Venture House Info Soft

Archive for February, 2012

Ensure that all the up to the minute personal and medical information is available in a special pack, clearly marked to ensure that the right care and attention is administered.

Pfizer surveyed 1,000 people nationally and found that:

o Over half of adult children said their parents were on a prescription medicine but 77% did not know the name of the medicine;
o 1 on 5 did not know the name of their parents’ GP;
o 72% worry about their parents’ safety and security.
Within an emergency service all clients are independently assessed to find out their personal needs.

ICE (In Case of Emergency) plans include:
o Full medical history,
o Medication plans,
o A list of family and friends contact details.

What is a Personal Information Pack (PIP)?

A green cross sticker goes in very visible location on there front door, this indicates to ambulance or firemen that there is a PIP box located in their fridge, it contains all their personal information such as:

o Allergies
o Is the person an organ donor
o Who should be contacted in case of an emergency
o Medical details:
o Contact details of their GP and pharmacist
o Respiratory History
o Cardiac History
o Diabetes
o What Medication they are on
o Etc.

The information is then placed in a water tight bag, then into the plastic PIP box.

The pack also comes with a green cross keyring and is recognised by all emergency services.

Ease the Funding of Home Care – Home Care, shouldn’t cost the earth.

All home care is individual and there are many ways to ease the financial burden, such as;

1. HSE Home Care Support Scheme
2. Up to 41% Income Tax Relief
3. Family Contributions, etc.

Just 1 hour a day, can make a difference, when you call us on 1890 500 005, we will go through all the details as soon as you arrange to meet us.

More details about the HSE Home Care Support Scheme

The main priority of the Home Care Support Scheme is older people living in the community or those who are in-patients in acute hospitals at risk of admission to long term care.

Home care packages will also be available to those older people who have been admitted to long term care and who can (with support), return to the community. Packages may be offered to those already using existing core services, such as home helps, but who may need more assistance to continue to live in their community.

Home Care Support packages are also available for young chronically sick people and others who could continue to live at home provided they had adequate supports.

Home Care for the Elderly

Maybe you might fancy a night out at the opera or just bingo at the local club? Whatever your needs, we will try our best to fulfill them.

Home care services range from a couple of hours per week to 24 hours care, patients are independently assessed to find out their personal needs.

All patients are provided with ICE (in case of emergency) plans, these include full medical history, what medication patients are on and list of family members or friends contact details. They are very helpful and could save your life in an emergency.

Home carers are fully trained and a thorough security check is carried out.

In 1996, the Knight-Tribune News Service reported, “thieves often use Vaseline to ease wedding rings off of the hands of sleeping patients in nursing homes. One case cited an eighty-six year old woman who awoke inconsolable one morning when she discovered her finger had been stripped of her last two life’s mementos: a diamond ring inherited from her mother and the engagement ring her husband slipped on her finger during a romantic canoe ride. She was heartbroken! Nursing home administrators often cover up for the employee doing the stealing by either denying that the theft occurred or by insisting to the victims’ families that their employees’ are honest; not dishonest. Because of this “hear no evil, see no evil ” policy police departments are hardly ever notified or asked to get involved in such trivial matters as a few missing blouses or pieces of jewelry valued under one hundred dollars. If caught, employees are usually fired, but they are not made to make restitution. As a result, neither the facility or the victim’s family criminally prosecutes them.

In July of 2001, CBS news reported a story about Helen Love, an elderly woman who was attacked by a caregiver at a Sacramento, Ca. facility because she soiled herself. “He choked me and went and broke my neck and broke my wrist,” said Love. According to additional reports, Love’s assailant received a year in the county jail. Further articles by the same newspaper revealed that three other employee’s employed by the same facility were convicted for abuse as well. Yet, none of them were ever kept from working in any nursing facility. So why has the nursing home network ignored the need for stiffer background checks? According to the CBS news report in 2001 and articles written by reporters employed by national and local newspapers, most reported abuses are physical, sexual, and verbal.

A congressional report written by Waxman, a top democrat on the house Government Reform Committee, which oversees spending and other operations, said he is introducing a plan that would require criminal background checks on nursing home staff and impose tougher standards on homes with violations. But, what do we call tougher standards when we allow older felons recently released from our prison system, with a history of sexual assaults or violent crimes to work and live in nursing homes, to victimize our senior citizens or disabled children? Congressional reports written between January 1999 and 2001 by Waxman report that over 30% of our nursing facilities were cited for abuse and, the violations were serious enough to cause actual harm, immediate jeopardy of death, or serious injury.”

Charles H. Roadman II, president of the American Health care Association (AHCA), a nursing home trade group that represents 12,000 non-profit and for-profit centers and homes for the elderly and disabled, stated to CBS news in an article written on July thirty-first, 2001 that he believes that “the great majority of long term care in our nation is excellent.” Reading articles such as these, makes me wonder if any of the congressional representatives, senators, governors, other than Jeb Bush, have ever taken time out of their busy schedules to personally visit any of the facilities that have been cited for these alleged abuses, or personally met any of the victims’ families screaming for justice and reform? When it is all said and done there are many simple warning signs that we should look for whenever we are faced with seeking short-term or long-term care. The list that I have provided in my booklet called “Nursing Home Do’s and Dont’s, by Brooke Jennings, is an easy read for the average layperson. Therefore, if you are considering placing your friend or a precious member of your family into the hands of strangers, I recommend getting a copy of Nursing Home Do’s and Dont’s @ brookesden.com

Respite care can be hard to find. Some communities that are under served by organizations, funding may be a shoestring budget, and the typical kinship caregiver cannot afford the cost of a respite care worker. Family caregivers needing a break but are turning to another potential source for respite; adult sitters.

The typical adult sitter is someone without medical training; a volunteer who is more companion than caregiver. Obviously, this is unacceptable if you are caring for somebody with wide-ranging medical needs who regularly necessitates trained nursing staff. Nor is it appropriate for sessions longer than two to three hours.

Nevertheless, for fast outings, such as a quick run for groceries or a night out with your for dinner or a movie, recruiting the help of an adult sitter is a great option. Suggestions? A boy scout wanting a merit badge… maybe your local church has a student ministry…maybe you have a neighbor whose daughter you know to be trustworthy and responsible.

For a minimal gratuity, a hot meal, maybe use of the laundry room a needy student can be more than willing to spend some time with your family member as a companion.

If you decide on getting an adult sitter, be certain you personally know them, the organization she or he is from, and take the time to talk with the individual so you know she or he will be the right companion. Don’t pair up an introvert with an extrovert, or a classical music lover with a heavy metal fanatic. Above all, make sure they are responsible and mature enough for the situation. Adult respite care sitters are a little bit of hassle, but well worth it for your sanity.

How to recognize when you need homecare.

Below is a partial list of indicators that may suggest the need for a caregiver.

-Things around the home are being left undone-dishes, vacuuming, and laundry.
-The senior is losing weight because they are not willing/able to cook for themselves.
-The senior has balance impairment and is at risk of falling.
-The person has Alzheimer’s or Dementia and cannot be left alone.
-The senior has had a stroke and needs assistance with ADL’s.
-The senior has Parkinson’s disease and is unable to care for himself/herself.
-Any number of medical conditions can render a person immobile for long periods.
-Frailty due to advanced age.

If you recognize a need for a caregiver for yourself or a loved one, there are many options when it comes to homecare. (more can be found on this topic by reading “Homecare 101- A Tutorial”.

If you have decided to hire a home care provider privately, here are some tips to help in your search.

Do your research.

Do some research and find out prevailing rates for private hire caregivers where you live. This is a simple step but requires many phone calls. A good place to start your search for caregivers is via the internet at craigslist.org. Other sources would include the local church bulletin or neighborhood newspaper’s classifieds section. You can also ask people that you know for a referral to a caregiver. Create a list and call them to inquire about their availability, rates, and services. After inquiring about rates from 5-7 different caregivers you will have a good idea what the average is for your region.

Once you have a good idea of your regional caregiver rates, you can start your interview process. By this time you will have spoken to several caregivers during the pricing research. Now you can set in-person interviews for the top 2-3 caregivers that you’ve had a good rapport with over the phone. It is important to have backup caregivers just in case the caregiver that you feel is the most qualified, ends up not being available for the position you are offering. Those who work in the homecare agency industry know that caregivers do not always show up for interviews when they are scheduled. Always confirm that the caregiver you are inviting for an interview is willing and able to work during the hours and days that you need them.

Interview

During an interview of a caregiver, it is important to ask open ended questions such as “Tell me about your caregiving experience.” or ” Tell me about the last three clients you have cared for in their home.” You may ask them if they have worked for any homecare agencies in the past.

-It is usually a good sign when the caregiver can reference two or three well known and respected agencies that they have worked for, as good agencies will generally have a detailed screening process which includes criminal background checks, social security verifications, and proficiency assessments.

-You may want to ask if they have had training as a Certified Nurse Assistant or Home
Health Aide. Although it is not a necessity to be a good caregiver, it shows a general career interest in caring for people.

-Ask for a sample of how they would do record keeping while on the job.
Experienced caregivers will generally maintain a journal to keep track of things such as: schedule, meal plans, house cleaning, outings, shopping and supplies, medications, changes in the condition of the client, visitors, phone calls, etc.

-Ask for references of former clients and client’s family members. Be wary of caregivers who claim to have experience yet cannot offer any professional references with contact information.

-Ask for 2 or 3 ways of getting into contact with the caregiver i.e. home phone, cell phone, closest family contact phone. Ask about their home/family life to get an idea of the person’s stability. When you are inviting someone into your home to care for yourself or a parent, you should not be bashful about finding out as much as you can about that person.

-Prepare some scenarios of things that you think might occur with your particular situation and ask how they would deal with it. An example would be “If you get to the home and find my mother confused and upset, how would you deal with that situation?” or “If my father falls down while in the bathroom, how would you handle that situation?”
These questions are designed to gauge a person’s decision-making ability and appropriateness of action under the circumstance.

-Ask the caregiver to provide you with 2 forms of picture identification, a social security card, and proof of residency to verify that they do live at the address they claim. Proof of residency can be in the form of a bank statement with their address, or utility bill with their name and address. These steps are necessary to document that you have done your due diligence in verifying the caregiver’s identification.

-According to the state that you live in, you will need to have the caregiver fill out certain employee tax documents for payroll tax withholdings and/or social security taxes. You will need to check with your local government agency to find out your specific requirements. This is an area that many people neglect, which can put them in serious liability with the IRS, EDD, and a number of other agencies. Tax reporting is one of the biggest hurdles for the average person when hiring caregivers privately.

-Make sure that you have some form of written agreement between you and the caregiver that details the work to be done and the compensation for that work. (This article is written as a general guideline and not intended to be legal advice.) If you are the type of person who does business on a handshake, you are potentially putting yourself at enormous risk. There are many sample agreements that can be found through the internet or even your local library.

Post-interview homework

After a few interviews, you have decided on your first choice for a caregiver. Congratulations!

-Now you will need to follow up on the references provided by the caregiver. This is a critical step in evaluating the caregiver. Keep asking questions to the references until you are completely satisfied. This step can take a few days as the references you are trying to reach may not be immediately available to talk to you. Be patient, you’re almost there. Once you have positive responses from the references, you are ready to start.

-It would be a good idea to contact your homeowner’s insurance carrier at this point to find out whether your policy would cover accidents for employees working in the home. Most homeowner’s insurance policies will have coverage for such events. If you don’t have it, it should not take much to call your agent and have it added to your policy for a fee. Insurance is not an area to be neglected in this situation.

-Now it is up to you to create a “care plan” for the Caregiver to follow. This care plan can be a simple one page document that outlines how the senior should be cared for and any special instructions associated with care. Some care plans created by Care Managers are very comprehensive, including detailed cooking instructions, physical exercises, memory exercises, etc. Do your best to be as detailed as possible when creating the care plan, the less room for interpretation the better.

Initiating care and quality assurance.

Everything is in place and the caregiver is ready to start. On the first day, it is a good practice to be present with the caregiver to walk them through the responsibilities of the job. By being there, you can ensure that the things that are most important to you get done first and the caregiver will have a better sense of your priorities when faced with multiple things to do.

After you are confident that the caregiver is capable of handling the situation, you can leave them to their work. It is a good practice to notice the condition of the home prior to the hiring of a caregiver. You would generally expect to see an improvement in the tidiness of the home as the caregiver settles in to the housekeeping responsibilities. Being the supervisor of the caregiver, you must inspect the quality of their work on a regular basis. If things are not up to your standards, you must communicate this as early as possible to the caregiver. Do not wait until you have a laundry list of things that you are not happy with before approaching the caregiver with your concerns. An avalanche of criticism, all at once, can jeopardize the relationship with the caregiver. Be sure to tell them what they are doing properly in addition to what needs to be improved. Positive feed back is much more effective than negative.

Providing a good work environment.

It is important to remember that caregivers have certain criteria to judge whether they would like to continue to work for you in the future. Providing a safe and pleasant work environment is your responsibility as the employer. If you want to save yourself time and effort from having to find a new caregiver every few weeks/months, you would be wise to see the job from the caregiver’s perspective.

One thing that causes caregiver turnover is inconsistency of schedule and/or duties. Caregivers rely on their hours of work for their income. If you have a tendency to cancel scheduled shifts, you are creating stress and bad will in the caregiver relationship. You will not always know when a caregiver is unhappy with changes in their schedule until it is too late. Another factor in high turnover is expecting the caregiver to complete multiple tasks in an unreasonable time frame. People who push their caregivers too hard, end up pushing them away from the job.

Avoid adding things to the scope of service that is unrelated to caring for a senior or general “light” housekeeping. For example, you should not ask the caregiver to work in the garden, or paint a wall, etc. As a general rule, the caregiver is there to support activities of daily living for the senior, with 20% of time devoted to housekeeping.

Paying caregivers on time, on a weekly basis, is a good practice. Inconsistency or late payment for services is a big challenge to caregiver morale. Poor tracking of work hours is also a big no-no. If you ask the caregiver to stay beyond the initial agreed upon schedule, you need to make sure any additional time is compensated for. A bit of a bonus with a note for a job well done, goes a long way.

In the end, you need to ask yourself “Why would a caregiver choose to work for you instead of someone else at the same pay rate?” If you can’t come up with a few really good reasons, you need to create some. For many caregivers, pay alone is not the deciding factor in whether they will be under your employ for the long term.

I hope this helps with your search for a private hire caregiver.

One of the primary decisions in buying incontinence pants and products is whether to select disposable or reusable styles. Many people find that the answer is to use both, choosing either disposable or reusable according to situation and circumstances.

There are significant advantages to both reusable and disposable incontinence products. A comparison of the two types based on comfort, convenience, effectiveness, and price shows that while both are strong on some points, neither comes out ahead on all counts.

Comfort is a highly individual concept, and whether you consider cloth or disposable products more comfortable will depend to a large extent on what comfort factors you consider most important.

Reusable products are generally made from cotton, flannel, gauze, terrycloth, or similar fabrics and are definitely soft, which can be very important to someone with sensitive skin. Disposable products are rarely as soft as fabric, but because most are made using several absorbent layers designed to wick moisture, they can actually keep skin dryer.

However, unlike reusables that remain intact even when saturated, disposables may break down and clump when wet. Reusable fabrics are cool and breathable, while some find that the nonwoven material used is disposables tends to lead to uncomfortable heat buildup.

Reusable products are made in a wide variety of styles, many of which are virtually indistinguishable from “ordinary” underwear, while disposable undergarments are typically somewhat more bulky. But while reusables may require the use of waterproof pants to guard against leaking, most disposables are made with a waterproof outer layer that makes additional protective garments optional or unnecessary.

Like comfort, convenience is a highly subjective concept. Reusable products are highly absorbent and worn under waterproof pants or other special garments, they can provide an outstanding level of leak protection. However, they offer a lot less flexibility when it comes to changing.

Disposables that can simply be discarded and replaced when wet or soiled can give the wearer a lot of personal freedom to work, travel, or participate in activities. Reusables that require laundering are less practical for those who are away from home or who don’t have easy access to a “soaking pail” or other laundry facilities throughout the day.

Cost is a major factor for anyone purchasing incontinence supplies, and both reusable and disposable have cost advantages. Reusable adult incontinence products can be difficult to find in retail stores are generally more expensive to buy initially, but because they can be used over and over they are very economical in the long run. Disposable products are generally readily available in just about any grocery, drug, or discount store at an affordable price, but because they’re used only once they must be constantly replenished.

Retailers offer big Christmas sales on many of their items right after Thanksgiving. Retailers are trying to encourage shoppers to get out and make some big purchases. Many shoppers wait until the last day to do their Christmas shopping because they know many items will go on sale at this time. The only problem in waiting so late is the selection of gifts are smaller, less to choose from.

While last minute sales can be an excellent way to save money, many shoppers know that doing some of their Christmas shopping at other sales throughout the year can help to spread out the financial burdens and stress that is associated with last minute Christmas shopping.

A big pitfall associated with doing your shopping during big sales events is to get carried away and end up purchasing many items you would not have purchased if they were not on sale. This can be a problem especially if it causes you to exceed the budget you have set for your holiday shopping.

This happens often when shoppers encounter a sale they think is simply too good to pass up. Many shoppers find a discount of more than 50% very appealing. They can be tempted to buy these items when the price has been reduced even though they really have no need for the item.

If you buy something you don’t need you are essentially wasting or losing money. It is very wise to make a list of each person and what you intend to purchase for each and not be tempted by big bargains that you don’t need.

A problem associated with Christmas shopping during big sales is that being hesitant often causes the you to miss out on an item. If you are shopping a big Christmas sale it can be important to be slightly impulsive. You may see an item you think you would like to purchase for someone on your Christmas list and if you don’t buy it right away you can run the risk that it will be gone when you come back later.

When retailers only have a limited quantity of an item they may put the item on sale to make room for other items that sell faster. It is important to remember, when you are Christmas shopping at a big sale, decisions have to be made quickly. You need to decide fast on the purchase of an item as it will likely be sold soon after you leave the store.