YOUR CAREGIVER STRESS ASSESSMENT

The Stress Assessment Tool, available at http://www.caregiverstress.com/assessment.html was designed by eldercare and caregiver stress experts to evaluate the impact that your family caregiving responsibilities and other lifestyle factors has upon your personal stress levels.

Questions included on the questionnaire consider the amount of time you spend caring for a senior, your proximity to the senior, the type of assistance your care recipient requires, the assistance you receive from friends and family, the impact your responsibilities have upon your relationship with a loved one, the impact upon your immune system, changes in your sleep patterns, and effects upon your mood and family.

Once you have completed the series of short questions included on the questionnaire, it provides feedback upon your personal situations and provides recommendations on what might make your responsibilities more manageable.

All outcomes of the Stress Assessment Tool do mention the benefits that non-medical senior care can have upon your own well-being as a caregiver; however, the quantity required, from a few hours per week, to many hours a day, may vary dependent upon your personal and family situation.

The results page also provides additional resources for caregivers, which provide both tips and information about various senior ailments, caregiver stress, and further information about non-medical senior care and Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston.

Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston & Bay Area - please call (281-484-0200.

Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston & Bay Area - please call (281-484-0200. 

Southeast Houstonians - Legally prepare the appropriate documentation to address your medical care and distribute your assets after death.

A Last Will and Testament is meant to dictate wishes after death, with regards to a division of assets and finances, disposal of their body, and appoint guardianship for minor children. There are a number of varieties that can be prepared, but the most efficient is a Simple Will, which can divide assets amongst any number of individuals.

Preparing a will of this type also ensures that if you have debts, your loved ones are protected, because creditors cannot attempt to collect from the beneficiaries once assets have already been transferred.

Unfortunately, many people do not even think about creating a will, until a tragedy hits; however, can be developed at any point after an individual has turned 18. This is the best way to ensure that seniors have a voice even once they are no longer physically able to speak, or from beyond the grave. It also alleviates the additional pressure from loved ones in having to deal with legal issues on top of coping with the death of an important person in their lives.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/25914/creating_a_legal_will.html?page=2&cat=17

SENIORS PREPARING FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES

Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston & Bay Area - please call (281-484-0200. 

As a geriatric nurse, working in a busy hospital, I unfortunately witness the challenges faced by families when a loved one falls ill or dies tragically; while it is a difficult and trying time in itself, it is only made more difficult when their loved one has not legally prepared the appropriate documentation to address their medical care or distribute their assets after death.

If the senior has not created a Living Trust or Last Will and Testament, decisions cannot be legally left to a family member, and fall to the jurisdiction of the government; who unaware of the individual’s wishes, may not make decisions that are consistent with those of the party in question.

The purpose of a Living Testament (also referred to as a Living Will) documents an individuals wishes with regards to medical care, once a situation occurs where they are unable to voice their own desires. It can appoint a Power of Attorney for Health Care, who then has the authority to make decisions that relate to care that are not listed on the document, and can include wishes with regards to long-term care, resuscitation etc.

Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston - 281-484-0200.

If you are retired, have time on your hands, and would like to give back.. this may be your opportunity to give back or simply give to aging Houston Seniors needing help after Ike.

Employment isn’t the only way to put your skills to work.  Perhaps you would be just as happy volunteering.  If you’re a member of a professional organization, or if you were affiliated with organizations during your career, contact them for information about how to use your background to serve in your community.

Why not consider doing something totally different from your occupation?  How about working with seniors?  Volunteer at a local hospital or care facility.

Or combine a desire to serve seniors with an employment opportunity.  For instance, companies like us, Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston hire predominately older adults to work as CAREGivers for other seniors.   Older employees make perfect companions for others of the same age, or older.

Call us at 281-484-0200 to learn more. Thank you!

Contracting, Volunteering Options for Active Seniors

Question from a local senior living in Clear Lake, Southeast Houton -  I’m a 65 year old retiree who had a successful 35 year career.  I really love retirement, but I would like to work some.  After the hurricane, I was hoping to help seniors or elders in Houston who might be needing some care. Do you have any suggestions?

Southeast Houston salutes people like you who step forward in time of need. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t continue to work, if that’s what you enjoy.

Have you thought about putting your talents to work as a self-employed contractor or consultant, perhaps in a home-based business?  Technological advances and the internet have made it easier than ever to work from home as an independent free agent. 

Free agents cannot perform every kind of work. But the U.S. Department of Labor says that nearly 10 million workers, 7.5 percent of the workforce, describe themselves as self-employed, according to AARP.
Among the advantages of self-employment are a flexible schedule and an independent work environment. 

On the other hand, as a consultant you could end up working more hours than you want.  And remember that you must be responsible for your own taxes and other benefits, since you are basically your own boss.  So you’ll need to carefully weigh the pros and cons.  Contact AARP at www.aarp.org for more information about being a free agent.

Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston - 281-484-0200.

Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston - 281-484-0200.

The past few days have devastated our lives… those of us effected by Ike. Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston sends good wishes and speedy recovery to our neighbors, friends, family caregivers, seniors and elders through-out southeast Texas.

http://www.beloblog.com/KHOU_hurricane/ - Please visit this website blog for current, up-to-date information about local cities near Houston, Texas.

The Red Cross has developed Safe & Well Program for area citizens who need to contact friends or relatives to give/seek post Hurricane Ike status reports.

People are encouraged to:

1) Call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767)
2) Visit the Safe & Well Program located on their website at: www.redcross.org

Some Clear Lake evacuees can come back
Three zip code area within Harris County are now safe to return home. All are within the Clear Lake area.

Food safety information

All households should be cautious of food in home freezers and refrigerators during times without electricity. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines advise consumers that if a freezer is fully stocked and the door remains closed, the content of the freezer will usually be safe for about two days. If the freezer is half-full, the content will be safe for about 24 hours.

A properly working refrigerator should keep food safely cold for about four hours after a power outage, if the door is kept closed. Any perishable food including meat, poultry, fish or eggs that has been above 40 °F for two hours or more should be discarded.

Standard refrigerated food should be kept at or below 40 ˚F. Frozen food should remain around 0 ˚F. When power resumes, consumers should check the temperature in their freezer and refrigerator or each food package via a thermometer to ensure safety. Consumers should not rely on appearance or odor.

The FDA advises: when in doubt, throw it out. For more information, go to: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsdisas.html.

Kroger stores filling prescriptions
Kroger stores that are open will give customers a few days supply of their necessary prescriptions. When the store can reach CVS or Walgreens to confirm, they will give you the rest of the prescription.

Creativity Can Help Seniors Enjoy Fun in the Sun

So it’s 90 degrees in the shade.  There’s no way that you want to go outdoors, let alone suggest that your aging relatives go outside, right?  Extreme heat can, in fact, be limiting and dangerous for seniors.  Here are some tips from the American Red Cross about the how you can help your elder avoid heat illness. 

This month we talked with a senior, an 83-year-old man who still enjoys fun in the sun, about what he does to keep active and safe outdoors.  Here are some suggestions that he shared:

• Go early—If you enjoy outdoor sports, go early in the day before the sun’s heat intensifies.  Alter your activities for the time of the season as well.  For instance, fish in the early summer, or closer to fall—when temperatures are not as extreme. 
• Garden late—Do your gardening and watering later in the day while the sun is going down.  Or, pick an early-morning time when temperatures are still tolerable.
• Protect your skin—Wear a hat.  Dress in light-colored, light-weight cotton clothing that covers arms and legs, and put plenty of sun screen on body parts exposed to the elements.
• Scale down— If you’ve always fished from a boat, try bank fishing.  Play one game of tennis instead of three.  Or garden by tomatoes and herbs in pots on the deck. Your area senior center or parks and recreation department may sponsor summer group activities for older adults, such as fishing and gardening clubs. 

Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston - 281-484-0200.

“The campaign is called the 40-70 Rule which means that if you’re 40, or your parents are 70, it’s time to start the conversation about these difficult topics,” said Home Instead Senior Care Co-Founder and CEO Paul Hogan. Please call us for elder care help in Southeast Houston, Pasadena, Friendswood, Webster at 281-484-0200.

“Because of this parent-child role obstacle, adult children may wait until an emergency or crisis happens before talking to parents,” Hogan said. “Our goal with the 40-70 campaign is to provide practical ways for adult children to talk to their parents now. We’ve seen lack of communication lead to various problems such as misuse of medications, self neglect, even accidents.”

A Free Guide

At the center of the 40-70 Rule campaign is a guide of conversation starters for sensitive aging-related subjects, which is available free from your local Home Instead Senior Care office.

The guide was compiled with the assistance of nationally known author Jake Harwood, Ph.D., a communication professor from the University of Arizona and the former director of the school’s Graduate Program in Gerontology.

Original Home Instead Senior Care research forms the foundation for the guide. In general, the survey found that Boomers have the most difficulty talking with their parents about independence related issues, such as older adults continuing to live in their own homes.

Most parents’ desire to remain independent makes it challenging for their adult children to address sensitive issues such as health (28 percent) and money (21 percent). The fact that many of these families still communicate according to a parent-child paradigm rather than a peer-to-peer one makes the conversations even more difficult.

Communication is Key

“Communication is the core of our social lives,” Harwood said. “Without caring, effective communication, none of our relationships would survive.” Harwood and Hogan agree that good communication also helps seniors adapt to changing life circumstances, and it enables families to know when it’s time to seek additional resources. Often, both adult children and their loved ones can benefit from outside help, such as that provided by Home Instead CAREGivers,” said Hogan. “But the only way that will happen is if they can talk about it.”

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care’s survey, go to http://www.4070talk.com.

How to Talk to Parents about Needing More Help at Home - Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston - giving seniors more help at home. Call us at 281-484-0200.

The problems of aging often leave family caregivers speechless. What does an adult daughter say to her dad when he’s hit a light pole with the car? How does a grown son ask his mom if she’s taking her medications like she should? And how do adult siblings approach their parents about needing more help at home? Professionals who work with seniors regularly see families perplexed by these issues.

Sensitive issues like these prompted Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston to launch a public education campaign designed to help family caregivers bridge the communication gap when it comes to discussing sensitive subjects with senior family members.

Research-Based

The campaign is based upon original research conducted in the U.S. and Canada by Home Instead Senior Care, which revealed that nearly one-third of adults in the U.S. have a major communication obstacle with their parents that stems from continuation of the “parent-child role.”* In other words, it can be difficult for many Baby Boomers to initiate this type of conversation because senior parents may still be dealing with their grown sons or daughters as if they’re still children, rather than mature adults. Visit us soon to learn more.

Running Can Help Prevent Disability - Continuing from post date September 3..

Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston & Bay Area - 281-484-0200.

Disability levels were lower in runners at all time points and increased in both groups over time, but less so in runners.  At the end of the 21-year follow-up, in terms of disability, “the higher levels among controls translate into important differences in overall daily functional limitations,” the authors write. “Disability and survival curves continued to diverge between groups after the 21-year follow-up as participants approached their ninth decade of life.”

If your father is healthy and your doctor says it’s O.K., there’s no reason why he shouldn’t continue to run.  Your concern could really be the stress that you’re seeing on your dad since he began caring for your mother. 

Why not suggest that he arrange for some respite care.  A CAREGiver from Home Instead Senior Care could assist with a variety of tasks around your parent’s house, from meal preparations, medication reminders and light housekeeping to errands and shopping.  A little extra help could keep your dad in running shape for years to come.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care Southeast Houston & Bay Area - please call (281-484-0200. 

For more information about this study, log on to http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/jaaj-ora080708.php.