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elder care

What are the Responsibilities of a Health Care Surrogate?

By Elder Law, Estate PlanningNo Comments

A health care surrogate is someone appointed to make healthcare decisions for you should you become incapacitated or unable to make them for yourself. When you appoint someone as your health care surrogate, be sure to inform them of this designation and make them aware of the responsibilities they may be faced with.

Any decision to give, withhold, or withdraw informed consent to any type of healthcare may become a responsibility for your health care surrogate if you become incapacitated. These include, but are not limited to:

  • Medical and surgical treatments
  • Life-prolonging interventions
  • Organ donation
  • Deciding where medical treatment will be received
  • Psychiatric treatment
  • Making decisions regarding end-of- life procedures
  • Approving release of medical records
  • Communicating with other loved ones or family members about your medical treatment

For inquiries in regard to this matter, please contact our office at: 941-906-1231 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.

April 13, 2018
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Useful Smartphone Applications for Caregivers

By Long-Term CareNo Comments

With technology constantly advancing, there are now smartphone applications that can be used for almost anything and caregiving is no exception. Technology can be very helpful when it comes to caring for an elderly loved one, especially if you are informed about all the elder care applications available. On that note, here’s a list of some caregiving and elder care applications on the market.

  • Caring Village : Caring village is a free app designed specifically for family caregivers that allows you to easily keep track of and coordinate your loved one’s care. This app includes personalized to do lists, customizable care plans, a centralized calendar, a medication list, space for document storage, a wellness journal, secure messaging and a preparedness checklist. Each “village” created through this app focuses on a specific individual that needs care and anyone involved in this individual’s care can be invited to join their village. All the members that are approved to join someone’s village can get access to care plans, scheduling and other features of the app. Caring Village is a way to connect individuals who are involved in the care of a loved one and to keep them all informed regarding an individual’s care.

 

  • Elder 911 and Elder 411: Elder 911 and Elder 411 are actually two different apps that were developed by the same company. Elder 911 provides information regarding what to do in an emergency situation involving an elderly person. This app includes a “crisis timeline” that you can use to navigate the different stages of a medical emergency involving an elderly loved one. It also includes tips regarding how to react to medical emergencies, interactive checklists to keep you on track and audio introductions to help prepare you for each crisis stage. Elder 411, on the other hand, provides over 500 pieces of advice organized into 11 eldercare topics to give you solutions to an array of caregiving problems. This app is fully searchable and includes written and audio tips as well as video lectures.

 

  • eCare 21: ECare21 is a remote patient monitoring app that allows you to monitor an elderly individual through a variety of non-intrusive wireless devices. This app has the ability to monitor and track glucose levels, physical activity, heart rate, weight, calorie intake, medication adherence and sleep, among other things. This helps to reduce the risk of hospitalization and emergency care in elderly individuals. In addition to its monitoring services, eCare 21 also offers a care plan that can be managed through the app, medication reminders and even a competitive feature where you can compare your health to those of your friends who also use the app. This app can help bring peace of mind to caregivers and their patients or loved ones, while also tracking an individual’s health and wellness.

 

  • iPharmacy Pro: iPharmacy Pro provides information regarding prescription medications. It has a pill identifier tool that you can use to accurately identify any medication that your loved one may be taking. Once the medication is identified, iPharmacy Pro will provide a detailed description of the drug, a drug picture and any images in their Drug Database. This app can also be used to search for drug side effects, and can give information regarding a drug’s potential interactions with other medications. This app may be useful to a caregiver that assists an individual who has to take a multitude of medications or often changes the types of medications they take.
April 10, 2018
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Parkinson’s Awareness Month

By HealthNo Comments

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. Parkinson’s is a chronic and progressive movement disorder that affects the nervous system and causes tremors. Nearly one million people in the United States are living with Parkinson’s today. Currently, the cause of Parkinson’s is unknown, as is the cure. However, there are treatment options available, including medication and surgery, to manage its symptoms.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s include the following:

  • Tremors (these usually begin in a limb, most often the hands or fingers)
  • Slowed Movement (ex: steps getting shorter, dragging of one’s feet, difficulty getting up)
  • Muscle Rigidity
  • Impaired Posture and Balance
  • Loss of Automatic Movements   (decreased ability to perform movements such as smiling or blinking)
  • Speech Impairment (ex: speaking softly, slurring words, lacking inflection)
  • Writing Changes

Generally, Parkinson’s symptoms develop gradually, and may even go unnoticed at first. If you start to realize that yourself or a loved one is experiencing any of these symptoms, visit a physician immediately so that you can explore treatments options.

April 3, 2018
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Why Being Able to Communicate with Your Doctor Effectively is Important

By HealthNo Comments

A strong doctor-patient relationship is one built on honesty and communication. Being able to talk openly with your doctor is one of the best ways to ensure that your health care needs are met in the most effective manner possible. When you go to a doctor’s appointment, be sure to share any symptoms you may be experiencing, give your doctor information about your medications, talk openly about your diet as well as your lifestyle choices, and voice any other concerns that you believe are important. Additionally, if anything your doctor says does not make sense or if you need further clarification on a topic, ask them to explain it to you again. It is important to have a clear understanding of what your doctor is saying to you and to give them a clear understanding of what you are trying to communicate to them. Do not feel uncomfortable talking about any sensitive issues with your doctor, as they are trained in these matters and should do everything they can to help you alleviate any problems you are facing as the result of a medical condition.

 

March 23, 2018
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Volunteer Ombudsmen Look-Out for the Elderly

By Long-Term CareNo Comments

In the state of Florida, a long-term care ombudsman is a trained volunteer that advocates for senior citizens and assists in improving the quality of life of residents in long-term care facilities. Volunteer ombudsmen work with patients in long-term care facilities, such as nursing or assisted-living homes, to identify and investigate common issues that residents may be facing. This allows the ombudsman program to advocate for residents of these facilities and help improve their lives. Ombudsman volunteers are trained to listen to the concerns and problems of residents and to make them feel heard. However, certified volunteer ombudsmen receive additional training that allows them to investigate residents’ concerns and help resolve them. These volunteers come from all walks of life but share one common goal: helping improve the quality of life of senior citizens living in long-term care facilities.

 

March 16, 2018
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How to Get Guardianship of an Elderly Loved One

By GuardianshipNo Comments

Guardianship is the position of being legally responsible for an individual that is unable to manage their own assets and/or healthcare. As a guardian, the person that you have the legal authority to care for is called your ward. Guardianship may be a viable option if your loved one is incapacitated due to advanced age or disability and they neglected to appoint a power of attorney for their finances or a healthcare surrogate for their medical and health matters. If you are petitioning for guardianship, you must go to court and have your loved one declared incapacitated. Once this occurs, the court may transfer the responsibility of managing your loved ones assets and healthcare to you. Guardians have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of their wards, and there are Guardianship monitoring programs in place to ensure that Guardians fulfill their obligations. Depending on the extent of a ward’s incapacity, a guardian’s duties may include: determining where the individual will reside, paying bills, giving consent for medical treatments, making end-of-life choices, managing finances and handling matters related to said individual’s tangible personal property.

If you have any further inquiries regarding this matter, please contact our office at: 941-906-1231 and schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.

 

March 13, 2018
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The Prevalence of Resident-on-Resident Elder Abuse in Nursing Facilities

By Long-Term CareNo Comments

A study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine states that at least one in five nursing facility residents is subject to abuse by other nursing facility residents. A large amount of this aggression in nursing facilities is due to the fact that some residents suffering from Alzheimer’s or Dementia are being placed in communal living environments that are unfamiliar to them, as they likely spent most of their lives in a private residence. This factor can exacerbate the behavioral issues in some individuals with these afflictions and increase the likelihood of conflict in nursing facilities. Resident-on-resident abuse can take on many forms, including: physical, verbal or sexual abuse.

Many individuals that reside in nursing facilities have lowered inhibitions due to mental or physical impairment, which can contribute to the rate of resident-on-resident abuse as well. To combat this issue, there are steps nursing facilities can take to reduce agitation in patients suffering from dementia or other neurodegenerative disorders. These include, but are not limited to: reducing or eliminating loud noises, introducing music therapy, introducing aromatherapy, reducing overcrowding, aiding residents in getting more exercise and eliminating the use of overly bright lighting. Additionally, caregivers in nursing facilities can be taught more effective techniques for handling situations in which a resident with Alzheimer’s or Dementia becomes agitated.

March 9, 2018
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Reducing the Risk of Dementia

By HealthNo Comments

A new international study featured in the Lancet has released nine factors that contribute to the risk of dementia. This study was recently presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London and suggests that lifestyle changes can aid in the prevention of dementia.

The scientists who presented this study suggest that these nine preventable factors (listed below along with the percentage of the risk they cause) make-up 35% of dementia risk in individuals and states that behavioral changes can help reduce or eliminate this percentage of risk.

  1. Mid-life hearing loss (9%)
  2. Failing to complete secondary education (8%)
  3. Smoking (5%)
  4. Failing to seek early treatment for depression (4%)
  5. Physical activity (3%)
  6. Social isolation (2%)
  7. High blood pressure (2%)
  8. Obesity (1%)
  9. Type 2 diabetes (1%)

These nine factors, which are considered to be modifiable, can contribute to the risk of developing dementia. The other 65% of dementia risk is thought to be non-modifiable, so making lifestyle changes that help an individual avoid from falling into any of these above categories may be one of the only ways to decrease the risk of developing dementia.

March 2, 2018
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Nursing Facilities: What is Myth and What is Fact?

By Long-Term CareNo Comments

Many people are not as informed regarding the different aspects of nursing facility care as they would like to be, and many have been misinformed as to what a nursing facility care encompasses and entails. A nursing facility, sometimes referred to as a nursing home or skilled nursing facility, is a communal residence that provides a high level of long-term personal or nursing care for elderly individuals who are unable to care for themselves properly. To help clear up some of the confusion regarding the purpose of nursing facilities, this post will list several myths regarding nursing facilities and provide facts that disprove these myths.

Myth #1: All The People Who Live In Nursing Facilities Are Dying

Nursing facilities provide medical services to individuals that have conditions that require continuous care. Many nursing facility residents are not dying, but rather need higher levels of care than can be provided by an assisted living facility.

Myth #2: Nursing Facility Is Another Term For Hospital

Nursing facilities are not hospitals, although they provide many types of medical and nursing care. In a nursing facility, residents are cared for while also maintaining as active a lifestyle as possible. Nursing facilities do not have restrictive visiting hours and the environment in a nursing facility is much less clinical than it is in a hospital. Additionally, nursing facilities offer activities to keep residents engaged in the community and that allow for socialization.

Myth #3: Residents of Nursing Facilities Lose All Their Independence

Nursing facilities respect and encourage independence as much as possible. Becoming afflicted with a condition that requires admittance into a nursing facility does not mean an individual is losing their independence, but simply that they need extra assistance with day-to-day tasks. Additionally, as long as they are not incapacitated, nursing facility residents retain all their legal rights and can make choices about their activities, schedule and health care, among other things.

Myth #4: There Is No Privacy In A Nursing Facility

In a nursing facility, residents’ rooms are considered private and staff will knock before entering. A resident’s room is their own domain and they are given as much personal space as is allowed for their medical care to still be provided in an effective manner. However, if residents want to engage socially, there are community areas in which they have the ability to do so.

February 23, 2018
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Helping Seniors Avoid Isolation

By HealthNo Comments

As your loved one ages, the likelihood that they will become more isolated increases. This can be due to a variety of factors, such as the death of a spouse or close friend, decreasing physical or mental ability and injury. Isolation can increase if a person feels their faculties declining but does not want to burden their loved ones, so they attempt to rely solely on themselves. If you believe that a loved one in your life may be isolating themself or facing obstacles that cause them to become isolated, there are ways to help.

Visit your loved one often. Whether they are living at home, in an assisted living facility or in a nursing facility, visits from family members or friends can help reduce isolation and increase happiness. If possible, plan weekly visits so that your loved one has something to look forward to and is able to spend a substantial amount of time socializing with you and your family. You can also arrange plans for your loved one to spend time with a close friend or others in their community.

Another step you can take to reduce a senior citizen’s isolation is providing them with transportation if they are unable to drive. The inability to drive may contribute to a senior citizen’s feelings of aloneness, as it can cut them off from the rest of the world. Offering a ride to your loved one can also alleviate any stress regarding transportation to outings or appointments, while increasing the amount of time that they spend interacting socially.

Helping your loved on around the house can be a great way to keep them from feeling lonely or isolated. If they are having trouble doing chores or are in need of redecoration, help them accomplish their goals. By sprucing up their environment and making it more welcoming, this will not only increase the comfort they feel in their surroundings, it will also increase their desire to have others over and interact socially.

February 20, 2018
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