The just-released Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide for Making the Best Decisions

The panel discussion will be helpful for anyone who is taking care of a senior parent or elderly loved one, or if you want to make plans your own future. 

Teresa Steinfatt, co-owner of Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond, will host the discussion.  Other panelists will be named in the next few days, so stay tuned!

In addition, there will be special guests available to answer questions on other senior care topics, such as Assisted Living Facilities,  Alzheimer’s and Dementia,  Rehab and Skilled Nursing, and Hospice Care.

Some of content to be discussed stems from the book, Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions, which was written by Paul & Lori Hogan, founders of Home Instead Inc.

To attend this event or for more information, please call Christy Walsh-Smith at 804.527.1100.  You must RSVP on or before June 15th.

 Dear Savvy Senior,

What tips or products can you recommend to make a bathroom more senior-friendly. My husband and I are looking to adapt our home for our elderly years and would like to start with the bathroom. What can you tell us?

Aging Gracefully

Home Instead Senior Care sponsors Jim Miller's Savvy Senior column

Dear Aging,

Because more accidents and injuries happen in the bathroom than any other room in the house, this is a great place to start seniorizing.

Here’s what you should know.

Small Changes

To avoid hygiene hardships as you get older, let’s start with some simple tips and a few low-cost add-ons that can make a big difference in making your bathroom safer and easier to maneuver.   

• Floor: To avoid slipping and tripping, get non-skid bath rugs for the floors or secure existing floor mats or rugs with double-sided rug tape. 
• Lights: The older we get the more light we need, so install the highest wattage bulbs allowed for your fixtures, and get a plug in nightlight that automatically turns on when the room gets dark.
• Entrance: If the doorway into the bathroom is not wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair or walker, you can easily widen your doorways (two inches) with inexpensive offset door hinges.
• Bath/shower: To make bathing safer, buy a non-slip rubber mat or put down self-stick strips on the tub/shower floor, and install grab bars for support. If you use the shower, it’s a good idea to put in a shower curtain rod that screws or bolts into the wall (versus a tension-mounted rod), so that if you lose your balance and grab the shower curtain, the rod won’t spring loose. Another safety precaution is to put in a water-resistant, wall-mounted phone in or near the bath/shower in case of a fall. And many seniors with mobility or balance problems need to shower sitting down. If this applies to you, install a hand-held, adjustable-height shower head, and buy a portable bath/shower chair.
• Toilet: Install grab bars next to the toilet too if possible, or purchase a toilet seat riser. This adds two-to-four inches of height making it easier to sit and rise. 
• Faucets: If you have twist handles on the sink, bathtub or shower faucets, replace them with lever handles. They’re easier to turn, especially for seniors with arthritis or limited hand strength. Also be aware that it takes only 130-degree water to scald you, so turn your hot water heater down to 120 degrees or get anti-scald devices for your faucets.

Bathroom Products

If you’re thinking about remodeling, there are a variety of practical and stylish products on the market that can make your bathroom more age-friendly.

For bathing, prefabricated “curbless showers” and “walk-in bathtubs” are two popular options today. Curbless showers have no threshold to step over so access is a breeze and ideal for wheelchair users. Theses showers also typically come with a built-in seat, grab bars, an adjustable hand-held shower head, and a slip resistant textured floor. Or, if you like to take baths, a walk-in bathtub with a front door may be the way to go. You can find these products at sites like Accessible-Showers.com and Premier-Bathrooms.com. 

If you’re interested in getting a new toilet, go with an ADA compliant “comfort height” toilet that’s 17 inches high, versus a standard toilet that’s only 15 inches. Kohler (Kohler.com) and American Standard (AmericanStandard-us.com) make a nice variety.

And if you’re putting in a new sink, install it at a level that reduces bending. For wheelchair access wall-mounted or pedestal sinks, or a sink built into a cabinet that’s open underneath will let you roll in nice and close. And if you get a new faucet, the single lever handle style is great for those with arthritis.

Savvy Tips: For more information on senior-friendly modification tips visit aarp.org/families/home_design/bath and Homemods.org. Also contact your nearby independent living center (ilru.org, 713-520-0232). These are nonprofit centers that provide modification information, and many even offer free or low-cost home assessments. Your Area Agency on Aging (800-677-1116) is also a good referral resource.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit http://SavvySenior.org.

About Jim Miller

Jim Miller, creator of syndicated The Savvy Senior column

Jim Miller is the creator of Savvy Senior, a syndicated information column for older Americans and their families that is published in more than 400 newspapers and magazines nationwide. Jim is also a contributor on NBC’s “Today” show, and is the author of The Savvy Senior, The Ultimate Guide to Health, Family and Finances for Senior Citizens, (Hyperion, 2004).  

Jim is frequently quoted in articles about issues affecting senior citizens and has been featured in numerous high profile publications, including Time magazine, USA Today and The New York Times.  In addition, he has made multiple appearances on CNBC, CNN, Retirement Living Television and national public television. 

The Savvy Senior column is brought to you by Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond and Tappahannock

Home Instead Senior Care provides extraordinary senior home care, personal care and companionship services to seniors in the Richmond area which includes the counties of Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico and Powhatan.  We also serve all of the Northern Neck out of our Tappahannock office.  For more information, please visit our digital brochure or call our office at 804.527.1100 anytime.

P.S. There are more helpful hints like this in the book, Stages of Senior Care.  Call us to inquire about how to get a copy.

Need some additional caregiving help for an elderly loved one?   Want to make sure your Father or Mother get some additional help around their home to help them remain independent?  Always wanted to know more about how Home Instead can help reduce stress and lighten your caregiving load if you’re the family caregiver?

Well, there’s no better time than now to make your appointment for our free, no-obligation home care assessment and to start having those conversations.  For a limited time, you’ll receive a free copy of Stages of Senior Care: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions as our thank you for your time and for meeting with us in person.

Simply call our office at 804.527.1100 to make your appointment and mention the offer code “STAGES” when you call.  While our offices are open during the week, our phone lines are open 7 days a week for your convenience including Saturdays and Sundays.

The just-released Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide for Making the Best Decisions

Stages of Senior Care is more than a book.  It is a reference guide for family members or seniors who want to gain a better understanding of all the many care options available to seniors. 

It explains the various options and the advantages and disadvantages of each.  You’ll keep it nearby and will refer to it again and again as senior care needs change from independent living to assisted living to hospice care and everything in between.

Again, Stages of Senior Care is our free gift to you for simply meeting with us in person to review your senior care needs whether those include light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders, transportation, personal care or companionship services. 

Just call our Home Instead office at 804.527.1100 and mention offer code “Stages.”   Offer good while supply lasts so don’t delay.  Offer available in Greater Richmond and Northern Neck areas served by our Home Instead Senior Care offices in Richmond and Tappahannock.

Caring for an elderly Mom or Dad can be daunting. Talk to them about their wishes.

If you have an aging parent, you probably have received advice from friends and experts to start talking with your parent now about issues such as finances, health and safety concerns. 

You know you shouldn’t delay any longer, and you definitely should not wait until a crisis occurs. 

However, it is tough to know how to get started.  You respect your parent’s privacy.  You have had no experience or training for this.  It is downright uncomfortable.

You may be thinking,

How do I find out what my parent really wants and what he/she expects from me?

How do I broach sensitive subjects?

What if they get upset with me?

What if they refuse to talk with me?

It’s important to realize it takes just one event to change your parent’s world and yours.  My mother’s health deteriorated rapidly in a 3-month period due to a viral infection.  A seemingly simple fall can result in a broken hip or brain injury.  An aneurysm can result in a coma. 

None of us can predict the future.  But, we certainly can start the conversations with our parent now.  Let me share some tips.

1. Start with an understanding of how your motivation and your parent’s motivation differ.  David Solie in his book, How to Say It To Seniors, tells us that the primary driver in the elderly is to “maintain control.”  That makes sense when you think about the losses they are experiencing; the loss of strength, health, and friends.  As adult children, our primary driver is “safety”!  We have to learn to assist, not insist.
2. Plan a special visit of 2 or 3 days with your parent.  During this time, just plan to be present, listen and walk beside your parent in their daily routines.  This means putting your laptop, blackberry and phone away.   The first time I did this, I was amazed.  I gained insight into my mother’s world, and the experience also helped me transition from my fast-paced world to hers.  A natural result of the visit was a deepened trust and openness between my mother and me.
3. Broach sensitive discussions with thoughtful wording, such as using the phrase, “What If”.  “What if your arthritis gets worse and you need help in your home” or “What if one day you need full-time care?” If your parent doesn’t want to talk about it at that time, know that you’ve planted a seed.  It also helps to share these conversations with your other siblings (who may live states away from you and your parent). Try to get family members on the same page.  

So, start with a sincere desire to understand your parent, their fears, needs and wishes.  Put yourself in their shoes, and listen, non-judgmentally.  Build a foundation of trust and sharing.  That foundation is what will help guide you through the conversations you need to have with your parent now and in the future. 

Want to learn more about communicating with an aging parent and siblings?

Obtain Dale Carter’s entire Ecourse, “Five Essential Strategies to Help Your Aging Parent Face Change” at http://www.transitionagingparents.com/

About Dale Carter

The above article was written by Dale Carter and published with permission.  Dale Carter is the founder of Transition Aging Parents, providing information and insight for adult children of aging parents so they can “thrive and find joy” in every stage of life.  Besides her blog, articles, and newsletter, she hosts a weekly radio show, interviewing authors and experts.  Her book, “The 6 Steps to Guide an Aging Parent through Change & Crisis” will be published later in 2010.

At Home Instead Senior Care

Home Instead Senior Care has many additional resources to help you with having those often difficult conversations with your aging parent.  There is a 40-70 Rule booklet which you can download at this link:  The 40-70 Rule.  You can also reference the website and book, The Stages of Senior Care.  And, lastly, you can preview our Richmond digital brochure here:  Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond.

And, remember, we’re here to help.  Just call our Richmond senior care offices at 804.527.1100 — we’re here for you anytime, day or night, whenever you need assistance.

There are advantages and disadvantages for Seniors to age in place in their own homes,

Aging in place enables seniors to live safely and comfortably in their own Richmond or Northern Neck homes or other primary residences, including independent living facilities. 

This is just one of many senior living options that are covered in detail in Lori and Paul Hogan’s new book:  Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions.

Aging in place is an option that utilizes some or all of the following:  special housing design for seniors, the installation of safety and convenience equipment, and in home care service that enables the senior to remain at home while ensuring needs are met. 

The advantages of aging in place are many but we’ll list just a few here: 

• Aging in Place maintains a familiar environment for the senior or elderly person so that they can continue to live in their own surroundings without making a drastic change
• It fosters community continuity, which means the senior can continue to frequent their usual grocery store, drugstore or other places in which they are comfortable shopping and asking for help
• It maintains valuable social networks,  often keeping contact with neighbors and friends that live nearby
• It has a way of strengthening family and family ties
• It promotes physical and mental well-being, just be continuing to keep the senior in a home where they often have raised their family

Aging in place can also mean that a senior or a senior couple can move into an independent living facility or other retirement community, such as retirement villages or even a government-funded NORC (naturally occuring retirement community).  

Some of the disadvantages of having an elderly loved one continue to live at home or an independent living facility are as follows: 

• There would likely be a low to moderate investment in home equipment and home modifications.  Depending on the home and the ability for the senior(s) to easily navigate in the home, the cost of these modifications an be high depending on the extent and nature of the modifications required, particularly if ADA-compliant renovations are required.
• The lead time for renovations may be lengthy (weeks) for determining the need, finding a contractor, and completing these home modifications, especially if the home is outside of a pre-planned senior independent living facility or village environment.
• Without home modifications, structural barriers in the home may present challenges and contribute to falls and injuries.  Even something as simple as having too much furniture and rugs in the home can make it difficult for the senior to manage easily as they get older.
• Seniors may be resistant to home modifications and the installation of helpful technology.  Often a senior who has lived in their home for a long time may not want to see any modifications in their home that would signify that they’re getting older and need additional help.

Aging in place is an option that is best suited for seniors who are functional on all activities of daily living (this is often abbreviated as ADL) which includes eating, bathing, toileting, dressing, maintaining continence, and transferring (getting out of a bed or chair).  So for those who require limited or no assistance in getting around their home, the prospect is good for sustained independent living and home modifications can be a rather easy and often less-expensive solution depending on their needs and whether they’re living alone or as a couple. 

When is it time to move on? 

With a few home modifications, many seniors can live in their existing homes for many years without further help.  But when it is no longer safe for them to move about easily or if they are forgetting to take medicine or go to doctors appointments, then the situation has to be re-evaluated again.  And especially if the need continual nursing or medical help. 

This transition time period is often when Home Instead Senior Care can provide senior home care and companionship services that allow the senior to live in their homes or more independent living facilities longer, before having to consider assisted living.  When a senior simply needs medication reminders, transportation, light housekeeping, checkbook balancing – or just simply needs someone to be there to play a card game or engage in conversation to prevent loneliness — then that’s a perfect situation for our CAREGivers to lend a helping hand.  

Home Instead Senior Care serves seniors across Greater Richmond, including Midlothian, Mechanicsville, Short Pump, Glen Allen, Chester and many other towns.  Our West End offices are conveniently located off Broad Street and you can simply call us at 804.527.1100 for a free, no-obligation home care assessment.  Let’s work together to allow our Richmond seniors to remain safe and live independently in their own homes for as long as they are able.

P.S.  Does your elderly relative live in the Northern Neck?  We have an office in Tappahannock in which we serve the entire Northern Neck area.  That office number is 804.443.4885.

What is hospice?  Probably no form of senior care is as little understood as hospice.  People often have misconceptions about it and almost always questions such as:

• Is it a building, like a hospital? 
• Who are the professionals who will take care of my mother in hospice care? 
• How much, or how little, will they do for her? 
• If nursing home costs have impoverished her how will she, or we, pay for hospice care? 
• What role does the family play in hospice care?

Hospice care is sometimes thought of as a synonym for palliative care.  That’s not too far wrong, but hospice care is really a particular kind of palliative care.  Palliative care is a form of treatment that does not attempt to cure the patient’s underlying disease.  Rather it focuses on alleviating the symptoms of the disease, especially reducing the pain.  People of any age can undergo palliative care, among them children suffering from cancer. 

Eliminating Pain

Palliative care does not preclude other medical care.  It is possible, for example, to have one team of doctors alleviating the pain of a child with leukemia, in other words, practicing palliative care, while other specialists focus on curing the child’s disease.

In contrast, hospice care is limited to those who are judged by medical professionals to be at the end of their lives, generally, but not exclusively, the elderly.  The purpose, as with other forms of palliative care, is to eliminate or at least control pain and suffering. 

The promise to the individual who is placed in hospice care is that she will be able to spend her final weeks and days with as much dignity and as little pain as possible.  Hospice care professionals assist the patient with the emotional and spiritual aspects of death as well.

SUMMARY:  Hospice Care and Palliative Care:  What’s the difference?

• Palliative care is designed to alleviate symptoms, especially reducing pain.
• People of any age can receive palliative care, including those who simultaneously receive healing care.
• Hospice is a particular kind of palliative care, limited to those who are judged by medical professionals to be at the end of life but are still in need of pain relief and comfort.

While in hospice or palliative care, your elderly loved one may need companionship care or personal care during this difficult time.  Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond can provide those services and more so that you can have a few less things to worry about.  Simply call our Richmond office at 804.527.1100.  We serve Greater Richmond and Northern Neck, too.

Excerpted from the book, Stages of Senior Care:  Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions by Paul & Lori Hogan.  Also, credit to National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

Caring for an elderly Mom or Dad who has even early stage dementia can be a challenge. Let Home Instead offer you easy solutions.

Probably not a surprise as we’ve been hearing so much in the news these days about dementia and Alzheimer’s, but it’s true.  After age 85, nearly half of all seniors will have some cognitive impairment or dementia, typically Alzheimer’s disease.  This brain disorder makes it difficult for people to remember, learn and communicate and over time makes it increasingly difficult for seniors to take care of themselves. 

Victims of dementia suffer symptoms such as memory loss, a decline in the ability to perform routine tasks or learn new ones, and a loss of language, judgment, and planning skills.  Alzheimer’s can even bring about personality changes — for instance, in the case of a formerly social senior who might stop going to parties, church and other events.

Dementia can interfere with the care of a loved one in a number of ways.  People with dementia may eat poorly and irregularly and ignore exercise and social activity, all functions that would likely improve their health.  Family caregivers are usually the first to recognize that dementia may be developing and should seek medical evaluation as soon as symptoms are recognized.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common — and often heartbreaking — form of dementia, afflicting only about 5 percent of seniors between sixty-five and seventy-four.  But nearly half of those over the age of eighty-five may be affected.  The disease usually begins slowly with mild memory loss and develops gradually into crippling brain damage with symptoms that can include paranoia. 

Alzheimer’s victims typcially live for eight to ten years after being diagnosed with the disease and sometimes for as long as twenty years.  So far, no medication or treatment has been successful in reversing or stopping Alzheimer’s, although medications are available that may help delay progression of some of the symptoms.  It remains perhaps the most difficult condition to come with in a family setting.

This information has been provided to you through the recent book written by the founders of Home Instead Senior Care, Paul and Lori Hogan, specifically chapter 15 on Complicating Ailments and Issues.  The book is entitled Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions. 

If you’re ready to take the next step with caring for your elderly loved one now, then simply call Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond and we’ll be glad to review your home care needs with a free, professional in-home assessment.  We give you many ways to contact us including any time by phone, 804.527.1100, or through our website at http://HomeInstead.com/Richmond-VA.  We serve the entire greater Richmond area, including Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Powhatan and more, along with the Northern Neck as we have a second office in Tappahannock.

The CEO and co-founder of Home Instead Senior Care, Paul Hogan, appears on Fox News’ Road to Retirement show and discusses how hiring non-medical caregivers can help keep an elderly loved one in their home longer, or even provide in-home care at an independent living or assisted living facility, so that the Senior can retain — or,  in some cases —  regain their independence as his own grandmother did back in the 1990s. 

Paul & Lori Hogan, co-founders of Home Instead Senior Care and authors of Stages of Senior Care

Paul and Lori Hogan just recently released a new book entitled Stages of Senior Care:  Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions, which is an excellent guidebook for anyone dealing with the decisions and care needs of a senior or elderly loved one, particularly a mother or father. 

The just-released Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide for Making the Best Decisions

Today, there are so many choice in senior care and homecare providers that it can often be difficult to make the right choices for your loved one.  Check out the video of Paul’s segment on Fox News and you can also download a helpful senior care options guide by clicking here.

Many seniors could stay in their homes longer and live more freely and independently but they often need just a moderate level of assistance on a day-to-day basis.  Often that means someone to call them and remind them to take their medicine at a certain time, perhaps provide transportation to a doctor’s office or church, or someone to just check on them personally and provide companionship, reminisce about the past or help them with day-to-day activities, even light housekeeping or meal preparation.

If you are looking for an alternative to assisted living facilities for your Mom or Dad, then consider Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond.  Simply call us at 804.527.1100 to schedule a free no-obligation assessment of your needs and how we may be able to help your senior live comfortably and independently, often staying right in their own home for years to come.

The just released Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide for Making the Best Decisions

The founders of Home Instead Senior Care, Paul & Lori Hogan, have just released their new book entitled:  Stages of Senior Care: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions.  It’s a fabulous resource book and guide to help you navigate through the often challenging maze of the various levels of senior care.

The book is already a USA Today bestseller — debuted at #44 based on combined sales figures of fiction, nonfiction, paperback, hardcover, and e-book titles, through the week ending October 25, 2009. 

And here’s what Publishers Weekly had to say in their STARRED review of the book:

“Using their experience running a successful international company providing in-home, non-medical services for seniors, husband-and-wife founders of Home Instead Senior Care offer a helpful guide for families choosing among home care-giving and other assisted-living options for aging or ailing parents. The Hogans believe in helping seniors stay in their homes as long as possible, and knowledge is their most powerful tool in securing that goal; this well-researched volume is packed with information, advice and resources aimed at managing and ameliorating the sadness, confusion, guilt and anxiety of making quality-of-life decisions for a loved one.

“Emphasizing the need for planning, the Hogans offer a list of signs that indicate it’s time to consider additional care, as well as a thorough exploration of the options, including pros and cons, questions to ask and other factors when choosing among home care, senior centers, assisted living and nursing homes. The Hogans also consider options for children who live far away from their parents, and advice on what to do when siblings find themselves in disagreement. Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, this salient volume compassionately addresses a full range of hard-to-discuss subjects, including funeral services and bereavement.”

Stages of Senior Care has been endorsed by Dr. Oz, New York Times bestselling coauthor of YOU: The Owner’s Manual: The Complete All-in-One Care Guide as well as Suzanne Mintz, President/CEO of the National Family Caregivers Association.

Here at Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond, we feel it is destined to be a resource book that will be used for years to come.  Those who are Boomers or at the tail end of the Boomer generation in their 40s and 50s are certainly beginning to have discussions with their senior parents in their 70s about the various stages of senior care.  This guide answers questions and provides ways in which we can talk to our Mom or Dad about those subjects that are respectful, loving and caring. 

So if you have questions about how to handle the situation of a senior parent or even grandparent living with you, or if your elderly loved one wants to live independently for as long as possible, you can rest assured knowing that you’ve thought through the issues surrounding those types of scenarios and have also discussed more advanced care needs that are provided by assisted living facilities, retirement or nursing homes and even hospice care.

If you have any questions about the book or are ready to talk to someone personally about your specific situation, please call our Richmond office at 804.527.1100 to schedule a free, no-obligation family senior care assessment.  We will provide an objective view of your situation and offer you the various ways in which we can support you in caring for your elderly Mother or Father, or refer you to facilities that can best provide your needs.  And sometimes a combination is the best senior care solution.  Since 1997, Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond has been and continues to be your trusted resource for senior care.