Finding care for a parent can present a laundry list of challenges. Perhaps you are suddenly faced with a crisis that requires you to find care for a parent that has become ill, taken a fall, or has become increasingly more confused or forgetful. Where do you begin to find care for a parent?

The first question to answer is what kind of help is needed? Do you need to locate services for short term services such as help following surgery or a rehab center? Or is your parent’s need more long term such as live-in home care following a stroke, or Alzheimer’s? The very first step is to take a deep breath, relax, and make sure you take care of yourself. Without this, you can’t be an effective caregiver.

Regardless of the services your parent needs, you will need to have some general information in order to proceed. Examples of information needed include your parent’s date of birth, social security number, doctor(s) names and numbers, pharmacy name and number, access to or copies of insurance/medicare card(s), and benefits handbooks.

Make a list of all medications your parent is taking, including dosage and frequency. Be sure to include not only prescription medications but over-the-counter drugs such as

aspirin and vitamins. It’s also helpful to create and maintain a list of major illnesses, medical conditions and surgeries. Bring this info with you to all appointments.

Gather family members to discuss your parent’s needs. This meeting is a good opportunity for all family members to express their concerns and facilitate decision making. Be sure your parent’s doctors know who should be the designated contact person.

Find out if your parent has his or her legal documents in order. Has someone been designated to make health care decisions in case your parent is unable to? Has your parent expressed his/her desires for end of live care? These may be difficult topics to broach but can save a great deal of heartache and family turmoil down the road. Some of the documents you want your parent to prepare are a Will, Durable Power of Attorney for finances, and Durable Power of Attorney for health care, and a Living Will. An elder law attorney can help you prepare these documents if they aren’t already done.

You may also find is useful to do a little research on senior care services available. Examples include senior in home care, assisted living, adult day care or long term care. As co-workers, friends and family what are the best around. This will benefit you to familiarize yourself with available services, and will allow your parent a range of options down the road. Gathering information on these services is still useful, even if you are only dealing with a short term crisis. If your parent needs services such as home care or assisted living immediately, you may want to consider hiring a geriatric care manager. This is someone who is licensed and trained in the needs and services related to the geriatric population.

The bottom line advice, become involved. If you are involved in the affairs and care of a parent, you will feel better knowing you are the best caregiver possible because you have done your homework and can advocate with confidence. And don’t forget to take care of yourself!

Sitting down and initiating a discussion with your elderly parents about needing some personal home care can be uncomfortalbe. Many families avoid such conversations about aging, end of life, and finances because they view these topics as private matters. The following tips provide communications strategies that might help with the dialogue of care for parents.

1. Start discussions early-it’s much easier to have these discussions while your parents can be a part of the decision making process, rather than you having to do it for them because of illness or injury.

2. Go in prepared-don’t be surprised to learn that your parents have already thought about the need for personal home care someday. Create a game plan to present to your parents, include siblings and other pertinent relatives, and gather necessary information to share on senior in home care.

3. Explain your purpose-let your parents know you are concerned about them and that your goal is to help them. Your parents will be more responsive to elderly home care if they participate in the dec isions.

4. Take one step at a time-don’t overwhelm your parents by trying to solve too many problems at once. Change comes slowly to many seniors. Tackle the big problems first. Accepting the fact that they need help may take some for your parents to accept.

5. It’s ok to agree to disagree-if your parent’s don’t initially agree with your idea for senior in home care, don’t push too hard. Unless their immediate health or safety are an issue, their wishes should prevail.

6. Don’t give up-if you run into extreme resistance to personal home care on your first attempt…keep trying. Leave some literature for them to read. Be patient and approach the subject again once they’ve had time to disgest the idea.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that destroys brain cells and causes problems with thinking, language and behavior. It is a progressive disease and is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. There is no known cure for Alzheimer’s but promising new treatments are on the horizon. Until a cure is found,families across the world are dealing with and seeking care for parents with Alzheimer’s. Some senior assistance is provided in the home whole many are also provided in assisted living facilities.

September 21st is World Alzheimer’s Day. This is a day when the Alzheimer’s Association and other organizations around the world unite efforts to spread awareness about Alzheimer’s and its effect on Alzheimer’s sufferers and their families, and to raise funds. The first World Alzheimer’s Day was on September 21, 1994.

There are several things each of us can do this year on World Alzheimer’s Day. The Alzheimer’s Association is suggesting one or more of the following ideas:

1. Write Congress-your voice matters. Tell lawmakers to increase research funding.

2. Casual for a Cause-Employers can encourage employees to dress down on World Alzheimer’s Day for a small donation(usually $50 to the Alzheimer’s Association.  Free kits are available to employers through the Alzheimer’s Association.

3. Tailgate to Tackle Alzheimer’s-You and your friends can tailgate to support your team and collect donations for the Alzheimer’s Association. You can tailgate at a stadium, local sports bar, or even in your own living room. Get a free Tailgate to Tackle kit from the Alzheimer’s Association.

4. Shop for the Cause-Visit the Alheimer’s Association website and shop online for apparel and other Alzheimer’s related products to show your support and raise funds for research programs and Alzheimer’s care.

5. Memory Walk-Join or create a team in your area for the annual Memory Walk to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research. This year’s goal is to form 30,000 teams. There are currently 21,155 teams formed. Visit the Alheimer’s website for more information on joining or creating your own team.

Visit the Alzheimer’s Association website at http://www.alz.org/index.asp

The term hospice is rooted in the idea of  offering “hospitality” such as shelter and a place to rest, to sick and weary travelers. It became a term applied to specialized care for dying patients in 1967 by Dame Cicely Saunders at St. Christopher’s Hospice in London.

The philosophy of hospice to accept death as the final stage of life. Hospice care today offers help to people during the last phases of an incurable disease so that they can live as comfortably as possible.

Hospice care treats the patient, not the disease and focuses on quality of life rather than quantity. In addition to caring for the patient, hospice involves the family members, providing support and involvement in making decisions.

The services of hospice are provided through a team approach. The hospice team consists of professionals and volunteers. Core services provided include medical, nursing, counseling and social services. In addition, necessary medication and medical equipment are provided. The medical staff provides direct care to the patient and they teach the family to care for the patient between visits if care is provided in the patient’s home. Home health services provide the bathing, toileting and household chores related to the patient. The role of the social worker is to provide the emotional support needed by the patient and the family. Clergy provide spiritual services. Hospice volunteers are available to provide companionship to the patient and give the family support, while others volunteer their time in the office or for fundraising.

The overwhelming majority of hospice patients receive personal care in their homes. Other patients may use a hospital-based hospice service. Some hospitals have a designated hospice unit while others have hospice caregivers visit and care for the patient on any of the nursing units within the hospital , long term care facility, or assisted living facility.

The biggest myth about hospice is that people believe hospice is for people who haven given up or that there’s no hope. By believing these myths, people are depriving themselves of the care and support that improves the quality of life with hospice. Many family members that provide care for parent orcare for a loved one on hospice view their efforts as one final gift to their loved one.

Senior long term care options have increased exponentially as the baby boomers continue to age.  This is a wonderful thing as it creates more options for seniors as they grow older. Assisted living is one area that provides senior care services and has grown in popularity. While the increased senior care options are nice, they also create a problem. How do you know which facilities provide the best care for parents?

One answer is Assisted Living Reviews. There are a few companies and individuals that perform reviews for senior long term care facilities. Geriatric care managers often do this service for their clients and often do an excellent job. The only draw back is that it can be rather expensive. CareGrade offers free assistance along with assisted living reviews for their clients to help them make an informed decision when choosing care.

If you are looking for long term care for seniors, you should consider researching the facilities and including reviews.

Senior long term care options are growing exponentially as the baby boomers continue to age.  This is a wonderful thing as it creates more options for seniors as they grow older. Assisted living is one area that provides senior care services and has grown in popularity. While the increased senior care options are nice, they also create a problem. How do you know which facilities provide the best care for parents?

One answer is Assisted Living Reviews. There are a few companies and individuals that perform reviews for senior long term care facilities. Geriatric care managers often do this service for their clients and often do an excellent job. The only draw back is that it can be rather expensive. CareGrade offers free assistance along with assisted living reviews for their clients to help them make an informed decision when choosing care.

If you are looking for long term care for seniors, you should consider researching the facilities and including reviews.

If finding care for a parent or spouse seems like a daunting task, seek the help of a professional senior care advisor. Care Grade is here to help. Care Grade is a free referral service designed to assist you find care for parent or spouse, whether it’s senior  in home care, assistant living or day care. Care Grade has experienced, compassionate advisors ready to assist you in choosing the best care for your parent or spouse. Advisors at Care Grade are familiar with and have reviewed companies in your local area and help guide you in deciding which type of care is best for  your loved one. You will also be able to read reviews by families like yours that have used the companies for their parent or spouse so you can make a choice with confidence. Don’t go it alone, seek the help of a free, professional senior care advisor. www.caregrade.com