Aging in place 101: a not-so-obvious list of top caregiver resources to try out
The work of a caregiver is never-ending. Strong resources are key to empowerment for both the caregiver and those they are caring for. And while some caregivers are just coming to learn about the effort that goes into supporting and empowering those individuals who are aging in place, others have been a formal caregiver for most of their lives. Whatever the stage, today there are a wide array of organizations and resources working to both support and recognize the work of caregivers. A foundational understanding of the caregiver tools and resources landscape can be a helpful first step to supporting the aging in place process, and for others, a good reminder too of who can truly help.
In-Home Assessment
Literally starting at home is often the best place to start. From emergency contact lists to outlining the many items related to ongoing maintenance and repair of the home, the details that need managing in addition to the caretaking of the individual themselves is yet another thing for caregivers to consider.
AARP
offers a free Home Guide Kit that includes worksheets, tips and resources (sometimes with meetings in your state) as a way to sort thru the many items on the caretaker to-do list, when staying at home is a priority.
New to the market is a well-known Best Buy. The services from electronics innovator has been refined for seniors through the new
Best Buy Assured Living
offering. Included is an extension of the blue shirt team – referred to as Advisors. Members of the Advisor team can:
- Assess caregiving needs and help determine what's right for your family.
- Walk individuals through the benefits of Assured Living, including tools and support from the experts at Mayo Clinic and UnitedHealthcare.
- Act as your personal guide
- Be another trusted resource to make living at home easier and more comfortable through the use of technology.
Organizations for Hire In-Home
The coalescence of organizations surrounding the caregiver and the individual in need of support and empowerment is growing. Today, these entities focus on assisting those who assist others while offering the sort of one-to-one care so many are seeking:
- BrightStar Care grew out of the vision and idea that entrepreneur Shelly Sun in 2002 from one location in Gurnee, IL and today offers franchise locations across the country for in-home care and medical staffing. A deep menu of offerings underneath the categories of personal, transitional and skilled nursing care, are available to aging in place individuals and their family members.
- Home Instead was started by Paul and Lori Hogan in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska. Paul's own family experience caring led him to realize many families could use the help of an in-home caregiver. He and Lori set about creating a company to help seniors to live independently at home. Today, the network has grown to include more than 1,000 franchises around the world -- including this office in Houston, TX. Consider finding a Home Instead organization within your community.
Workplace Support You’re Already Paying For
Don’t forget the resources that are often right in front of you. Many workplaces today offer counseling, support and advisory services through their Employee Assistance Program (EAP). While the callout to the caregiver may not always be self-evident, or even an obvious menu option for all EAP’s today, it’s worth considering a call and checking into as the counseling and professional services available. As these entities often operate at the highest level in this space, providing yet another backdrop of support to you and members of your family. Additionally, they can be a good resource to a plethora of other resources.
Today, Lifeworks focuses on family as one of its 5 areas of support to employees which includes becoming a parent, child care, or caring for an older relative. While your caregiving situation is no doubt a unique one, this resource often has years of experience and staffing to help you thru your journey, wherever you’re at.
While perhaps never an easy task, supporting those aging in place can be rewarding in that is offers insight into the capabilities of others. And in the end, these are likely resources who can be a constant resource to you and your family. Sometimes filling in when you can’t assist, but other times offering the roadmap to what your role supporting aging in place looks like both now and in the future. What more might anyone ask for than that? An army of resources for aging in place at your fingertips, that’s a 101 lesson plan to get behind sooner rather than later.
Download your personal daily medication chart (tips & alternatives)
Managing medications is not just a daily task, in many ways it’s a never-ending one. Keeping track of what you’re taking can be managed in so many different ways, but which one is best? First, consider what works best for you. Then think about how it might work for someone else to support your daily medication charting efforts. Having the ability to share and show others the way you’re managing your daily medications can be helpful to you and your appointed caregivers. Whether your caregiver is a member of your family or a more formal resource, like a hospital staff member or home health nurse, the ability to share your daily medication chart should be considered when you review the types of charts and tools available to you.
Here are 3 medication charts to consider when managing your daily medication:
1. Paper Might Work Best for You: ePill - FREE
Charts that offer the opportunity to write down, cross off and track the medication you’re taking still works best for many individuals. It’s always easy to look at the item in front of you and put your own information into it in a way that you best understand. Plus, all of the organizing is already done because you just have to fill in the information, on the already designed grid. Unlike other tools though, paper isn’t always as easily shared, so consider who is helping you out each day and what might also be a good way to show this individual your tracking proof too.
2. Electronic Templates Offer Access for All: Best Templates - $12
Tracking your log over time can be another way to monitor the way you’ve taken your meds vs. how they were intended to be taken. Best Templates offers downloadable versions that makes sharing with other easy, in addition to having a log for yourself to review over time.
3. Apps Work Well for Many: MyMedSchedule.com - FREE
With your phone already at your fingertips, the ability to chart the medications you take can be logged and recorded easily and quickly. The MyMed Schedule app allows you to type in and then find the medication you’re taking within its data listing, making set up easy. Establishing reminders by individual medications can then happen to help ensure there’s not a crossover of taking a medication at the wrong time.
Whatever choice you might make for your personal Daily Medication Chart, a top priority remains - taking the right pill, at the right time. More and more, the medications we’re each taking have benefits of their own impacted by combination with another drug. And so tracking, charting, recording and then sharing the information is more important than ever.
The Ōmcare Telemed System will be available in early 2019 enabling remote medication adherence assistance which will put an end to paper charts and reminder apps. Sign up to our email list to receive more information on availability and system features.