Care Options | In Care of Dad

Archive for the ‘Care Options’ Category

Calculating The Cost Of Care

Posted on November 14th, 2011 by kim

by Kim Keller

Here’s a fabulous resource: The Genworth Cost of Care Survey, which provides the costs for various home care providers, adult day health care centers, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes. The survey notes the lowest, highest and median costs of these services by state (including the District of Columbia), as well as the median annual costs of care by city.

Here are the national median costs for:

Homemaker (Personal Care Assistant or Companion): $18/hour

For someone who lives at home and needs additional household help, such as housecleaning, cooking, running errands, companionship
No personal or medical care provided
Price is based on a non-Medicare, licensed agency
Most agencies require a 4-hour minimum
Genworth notes that the lowest hourly rate is $9 and the highest is $34

55 Comments

My “Impossible” Client

Posted on September 12th, 2011 by kim

by Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC

I once had a client — let’s call him Jim, though it’s not his given name — who seemed impossible to handle.

He was verbally abusive and often violent. Though he was an intelligent man who could be witty and charming when so inclined, Jim was also suffering from dementia, diabetes and mobility problems, and these issues seemed to make each day an angry challenge for him.

Conflict wasn’t a new situation for him, though: Jim’s life history was rife with it. He was a full-blown alcoholic until he was finally confined to a hospital detox unit. He had alienated his children so irrevocably that they wanted nothing to do with him. Yet, in spite of his nasty behaviors, he somehow managed to keep many of us invested in him.

16 Comments

Hospital Stay? Advocate Needed!

Posted on August 16th, 2011 by karen

by Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC

Imagine a frail old woman alone in a hospital bed.

She doesn’t see well. She doesn’t hear well. She certainly doesn’t feel well.

She does not know exactly where she is or even why she’s there. She is hooked up to beeping monitors. Lab technicians are taking blood samples. Bright lights are shining in her eyes so she can’t sleep. She is dressed in a thin hospital gown, covered with an even thinner hospital blanket. She is cold.

She’s being barraged with questions, many of which she is simply too distraught to answer. Questions come from doctors, from nurses, from social workers.

7 Comments

Selecting A Certified Nurse’s Aide

Posted on May 9th, 2011 by karen

by Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC

Mother fractured her hip while dancing at the Senior Center!

Even though Mother declined significantly both physically and mentally as a result of her fall and subsequent hospitalization, Mark, our father, wanted to take care of her himself when she came home. He strongly objected to having someone move in with them. He knew that person would be invading their privacy. She would sleep on the pull-out bed in his home-office, denying him free access to his beloved television, his desk and his lounge chair.

10 Comments

Managing Care Long-Distance

Posted on March 15th, 2011 by karen

by Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC

I was tired. I was weepy. I was overwhelmed. In addition to my work, I was managing the care of my frail elderly parents in New York City as well as my declining elderly aunt in Chicago.

Something had to give.

8 Comments

Assisted Living: Taking It One Step At A Time

Posted on March 3rd, 2011 by karen

By Phil Carey

Here are some things to consider if you think Mom and/or Dad might need to move from their home to an assisted-living facility.

I write this as the son of aging parents who was faced with their decreasing ability to be safe in their own home and to care for themselves without assistance. I can only provide some key things to look for that might indicate a change is needed. Your knowledge of your parents and the changes you observe in their comfort and their daily routines should be your best guide, but another person’s experience might be useful in your deliberations.

9 Comments