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  • Fingerprint Background Checks Are a Must for Caregivers

    Aug 19th, 2016

    If you’ve ever watched a crime drama, this scene is probably familiar. A beat cop hustles a criminal into the police station for booking. The intake officer records his name, takes a mug shot, tells him to empty his pockets—and then asks for his Social Security number. Right?

    Wrong. As every crime drama from Hill Street Blues to CSI has taught us, when someone is arrested for a crime, it’s the fingerprint that links them to it forever.  So why do some home care agencies rely only on Social Security numbers when screening caregivers? 

  • In-Home Care vs Assisted Living: Making the Best Choice for Your Senior

    Aug 10th, 2016

    More and more seniors prefer to age in place, and flexible in-home care options are readily available. Yet some families may still find providing in-home care overwhelming, and many seniors enjoy living with their peers in an assisted living community. With so many factors to consider, how do you determine whether in-home care or assisted living is best for your parent? Ultimately, the choice is a personal one. 

  • Downsizing Your Parents’ Home: Resources and Benefits

    Aug 3rd, 2016

    If your parents are older baby boomers, it’s probably time to start talking about their future living arrangements. Though your parent may feel protective of his independence and resist downsizing to a smaller home, doing so may actually allow him to live independently longer. Plus, downsizing typically has financial benefits too.

  • 5 Simple Ways to Help Your Senior Trust a New Caregiver

    Jul 12th, 2016

    Some seniors, particularly those in the early stages of dementia, may have a hard time trusting anyone other than the family member they rely on most.  Yet being solely responsible for an elder’s care can quickly become a heavy burden for that family caregiver -- no matter how loving and committed he or she may be. Reliance on a single caregiver isn’t in the senior’s best interests either, since it can lead to isolation and in some cases, may even increase the risk of elder abuse.

  • Don’t Underestimate the Power of Touch

    Jun 28th, 2016

    If you care for an aging parent, you’ve probably put considerable effort into making sure her home is safe and she has appropriate medical care. You may also keep an eye on her nutrition and help her get some exercise. Of course you want to provide whatever she needs to be as healthy as possible. But have you thought about touch?

  • Want Your Life Back? There’s No Need to Feel Guilty

    Jun 27th, 2016

    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.

     

  • How to Make Home Safe After a Hospital Visit

    Jun 2nd, 2016

    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.

  • Reuniting with the Trauma Surgeon Who Saved My Life -- Twice

    May 31st, 2016

    It has been more than 3 years since I’ve seen the trauma surgeon who saved my life -- not once, but twice. In the first few months following the bicycling accident that left me a paraplegic, she was the thread that held it all together. Not only did I rely on her, but I easily connected with her and held onto her every word during my 51 days in the Intensive Care Unit at Hackensack University Medical Center. She has that kind of hold on people.

  • 3 Practical Success Strategies for Family Caregivers

    May 26th, 2016

    Though providing care for an aging parent may start as a sprint, it often becomes a marathon. Perhaps an injury or illness sends you scrambling for emergency care, but you soon realize that your senior won’t recover fully. Instead, she’ll need ongoing and likely, increasing, care. Or maybe you get a bit more warning; you notice your parent’s declining health and put a care plan in place over several months.

  • Even in a Wheelchair, Everyone Wants to Know What Sport I Play

    May 24th, 2016

    From the moment I arrived at the rehab hospital to learn how to live with paralysis, people were asking me what sort of adaptive sport I’d get involved in. Though it seemed like a given to everyone else, for me it was anything but. I was in no frame of mind to think about shooting hoops or racing in a wheelchair while sprawled out on a hospital bed, a dazed and scrawny paraplegic who couldn’t sit up without help.

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