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Decisions about providing care for an aging loved one are seldom easy. Various options exist in terms of elder care, including assisted living facilities and nursing homes. Seniors who are self-sufficient may be able to stay in a retirement community or active living building. In other instances, the best course of action is to have an elderly relative move in with other family members.

According to Dr. Nancy Snyderman, who recently took on the role of caregiver to her own senior parents, 44 million American adults are caring for an older friend or family member. MetLife estimates that nearly 10 million adult children over the age of 50 are now caring for an aging parent. Care is defined as helping with feeding, bathing, dressing, and other personal care needs, going beyond driving a parent to appointments or helping them with financial matters.

Taking care of a senior requires a profound commitment and can completely disrupt a person’s life, both at home and at work. Men and women faced with caring for an aging parent at home may want to employ several strategies to make that transition go as smoothly as possible.

• Talk to the senior about your options. Making decisions together will be best for everyone involved. It can be challenging to discuss mortality and whether or not elderly parents or relatives can properly care for themselves. Broach the subject well in advance of making any plans so you will have some understanding of how the senior feels about the situation and what would make him or her most comfortable. Your parents may already have a plan in place.
• Establish a caregiving budget. Caring for the elderly is expensive. MetLife says working Americans lose an estimated $3 trillion in lifetime wages, with average losses of more than $300 thousand for women and more than $250 thousand for men, taking time to provide care. Before a senior can be welcomed into your home, you must first determine which financial changes must be made to accommodate this person. Will a parent be contributing a portion of the expenses or paying rent? Is it feasible for you to reduce your working hours in order to provide care for this individual? Once you have the numbers in black and white, you can better assess your situation.
• Make physical modifications. Your home may not be equipped properly, or safe enough for an elderly resident. You may need to add a private space for your parent or relative, and install features such as night lights, secured railings, grab bars, ramps, a shower chair, and anti-slip surfaces. You may need to build an extension on the home or completely renovate what you have to make the space safe.
• Aim for stability. Moving an changing routines can be especially stressful for seniors who are used to their own schedules and habits. Transfer furniture and momentos from their homeino yours. Encourage seniors to maintain a social schedule and invite friends over. Try to help your loved one keep his or her doctors and if possible, take them to shop where they have shopped in the past. These opportunities will make the transition to a new home easier.
• Discuss finances. It’s essential to understand your loved one’s financial situation. Make a list of his or her assets, benefits, and insurance policies in his or her name. Understand which health procedures are covered and discuss ways to finance any procedures or medications that are not covered by those policies/benefits. Ask if your loved one wants you to manage the finances, or wait until it necessary. Professional help, such as an attorney, financial planner, or geriatric care manager, can make it easier to understand the legalities and subtleties of these arrangements.
• Make time for yourself. Caring for the elderly can seem like a full-time job, and it’s easy to forget yourself in the process. Making time for yourself so your own health is not sacrificed while you tend to your loved one.

Adapted slightly from original article by: as seen in the Daily Press HomeFinder insert, Oct, 2014. Original Source: Metro Creative Content

Most prosthetics are relatively simple products, and are designed to be routinely cleaned by the owner/user or their direct caregiver. However, some more complicated prosthetics need to be serviced by a professional for some situations.

• What if the prosthesis does not fit right?The process of being fit for your prosthesis will involve several visits to create a device that fits you and your needs. Follow-up visits with your prosthetist are as important as the initial fitting. You will need to make several visits for adjustments with the prosthetist as your residual limb changes and continues to heal. Tell your prosthetist if the prosthesis is uncomfortable in any way. They can help you ease pressure areas, adjust alignment and work out any problems you may experience. Using your prosthesis should not be painful. The more comfortable the fit, the more likely you are to use it. Talk honestly with your prosthetist about your needs and goals. Discuss the things you want and need to do in your life after surgery.
• Replacement / Obsolescence / How long will the prosthesis last?Depending on your age, activity level and growth, the prosthesis can last anywhere from several months to several years. In the early stages after limb loss, many changes occur in the residual limb that can lead to shrinking of the limb. This may require socket changes, liners, or even a different device. Increased activity level and a desire to do more activities can create a need for a change in the prosthesis or its parts. Once you are comfortable with the fit of your device, the prosthesis needs only minor repairs or maintenance and can last an average of three years. Your prosthesis should be regularly checked by your prosthetist to avoid any major problems.
• What if the prosthesis breaks?Yes, things can happen that will require repair or replacement. It’s a good idea to know about warranties and what to expect from your prosthetist. Get small problems taken care of right away. There is no benefit to waiting. Waiting may cause a more difficult repair or even a serious skin breakdown. You can do harm, not only to your residual limb, but also to other parts of your body. Strain on other muscles, like your back and shoulders, will affect your posture and the performance of the device, and will increase the amount of energy needed to use it.

Follow this link for access the FAQ from the Amputee Coalition.

Excerpted and then adapted slightly from the source.

I’m considering employing a caregiver. There’s a lot of things to consider before making such a decision.

To help get my thoughts focused on the process, pros & cons, etc. So, I turned to the web, and found a great thread on this subject at Caring.com.

Click the Link –> How much should I pay a live-in caregiver?

In writing up the job description, I find the need to clarify that client/patient(s) also employ a house cleaner/maid service, in order to assure readers that they will not be spending a majority of their time cleaning. Too many caregivers enter homes to assist client/patients only to discover that the client had just previously fired/released/discontinued a housekeeping service, having the misguided opinion that the caregiver or CNA is housekeeper, gardener, house cleaner, and chef all rolled into one.

Continuing my search, I found an article by Jane Gross as seen in a back issue of the NYT (Dec 30, 2008) with valuations from Marki Flannery, the president of Partners in Care.

Click the Link –>
Home Health Aides: What They Make, What They Cost.

As a property owner, it can be hard to know exactly what you can do to make it better. Especially when you have an invested interest in the well-being of a certain property, you may have a difficult time deciding what should happen with the house or land surrounding it in order to improve it as much as you see fit.

Many people consider additions be be a good idea for adding value to a home, also making it more appealing to the people who live there. One thing you can do is add an Elder-suite to your home. This is an addition to a home that is suited to accommodate only one person. While it is usually completely separate from the home, having its own bedroom and bathroom, there are several variations that are attached to parts of the house which the rest of the family shares. If you are thinking about building an Elder-suite on you property, here are a few things to consider as you continue to decide how to make that choice.

Consult your local building codes book to make sure that you don’t break any laws or regulations if you decide to build. The last thing you want as a property owner is to have to destroy an addition that you have been working on because you don’t have the proper building permits filed. Save yourself a lot of time and check all that information before you begin. You’ll be grateful you did.

Something that many people don’t know is that there is a lot of complicated work that is associated with adding a bathroom to a building. There are many piping and plumbing issues that can arise. If you are not completely comfortable with plumbing problems and approaches to solving these problems, then it would be in your best interest to get in contact with a plumbing contractor to consult with you about what your choices are. Some homes are already built with the ability to work well and fully with little tinkering of the pipes after a bathroom is built, but others need quite a bit of extensive plumbing work before and after the addition in order to ensure complete functionality of the bathroom unit. These issues are easily solved by those who know how to solve them.