Adeste In-Home Care - Colorado

In-Home Care in Colorado

What Is In-Home Health Care?

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There are many ways for you to help your parents or loved one remain in their home indefinitely. Not every person is required to move to assisted living and beyond.

Remaining at home gives your loved one peace of mind. However, for you to have peace in your life, it’s important for you to get the required care your loved one needs and not attempt to do it all on your own.

That’s where a lot of people mistake the differences between in-home care and home health care. Both are required. Both offer a variety of options and distinctions.

In-Home Care

In-home care is provided by caregivers who are trained to understand the daily aspects of home care. In-home caregivers provide a wide variety of services usually associated with daily living. In-home care is classified as personal care or companion care, and is considered “unskilled” or “non-clinical”. [Read more…]

A Caregivers Guide To Downsizing A Home

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Moving is one of the most stressful times of your life. Whether it’s moving to another home in your local community, or across the country for new opportunities, there’s a lot you leave behind.

For seniors, that compounds, especially if they leave a family home they’ve lived in for decades.

Tackling the planning, organizing, packing, discarding, cleaning, paperwork, and a host of other chores can be daunting at best.

As we age, moving often signals new opportunities. We find new relationships. We find new positions. We might even make a move for new adventures.

But for many of us, we reach a point where the move is no longer as positive as moves once were. The move may be to make it easier to live – moving from a two story to a single story can make mobility that much easier. Yet the process means there are things we’ll have to give up.

As difficult as it is for your loved one, sometimes it’s even more difficult for you. You may realize it’s the best decision for your spouse. But given different circumstances, you’d never move for yourself. How do you leave it all behind? How do you put a smile on your face and realize it’s for the best? [Read more…]

How Will Your Loved One Survive Rehab After A Hospital Discharge?

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After a serious health event that requires hospitalization, the days and weeks that follow can be strenuous at best. Many people need rehabilitation services, such as physical, occupational, or speech therapies. Some may even need nursing care until they are fully recuperated.

For families, this time frame can be life-changing. The realization that things are changing and may never be the same becomes a stark reality. You may discover that your loved one doesn’t have a voice in the process, which can leave you even more stressed as you scramble to determine what’s next.

Your best bet at this time is to find your voice. Ask questions. Then ask them again.

Because the answers will change all the time.

Create a hospital discharge plan

This guides you to decide what’s next. You should start this process from the moment your loved one enters the hospital. Questions will become your best sense of direction.

  • What’s next?
  • What therapies will we need?
  • What services will health insurance or Medicare pay for?
  • Who handles personal tasks such as dressing or bathing?
  • How safe will my loved one be every hour of the day?
  • How much support will they need to do everyday tasks?
  • What problems can arise?
  • What is the average length of recovery?
  • What side effects should I watch for?
  • What do I consider an emergency?

One question leads to another. And even when you backtrack and ask the same question again, you may get a different answer. Be sure to take it all in and write it down. This tool will become invaluable as you navigate each new day.

Consider Your Resources Carefully

All rehabilitation programs are not the same. And many rehabilitation programs have waiting lists trying to get in. As early as possible, start doing research and creating a tentative schedule of what your loved one will need next. Then start making calls to find out where they will best fit.

Many people are not aware that different therapies can be given in different ways. It’s up to everyone to decide the best route for your loved one. Some can be in home processes; some need skilled nursing care in order to receive the best help.

Look at the assistance your loved one requires from every angle. Will they need an advocate to ensure they are getting proper care every hour of the day? How much can they handle on their own? Again, the answer to this question can change daily. Be sure you revisit it on a constant basis.

Get Better Yourself

Most people only push to do what’s best for their loved one without stepping back and doing what’s best for themselves. This can be a heavy burden for some people, especially if they are dealing with health problems of their own.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t be afraid to take the time you need to do what’s right for you. Your questions shouldn’t always be about the best care for your loved one; also ask questions for your state of being. Find out what counseling options are available to you to ensure you stay healthy through this transition. Not addressing feelings can be detrimental to the entire process.

This is a time of transition for everyone involved. Take the steps necessary to build a solid life plan from this day on.

How can we help you during this time in your life?

Hydration Affects Your Hospital Stay

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Dehydration occurs when a person loses more fluid than they bring in. If a body doesn’t have enough water in its system, it can’t carry out normal functions.

It’s especially important that seniors pay attention to hydration because a lack of fluids can lead to things like delirium, infections, or worse.

How much water do you need?

There are a lot of factors that go into determining how much water a body needs, such as gender, weight, and body fat. Bodies in motion need more than bodies at rest.

As we age, our bodies tend to hold less water. Even sitting can drain a body of much needed fluids quickly. That is why seniors inevitably have more problems with dehydration.

Older adults also lose their perception of thirst. When dehydration sets in for us, we quickly become parched. Not so with seniors, so they might not know they need an intake of fluids until the signs of dehydration set in. [Read more…]

Help For Long Distance Caregivers

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It doesn’t take more than a minute or two to look around you and realize that we’re a nation of stressed, depressed, and anxiety-ridden people. Estimates show that around 8.3 million of American adults – 3.4 percent of our population – are in serious psychological distress.

You may be feeling some of that too, especially if you are in a caregiving role.

Caregiving doesn’t just mean taking care of someone in your home. Even if your aging mom or dad is hundreds of miles away, the stress can quickly add up and cause you pain as well.

You may have tried doing things on your own, but are quickly finding it’s not enough. That’s when most people start looking for help.

We typically find people ask for help when: [Read more…]

Ways To Ensure Food Security

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The simple act of putting food on the table every day can be difficult for aging seniors.

  • Getting to the grocery store
  • Selecting the proper foods
  • Having money to make healthy choices
  • Having the physical ability to stand and make a meal
  • The emotional implications of eating alone

All of these and more make the elderly more vulnerable to malnutrition. [Read more…]

4 Myths Of Hospice

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What do you think of when you hear the word hospice? It evokes a certain reaction, doesn’t it?

As humans, we have a natural reluctance to think about the eventual need for these services, yet it’s inevitable. So we build walls and put the thoughts aside until they are thrust upon us in a moment of need.

We’ve built up misconceptions about what hospice is – and what it isn’t – and in many cases, it prevents us from seeking out the critical support hospice provides when it can do us the most good. Hospice benefits in many different ways. Hospice can be an important part of the journey your loved one is taking and provide the critical care that will benefit all of you.

Myth #1 Hospice is a place

Hospice, hospital, assisted care, nursing home – what does it all mean? It’s easy to get lost in the words and concepts when your world suddenly changes. Unlike physical healthcare units like hospitals and nursing homes, hospice is not a structure or a place. Instead, hospice is a comprehensive, patient/family centered care that offers compassion and medical care in the advanced stages of illness. It provides multidimensional pain and symptom management as well as emotional, spiritual, and practical support to those in need. It can be offered anywhere a patient and family chooses, including a personal residence, a long term care facility, or a hospital. It’s all about the patient. [Read more…]

Why Senior Concierge May Be Just The Thing You Are Looking For

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How would you define in-home care? We define it as any type of non-medical home care or concierge service that your loved one needs to remain safe and independent at home.

For some, that service could be needed after surgery, to help your loved one get back on her feet again.

For others, it may be a daily need to ensure she has the extra care she needs to maintain a certain quality of life.

Needs change depending on the day and the situation. That’s why senior concierge can be flexible and change up, depending on your needs.

How about home services, such as: [Read more…]

Best Car Features For Caregivers

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As a caregiver, your days are pretty busy. And you probably spend a lot of time in the car. Driving to doctor’s appointments, visiting with specialists, testing, and more testing, picking up prescriptions from the pharmacy – it all can be a little overwhelming at times.

Any car will do. But when you’re responsible for someone else’s needs, finding the right car that supports your caregiving efforts will make your job easier. The person you are caring for now may be fairly mobile. What happens as that changes? Will your car function as well in the future as it does right now?

When looking at a car’s features, evaluate it based on two characteristics: access for people and access to your stuff. Both can change significantly over time.

Access For People

Different vehicles provide different accessibility. If you’ve ever climbed into a large pickup, or into the backseat of a two door sports car, you know this to be true. The more control you can give the person you are caring for during this process, the easier your life will be. [Read more…]

7 Important Steps To Being A Better Caregiver

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Caregiving often starts small and with things you’d rarely recognize as caregiving. A quick errand to the pharmacy. Dropping off dinner several nights a week. A phone call with a request “can you look at this?” and stopping everything to deal with “it.”

And before you know it, it’s a regular part of your weekly routine. You schedule time in your days to “help” out. Their lives become your life in ways you could never have imagined.

But as much as caregiving becomes physical activities, running here and doing this, it’s important to remember that caregiving is more of a mindset than actual activities. The best way to become a better caregiver is to make it easier to do what you do.

Remember The Person You’re Caring For

Your loved one is going through a lot of changes, both physically and mentally. What you see today is probably not how you remember them in the past. And to respond to those needs today means you have to do so with all the love and care you’ve had for the person since the beginning, while taking into account those limitations of today. Your loved one has changed; your relationship has not. They are still the same person on the inside, even if their attitudes and capabilities are different. Always keep that person in mind as you provide care. [Read more…]