Live Free Home Health Care, LLC. - Bristol, New Hampshire

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Wednesday, January 04, 2012

How to Be an Effective Family Caregiver

To be an effective caregiver, you must first care for yourself. If you reduce your burdens and keep a healthy balance for yourself, you will be in a better position to care for your loved one.

In addition to respite care for those much needed breaks, join a caregiver support group in your area to be able to share your thoughts, feelings and information with others in similar circumstances. Explore community resources such as adult daycare centers, in-home respite care and meal delivery services. This will provide free time for errands and personal time as well as providing health monitoring, transportation, nursing care and therapeutic recreation for the care recipient.

Tips to Reduce Caregiver Burn-Out

• Don't take it personally. Remind yourself that any emotionally hurtful behavior on the part of your loved one is a result of illness.

• Take time out to do fun things like taking an exercise class or going on day trips every now and then.

• If friends can't come over, and it is impossible to leave the care situation, take time each day for a phone conversation with a friend or family member. Even a brief chat can lift spirits.

• Set limits for yourself. Let your loved one know what you are capable of giving in terms of time and assistance. You don't need to be confrontational. Simply ask for what you need in ways that honor yourself and others. Use ‘I' statements.

• Engage in hobbies or favorite pastimes.

• Quiet your mind through soothing music, prayer, meditation or relaxation.

• Focus on finding one activity a day that brings enjoyment to you. Respite does not have to mean leaving home; it can be taking a momentary break to do something positive.

• Eat nutritious meals. Don't give in to stress-driven urges for sweets or drink too much alcohol.

• Get enough sleep. If kept up at night, try a nap during the day to make up some sleep.

• Listen and communicate carefully with doctors, seek second opinions and monitor medication schedules.

• A missed medication or incorrect diagnosis can wreak havoc on stress levels. Be a constant advocate for your loved one.

Live Free Home Health Care of Concord, New Hampshire is here to offer further guidance and options that can give you a well-deserved break. If you're looking for a partner in home care in the Lakes Region or Central New Hampshire, contact us today at 603-217-0149, and let us help make your life a little easier.

Tags:   caregiver, family caregivers

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Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Risk Factors for Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is, sadly, a real problem, one that often goes undetected. However, there are signs to watch out for to help you notice and prevent abuse from happening. When a senior is placed in the care of either a family member or a professional caregiver, it is important to fully understand not only the caregiver's background and personality, but also that of the senior. If you are considering placing a loved one in home care, there are several factors to be aware of that may put elderly individuals at a higher risk for elder abuse. Family members and caregivers should be aware of the following risk factors:

 Dependency: A senior dependent on others for care may be reluctant to speak up about any abuse because they do not feel safe reporting their abuser due to the dependency.

 Decreased physical health and mobility: Dementia, Alzheimer’s and/or increased dependency for assistance with the activities of daily living may raise an elder’s risk of being abused. The elder may not be capable of explaining or verbalizing the abuse.

 The elder was at one time an abusive parent or spouse: In many cases the perpetrators of elder abuse were once abused themselves, creating a cycle of abuse.

 Social isolation: Isolation is often the result of deaths of contemporaries, spouses, siblings and friends. Abusers often try to keep an elder isolated by:

◦ Refusing to apply for economic aid or services

◦ Resisting outside help

◦ Changing social and healthcare providers frequently to make it difficult to assess the elder's situation

◦ Keeping family and friends from having contact with the elder

 Caregiver burnout: An overworked caregiver can become depressed and stressed, causing him or her to lash out at the elder he or she is caring for.

As a family member of a loved one in care, be mindful of these risk factors, call and/or check in on the senior as often as possible, and play an active role in his or her care. As a caregiver, be aware of signs of burn out—frustration, depression, despair—and seek help for ways to safely deal with these feelings.

Live Free Home Health Care of Central New Hampshire can help you and your loved ones learn about and prevent elder abuse. Our respite care program is there to assist caregivers, giving them the break that they need, while providing quality care to their loved ones. Call us today to find out more.

Tags:   caregiver, elder abuse, exploitation

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Thursday, May 26, 2011

4 Steps to Family Caregiver Empowerment

Do you ever feel as a family caregiver that your life is spinning out of your control and there is nothing you can do to stop it? There are four core steps family caregivers can take every day to ease this feeling and empower themselves to act on behalf of themselves and their loved ones.

Print out these steps as a daily reminder:

1. Believe in yourself: Trust your instincts.

2. Protect your health: Your loved one’s wellbeing depends on it.

3. Reach out for help: Family caregiving is a job for more than one person.

4. Speak up for your rights: It doesn’t have to be this hard.

A Caregiver Warning: Neglecting yourself puts the care recipient at risk.

Taking time for yourself will also benefit your care recipient.

Live Free Home Health Care offers respite care to provide family members with some time off and peace of mind knowing that their family member is being well cared for. This allows for a more healthy family relationship and time for the caregiver to focus on his or her own personal needs. Providing in-home care services in Concord, New Hampshire and the rest of the Lakes region and Central New Hampshire, contact us today to learn more about how we can assist.

Tags:   caregiver, family caregivers

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Thursday, May 12, 2011

Are You in Danger of Caregiver Burn-out?

In a society constantly on the go, it isn’t a stretch to start thinking of stress as a normal part of everyday living. This is especially so if you are a full-time family caregiver. However, the effects of long term exposure to stress can wreak havoc on a person’s mind and body. It is important to recognize if you are in danger of experiencing caregiver burn-out and seek outside help if needed. Take a look at some of the questions below to help determine if caregiver burn-out may be in your future:

Have you given up favorite activities or hobbies?

Are you developing back pain, headaches, daily fatigue, and/or depression?

Are you getting sick more than usual?

Is your temper shorter than normal in public or with friends and family?

Do you lash out at your loved one when he or she behaves erratically or becomes difficult?

Are your other emotions more touchy than usual? Are you experiencing despair or crying for little or no reason?

Have you gained or lost weight unintentionally?

Do you suffer from lack of sleep or chronic insomnia?

If you answered yes to several of the above questions, you may be in danger of caregiver burn-out and it is time to seek help. Contact Live Free Home Health Care in Concord for respite care and community resources that can help you take a break from caregiving responsibilities. At the same time, you can experience peace of mind knowing that your family member is being well cared for. This allows for a more healthy family relationship and necessary time for you to focus on some of your personal needs.

For further home care solutions for family caregivers, click here.

Tags:   caregiver, family caregivers, private duty agencies

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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Looking for a Home Care Bargain?

Beware: Some types of care hide expensive implications

As the economy struggles, it’s hard to avoid the sordid stories of scammers and criminals preying on the weak and vulnerable. When it comes to the frail elderly, the stories of exploitation are doubly unsettling. For those whose loved ones are cared for in their own homes, some dark questions may linger: Are you inadvertently putting your loved ones at risk? Who are you inviting into your loved ones’ homes to care for them? How do you ensure their safety and wellbeing in home care situations that are mostly unsupervised care settings?

Live Free Home Health Care is raising awareness and educating the local community about various home care options as well as potential risks and liabilities associated with hiring an independent contractor or using a registry for home care. While everyone likes a bargain, especially in tough financial times, when it comes to home care, selecting the cheapest price for care can result in some very expensive implications.

There are several models of in-home care providers, and their similarities and differences can be confusing. We believe it is important for people to be armed with information on the different types of home care. Registries, also known as referral services or nursing registries, match independent contractors to clients and patients. In these cases, the registry serves as the middle man to match independent workers to clients seeking home care but these workers are not actually employed by the registry. Private duty agencies, like Live Free Home Health Care, provide caregivers who are employed, bonded, insured and licensed. Such agencies do the accounting, background checks, provide training, supervision and discipline, carry insurance and ensure shifts are covered.

Though at first glance, the hourly rate for an independent provider or a registry caregiver may seem substantially lower than an agency-employed caregiver, it is good to note that there are a number of unexpected or hidden issues that consumers and workers face when dealing with workers who are not already employed. One major issue is that there is an employer-employee relationship that is created in most of the care situations – between the worker and the consumer, the frail elderly person receiving the care. Unfortunately, in most cases, the frail elderly person and/or their family are not aware of this. Referring registries and independent contractors often don’t communicate to the consumer that this arrangement could result in the creation of an employee-employer relationship. Because of this, both the worker and consumer can suffer significant financial liabilities.

A Taxing Complication

When the consumer is considered the employer of the home care worker, the consumer is responsible for the appropriate employer-paid Social Security, Medicare, federal and state unemployment, and state and federal payroll taxes for the worker. If these taxes are left unpaid, the government has the option to assess the consumer or their estate for back taxes, interest and penalties as well as potential civil fines and criminal penalties, should the situation be severe.

Hurt on the Job

Workers’ compensation protection is required by law in nearly every state, and it may be surprising to learn that homeowner’s insurance does not typically cover an employee in the home. If a worker sustains an on-the-job accident, such as a back injury from lifting or transferring a frail person, the medical costs and disability payments for that worker could cause financial hardship for even a very wealthy client. Then if the consumer is unable to pay, the worker could be left with no help for a devastating injury.

Beware of Abuse and Exploitation

Most workers who enter the home care industry are caring, giving people. Unfortunately, there are also those who know that it is very easy to take advantage of frail, functionally limited, often cognitively impaired clients. Registries usually do not perform background investigations on the caregivers they place, and by law, they are not allowed to monitor or supervise them since the worker is not an employee of the registry. In hiring an independent contractor, the background check process would fall on the family or the frail elderly person receiving the care. This lack of thorough screening could subject clients to physical, psychological or financial abuse. A good home care agency does perform a variety of background screenings, as well as ongoing supervision, scheduling and worker training to their caregivers. Plus, the agency provides ongoing monitoring in the home as an additional safety measure.

No Guarantees

What would happen if a consumer’s registry caregiver or independent contractor did not show up for work, or wanted to take a vacation, or was sick? With an agency, consumers do not need to worry, because the agency will provide a replacement caregiver for the consumer.

In short, it is very important to understand the risks and liabilities associated with hiring an independent contractor or a registry before making a decision for care. This knowledge may well save a frail elderly person from an unfortunate, and preventable, experience.

For further information on the risks and liabilities associated with hiring home care, please call us at 603-217-0149 or visit http://www.livefreehomehealthcare.com.

About Live Free Home Health Care, LLC:

Serving the Lakes Region and central New Hampshire, Live Free Home Health Care, LLC is dedicated to providing top quality care in the comfort of home as an alternative to assisted living facilities or nursing homes. Family owned and operated, Live Free Home Health Care offers a wide range of services, from companion care and assistance with activities of daily living to skilled nursing, and all care is supervised and updated by a registered nurse. Live Free Home Health Care also offers medical alert systems to provide extra peace of mind should an emergency care need arise. Whether the need is for short or long term care, Live Free Home Health Care’s compassionate staff promises to treat each client respectfully and like a cherished family member. For further information, contact (603) 217-0149 or visit http://www.LiveFreeHomeHealthCare.com.

Tags:   caregiver, exploitation, home care, in-home care providers

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