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

Thursday, August 31, 2006

New Hampshire Home Health Care-Live Free Home Health Care

Record Enterprise

Live Free Home Health Care is all about living free with dignity

By KERRY L. NORLIN August 24, 2006

NEW HAMPTON - Live Free Home Health Care, LLC, is a newly established medical home health care agency serving the Bristol Lake and Pemi-Baker Valley Regions, Waterville Valley and parts of the Lakes Region. Jason and Jennifer Harvey, co-administrators and owners of Live Free Home Health Care, are passionate about their work and devoted to providing area residents a diversified and complete home care service that fosters independence and dignity.

"It started with an idea that quality of life and health is best served at home and folks from New Hampshire have a sense of independence ingrained in them," explained Jason. "We are a home health care agency, that is what we do; what we provide is independence and dignity to our patients."

As part of their humanitarian-based endeavor, Live Free Home Health Care and their team of skilled nurses, licensed nursing assistants and homemakers offer IV therapy, home health aides, homemaker services, medication and diabetes management, blood draws, private duty professional nursing, pediatric skilled home care, transportation and errands. They also provide respite care to serve family members and caregivers who need a break, which can be individualized using their half day, full day, bed & breakfast and vacation plans. A registered nurse is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Case management is another offering. This service arranges for a registered nurse to accompany patients to their doctor's visit to ensure their needs are being met and their questions answered. The RN will also review treatment plans with the patient as well as with family members and the patient's doctor.

Another important service is block staffing, nursing care provided in the home for as little as two hours per day up to 24 hour coverage. Medicare only covers diagnosis-related short term home health care and Medicaid covers block staffing only if a child requires such care, but Live Free Home Health Care is dedicated to providing block staffing, as they believe it as the single most important service that will allow patients to remain at home and out of nursing and assisted living facilities. Family member caregivers cannot always be there to care for their home-bound loved one, but are also unwilling to relinquish their loved one to a nursing home. Block staffing not only makes it possible for the patient to remain at home, but it also allows their caregivers to provide care when they can and still maintain a normal lifestyle. Furthermore, block staffing is a less expensive alternative to a nursing home.

Jennifer and Jason married in 1998 as students at Southern Illinois University. Jennifer graduated in 1999 with a B.S. in nursing and brings over eight years of nursing experience including working in the surgical and cardiac care unit of an Illinois hospital. Since their move to New Hampshire six years ago, she has worked in a physician's practice and most recently for a home care agency in Laconia. Despite completing his degree in political science, Jason pursued a growing interest in finance and investments. He has subsequently worked for Fidelity, Fleet and most recently as assistant vice president with the Global Wealth and Investment Management group at Bank of America, bringing over eight years of experience in business finance.

The pair found a perfect marriage for their unique talents with the new agency - Jennifer, RN and BSN, as director of patient services and Jason as business and finance manager. Perhaps more important than their professional experience is the vitality, enthusiasm and commitment they bring to the enterprise. They are eager to make a difference not only in the lives of their patients but also in the lives of their staff.

"We appreciate and respect our caregivers. Nursing can be a thankless job. We want our caregivers to truly feel they make a difference, because they do," said Jason.

"We are very careful who we hire. We conduct thorough background checks and everyone is required to participate in an orientation program and observation period to insure they have the competency and skill to work with patients in their homes," explained Jennifer. Reconfirming her husband's conviction, she said, "We want our staff to feel just as appreciated as our patients, and we want their ideas and their feedback."Live Free Home Health Care accepts private pay, select Medicaid plans, and will work with private insurance companies and long term care insurance policies for reimbursement. They are fully insured as a home health care agency and licensed by the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services. To find out more about their services or to discuss your needs, call 346-4214 or 888-346-4214 or e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). You can also visit their Web site at livefreehomehealthcare.com.

Tags:   home health care, Jason Harvey, Jennifer Harvey, Live Free Home Health Care

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Thursday, August 17, 2006

Taking care of an aging loved one -New Hampshire Home Health Care; Live Free Home HealthCare

I recently read an article in the July 2006 issue of Money magazine, written by Penelope Wang. It interested me because it combined two of my interests, financial planning and health care. As anyone who has had to help an ailing parent knows, it can be a difficult situation made more difficult if proper planning has not been done in advance. While never a pleasant topic to discuss, it is important. The article points out that 34 million Americans are caring for an aging loved one. Some warning signs that could tell you that your parents may need help range from a pile of unopened bills or the frequent complaints about the rising costs of gas, groceries, or medicines. Although loved ones may resist the helping hands of a family member, whether out of embarrassment or loss of independence, when there are clear indications that your parents are struggling, you owe it to your family to step in. Problems don’t solve themselves, and left alone they could jeopardize a lifetime of planning. Most people wait too long to take action. With proper planning, you can make the most of available resources. Here are some strategies that that can help:

Simplify things: little things like arranging for direct deposit of social security and pension and dividend payments go a long way. Also consider consolidating bank and investment accounts. Who really needs more than 1 checking, 1 savings, and 1 investment account? Diversity doesn’t mean having accounts all over the place, it means having different types of investments. You can accomplish this with 2 financial institutions at the most, and a lot of times, even just one. Having spent a few years as an investment advisor, I can’t tell you how many times I had to help children of ailing parents try to organize accounts that were spread among a dozen institutions; it can be a real nightmare.

Have your name added to accounts: If your parents are receptive, this can be a huge help. It allows you access to pay bills and get information on the account as well as access to the account if your parents become incapacitated. It is a good idea to check with your parents’ attorney first to make sure this does not conflict with any estate planning they have done, since you would inherit the account.

Hire Help if needed: If you live too far away or simply don’t have the time necessary to provide enough help, professionals trained to help with the elderly could be an option. You could bring in a money manager to help with budgeting, paperwork and bill paying. You can get referrals from the American Association of Daily Money Managers at http://www.aadmm.com. If your parent needs more generalized help with daily life tasks, like house keeping, personal care, or medical problems, consider hiring a geriatric-care manager; this is important especially if you live far away. They can help make sure everyone is on the same page, from you, to the parent, to your parents’ doctors. They can recommend specialists and monitor care. This is one of the services our company, Live Free Home Health Care, offers.

Get it in writing: No one likes to think about mom or dad becoming incapacitated by illness, and it’s an even worse crisis if it happens and you are unable to help, or had to fight for the right to do so because you did not have the legal authority to act on his or her behalf. It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to have a will and a power of attorney drawn up, and that you know where to locate these documents. You hope you never need these documents but there is peace of mind knowing that all the paperwork is in place and drawn up properly.

The Essential Paperwork: 4 documents you should make sure are drawn up

1. Financial checklist-list of assets with account numbers. Any debt should also be listed.
2. Durable power of attorney-This paper is authorizing someone your parents’ trust, to pay their bills and make financial decisions on their behalf if they are no longer able to do so.
3. Advance directives- A health-care proxy authorizes someone to make medical decisions on your parents’ behalf if the can’t do so and a living will makes it clear their wishes in the event that life-sustaining medical care is required.
4. Health-care privacy authorization- if you don’t have one of these, chances are your parents’ doctors’ will not discuss their medical status with you.

It is a good idea to consult with an attorney who specialized in estate planning to assist with these and other items.

Here are some links to other websites were you can get additional information:

• http://www.aadmm.com/
• http://www.findcaremanager.org/
• http://www.benefitscheckup.com/ - screens for the eligibility for programs that help with property taxes, heating bills and other costs.
• http://www.eldercare.gov/ - help with finding services for seniors near where your parents live.
• http://www.caps4caregivers.org/

If you have any questions or would like to explore how we may be able to help please do not hesitate to call us at 603-346-4214.

Jason M. Harvey

Information for this article was obtained from Money Magazine, July 2006. Pp. 86 – 90, by Penelope Wang.

Tags:   Jason Harvey, Live Free Home Health Care

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Thursday, August 03, 2006

Avoid cold and flu’s (New Hampshire Home Health Care, Live Free Home Health Care)

U.S. Consumers spent $3.6 Billion on over-the-counter cold, cough, and flu remedies in 2005

A few steps between the end of August and Mid Sept can help you avoid winter bugs – and the expense it takes to cure them

It’s almost that time of year again, flu and cold season. So it’s time to start building your defenses now. Your immune system needs more protection during winter months, and it takes a few months to boost that protection, says Elson Hass, M.D., author of Staying Healthy with Nutrition. What’s in it for you? Not only improving your odds of avoiding the misery of being sick but also the expense. In 2005 consumers spent over $3.6 billion on over-the-counter drugs, not to mention money lost in unpaid sick days, insurance co-pays, and prescription medications. All of us here at Live Free Home Health Care not only want to see you stay healthy and enjoy a joyous time of year (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years) but we want to see you hold onto more of your hard earned money! So here are some things you can do now to stay on your feet this winter season.

Gauge Your Risk

We have all heard this before: if your immune system is vulnerable, you have a greater chance of getting a pesky bug if you are exposed and it also takes you longer to get over that nagging cold or flu. To find out how at risk you are, answer these five questions:

1. Did you have more than two bouts of cold or flu last year?

2. Do you suffer from allergies? (Boy, I do, year round, drives me crazy!)

3. Do you often feel fatigued?

4. Do you get less than seven hours of sleep a night?

5. Do you notice that wounds take longer to heal than they should?

If you answered yes more than no, the more aggressive you should consider being in trying to build up your defenses. If you said yes to four or five of the questions, it is a good idea to schedule an appointment with your primary care physician for a pre-flu-season checkup, and ask whether you should have a complete blood count test, which shows how many of those wonderful disease-fighting white blood cells you have on guard. Typically your insurance will cover this check-up. If your levels are low your doctor can talk to you about a course of action.

Get Your Guard Up

Increase your chances of staying cold and flu free with this 60 day Rx:

· Get a good nights sleep – Ohio State University recently did a study showing that students who pulled all-nighters had depressed immunity, and this study is just one of many that link lack of sleep to greater chances of illness. If you add as little as 4 hours of sleep a week, it may help says Dr. Haas.

· Eat a Yogurt A Day – I personally love all the health benefits of yogurt. The biggest benefit of yogurt for warding off colds and the flu is a “friendly” bacterium, Lactobacillus acidophilus. It helps stymie the growth of bad germs. It’s found in most yogurts, just check the labels. My favorite is Yoplait, and it comes in many tasty flavors.

· Get Vaccinated – Did you know a flu shot is 90% effective against common strains? You should get a flu shot, especially if you are in a high-risk group such as kids and the elderly. Talk to you doctor or look for a flu clinic in your community, or call us at Live Free Home Health Care, and we will help you find a location for that flu shot, if we aren’t holding our own clinic. If, like me, you hate needles, you could discuss the new nasal vaccine, FluMist.

· Add Some Astragalus – This ancient Chinese herb may prevent colds by helping boost immunity. You can find it at health food stores but it’s good idea to talk to your doctor before using it.

Mount a Swift Defense

If you are struck with a cold or flu, you should act fast to fight it.

· For Colds: Take 1000 mg of Vitamin C and 8mg of zinc, this has been shown to decrease the length of the cold, when taken when symptoms first occur.

· For The Flu: Up to two days after symptoms begin (fever, fatigue, achiness, chills), talk to your doctor about the prescription medications Tamiflu or Relenza. These new antiviral drugs have been effective in shortening the course of the flu by a few days, and getting over the flu a little quicker sounds like a good deal to me!

A few other tips your friends here at Live Free Home Health Care recommend is eating a proper diet, getting plenty of exercise, washing your hands frequently, and even carrying around a small bottle of antibacterial hand lotion. Here’s wishing you a healthy and joyous winter!

Jennifer L. Harvey, RN, BSN

Owner, Director of Patient Services

Live Free Home Health Care

603-346-4214

www.LiveFreeHomeHealthCare.com

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Jason Harvey

Owner, Business and Finance Manager

Live Free Home Health Care

603-346-4214

www.LiveFreeHomeHealthCare.com

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Live Free Home Health Care is a family owned New Hampshire based Medical Home Health Care Company. We offer skilled nursing services in patient homes with the goal of helping them avoid nursing homes and longer term care facilities. We believe that people are most comfortable in their own homes and it promotes physical as well as mental well being. Home Health Care is what we do, Independence and Dignity is what we provide! Call us today or visit our website, www.livefreehomehealthcare.com to find out more about us.

Reference: Money Magazine, Sept. 2006, p.45. Curtis Pesmen.

Tags:   exercise for the elderly

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