.

Brain Injury Association of America. National Directory of Brain Injury Rehabilitation Services (2006).

Resources

Family Caregiver Alliance
180 Montgomery Street, Suite 1100
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 434-3388 phone
(800) 445-8106 toll free
Website: www.caregiver.org
E-mail: info@caregiver.org

Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) seeks to improve the quality of life for caregivers through education, services, research and advocacy.

FCA’s National Center on Caregiving offers information on current social, public policy and caregiving issues and provides assistance in the development of public and private programs for caregivers.

FCA’s e-newsletter. Caregiving PolicyDigest, offers up-to-date information on national policy issues.

For residents of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, FCA provides direct family support services for caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, ALS, head injury, Parkinson’s and other debilitating health conditions that strike adults.

Brain Injury Association of America
8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 611
McLean, VA 22102
Helpline: (800) 444-6443
Helpline e-mail: familyhelpline@biausa.org

A national advocacy and awareness organization which develops and distributes educational information about brain injury and resources, legal rights and services. The Association provides a variety of information regarding brain injury and has state affiliates throughout the U.S.

The Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Data and Statistical Center
c/o Craig Hospital Research Dept
3425 S Clarkson Street
Englewood, CO 80113
(303) 789-8202

Maintains a list of current TBI Model System centers.

National Disability Rights Network
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, Inc.
900 Second Street, NE, Suite 211
Washington, D.C. 20002
(202) 408-9514

Find solutions to problems involving discrimination and employment, education, health care and transportation, personal decision-making, and Social Security disability benefits.

Social Security Administration
Office of Public Inquiries
Windsor Park Building
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21235
(800) 772-1213

Information about disability benefits requirements.

Centers for Independent Living (CIL)
National Council on Independent Living
1916 Wilson Blvd., Suite 209
Arlington, VA 22209
(703) 525-3406

Clickable map to help you locate the Independent Living Center in your state.

Tammy Greenspan Head Injury Collection
116 Merritts Road
Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735
(877) HEAD-INJ or (877) 432-3465

Free resource library, with many good books on brain injury available through the interlibrary loan system.

TBI Technical Assistance Center
National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
4330 East West Highway, Suite 301
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 656-3500

TBI TAC provides up-to-date information about the TBI State grant programs.

Head Injury Hotline
212 Pioneer Bldg.
Seattle, WA 98104-2221
(206) 621-8558

Hotline provides consultations, research assistance, case management and legal services to families and professionals.

Neurotrauma Registry
P.O. Box 440
Hunt Valley, MD 21030-0440
(800) 373-1166

A web-based, national directory of brain and spinal cord injury programs and professionals.

Defense & Veterans Brain Injury Center
Building 1, Room B209
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington DC 20307-5001
(800) 870-9244

Serves active duty military, their dependents and veterans with traumatic brain injury. Offers evaluation, treatment, follow-up care, educational materials and research.

This fact sheet was prepared by the National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance and was reviewed by Catherine Sebold, Communications Specialist of the Brain Injury Association of America. Funded by the Archstone Foundation. Revised 2007.

NIHSeniorHealth: Balance Problems – About Balance Problems

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:12:38 +0000

NIHSeniorHealth: Balance Problems – About Balance Problems.

So Far Away: Twenty Questions for Long-Distance Caregivers

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:58:37 +0000

Five years ago, Dave’s mother moved from the old house in Philly to an apartment in Baltimore that was closer to his sister. Dave didn’t give much thought to how the increased distance would affect their relationship. Until then, they’d only lived 30 minutes from each other. Dave had lunch with his mom about once a week; sometimes they’d go to a ballgame together. After the move, neither Dave nor his mom expected much to change—what was another hour or so of drive time? But over the years, the drive seemed to get longer and time together was harder and harder to arrange. Then his mom’s health began to slide. When Dave’s sister called to say Mom had fallen and broken her hip, Dave needed, and wanted, to help. Should he offer to hire a nurse? Should he take a week off work and help out himself? After all the years his mom had devoted to raising the family, what could Dave do from far away to help her?The answer for Dave, and for so many families faced with similar situations, is simple: Lots! Long-distance caregivers can be helpful no matter how great the distance. So Far Away: Twenty Questions for Long-Distance Caregivers focuses on some of the issues unique to long-distance caregiving. Developed by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, this booklet is a gateway to ideas and resources that can help make long-distance caregiving more manageable and satisfying.

Long-distance caregiving can be figuring out what you can do to help Aunt Lilly sort through her medical bills or thinking about how to make the most of a weekend visit with Mom. It can include checking the references of an aide who’s been hired to help your grandfather or trying to take the pressure off your sister who lives in the same town as her aging parents and her aging in-laws. So Far Away often refers to caregiving for aging parents but, in fact, this booklet offers tips you can use no matter who you are caring for, be it an older relative, family friend, or former neighbor.

The booklet is organized in a question/answer format. Each of the 20 commonly asked questions has a brief, stand–alone answer. There’s also a resource list at the end that can help you find more information.
http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/LongDistanceCaregiving/chapter01.htm

End of Life: Helping With Comfort and Care

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:51:39 +0000

End of Life: Helping With Comfort and Care.

Caring for a Person with Alzheimer’s Disease

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:47:11 +0000

Caring for a Person with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Caring for ill, elderly has reward — a longer life

mastercareinhomeserviceproviders — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:25:46 +0000

Aiding ailing family may reduce death risk and boost attitude, studies find

	Caring for an older, ailing family member may be stressful, but studies say it may actually increase your lifespan.
Marcy Maloy / Getty Images stock

By Linda Carroll

msnbc.com contributor

updated 5:20 a.m. PT, Tues., May 5, 2009//

Boomers sandwiched between growing children and ailing aging parents often worry that the stress from all that caregiving might shave years off their lives. But it turns out that the opposite may be true — the nurturing they give may be repaid by a longer lifespan, a study shows.

Earlier studies found that people who had cared for sick relatives died at a younger age than people who didn’t help. But researchers from the University of Michigan suspected the caregiving wasn’t the problem.

“We thought that it wasn’t the helping that was harmful, and that the harm seen in those studies came from watching someone die,” says study author Stephanie Brown, a social psychologist and an assistant professor in the department of internal medicine at the University of Michigan.

To see if caregiving was truly beneficial to the caregiver, Brown and her colleagues scrutinized data from 1,688 couples who were at least 70 years old. Over a seven year period, the elderly couples were surveyed four times. During each survey, husbands and wives were asked whether they either provided or received help with such daily activities as eating, dressing, bathing, walking across the room, or using the toilet. They were also asked who performed household tasks such as grocery shopping, managing money and meal preparation.

Brown and her colleagues found that if you accounted for the negative impact of stressing over a loved one’s illness, that caregiving actually led to longer life. During the course of the study, people who spent at least 14 hours a week caring for a sick spouse were almost 30 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who spent no time helping, according to the research recently published in Psychological Science.

A smaller study in the journal Stroke came to a similar conclusion. Researchers interviewed 75 people who spent an average of almost 37 hours per week caring for a loved one who had suffered a stroke. A full 90 percent of those interviewed reported that their caregiving enabled them to appreciate life more. Many also reported that it helped them develop a more positive attitude toward life.

When it came to stresses associated with caregiving, 44 percent said they felt “no strain” while 41 percent reported “some strain.”

Video

Alzheimer’s offspring confront their own risk
When Herbie Winokur began to slide into dementia, his daughter and her family knew they would care for him in their home. What they didn’t know is that it would change everything.

msnbc.com

The studies make sense to Kathy Yates, a 54-year-old executive from San Jose, Calif., who has been making regular trips to the East Coast for the past four months to help care for her ailing parents. Yates was laid off from her job in January and is thankful that it happened just when she was most needed — her stepmother had a stroke in December and her father caught a respiratory bug and died just months later.

“This has been one of the best experiences of my life,” Yates says. “I’m extraordinarily thankful for the time I’ve had with them and for the perspective the caregiving has given me. It helps me to not be overly anxious about my career because this is so concrete. You know you’re helping another human being. The rewards are palpable. It makes you feel like you’ve got a purpose in life.”

The only downside, Yates says, is the lack of respect caregivers get. “It’s a tragedy that it’s so undervalued by most people,” she adds.

The research by Brown and her colleagues fits in with results from studies showing that animals release higher levels of a hormone called oxytocin when they are parenting. That hormone leads to lower levels of stress-linked substances, Brown says. It also makes sense in light of studies showing that people who volunteer tend to live longer than those who don’t, she adds.

Mastercare In Home Service Providers

Getting Quality Care In A Nursing Home

Residents’ Rights

Law and Regulations

Resident Councils

Fact Sheets – Residents

Citizen Advocacy Groups

NCCNHR Projects with Residents

Great New York Times Article

Helping Elderly Leave Nursing Homes for a Home

Multimedia

FCA: Coping with Behavior Problems after Head Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Introduction

Definition

Facts

Consequences

Prognosis (or Chance of Recovery)

Recovery Tips for People Who Have Had a TBI

Rehabilitation

Caregiving

Useful Resources & Services for Families Affected by TBI

Recommended Readings

Credits

Resources

NIHSeniorHealth: Balance Problems – About Balance Problems

So Far Away: Twenty Questions for Long-Distance Caregivers

End of Life: Helping With Comfort and Care

Caring for a Person with Alzheimer’s Disease

Caring for ill, elderly has reward — a longer life

Aiding ailing family may reduce death risk and boost attitude, studies find