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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