by Chase Dost | Dec 13, 2022
When You Need to Stay in the Hospital Longer to Get Stronger
Sometimes, your loved one is going to be discharged from the hospital, and you feel that person is not ready to come home. You can refuse discharge. Every state has a quality innovation network Improvement Organization. These government agencies help people with Medicare and Medicaid.
KEPRO handles Florida, Georgia, etc. It is a beneficiary and family-centered, quality improvement organization that can help you.
Quite simply, this is how it works and I tried it with my mother a few years ago. The hospital gives a discharge order. You refuse the order. You call KEPRO for an appeal. A KEPRO physician reviews your loved ones record. The beneficiary and facility are notified of their decision.
Here is the cool part. You almost cannot lose. Reviewing the case takes 1-2 days, sometimes longer if a weekend is involved. Your loved one receives two days of care in the hospital. You are not charged anything for the extra days, because they cannot charge you during an ongoing appeal.
While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do they lose their homes, and many of their friends, but they also lose ties to their cultural heritage. This is where the Jewish Pavilion, a 501c3 non-profit, steps in. The Pavilion serves as a resource that provides room visits, festive holiday celebrations, and more to 450 Jewish residents across 50 senior facilities. The Jewish Pavilion promotes inclusion, and thousands of seniors of all faiths are welcomed into our programs.
The Orlando Senior Help Desk (407-678-9363) helps thousands of callers navigate their way through the daunting senior maze, alleviating caregiver stress while giving advice on all types of elder issues.
by Chase Dost | Dec 13, 2022
Representative Payee
Some of the millions of people who get monthly Social Security or Supplemental Security Income benefits need help managing this money. A person assigned to help you manage your monthly benefits is called a representative payee. The Social Security office may decide you need a representative payee if they receive information that indicates you need help to manage your money. They try to select someone who knows you and wants to help you. Your representative payee should be someone who you trust, who sees you often, and who clearly understands your needs.
A representative payee receives your monthly benefits on your behalf and must use the money to pay for your current needs. Eligible costs include:
- housing and utilities;
- food;
- medical and dental expenses;
- personal care items;
- clothing; and
- rehabilitation expenses (if you’re disabled).
If there is someone you want to be your representative payee, tell a Social Security representative, and they will consider your request. Social service agencies, nursing homes, or other organizations are also qualified to be your representative payee. Ask them to contact the Social Security office.
If you receive a decision that you are appointed a representative payee and don’t agree that you need one, or if you want a different representative payee, write to the Social Security office within 60 days to appeal that decision.
If you can’t manage your finances, someone else can help. If you have a trusted friend or family member who can be your representative payee, their publication: A Guide for Representative Payees will provide more information on our representative payee rules.
While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do they lose their homes, and many of their friends, but they also lose ties to their cultural heritage. This is where the Jewish Pavilion, a 501c3 non-profit, steps in. The Pavilion serves as a resource that provides room visits, festive holiday celebrations, and more to 450 Jewish residents across 50 senior facilities. The Jewish Pavilion promotes inclusion, and thousands of seniors of all faiths are welcomed into our programs.
The Orlando Senior Help Desk (407-678-9363) helps thousands of callers navigate their way through the daunting senior maze, alleviating caregiver stress while giving advice on all types of elder issues.
by Chase Dost | Dec 13, 2022
Medical Alert Systems
Medical alert systems should provide reliable, 24/7 monitoring by trained monitoring agents, allowing seniors and their caregivers to live with less worry, at home or on the go.
An alert system should provide the following:
- If there is an emergency, you should be able to push the button on your pendant or wristband. Systems with Fall Detection will automatically send an emergency alert to the company if a fall occurs.
- A monitoring center should receive the alert, and a trained monitoring agent should respond to over the base unit’s voice communicator. If there is no response, the agent should send help.
- The medical alert system monitor should notify emergency responders and/or family as needed. Professionally monitored medical alert systems should help make life simpler and safer for seniors and their caregivers. Having safety measures in place can help seniors continue to live their lives independently and provide immense peace of mind to caregivers.
While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do they lose their homes, and many of their friends, but they also lose ties to their cultural heritage. This is where the Jewish Pavilion, a 501c3 non-profit, steps in. The Pavilion serves as a resource that provides room visits, festive holiday celebrations, and more to 450 Jewish residents across 50 senior facilities. The Jewish Pavilion promotes inclusion, and thousands of seniors of all faiths are welcomed into our programs.
The Orlando Senior Help Desk (407-678-9363) helps thousands of callers navigate their way through the daunting senior maze, alleviating caregiver stress while giving advice on all types of elder issues.
by Chase Dost | Jun 30, 2022
What is Elder Abuse?
Elder abuse is defined as “an intentional act or failure to act by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult.” It is a term under which five types of abuse are reflected:
- Caregiver Neglect: Family members who live with their elderly parents may leave their loved ones alone while they are at work. While they would not leave their children alone, a senior with dementia may be just as vulnerable.
- Financial Fraud and Exploitation
- Psychological Abuse
- Sexual Abuse
- Physical Abuse
At least 10% of adults age 65 and older will experience some form of elder abuse in a given year, with some older adults simultaneously experiencing more than one type of abuse.
While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do they lose their homes, and many of their friends, but they also lose ties to their cultural heritage. This is where the Jewish Pavilion, a 501c3 non-profit, steps in. The Pavilion serves as a resource that provides room visits, festive holiday celebrations, and more to 450 Jewish residents across 50 senior facilities. The Jewish Pavilion promotes inclusion, and thousands of seniors of all faiths are welcomed into our programs.
The Orlando Senior Help Desk (407-678-9363) helps thousands of callers navigate their way through the daunting senior maze, alleviating caregiver stress while giving advice on all types of elder issues.
by Chase Dost | Jun 30, 2022
Summer for Someone with Alzheimer’s
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 6 in 10 people with Alzheimer’s disease will wander. Wandering is best described as a tendency to roam or walk around without a clear destination or purpose. For those with Alzheimer’s disease, the destination or purpose of the walk is often forgotten, causing them to become confused or lost.
As a caregiver, you must be concerned about the safety of someone who wanders. There may be no harm in wandering a contained space, but for someone with dementia who gets lost outside, the risk of injury is high. You would not allow a child to roam. A senior with dementia may have equivalent judgment.
There are several reasons why a person who has dementia might wander, and understanding these will help you put some practical interventions in place:
- Stress, fear, and anxiety
- Searching for important people, such as old friends or family members
- Searching for the bathroom
- Searching for food
- Visual-spatial challenges
- Memory loss
- Boredom, especially at night (called sundowning) and restlessness
- Pain
- Poor sleep, restlessness
People with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia may have pain and can’t express it verbally, so they wander to find relief. Overstimulating environments can also cause anxiety and the urge to “get away.”
Home Adaptations to Support Safe Wandering:
- Keep spaces clutter-free to minimize fall risk
- Remove rugs to minimize risk of falls
- Eliminate the need to use stairs
- Lock the stovetop to prevent your loved one from trying to cook
- Keep windows and doors locked
- Install alarms on all exterior doors
- Camouflage doors–hang curtains over exterior doors to make them less visible
- Use a pressure-sensitive alarm mat to notify you when your loved one gets up at night
- Install gates to dissuade entry to unsafe areas of the house, including stairs
- Fence in the backyard to allow your loved one access without risk
- Install safety locks on kitchen cabinets
- Lock up all medications and cleaning products
Behavioral Strategies for Wandering Caused by Dementia
Knowing that part of the cause of wandering is boredom, anxiety, and fear, learning behavioral strategies to keep your loved one occupied can prevent unsafe wandering. The added benefit is reducing unwanted agitation and frustration.
Here are some ways to help a loved one with dementia:
- Redirect and distract with an activity or exercise
- Find out if your loved one is in pain, too hot or cold, thirsty, or hungry
- Minimize noise and overstimulation
- Turn on the music–music has been found to have a calming effect on people with dementia
- Listen to your loved one’s concerns with compassion, and to the extent you can, try and alleviate their fears and anxieties
- Provide lots of healthy snacks–wandering uses excess energy reserves and frequent snacks can help offset weight loss caused by dementia
While it may be impossible to prevent wandering completely, you will want to permit safe wandering and reduce the risk of falls. Most importantly, measures should be taken to prevent your loved one with Alzheimer’s from venturing outdoors, particularly in Florida, where summer heat can be life-threatening.
Technology for People with Dementia
Safety products that permit safe wandering have come a long way over the years. Today, there are a range of devices to manage and monitor your loved one’s activities and give yourself a break from constant supervision.
- An Emergency Response System (ERS) detects falls and has built-in GPS tracking
- In-home video monitors with continuous feeds can be monitored via smartphones
- Smart sensors collect data, detect unusual movement, and monitor for smoke and carbon dioxide
- Safety Alarms alert you to movement and can be installed on beds, chairs, wheelchairs, doors, and windows
Constant supervision and interaction with your loved one can be exhausting, expensive, and time-consuming. As Alzheimer’s disease progresses and symptoms and behaviors become more than you can manage at home, a memory care community can help. These communities are specifically designed for those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and provide around-the-clock care to assure the safety and well-being of those with memory challenges and wandering symptoms.
While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do they lose their homes, and many of their friends, but they also lose ties to their cultural heritage. This is where the Jewish Pavilion, a 501c3 non-profit, steps in. The Pavilion serves as a resource that provides room visits, festive holiday celebrations, and more to 450 Jewish residents across 50 senior facilities. The Jewish Pavilion promotes inclusion, and thousands of seniors of all faiths are welcomed into our programs.
The Orlando Senior Help Desk (407-678-9363) helps thousands of callers navigate their way through the daunting senior maze, alleviating caregiver stress while giving advice on all types of elder issues.
by Chase Dost | Jun 30, 2022
Caring for Someone with Dementia
It is estimated that 1 in 3 people with dementia and 1 in 7 of those with Alzheimer’s live alone. A diagnosis of dementia does not automatically mean a person cannot safely live independently; some people may be able to live on their own for a time after their initial diagnosis. Others may be at too much risk to continue living alone.
It is common for people living with dementia to go through a series of stages, from complete independence to living with someone or needing a long-term care placement over the course of disease progression. When a person who has lived alone eventually needs to consider other options, the move to live with someone can be difficult for all those involved. Some people with dementia may try to hide or compensate for the problems they are experiencing. If you are a family member or caregiver of a person with dementia, it can be difficult to decide whether a person who is living alone is truly in need of help.
Please keep in mind that just as a child cannot be safely left alone, neither can seniors with child-like capacities or judgment be safely left alone.
While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do they lose their homes, and many of their friends, but they also lose ties to their cultural heritage. This is where the Jewish Pavilion, a 501c3 non-profit, steps in. The Pavilion serves as a resource that provides room visits, festive holiday celebrations, and more to 450 Jewish residents across 50 senior facilities. The Jewish Pavilion promotes inclusion, and thousands of seniors of all faiths are welcomed into our programs.
The Orlando Senior Help Desk (407-678-9363) helps thousands of callers navigate their way through the daunting senior maze, alleviating caregiver stress while giving advice on all types of elder issues.
