ELDER CARE: Questions to ask?

The proceeding link suggests questions you may want to ask a home care agency.  I found the questions helpful yet at the same times I could see the potential problems.  I won't completely spoil it but I will list potential issues when selecting home care for a loved one.

1)  If you are in a situation like my mother and aunt are you may not have Medicaid and Medicare will not cover long term home care.   Not a primary problem but it sets up the following:

2)  A lot of agencies are expensive.  You may be able to get a friend or family member to assist with your loved one.  However, being that this person may be free or less expensive than an agency how do you do a background check?

3)  If you have to deal with an agency and you have limited funds you have to understand that you get what you pay for unfortunately. The more expensive agencies may pay the employees more and they may tend to get better quality of employees.  Key word is MAY.

4)  So if you are dealing with a lower cost agency what questions are you truly willing to ask?  An agency my aunt once dealt with charged her less ($14/hour) but sent her a pregnant worker.  My aunt at the time was almost 100% total meaning she almost needed total care.  Lifting is involved with her.   The young lady had a wonderful personality but my aunt was afraid of her getting injured.

5)  In Florida quite a few of the home care employees were ladies making less than $15 an hour.  A lot worked with no health benefits.  The lower your cost the higher your chance of getting an employee working almost for minimum wage.  And while that is not a flaw in their character they may not be the most qualified and may be taking the job just to make ends meet.  Most people with credentials go for the higher salary.

6)  Going back to the health benefits a lot of the ladies working for my aunt had no health benefits.  They had to work every day or not get paid.  This means you can have a sick worker assisting the elderly who quite often have their immune systems compromised.  But can you afford a home care agency that provides health benefits?


Just a few issues I came up with.  But follow the link and read the article.  It is very thought provoking and can still offer a lot of assistance



http://www.agingcare.com/Articles/questions-to-ask-before-hiring-caregiver-or-home-care-152188.htm?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%20-%20May%2020,%202015

GENERAL RANT

I got home about an hour ago in a really pissy mood.  Okay, Mom is doing fine so that at least isn't the issue.  There are times you just get in those moods.  Tonight I think people in general triggered it.

Forgive me.  This is one of those times where something triggered a rant and I was nowhere near my computer so I couldn't write it down.  From what I remember of the trigger it had to do with tolerance.  Financial tolerance.

I know I was thinking about some friends and acquaintances who aren't doing that well financially.  I was thinking about one or two who are really not employable for various reasons so they will be screwed for the rest of their life.    This means they will either die eventually or end up in the prison system or back in the prison system.    Some haven't worked in a long time so even if there still is social security  in 30 years they won' collect any of it.

Then I went back to the unemployable points.  

These people are Black men who I think do not believe in themselves enough to break past the barrier that is keeping them down.  Some are in need of psychological counseling.  Not because they are psychotic but because I sense there may be some degree of mental illness preventing them from succeeding.    Sadly, as I mentioned they will probably end up in a prison or dead.  In New York they will almost definitely be homeless.  Homeless in part because society (average folks)  allowed themselves to be manipulated into believing too hard into the tough love theory.  That theory of pulling yourself by your bootstraps, whatever that means.  Meanwhile we are allowing the same politicians who are cutting public assistance to bail out companies and cut their taxes.  Corporations are worth more than people.  Even for the lazy folks it is easier to slam them for making $400 in welfare and food stamps.

I have had this rant before.  I just need to get this out.

Somehow people have been duped into adapting this theory that if you can't make it on your own, screw you.  Or something close to that.  

Right now I am like, wow, I do want to help these people.  Not only the ones I KNOW but the ones who for one reason or another beg me for food or change on the subway or in front of a bank or restaurant.    I can't help them.  I would want to let them rest their head in my apartment but I barely have room for ME.  It seems like the burden falls on me to take care of them.  This is in part because WE don't want the government to get involved and companies have to make a profit in order to appear to assist.  

I had this discussion with CJ Anderson, writer of ON THE RIGHT SIDE and a friend.  We were talking about the government giving funding to AMTRAK after the recent crash.  He wants all forms of public transportation to be run by private industry.  The point is people NEED public transportation.  It's bad enough the Metropolitan Transit Authority  has very well paid people on its board and they keep raising the fare when they see fit.  Why can't we help because it's the right thing to do?

ELDER CARE INFO Water intake link

Below please find a link to a site that discusses water intake for seniors  One of my mother's biggest problems is that she will not drink water, or at least sufficient water.  We basically have to beg her to drink.  She just blows us off not realizing the lack of hydration can cause kidney and bladder problems as well as constipation issues.  Lack of water can cause of problems in concentration

http://www.anfponline.org/Publications/articles/2006_03_Water.pdf

This link may offer suggestions to getting your elderly loved one to drink more

Mom not paying her bills...again

Maureen let me know Mom is not drinking water or paying her bills again.   Of course there is no indication of this when I actually speak to Mom.  Everything is fine when I talk to her.    Of course I suspect she is not paying her bills.  I take care of her electric bill but she has to write a check for the water and for the mortgage.


God willing I will be with my mother in Florida this Sunday which will be Mother's Day.  I am hoping it will not be stressful.

Moves

I found it necessary to make some personal moves.  I recently went to the doctor and found that I now weight 270 pounds.  I am attributing this weight gain to a lack of exercise and to not drinking water.  I have not increased my food intake so it has to be the fact that I am sedentary. And I attribute that to the stress I am under.  While I have not necessarily increased my food intake I am not really eating the right things either and I tend to eat junk when I am stressed.    Of course Florida is the main source of my stress.   I cannot allow myself to balloon to 300 pounds.

As of June 1st I am going on a specific diet.  How specific?  I am doing my best to have the majority of my protein consist of fish.  I am eliminating sweet soda from my diet for a month. Any soda I drink will be club soda or seltzer water. In fact this entire diet is for a month.  I will avoid cookies and cakes.  This is how I am looking at my June menu:

Breakfast:  Pretty much what I want though I will try to avoid pancakes, waffles and sweet sodas

Lunch:  Fish sandwiches.  Either tuna or salmon salad.  If I must eat out I will have a fish sandwich

Dinner:  This will be the hardest part.  I want to have fish as my main course along with two vegetables.  Try to avoid potatoes and pasta.  Try to avoid eating after 9.

If I am at least reasonably successful I will carry this over through July.

I MIGHT consider using ground turkey a few times.