living longer living healthier living  better than ever before
  welcome to Mountain-Pacific's Healthy  Living for Life a weekly series that
  gives you the information education and  expert insight you need to become an
  active participant in today's ever  changing health care climate here now as
  today's program host as their loved ones  age sometimes the best way to help them
  stay healthy is to find someone to  assist with their care today we will be
  exploring what this process looks like  welcome to Healthy Living for Life a
  show dedicated to helping you do just  that I'm your host Lisa Sather today
  we'll talk about finding a caregiver and  what you should know before getting
  started stay tuned welcome back this  morning we're talking with LaDawn Whiteside
  an AARP volunteer and Deby McNally with the Area Agency on Aging
  thank you for joining us today ladies  good morning good morning so Deby
  let's start out with you could you tell  us about what the Area for Agency on
  Aging is and your role with them yes the  Area for Agency on Aging is a part of
  Rocky Mountain Development Council and  Rocky Mountain Development Council is a
  Community Action Agency it's a part of a  network that is a nonprofit
  organization and really they were  created to fight poverty and fight the
  war on poverty and so we have programs  like heating assistance headstart
  senior services all under this great  umbrella the Area Agency on Aging is one
  of many were part of aging services  Network and this is also nationwide so
  the aging services network is a great  organization it's tied to the older
  Americans Act and so we have several  services under our agency we provide
  funding as well  direct services so some of our programs
  we fund include senior centers the  congregate meals and the Meals on Wheels
  going out of that agency home making  services respite services and
  transportation so our direct services at  Area for Agency on Aging includes
  Medicare counseling and our aging  services helpline we receive those calls
  and under a program called  information Assistance and Referral we
  have the Ombudsman program and several  more okay so my role is outreach and
  education coordinator and part of why  I'm here today and what I'm doing and I
  spent several years as a Chip and INA  counselor answering phone calls from
  that hotline about the topic that we're  here to talk about today
  finding caregivers later so it's great   to hear more about that
  thank you  so LaDawn you volunteer with AARP yes and
  I'd like to hear a little bit more about  your background and what your role as a
  volunteer as well like Deby I have done  quite a few things that lead me to being
  an AARP volunteering with you today and  one of those things that I did was
  working for the regulatory authority for  health care facilities for a long time
  and part of my role there was that I was  a complaint and abuse coordinator and so
  I heard a lot of things from people  about not only facilities but staffing
  issues and caregiver issues and things  like that and then I worked for the
  waiver program with the Community  Services Bureau for a couple of years
  and learned more about what people need  and want when they're living in their
  own homes and looking for caregivers so  when I retired from the state of Montana
  I decided I wanted to open a mediation  business and part of what I do there is
  to work with people who are trying to  resolve problems
  so when I became a part of the AARP  organization they had this program
  called prepare to care and so I  volunteered to provide this prepare to
  care curriculum when people want to and  part of the curriculum covers creating a
  plan for caregivers in your own home  awesome well let's get right into that
  so we're gonna talk about   finding a caregiver today and why might
  someone decide to hire a caregiver for a  loved one that's a great question
  to start with and just to relieve the  burden of the primary caregiver relieve
  isolation so more companionship yes so  those are great things and one of our
  part of our mission of Area For is to help  keep people in their home and provide
  those home supports so they can remain  independent in the community and have a
  great quality of life great so if  someone decides they want to hire a
  caregiver where should they start so I  would start by asking questions and
  consider the type of caregiver you need  full-time part-time do you need a
  live-in is it just companionship or  friendly visitor or well check calls so
  there's a variety of caregivers out  there you know do you need a home care
  aide home health aide or a little bit  more medical on a certified nursing
  assistant or an RN so really starting  there will help you once you get those
  few questions asked that will get you  pointed in the right direction and I
  think some of the things like Deby had  said deciding what you need and then
  going out and finding it essentially  because a lot of caregivers they do
  as much as they can and they really work  hard and they feel really committed
  because it's their loved one that  they're taking care of so when they
  realize that they need some help  part of it is to take care of their
  loved one  and part of it is to take care of
  themselves as a caregiver so reaching  out and saying in your head and
  verbalizing that to people about I need  help with this thing at this time of day
  or this time a week I can do everything  but this thing I need help with and
  being specific and what you need and  then go in finding that either
  professional caregiver friend and family  that can help you with caregiving this
  really important job excellent all right  so we're going to take a short break
  here for just a couple minutes lady  ladies and then we'll be right back to
  get into a little bit more information  stay tuned
  welcome back LaDawn Whiteside and Deby McNally are here with us to continue our
  discussion on finding a caregiver  welcome back ladies Deby let's start
  let's start out with you let's start  talking a little bit more about
  specifics on finding specific types of  caregivers and can you talk to us a
  little bit about companion caregivers a  little bit more detail so companion
  caregivers or personal care assistants  they really help in the home to do light
  housekeeping preparing meals and  sometimes they assist with a little bit
  of personal care washing bathing but  really that helps with the little things
  non-medical and then that companionship  to maybe helping with medications
  picking them up at the pharmacy and  maybe some errands or shopping ok LaDawn
  do you want to talk to us if about if  somebody needs a caregiver with a little
  bit more training  a lot of caregivers have no experience
  in caregiving or they have some  experience but they have had no formal
  training and there is a program called  powerful tools for caregivers and that
  is through MSU Extension Office but you  can find out about how to participate or
  attend the powerful tools for caregivers  by calling the Extension agency or an
  ombudsman in your area a long-term care  Ombudsman in your area and that provides
  the layperson some information so that  they have more tools more resources and
  training to provide the care that's  necessary
  usually a certified nurse's aide or a  nurse or a medication assistant a
  professional or licensed certified  person has a lot of information so they
  come to the job with a lot of  information to help take care of the
  person but people who have never been  caregivers or really had no training the
  powerful tools for caregivers is really  a wonderful opportunity and also again
  I'm gonna  refer to prepare to care book because it
  kind of leads a person down the path of  how to find me how to find somebody that
  you need whether it's a in home whether  it's a family member or whether it's
  somebody through a blog a caregiving  blog or church organization affiliation
  something like that there are a lot of  caregiver programs that you can access
  excellent sounds like a lot of great  resources thank you and if someone needs
  somebody with a little bit more  medical expertise how would you go about
  that so you would look towards an RN  registered nurse maybe some more
  advanced care maybe if they have cancer  or some of those more hired metals call
  specialized needs so I would start with  the RN I also wanted to say that it's
  important that you know all these  different helpers or caregivers we can
  hire have different training  requirements and that may vary by state
  by state so you know while we're talking  them about a little here it's important
  to to really ask the questions and find  out their qualifications and what they
  can and cannot do and hiring that's  excellent leads right into my next
  question what kind of questions should  we be asking when we're thinking about
  interviewing a caregiver can we have  some tips on that I think that would be
  helpful yeah I think asking for their  qualifications or references making sure
  to do an interview with them is  important too then if you're hiring
  privately making sure to do a background  check there's a registry for at the
  state level for CNAs where you can call  and see where they're out with their
  requirements as a consumer so it's it's  great to look at those it's important to
  get a great match  so personality wise making sure that
  your loved one clicks with the caregiver  is important too I would just like to
  add that when you're hiring a caregiver  it's very similar in a person in an
  employment situation that's really  what you're doing if you're hiring a
  paid or you're asking somebody to  volunteer in your home you want to do
  the same kind of review that you would  do if the person was working for you
  because that's really what they're doing  so double checking options that are
  available free options that are  available the reference checks the nurse
  aide registration program through the  Quality Assurance Division checking with
  those references just don't accept the  letters contact those people be really
  comfortable with the person that you're  bringing into your home because they
  have access to everything so making sure  that you're your loved one and your home
  is safe from whoever you bring in is  really important and again AARP has a lot
  of resources that have to do with fraud  prevention and elder exploitation so
  prepare yourself with information don't  just bring a person in that you've never
  met before and expect them to know how  to do things stand beside them watch
  supervise the care that they're  providing for a while and make sure that
  they're doing it in in accordance with  your desires and your information very
  very good you have to say - when hiring  with the agency that you're going
  through a larger agency or smaller  agency when choosing that agency I would
  suggest you ask if it's if the same aide  would be coming on a regular basis some
  people want the same service and  caregiving is so intimate so
  making that match is important  absolutely because the caregiver
  essentially becomes a car part of your  family yes they're there a lot typically
  and as time goes on there's spending  more and more time very good and I would
  imagine it's really important to set  your expectations out in advance so they
  yes everybody is on the same page and  knows what to expect excellent well
  thank you ladies we're going to take a  short break here and we're going to come
  back and finish up here in just a couple  minutes stay tuned we'll be right back
  welcome back if your family is  considering finding a caregiver for your
  loved one you're not alone according to  the Centers for Disease Control and
  Prevention over 5 million Americans  receive support from care services such
  as home health agencies adult day care  service centers and residential care
  communities LaDawn Whiteside and Deby  McNally are still with us to discuss the
  ins and outs of finding the right  caregiver and how to pay for that care
  welcome back ladies so before we get  into the cost of hiring a caregiver
  which I'm really interested to talk  about can we talk a little bit more
  about finding the right person for your  loved one and what happens if the person
  you found doesn't actually click with  your loved one what do you do it's
  difficult I think to make friends and  that capacity so you're gonna have
  people that come in as caregivers that  may or may not click with your
  particular family or your loved one or  yourself whatever that is so you have to
  make a decision about is it better to  keep that person and provide some extra
  training to make the match fit or is it  better to hire another individual go
  through the same process again and a  little bit of that depends on your own
  feelings about that caregiver but part  of that needs to come from the person
  they're taking care of so your loved one  are they comfortable with that
  individual if they're not then start  exploring the process of hiring an
  additional or a new person and you'll  have to decide what the risk is do you
  want to phase that person out slowly  over time and adding a new person in or
  do you just want to terminate the their  caregiving at that very moment in time
  so don't believe that one caregiver will  stay with you forever you have to be
  prepared to introduce more and more  people into that they are giving since
  one size doesn't fit all right so  let's talk about elder abuse real
  quickly we need to hit on that so can  you tell us if that's a risk and concern
  yes that can be I think with any  caregiver abuse can happen whether it's
  burnout or verbal abuse and so it can  happen with any care
  so it's good to keep an eye on things  look for a bruise under clothing stay
  connected visit with the one who's being  cared for LaDawn do you have examples unfortunately
  the statistics demonstrate that more  abuse happens in the home than it does
  in institutional settings or places that  you might take someone we have this
  hesitation or this worry that abuse is  happening in health care facilities
  which it does happen but the truth of  the matter is based on the law
  enforcement statistics there is more  abuse committed in the home setting than
  anywhere else I'm part of that has to do  with less supervision if you're living
  in a nursing home there's a lot of  people around there's lots of people
  watching each other when you're in the  home setting there's not a lot of
  supervision so you want to make sure  that the person that you hire is going
  to be taking care of your person the way  you want them to so I guess the
  important thing as Deby said is to look  for signs do extra supervision make sure
  that you have used the due diligence  resources that are available to you and
  don't hesitate to report and ask  questions if you suspect or concerned or
  you're not clicking with that caregiver  and you're starting to worry be sure to
  report ok cost what are we talking about  roughly in terms of cost for cost it's
  approximately a hundred and twenty-five  dollars a day for full care and it may
  be less if it's part part-time so that  that can really add up over time any
  financial options for folks to help get  help paying for in-home care yeah there
  are several options out there Medicare you'd want to look and see if
  your loved one qualifies for Medicare  home health and you would just go to
  medicare.gov for that if they have an  advantage plan which is a not original
  Medicare you could check with your agent  or call 1-800 Medicare
  that out okay so Medicaid which is the  state level assistance has several
  options and I really feel like people  should explore Medicaid because you
  never know what services you might  qualify for there's Medicaid home and
  community-based services that help folks  stay in their home and provides long
  term care assistance there is PCA  services personal care assistance
  there's a self-direct program where you  can hire your own caregiver and and beat
  the boss and trainer and then another  agency is just the bank they're the
  fiscal filter so there's a lot of  options out there and then you could
  also look at go to eldercare.gov okay to  look and for some resources you can look
  at a benefits checkup which will tell  you what you're it's a great at the
  national program and a great screening  tool that will let you know what your
  loved one is eligible for an even offset  some cost so that it's a great program a
  reversed mortgage could also be an  option for folks so good options then
  keep your options open just have a few  in a few sentences before we get close
  to time being out but I want to know  some other options real quickly for
  folks if they wouldn't qualify for one  of those are there other resources out
  there so I would suggest to call the  Area for Agency on Aging or your Senior
  Center because they really know all  these resources and can walk you through
  it there are many online tools like the  ADRC website and online resource and a
  lot of the Area Agency on Aging have  senior resource guide okay so sometimes
  your local Area for Agency or our  agency the Area for Agency on Aging has
  resources that maybe are not on the  larger online resources
  thank you ladies our time has gone by  very quickly today I want to thank you
  for all of the great information that  both of you have provided and I know
  we'll have a bunch of this listed you  know on the screen so people can access
  so thank you very much for being here  thanks for having us absolutely thank
  you all so much for joining us as well  today we want to we hope we'll see you
  again next week until then stay fit stay  well and stay healthy for life with
  Healthy Living for Life
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