Most Baby Boomers are Unprepared to Care For Aging Parents | The Intentional Caregiver

Yesterday, I was fortunate to be able to interview Mr. Jeff Huber, President of Home Instead Senior Care, the largest provider of in-home care services for seniors in the world and was the first company to offer franchise opportunities.

Most professionals involved with eldercare are aware that adult children are not prepared to care for their parents when they receive “that call” that throws them into the caregiving role.  But the Home Instead Senior Care network  wanted to learn more about that and so in conjunction with The Boomer Project, a study of 600 baby boomer aged adults was conducted. 

The results surprised me:

• Less than 50% were knowledgeable about their parents’ medical history
•  49% were unable to name any of their parents’ current medications
• More than 30% did not know just how many medications their parent(s) was taking

via takingcareofthefolks.com

Thank you Shelley for bringing attention to this critical topic. It is a phone call we will each be getting eventually. It is much better to be prepared.

Click on the "VIA" link to read the full article.

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Many paid caregivers lack health literacy skills :: May 4, 2011 ... American Medical News

More than a third of the people paid to care for seniors are not health literate, and 60% wrongly interpret the instructions on prescription labels, a study says.

Caregivers often are hired by families to help care for seniors with cognitive loss, dementia or Alzheimer's disease and who have trouble performing daily activities such as toileting, bathing, cooking and shopping. This makes it especially important that caregivers have the ability to understand health-related instructions, said Lee A. Lindquist, MD, MPH, lead author of the study published in May's Journal of General Internal Medicine (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21161420/).

Caregivers' poor health literacy skills can affect patient care, said Dr. Lindquist, a geriatrician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

via ama-assn.org

See also:

Death By Handwriting, By Maureen Glabman, Trustee Magazine :"Most Americans don't receive any formal handwriting instruction beyond the third grade, so how we learned to write then is more or less what we are stuck with for the rest of our lives. It's a worn joke that when someone writes poorly, we tell him he could be a doctor. But a medical error due to misinterpretation of illegible writing is no laughing matter--and for physicians it is a major threat to patient safety. The Joint Commission does not know precisely how often hospitals are reproached for handwriting deficiencies, but the problem is believed to be substantial. "The Joint Commission almost always finds instances where handwriting is of poor quality," says Peter Angood, M.D., JCAHO vice president and chief patient safety officer. The standard that encompasses handwriting legibility also includes stipulations that medical records be dated, that patients be identified and that diagnoses are supported, among other requirements, so it is difficult to sort out individual deficiencies."
http://www.trusteemag.com/trusteemag_app/jsp/articledisplay.jsp?dcrpath=TRUST.../PubsNewsArticleGen/data/2005/0510TRU_FEA_Handwriting

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

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Caring for an Ill Spouse, and for Other Caregivers

via nytimes.com

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Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

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Alzheimer's Caregivers Need Care Too - MSN Health - Aging Well

The growing number of people with Alzheimer's disease in the United States means that more people are becoming caregivers, a responsibility that health experts warn can pose risks to body and mind.

But caregivers can take various steps to protect their health, says Rebecca Axline, a clinical social worker at the Nantz National Alzheimer Center in Houston.

To keep stress in check, for instance, she emphasizes the need to find time and ways to reenergize, to keep meaningful things in your life and to remain social and participate in your favorite activities.

Axline also offered communication techniques that can help reduce caregivers' stress and frustration:

• Always identify yourself and call the person you're caring for by name.
• Talk slowly and clearly. Use short sentences and break down instructions into steps.

via health.msn.com

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Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
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856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

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Avoiding Caregiver Burnout, By Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, The Dr. Oz Show

By Donna Cardillo, RN, MA

According the National Alliance on Caregiving, over 65 million Americans care for sick, disabled and elderly family members and friends, saving the healthcare system $375 billion dollars annually. But the caregiver or care partner is often overlooked in the process as the focus is on the person who requires the care.

 

Caregivers often neglect their own self-care and suffer in silence. They have a high rate of stress-related illnesses and disorders, addictions and even worse. Additionally, the stress, if not tended to, can even lead to abuse of the loved one they care for.

 

What Is a Caregiver/Care Partner?

 

I didn’t view myself as a caregiver when my husband was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis because he didn’t need help with dressing or eating. Yet I began to take on responsibility for doctor’s visits, therapy appointments and pharmacy trips, as well as provide emotional support for him and family members.

 

I would protest: “I am not a caregiver.” But then I read descriptions of my situation on the National Family Caregivers Association website  www.nfcacares.org and finally had to admit that I was stressed, overwhelmed, approaching burnout, and in need of help and support.  

via doctoroz.com

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

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