As our nation gathers for Thanksgiving today, we know there are many things to be thankful for. At LeanOnWe, we are always grateful for the opportunity to help others and we are always thankful to those who serve our nation.
Be sure to take time to properly assess your care needs so you can make the best choice for your family when hiring an at-home caregiver for yourself or someone you love.
If you don’t have a holiday pay plan in place with your caregiver, this season is a good time to decide whether you’ll offer holiday pay throughout the year.
For many of us, a week does not go by without someone raising the topic of home care for an aging parent. The path to resolution is a long one. Parents are often resistant, or even in denial. Grown children are worried about safety, hygiene, driving, or having enough food in the fridge.
For seniors and their adult children, the family home may be a source of comfort, safety, and happy memories. So it’s easy to understand the appeal of aging in place. Still, your senior’s safety has to be your top priority. If you’re not sure whether your parent can be safe at home – let alone what you need to do to make it happen – start by asking these three questions.
There’s a lot to consider when your senior chooses to age in place. In recent blogs we’ve explored many ways you can provide safe transportation, stay on top of home safety and maintenance, and help your senior avoid loneliness.
We are often so busy worrying about the cost of a caregiver’s salary that we often neglect to consider the other costs related to having someone in your home caring for a parent or elderly relative. The expenses are minor compared with the commitment you made to paying a qualified caregiver, but they need to be considered and accounted for when calculating the total financial commitment to in-home.
Many seniors want to age in place. With so many other aspects of their lives changing – due to declining health, decreased mobility, or dementia, for example – they long for the familiarity of their homes and neighborhoods. Shopping in the same stores, visiting the same salon, or attending the same church or synagogue helps maintain a sense of normalcy during this uncertain period in their lives.
Many families don’t realize how much a loved one’s health has deteriorated until a fall sends her to the hospital. Falls are one of the most common, and most serious, health issues among seniors. And the resulting injuries can dramatically alter a senior’s quality of life.
Thank you very much to all who sponsored my fourth A Walk to Believe this month -- it was a big success in raising much-needed funding for spinal cord research and you helped recognize me as the top fundraiser once again!
Ron Gold, who founded LeanOnWe in 2015 after a tragic bicycling accident left him permanently paralyzed, became a Doctor of Humane Letters at Monmouth College's 2019 commencement.
Whether you stepped in to help an elderly relative out of love, a sense of responsibility, or financial necessity, caregiving can sometimes feel like a burden – even for the most devoted family members. What frequently starts as a small role, perhaps doing some grocery shopping or cleaning, often becomes much more demanding over time.