Caring for Parents Together

Wife Was Given 15 months to Live After Diagnosis of Mesothelioma

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:00:19 +0000

Mesothelioma Patient is Given 15 Months to Live!

My name is Cameron Von St. James and I was thrown into the role of caregiver when my wife, Heather, was diagnosed with a very rare and deadly cancer called mesothelioma, just three months after the birth of our only child. We were initially told that she could have less than 15 months to live, but she was able to defy the odds and eventually beat the cancer. During her treatment, I had to learn quickly to be an effective caregiver, and there were many times when I became overwhelmed and beaten down by the role, but we managed to fight through it together. We recently participated in a short video about my wife’s cancer experience, which we hope to use to raise awareness and support for people fighting illness, and the caregivers who fight alongside them.

Here is the link to the video: http://can.cr/heather

Cameron Von St. James
Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance
http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/

Six Steps for Selecting an In-Home Agency

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:48:41 +0000

Here are six steps to selecting an In-Home Care Agency so your loved one will be protected and safe.

Check screening process on caregivers. They should be screened through the Family Registry and a nationwide background check done.
What kind of training do aides receive?
How are aides monitored? How do they know when they arrive on time or leave at the appropriate time?
How do they handle it when an aide doesn’t show up? What is the backup plan?
How do they handle it when an aide doesn’t work out?
How many caregivers are scheduled to work in a week’s time? In general, the fewer caregivers revolving through a senior’s home, the better.

Other items of concern is how aides are oriented when a new one comes into the home. What notes are being taken about what is happening through the day? What services do they provide while they are there? Do they provide transportation?

Different Levels of Aides

Here is what in-home services agencies offer typically:

Companion services. These are minimally trained workers who will prepare meals, do light housekeeping and act as companions to a senior who should not live alone anymore.
In-home aides can be CNAs or Medical Technicians. They can take blood pressure, check sugar levels and monitor medications.
Live-in companions stay in the home and although available 24/7, they do sleep at night.
Private Duty Nurses can fill, refill and administer medications.
Bath aides may come in just to bathe the patient.
Occupational Therapists & Physical Therapists are available through some in-home agencies to assist older adults who need rehabilitation.
Transportation services for a fee.
Some agencies are offering theservices of dentistry & foot care provided in the home.

Inspire Your Brain

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:40:40 +0000

Going Back to School Inspires Your Creativity and Stimulates Your Brain

Many community colleges have low cost continuing education classes to hone computer skills, learn a new language, take trips and just explore new ideas. There are speaker series available through many colleges that put the attendee in touch with first class speakers on all types of topics. In addition, many universities will allow anyone 65+ to audit a class if room is available for no or very low cost. Older adults need to increase their plasticity by using their brains on new endeavors. Take a dance class; learn to play chess or bridge. This puts the attendee in touch with new people and social situations which adds to the quality of their life.

When aging adults stay actively engaged, they feel a renewed sense of purpose. Volunteer at a hospital, library, the zoo or mentor a colleague or teen. Mentoring forges relationships and helps others who haven’t experienced what years of working have taught you. Work with children who need help reading or volunteer to serve on a non-profit Board. Choose an activity that doesn’t tie you down but encourages social stimulation as well as mental stimulation. Take on a project! Do something you have never done! Create a bucket list of activities that you would like to do before your time is up! Mostly, treat each day as a new adventure!

Explore new locations. Many community centers plan day trips to events and locations that are inexpensive and interesting. Check with senior centers and many communities offer senior departments. Some programming involves sharing skills that you have. Allow a teen to teach you new technology skills. Then tell them stories about what it was like growing up without color TV or cell phones, microwaves and internet. Write a life review or study family genealogy. Re-connect with old classmates and friends. Write a book. Today it is easier than ever to publish a book. Place old photos in a digital album. Garden or ride a bike. Play cards or board games.

As you can see, the amount of activities an older adult can participate in are limited only by their imagination. Allow your ideas to flourish! Stay active! Here are some websites that you can visit to train your brain for higher performance:

Be proactive in maintaining a sharp brain! Visit them daily.

Living Well with Arthritis

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:41:43 +0000

Karen Shoulders from the Arthritis Foundation talks about ways to adapt and treat arthritis.

Click here to listen to the interview: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dianekeefe/2013/05/22/living-well-with-arthritis

May is Arthritis Awareness Month

Karen Shoulders

Director of Programs

Arthritis Foundation – Heartland Region

9433 Olive Blvd #100

St. Louis, MO 63132

(314) 447-4882 direct line

(314) 991-4020 fax

www.arthritis.org/missouri

Certified Aging In Place and Universal Design Modifications for Aging at Home Safely

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:27:11 +0000

Terry Donovan from Live Well Home Modification Specialists talks about the types of modifications to make in homes to make them ‘aging ready’ and safe.

Though many older adults have been in their homes a long time, this doesn’t mean they are safe for the process of aging. Taking certain steps to safeguard your home will prevent unnecessary broken hips and other fractures from falls in the bathroom or other parts of the house. Mr. Donovan, a veteran of 28 years in the building industry, talks about certified Aging in Place and Universal Design for your home.

He experienced a mother who had a stroke and ended up in skilled nursing. His father struggled to handle their affairs; contracted pneumonia and experienced a hip replacement. Terry put his knowledge of ADA Accessibility and Aging In Place certification to safeguard his father’s home so he could continue to live in it as he desired. He became impassioned to help other families to safeguard their aging loved ones so they can stay in their homes as well.

Interview with Terry Donovan, Live Well Home Modifications, LLC

Terry Donovan, President

314-221-6668

livewellstl@yahoo.com

Affordable Care Act & Insurance: April 2013

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:25:11 +0000

Affordable Care Act

Healthcare currently costs 25% of the economy. People are living longer with multiple conditions. Because of the recent economic downturn, many of those 50+ have lost significant savings for their retirement. This Act will provide everyone with affordable insurance.

Here are the exceptions:

Those 18 to 25 can get castastrophic insurance only.
Those on Medicare will not need to be on it.
Anyone objecting based on religious beliefs.

What It Covers

The Affordable Care Act is 900 pages outlining the following:

An insurance pool is being created which will provide health insurance to everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions. The larger the pool, the more costs can be spread around.
There will be a 30-60 day enrollment period
If you have a change of life circumstance i.e. divorced or widowed, you will be able to get insurance immediately.
In the current version, doctors will be incentivized to talk to one another regarding the care of a patient.
If a person has low income, the government will pay their premium
If they are over 400% of poverty level, they will need to pay 10% of their income on insurance
Employers with over 50 employees will be required to provide insurance for them. There may be higher co-pays.
Doctors will be required to be online with medical records in 2014.
States will be required to have an exchange ready by January 2014 or to let the federal government handle it. Missouri opted to have the federal government handle it.
Children can be on the parent’s policy until they are 26 despite living somewhere else.
Hospitals will be required to ensure that care continues upon discharge and there is no re-admittance within 30 days. Hospitals will not be paid for infections picked up during the hospitalization.
Those in the age bracket of 55-64 will be charged more because they are likely to use more health care. They will be asked if they smoke and if they are obese.

Possible Negative Consequences

Here are some possible negative consequences from the Act. It is a starting point.

If employees work less than 29 hours, these employees will not be counted toward fines if the employer is not providing insurance. Currently, taxes and fees in the law are directed to industry.

Women pay more for insurance over a lifetime because they have children; live longer and are more apt to use the system.

40% of rural hospitals will go out of business because they cannot afford to take in the uninsured. Rural people will not have enough professionals to serve them. They will be directed to the closest cities. More will be served by Nurse-Practitioners.

Some insurance policies have been grandfathered in. This will only continue if premiums are not changed or there are no other changes in the policy itself.

The cost of premiums may go up.

Understanding Medigap Policies

Medigap policies were put into place to cover out of pocket expenses that Medicare did not cover. They offer 6 months of guaranteed issue meaning that you don’t have to qualify during that time period. After that, you may have to meet certain criteria and premiums may be higher.

Here is what all Medigap plans A through N cover:

Coinsurance for day 61-90 of inpatient hospitalization
Coinsurance for lifetime reserve days 91-150
Coverage for an additional 365 days of inpatient hospital care in your lifetime
Coverage for the first three pints of blood
Coverage for 20% coinsurance for Part B services
Coverage for hospice 5% coinsurance for Medicare-approved charges for inpatient respite care and 5% coinsurance for prescription pain medications

The plans A through N differ in what they cover from this point. Some offer coverage for foreign travel emergency, portions of the skilled nursing coinsurance, coverage of Part A deductibles and out of pocket expense.

These plans offer a Special Trial Right to try out the Advantage Plans for up to a year. They give you the right to convert back at any time during that year if you are dissatisfied with the plan. On thewww.medicare.gov website, there is a listing of star rated plans. These are plans that have a higher rate of customer satisfaction. If you are on a lower rated plan, Medicare will notify you so that you can switch to a higher rated plan during your next Open Enrollment period.

Open Enrollment for the Medigap policies is the anniversary date of your policy so it is unique to the person being insured.

Disability and Driver Safety Adaptations

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:33:18 +0000

Mary Zatopek, Sales Manager for United Access, talks about all of the adaptations they offer to keep drivers safe on the road and for accomodating disabilities.

Click here to listen to the interview: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dianekeefe/2013/05/01/adaptations-available-to-aid-drivers-in-staying-mobile

Mary Zatopek has been with United Access since 2010, helping to develop the marketing, sales and educational programs for St. Louis and several other United Access locations. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from University of Missouri-St. Louis and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Marketing from Saint Louis University. Mary is on the Missouri Rehabilitation Association state board and is also the Board Member-Education on the local chapter of Missouri Rehabilitation Association.

Mary Zatopek

9389 Natural Bridge Rd

Saint Louis, MO 63134

(314)989-1010

mzatopek@unitedaccess.com

Reminiscence & Life Review in Aging: Getting in Touch with your Legacy

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:57:08 +0000

Tom Meuser, PhD
UMSL

Tom Meuser, PhD of the Gerontology Program at the School of Social Work at University of Missouri-St. Louis, shares his project conducting Life Reviews for persons 60+.

Click here to listen to the interview: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dianekeefe/2013/04/24/conducting-a-life-review

Tom Meuser, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Director of the Gerontology Program in the School of Social Work at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. A clinical psychologist by background, Dr. Meuser is interested most in research and service projects that help seniors journey through aging as successfully as possible. His Life Review Project allows persons, aged 60+, to tell their life stories on camera for purposes of personal growth and leaving a legacy. This presentation will introduce the listener the key concepts in Narrative Gerontology and life story work.

Contact Dr. Tom Meuser at meusert@umsl.edu or at 314-516-5421 during business hours.

Life Review Website Link

Other sites mentioned on the show:

StoryCorps (http://storycorps.org/)

The Birren Center (http://www.guidedautobiography.com/)

Centenarians Project (http://www.centenarianproject.org/)

Institute for Reminiscence & Life Review (http://www.reminiscenceandlifereview.org/?dm_jmp=1)

Videos Mentioned on the Show:

http://winmedia2.umsl.edu/meusert/life_review/overview_DVD/Marjorie%2093%20Interest.wmv

http://winmedia2.umsl.edu/meusert/life_review/overview_DVD/Marjorie 93 Legacy.wmv

http://winmedia2.umsl.edu/meusert/life_review/overview_DVD/Millie_Bud_Longevity.wmv

http://winmedia2.umsl.edu/meusert/life_review/Life_Review_UMSL_2010.wmv

6 Reasons Why You Should Never Go Into the Hospital Without An Advocate

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:22:00 +0000

Advocate for Loved Ones

Here is why you should always have an advocate when in a hospital or facility:

1) Change of shifts among healthcare workers often results in lack of knowledge about what happened during the last shift with patient care and condition.

2) Someone needs to observe what is going on with the patient as they may not be conscious and able to self-report.

3) Lack of communication between staff and patient i.e. not understanding medical jargon, protocols & procedures.

4) Medication errors because of administration errors or lack of information about what the patient was taking before.

5) Plan for discharge and report what conditions the patient will experience upon returning home.

6) Someone to collaborate on the discharge instructions and help the patient to implement them upon returning home.

7) If the patient has dementia, they need someone to be with them at all times. There is not enough hospital staff to do that.

First Steps in Helping Older Adults

Diane Keefe, Geriatric Care Manager — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:09:33 +0000

When Your Parents Begin to Need Your Help, What First Steps Should You Take?

Parent needing help

Visit the Area Agency on Aging for your area. To find your Area Agency on Aging, go to www.n4a.org and input the zipcode of the area where your loved one lives.
Ask your loved one what will support them in living a higher quality of life?
Get a complete medication list together with the name of the prescribing doctor, name of the medicine, amount and how often taken.
Ask your loved one what insurance they have.
Ask them to tell you what doctors they have seen and when their next appointment is scheduled so you can accompany them.
Find out what hospital they would like to use and make sure it is in their insurance network.
Find out what legal work they have completed and who is named as the Healthcare Power of Attorney. Have they filled out an advance directive? If not, visit an elder law attorney to get this work started.