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Sunday, December 22, 2024 |
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I thought we'd start out this issue by giving you some listings of Support Groups. We cannot stress to you how important it is to attend a support group, whether it is attended online or in person. No one will understand you and what you are going through like someone who is going through it or has already gone through it. I want to start out with a letter and links from a great friend, Mina/Jan. She has Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease (EOAD) and is determined to fight with all her might the devastation this brings on her as well as others. I include these links so that you can pass them on to anyone you know who has EOAD. We are so proud of you Mina and will do anything to help you and the mission you are on. Here's her letter: Yes, we are very excited
about our new organization too. We as dementia patents are slowly
finding each others support and understanding through the
Internet. Having connected with each other in Coping With
Personal Memory Loss
CWPML
( www.egroups.com/group/CWPML), cussing, discussing and despairing over the
inadequacies provided for the dementia patient we decided to stop
grousing and do something positive for ourselves. Mina - So.
California Jan/Mina's Home Page come visit ;) Live Discussion Groups: Schedule for August Here are the topics and dates for the rest of August. We host our discussion groups every Wednesday and Thursday night. Remember, we will be giving out several free caregiving books to attendees of the chat sessions, so please come on by. We have had many first-time chatters over the last few weeks and I have seen most of them come back for more. The chat room is remarkably easy to navigate, so don't let that stop your from finding like-minded caregivers. Access the chatroom from the front page at http://www.ec-online.net, or the ElderCare Community Center. August 23 (Wednesday 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM EST) August 24 (Thursday 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM EST) August 30 (Wednesday 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM EST) August 31 (Thursday 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM EST) Transcripts from previous discussion groups are posted in the ElderCare Community Center at http://www.ec-online.net/Community/communit.htm. Kind Regards, Hi Gang! Chat Schedule For
allHealth Support Groups Tuesday Evenings from 8 pm EST to 9 pm in Positive Reflections for The Caring for Elderly Loved Ones. Friday Evenings from 9pm EST to 10 pm in Health Conference. After both Chats on Tuesdays and Fridays those people still wishing to chat may go to a private room to continue: csg Community Extends Beyond The Walls Of The Community Hospital Home care is a topic that has received much attention primarily in regards to Medicare investigation of allegations of fraud. The real crime attached to the concept of Home Care is that the members of our respective Communities don't understand what Home Care is all about, or what benefits they actually have under Medicare Home Care coverage. What is even worse, they do not know the many different options available to them regarding Home Care services. We are a Geriatric Consulting and Home Care Company located in Pennsylvania. We have existed in the same location for over ten years. We are there to service the members of this particular community. To this day, we, and therefore the services we provide are ignored by the Hospital Community. This is evidenced by the comments we so often hear from people who acquire our services; comments such as, "Oh I never knew you existed; where were you five years ago when I really needed help with my mother; why didn't the hospital tell me about you?" The point is that we have been in this community, and are not known the way we should be. Why is this? Most people needing geriatric care services and home care services first find out about such services while being a patient in a hospital environment. Local hospitals have their own Home Care services. However these Home Care services are offered under the Medicare Program. What exactly does this mean? Licensed by Medicare means that Medicare will pay for a portion of the services needed by the patient. The key word here is Portion. By law Hospitals are required to provide a listing of Medicare Funded Home Care Agencies to the patient, in order to alleviate any perception by the patient that the hospital isn't recommending their own Hospital's Home Care service over any others. However, it is not mandated by law that this listing include Home-Health Care companies that are Non-Medicare Certified. And although it is important for Seniors and Caregivers to have a listing of both types of Home Care service providers, the majority of Hospitals opt not to include the non-Medicare Home Health Care Companies. Why (you may ask,) is it important that people know the differences between a Home Care Agency that provides services covered by Medicare and Non-Medicare Reimbursed Home Care Services? Because the majority of services you will need to acquire for the person needing Home Care will be provided under a Non-Medicare Home Health Care Company. Lets look at what Non-Medicare Home Care means. Over the years it has been portrayed to people that a Non-Medicare Home Care provider is bad and that a Medicare Licensed Home care Agency is good. Yes, it is that simple, yet totally false. Whether a home care company is reimbursed by Medicare (government) or paid privately by citizens (which is the case for a non-Medicare private home care company), does not, - let me repeat this, - does not, guarantee that one kind of provider of these services is better or performs better than the other. It is strictly a way to differentiate the type, amount of services, and the way that home care is paid for. And that's it! The propaganda that has occurred over the past 10 years has included the notion that if the services are provided by Medicare, since the government is supervising its operation, then the Medicare Home Health Care Agency necessarily offers better quality and provides better care than a Non-Medicare Home Care Provider. This is propaganda, and nothing is further from the truth. Quality of Care is attained and maintained, not by government intervention, but by the motivation of the owner of the Home Health Care Company, and its employees. Nothing more. There are owners of private non-Medicare home health Care companies that have a strong sense of commitment and passion, to offer the highest quality of home health care service to its clients, just as there are Managers of Medicare-based Home Health care agencies who do the same. In contrast, there are horrible private non-Medicare home health care companies and equally horrible Medicare home-health care agencies. Private non-Medicare home health care companies offer services in addition to those provided by the Medicare home health care companies. The problem is that people in their respective communities never get to hear, come to understand or to know about the majority of community based non-Medicare home health care services because the hospital who is the patient's first contact regarding this type of service does not adequately inform the community about them. For whatever reason, representatives from non-Medicare home health care companies are not welcomed in the majority of hospitals when they attempt to share information about their services. This practice by Hospitals negatively affects its patients and families, since it is at these times when the Senior and Caregivers are most vulnerable that they NEED as much information as possible so that they can decide on the best course of action for themselves or their loved ones. It is the responsibility of all Physicians, Nurses, Social Workers and Discharge Planners to advise their patient as to ALL home health care options, not just a select few. One would think that any type of service that offers quality care in a particular Community would be welcomed, and nurtured. The reality is however that services such as the one I have described to you are not utilized to its fullest potential within the community, thereby not enabling the community member to benefit optimally from all services available in his or her community. I hope that there will come a time when people in their respective Communities will come to realize that there is much information, aspects and options relating to Geriatric Care Consulting and Home Health Care Services that the Hospitals are not providing to its patients. Hopefully this will be sufficient motivation for people to work diligently at finding out information for themselves. In spite of people needing to choose home health care for themselves or their loved-ones when they are the most vulnerable, they will need to muster the strength and courage to be leaders, not followers, in investigating ALL the home care options that are available to them, and then acting on them. The rule of thumb in the area of finding quality Home Care services needed to supplement the very few hours that a Medicare Home Care Agency provides, is to listen to all recommendations offered, but then thoroughly to investigate options yourself or hire a Geriatric Care Manager (Consultant) to do this for you. Mary K. Van Everbroeck Elder-Service, Inc. Never to be Forgotten For those who were there, it is a moment frozen in time, never to be forgotten. It was my father's 90th birthday, and 30 or so of us had gathered at the Alzheimer's care center where he lives to celebrate with him. He seemed unusually bright and cheery as he was greeted, hugged and loved by his wife, his brother, four of his eight children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His brightest smile came when he saw his eldest surviving son, Dick, for the first time in three years. Although he couldn't articulate what he was feeling, you could just see the flash of recognition and feel the wave of emotion. There were lots of photos, a couple of brief speeches, a little entertainment and, of course, birthday cake and ice cream. Dad seemed to enjoy it all -- especially the cake and ice cream. And then suddenly, it was time to go. No one was anxious to leave --least of all Dad -- but meal time at the care center was fast approaching, and we needed to clear the dining room. There was just time for one more rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday to You." "No -- wait," someone suggested. "Let's sing something that Dad can sing with us." On the surface, that seemed ludicrous. Although Dad was quite alert through the event, coherent expression from him was limited to two- and three-word sentences: "I'm fine," "How are you?" and "Oh, no." He couldn't remember the names of those nearest and dearest to him; asking him to participate in a sing-along was an exercise in futility. Wasn't it? A different song was selected, one of Dad's favorites from years gone by: "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." Just the mention of the song was enough to evoke tender feelings from those of us who remember the many times it was sung at family gatherings and as a way of passing the time during long family trips. In my mind, I can still hear the melodic blending of Dad's bold and brassy bass with Mom's rich alto resonating in the old Impala as we musically made our away across the California desert to visit family members on the Coast. All eyes were focused on Dad as we began singing: "Let me call you Sweetheart, I'm in love with you." He smiled happily as we harmoniously reached the end of the song. Tears moistened most eyes as we savored the magic of the moment. For a few measures, at least, Dad was Dad again, leading the family in singing one of our old favorite songs. I've thought about that moment a lot since then. There is real power in the music of our lives. I'm not sure I understand it, but there is something dramatic that happens when words and melodies mingle in our minds. It is burned into our consciousness. It becomes part of who we are and what we think -- for good or ill -- freezing moments in time. Never to be forgotten. Email Bag I fully support Dr. Sergent's mind set regarding his approach to handling late stage Alzheimer's, and have passed the article on to those who have cared for Elsie. Unrealistic hope provides those giving it, a sense of doing good, but to the caretaker and patient, it gives a false sense of hope, that with the passing of time and continuous degeneration, only deepens the emotional problem. Knowing the inevitable outcome although difficult, is far better then living a falsehood. Regards, From Vjsr38 I just wanted to write and
thank you so much for emailing me The Ribbons new issues each
time they are available. You have been so helpful to me as I try
to do the best that I can to be a caregiver to my mother. She
goes from being nice to being agitated. She has fallen twice and
bruised her arms real bad but she refuses to let me take her to
the hospital to be X-rayed. She fell yesterday and has a big knot
plus one solid bruise half way down her right arm. I can't
physically make her go to the hospital. I lean on God for
strength and he will guide me in each and every situation and I
know he is with me and answers my prayers that his WILL be done. Gods blessings to you and yours, From RSaddaddy Thank you all so much for
the ribbon . My grandma has been AD for 3 yrs now & possibly
much longer just no one would see what was wrong until the death
of my grandfather. She has no kids techn. she is my step grandma
but she has been in the family before my birth and I am 37. I
finally realized the do's & don'ts then so far this yr she
has been in the hospital 3 times & the last with a stroke. It
did not hurt the motor skills but srambled the brain worse than
ever. I have seen her go down but I also know she could go along
ways with this. This is a horrible disease , she has always taken
care of eveyone else in her lifetime now to see her like this is
heartbreaking. I only have my husband & 2 girls that help.
She has 1 bro. still living in worse shape then her & his
children care for him and the distance is so far to see each
other but we keep in touch . Thank you again for sharing your
experiences it really helps to know I am not the only one going
thru this. From Dgcisme Click here: Alzheimer's Prayer Diana Now we put another issue to bed. Thanks to each of you for your contributions. As you know they are always welcomed. Hugs and Peace,
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