Family with aging relatives often delay the inevitable elder care concerns and the difficult decisions that lie ahead in everyone’s life. These care concerns typically leave us with little to no control; primarily because we don’t know what we need to know about helping our aging loved ones.

HelpFindCare.com gives you ways to gain a calmer relationship with the aging process. First, accept that we all will get old. If we maintain a negative mental perspective of aging – the same will be held in our emotions. It’s usually those negative feelings that affect the outcome of a situation more than any action we take. A better perspective for someone to adopt would be “prevention and of planning”. When it comes to caregiving and elder care, it’s better to get ahead of the curve by using advanced planning techniques. That takes us a long way toward easing stress for the family. And, in the event of an emergency, all parties will be prepared to manage through what could be a difficult situation.

Here are some practices that help family members get ahead with advance planning.

The following questions will help adult children know what to look for when planning the best care for an aging relative or friend:

1.  Ask him/her how they want to live. Get your siblings or other family members involved in the conversation. Check out the local senior services that could assist them stay at home like; in-home care, adult daycare, senior centers, and other programs.

2.  Be cognizant of the senior’s level of self-care. Can s/he care for themselves? Some may require assistance, such as with keeping up with laundry or getting to appointments.

3.  Are they eating properly? What about nutrition? Are they able to cook? When in the kitchen, check the refrigerator and pantry to make sure they are well stocked with nutritious food.

4.  Are they able to keep up with monthly bills?

5.  Are they able to drive safely? It is recommended that you assess the driving skills.

6.  When walking or standing, do they maintain good balance? They may be tripping a lot or falling but not wanting to admit it. Do their shoes fit properly?

7.  Are important items misplaced often?

8.  Are medications taken properly? Are the meds well organized?

9. Do they experience loneliness or depression?

10. Is the house clean and free of clutter?

This is a good start in preparing for the aging process. You will not be able to complete the list in one visit but being aware of what needs to be addressed will serve as a good solution. If your aging relative needs help at home, contact HelpFindCare.com.

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

What is HelpFindCare.com?

Help Find Care’s purpose is to give the tools and knowledge to help direct and manage the in-home care for those needing care and the family members involved in looking for care. In addition, we want you to have the capability to control the costs associated with caregiving by easily, and more affordably deal directly with caregivers. There is a HUGE cost ADDER associated with caregiving agencies employing caregivers, and this additional cost was being passed on to you: the Care Recipient. Agency Caregivers were NOT being justifiably paid for the tender services they were administering.

HelpFindCare.com supports family members and friends faced with helping aging loved ones or those needing care to overcome the difficulties of finding superior quality care, eliminate the frustrations of keeping relatives independent and safe at home, and mitigate the stress of maintaining balance of work and family on line.

We are launching end of April and In the meantime, we are taking names of Caregivers and those Needing Care prior to the full launch of our cool system. If you want to be notified, and you are a CAREGIVER click here and if you are NEEDING CARE click here – we will let you know when we go live!!! Thank you!!!!

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

When taking care of you is priority – care of aging relative in Austin improves. When your senior is safe and comfortable, worry lessen.

When a patient or caregiver visits the doctor(s), it would be an interesting question to ask… “why do I have to fill out another patient medical form?” The answer typically given, “we need your current information and health updates and changes”. If that hasn’t changed… at all, “why do I need to come in 15 minutes earlier to fill out a form that was filled out in my last visit?” But the question falls on deaf ears. Medical teams need what they need.  But what caregivers need is more time. That 15 minutes could be used meditating or relaxing, something caregivers need to do more to relieve stress.

On Twitter a few months back, there is an article about standardizing all medical forms, so that when you visit the doctor, just make a copy of it and hand it to the receptionist. We hear that doctors complain that the medical history forms are inadequate anyway and we, the patients, complain that we are duplicating our efforts and wasting valuable time. In addition to this, patients or caregivers may not have available, medical information handy at the time. Yet studies have shown that 80-85% of diagnoses are made based on historical information provided by the patient.

An immediate solution could be when caregivers or patients go to the medical office for the first time, they still fill out a basic medical history form by hand, containing basically the same information that could be shared with all medical offices. If we have a standard form, the patient can maintain that information themselves at home, and provide a copy when visiting a new provider. Now that’s a solution we all would buy into! One standardized form. Then our physician could provide corrections and updates to both the caregiver and the patient. The patient would have a transparent view of their health and make clearer, better informed decisions. The goal being, to have patients take responsibility for their own health data.

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

When the family visit aging relatives, this makes for the perfect time to make sure elderly family members are safe at home. There are many things to look for without coming right out and asking questions that may be embarrassing. Here are six things that should be noted while visiting and making sure an elderly loved one is safe. Any changes should be noted and if necessary, action should be taken as soon as possible.

1.    If the elderly family member is still driving, assess their skills. Even though they have been driving for many years, it may no longer be safe for them to do so. Ask if they have had any tickets or small accidents in the recent past. Look for dents on the car. If there is concern about their driving safety, schedule a driving test with the DMV.

2.    Make sure the senior is getting the proper nutrition. Check the cabinets and refrigerator to make sure they have food to make a meal with and not just a snack. If the senior cannot prepare their own meals any longer, arrange something with Meals on Wheels to help.

3.    Check on finances. See if there are unpaid bills lying around. Many seniors become forgetful and will neglect to pay bills on time.

4.    Watch for any balance problems. When seniors have issues with their balance, they will begin to experience many falls. Watch how they walk

and go up and down stairs. Older family members may benefit from a medical alert bracelet.

5.    While talking to the senior, make note of any changes in their memory. Try to talk about recent events to see what they recall. Also check to make sure they are not forgetting to take their medications.

6.    Some seniors will experience loneliness and depression. This can be noticed by changes in behavior. Often, when a senior is depressed, their hygiene will begin to suffer. Check to see that their clothes are clean and they are caring for their personal hygiene.

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

Source: ElderCareABCblog.com

When it’s clear that it’s time to consider home care for an aging loved one, it can be a difficult process. There is a lot of work to be done to ensure the best care options are chosen, and it can be emotionally trying. Here are some tips on where families can begin when it’s time to explore home care for a senior:

1. Talk about it – while family might believe a senior requires home care assistance, their elderly loved one might not feel the same. Talking about it gently is essential, and not all seniors are likely to simply accept the suggestion of help. A family counselor can intervene if necessary.

2. List the help needed – talk together and determine specific things that a senior care provider like Austin Aging Care could assist with. Whether it’s grocery shopping, help with bathing and dressing, or other tasks.

3. Do research – talk to friends and family about home care agencies they’d recommend, but during that process as costs are addressed, it’s also essential that any funding or insurance coverage that may be available is investigated

4. Don’t jump into a decision – even once a specific agency is narrowed down, it’s okay to interview them and ask questions about their history and their policies. Ask if they’ll spend time with the senior first to assess comfort level, and also verify that a replacement caregiver will be provided if one doesn’t work out

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

There are a number of challenges that come with caring for an aging loved one. If you are considering being a primary caregiver for your parent or relative, be aware of the following factors:

•    It is common that caregivers have to retire or change their employment situation.

•    Caregiving is costly.

•    It is very stressful, which can lead to health problems.

•    It can put a strain on your personal life.

Though caregiving is undoubtedly rewarding it is important to be prepared for the challenges that go along with it. When you enter into a caregiver role for a family member or friend, there will be times that you need extra help or a break. When you come to the point that you need help, contact HelpFindCare.com. We make elder care affordable and empower you to locate the best care for your relative.

Statistics Pertaining to Caregiving in the United States

For a better idea of some of the challenges associated with elder care read the statistics below:

•    According to Sandra Timmerman, director of MetLife Mature Market Institute, caregivers spend more than $5500 per year on elder care expenses.

•    Long distance caregivers spend at least $8700 per year on transportation, food and supplies.

•    There 65.7 million caregivers in the United States, according to the National Alliance of Caregiving.

•    More than half of those surveyed by www.caring.com are worried about the financial impact caregiving will have on them.

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

When taking care of you is priority, caregiving improves for your aging senior living in Austin. When your senior is safe and comfortable, worry lessen.

What is a Family Caregiver?

Family caregiving has been part of the American generations since the beginning of time. In the past several years family caregiving has become more complex and the length of time gets longer as our elderly live longer. Because we are living longer, the diseases we face are more difficult to treat, more cumbersome to care for, and require complicated treatments. The medical health advances now gives us more successful in healing serious, acute illnesses and therefore our loved ones are living longer, they are developing more ongoing or chronic conditions that can make it very difficult for them to care for themselves. The elderly care stresses on the health care system have been given to the family members (adult children) are taking on more caregiving responsibilities, many of them need support and preparation for their new role.

Family caregiving comes in a variety of forms: aging parent, grandparent, spouse, partner, friend, neighbor or older relative. If you provide care for another in your life, you are a caregiver. If you are the primary caregiver for someone, you are most likely the spouse or the adult child of the person needing care. However, another important and often overlooked group are the parents of children living with a disability. As a caregiver, you may be caring for your family member in your own home, you may be supporting them to stay in their home, or you may be providing support for them after they have been placed in a care facility. Whatever the circumstances, there are a number of changes, needs, feelings and emotions that accompany family caregiving.

One of the most important thing when caring for someone like aging parents is that the long-term benefits outweigh the physical and emotional costs. When they are gone you will never have an opportunity to be close with them again. And after they are gone, family members have the time to recoup. If you have siblings, you have the advantage to take shifts in caring for an older adult. And in today’s high tech world, you have an abundant resources like email, iPhone apps, Skype, and other online applications.

Caring for a loved one can bring families closer; it can enhance relationships; it can feel good to make it possible for a loved one to stay in their own home; and it can be rewarding to know that your loved one is doing what they want to do. If you need help caring for an elderly loved one living in Austin, please contact HelpFindCare.com.

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

Caring from a Distance Can Work

Caring for a senior takes a lot of time and patience and these two aspects are even more important for those who are long distance caregivers. It may seem impossible to be able to care for a senior when there are many miles between you, but it is possible. Below is a list of suggestions and tips that can help long term caregivers continue to provide the care a senior loved on needs.

1.    As a long distance caregiver, you will not be able to do everything, which is why it is important for you to ask for help when you need it. Meeting the crucial needs of the senior is the first priority.

2.    It is possible to do an assessment from a distance. This will help caregivers determine if changes have to be made or if the senior would benefit from certain improvements. Pay attention during phone calls with the senior. Listen for warning signs and whether the senior refers to any changes in their situation, including physical, financial and social.

3.    Plan face-to-face meetings with the senior. While this cannot be done on a regular basis, it is important to develop some type of schedule where you can physically check on the senior. Some long distance caregivers will try to visit once a month. Take this time to assess the senior’s abilities and their living conditions.

4.    www.aarp.org offers a lot of information that can help long distance caregivers, including a list of resources available including The FamilyCaregiversOnline.com

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

Aging care improves when your senior is safe and comfortable.

When visiting aging loved ones, make sure that you take a close look at how they are living to determine if they might benefit from home care assistance in Austin.

There are many senior citizens who are fortunate to live an extremely active and independent lifestyle. Elderly loved ones may be living in a nursing home or another type of long-term care facility; while others live with family members. Perhaps you are caring for your elderly parents. Whether you are caring for them, use these tips to help make the place safer for your aging relative or friend:

1. Put nonskid mats on the floor beside the bathtub or shower. Make sure the bathtub has a non-slippery finish on the inside.

2. Use securely fastened grab bars to help the elderly maintain balance while showering or bathing, and to help them enter and exit the tub or shower. The towel rack is not to be used as a grab bar. It cannot hold the weight of the senior nor is it securely fastened.

3. Install bars on each side of the toilet or a safety frame which can give support when sitting or rising.

4. Remove any loose throw rugs that can be tripped over.

5. Turn down the water heater a few degrees to prevent scalding accidents.

6. Install a ramp or rails at the entrance of the home.

7. Install smoke alarms. There are a variety of smoke alarms available including some that not only sound an alarm but also flash when set off.

8. Do not give out personal information over the telephone or elsewhere.

9. Make the stairways are well-lit and free of clutter. Handrails are a great safety feature for any stairway and need to be properly and securely attached to the wall.

10. Make sure the shoes your aging loved one wears fit properly, have a non-skid sole and support your weight. Replace the shoes every three to four months. If you are not sure which type of shoe is appropriate for you, contact a podiatrist.

Use this checklist on your next visit to help you recognize the important warning signs of home safety; if you can’t answer “yes” to all of the statements below, then it’s time to suggest some changes.

HelpFindCare.com can help you locate a professional caregiver in Austin who can ensure your loved one remains safe at home. Call us at 1-855-HF1-CARE or visit HelpFindCare.com.

As the economy suffers and a number of jobs are lost daily, the need for senior caregivers continues to rise.  What is a caregiver?  A caregiver is someone who gives assistance to another person who is no longer able to perform their critical tasks of personal or household care necessary for everyday survival.  A caregiver helps another person maintain independence and so much more. A caregiver often becomes a companion, a best friend, a confidant, a support system and a client/family liaison.  Finding the appropriate caregiver to match every need of a client can be a challenge but because so many people these days are turning to caregiving as a second career( and to give back to their community) the selection is much more broad and makes it easier for a nearly perfect match.

Of course not everyone makes a quality caregiver – one must be professional and usually has a history of caregiving skills, whether it be for your own loved one or for someone outside the family circle – but they must have compassion for those in need. HelpFindCare.com finds that caregivers who receive ongoing training and have a support system of people who listen and understand tend to be happier and have less burnout.

The economy may have taken a downturn, but the opportunity for a great career as a caregiver is out there.

HelpFindCare.com launch date is scheduled for end of March – In the meantime, we are taking names of Caregivers and those Needing Care prior to the full launch of our cool system.  If you want to be notified, hit one of the tabs above and fill out the information and we will let you know when we are live!!!

If you are a family caregiver and need help in Austin for a loved one, click here and fill out this information for elder care in Austin and we will contact when Help Find Care is live!!!