Fall Prevention for the Elderly

Methods of preventing falls in the elderly have improved greatly over the years, and technology and fall management strategies in hospitals and nursing homes have all contributed to improve care of patients, residents and family members at risk of a fall.

One of the main improvements in technology has been to give carers and nurses "advanced warning" when there is a risk of a fall. This is commonly when a person at risk of falling leaves their bed or chair. The latest bed sensor mats and chair sensors are able to alert the carer or nursing staff or indeed warn the person themselves to stay where they are until assistance arrives.

The elderly in particular can be at risk of falling for a variety of reasons including cognitive problems, restricted mobility, loss of balance, dizziness, medication and muscle weakness for example.

So when you need to be alerted to the risk of a fall, what are your options? Here we quickly summarise the products available that should be of interest:

Bed Sensor Mats - a mat is placed in the bed under the sheets or under the mattress. The bed mat is connected to an alarm which is activated when the mat detects that the person is about to leave the bed. There are several alarm options:

A friendly voice reminder can be played, such as: "stay in bed John, I'm on my way". A friendly voice is particularly helpful when someone is confused, especially when they awake during the night, and a friendly voice is reassuring. The sensor mat detects if the person has not returned to bed and will play the reminder a second time. If they still do not return to bed the carer is alerted.

An alternative version will sound an alarm only to notify nearby staff/carers to attend. A light also flashes to help with identifying who's alarm has been activated in a multi-occupancy room.

A third version will connect to a nurse call system and alert staff via their monitoring system. In this case the room monitor can be set to silent if preferred to avoid noise in a shared room.

Chair Sensor mats - as above, the chair sensor mat is placed in a chair or wheel chair and detects when a person is about to leave their chair. The same alarm
options described above also apply.

Fall prevention has many options and all our bed sensor mats, chair sensor mats and monitors are interchangeable so you can tailor your requirements -
whether you are a hospital or nursing home or a home carer.

For further advice, please talk to one of our fall prevention specialists on 1890 344 344 or email info@homecaretechnologies.com.

The Benefits Of Home Nursing Care

Many seniors who are too sick or frail to live in their homes often think that the nursing homes are their only option either as their permanent residence or as a temporary facility during their recovery. However, many seniors who need nursing care would rather receive it in their own home while enjoying a familiar environment with their family and friends. Good thing there are community services and health care professionals who can provide him the home nursing care he needs. These professionals can come right to a senior's home to deliver responsible care.

Certified home nursing care services are available both for seniors and their families. In general, seniors who decide to receive in home nursing care services have better opportunities to live a healthy and productive life at home. By opting to hire home nursing care providers, they receive a lot of rewarding benefits, the most important of which is quality medical services which is personalized according to their individual's needs.

Deciding on Home Nursing Care

Deciding whether your senior loved one needs home nursing care or not can be difficult not only for the patient but for his family as well. Your healthcare decision mainly depends on recognizing important quality measures that will tell you whether such service is effective or not. With this in mind, you should consider the best agency or candidate that not only meets the medical review standards but are also able to offer services that are compassionate and compatible to the needs of seniors to help them live a quality life independently as long as possible.

A good healthcare agency should be able to provide excellent patient care. They should be able to offer healthcare services that are practical and effective. Keep in mind that home care should be able to save lives by proper medication administration, providing suitable ways of managing pain level and wound healing, and prevent chronic diseases. A good health care provider or agency should be able to provide this level of care to your senior loved one.

Senior home healthcare services generally include competent nursing care, personal assistance and health aids, and complete wellness programs. Skilled nurses are licensed clinical staff hired in order to maintain or improve an in-home patient's condition as well as to prevent more illnesses. Some of the services that skilled nurses provide are administering of medications, implement disease management programs, and execute advanced technology. Furthermore, skilled nurses help ensure that home nursing care services are fulfilled effectively and safely.

On the other hand, personal assistance providers and health aids, who are all non-professional medical staff provide assistance in the usual daily activities. More specifically, health aids assist seniors with such daily activities as bathing, eating, and walking. They may also provide assistance in monitoring bladder catheters or colostomy or in administering oxygen. The responsibilities of health aids are necessary in restoring the optimum level of health and function of a senior.

Modifying Your Home According to Your Senior's Needs

In order to ensure a comfortable lifestyle to your senior loved one while he's receiving home nursing care, you should consider modifying your home to suit his needs. For instance, you can make a bedroom out of any ground floor room to prevent your senior from using the stairs. It is also recommended that hand rails and other special equipment be installed in the toilet and bathroom to avoid accidents. You can contact an occupational therapist to help assess your home and recommend the necessary equipment or adaptations you need to make. You can also consult your community nurse or hospital for more help on home modifications.

In-home medical services provide many rewarding benefits to seniors and their families. Besides getting low-cost professional assistance, seniors are able to preserve a healthy well-being through regular socialization and communication with other people. Studies show that social interactions help seniors stay connected with the outside world and improve their social skills.

Skilled nursing services also give family members their much needed break. They also have peace of mind knowing that they are surrounded by professionals who are trained and ready to help them. Thus, family members are discharged of the responsibility and inconvenience of missing work or school to look after their loved ones. They can attend to their own personal lives without having to worry about their senior loved ones not taking their medications at the proper time or missing their meals. Indeed, home nursing care plays a vital role in the long-term health of senior patients as well as that of their family members.

Successfully Transfer Seniors to Assisted Living - Top 10 Tips

Realizing that your loved one can no longer live independently is stressful. Actually preparing for a move of this magnitude can be traumatic. These tips are provided to prepare your parents for an impending move, with hopes of making the transition to assisted living a more peaceful experience.

1. Involve your loved one in the discussion. Months before the impending move. Have them provide input about what services/amenities they need in their new home. Take them on tours of assisted living and nursing homes. Talk with them often about the move, using encouragement and positive reinforcement. Someone suffering from dementia might not be able to make important decisions regarding their care, but they would still appreciate being able to decide if their favorite chair will make the move too. Most seniors want to maintain their independence, so DON'T make all the decisions for them.

2. RESEARCH, put in the time to make sure it's the right long-term care option. Finding the right long term care facility is key to making the transition. Make sure you do a full background check on the facility you choose, including independent reviews and citation checks with the state. It's just as important to find a place that's safe as it is to find a place where the staff is loving. Most important, make sure the assisted living or nursing home you choose can provide them with the right level of care. Consider hiring a senior placement company to do the research and coordinate the entire transition to assisted living or a nursing home.

3. Take tours of many different long term care facilities. There is a negative stigma associated with assisted living and nursing homes, some people get the image of sterile hospital care with several patients in one room. Fortunately this care has been replaced with communities that promote independent living, wherever possible. To create a more comfortable image, take tours of many different types of communities and care facilities. These tours will give you insight to the priorities of the management and staff. Also try visiting them at different times during the day.

4. Tour the dining hall, have a meal or two. One of the biggest complaints of assisted living facilities is "the food is terrible". When you tour these facilities, also be sure to dine with them, maybe 2-3 times each, at different times of the day. This will give you a very clear indication of the quality of food being prepared.

5. Choose a location that is close enough to "home". You may have chosen a luxury assisted living facility, but if it's too far away from family, your loved one may still feel alone and isolated. Make sure the location is convenient to allow friends and family to visit easily. Consider throwing a house warming party, so that everyone knows the routine to visit, and is comfortable visiting on their own.

6. Decide what will happen to their home together. "I can't go because this is my home." Address this issue in advance by creating a plan of what will become of the family home. Consult a real estate agent who specializes in senior advisement. Sometimes just knowing the details are covered will alleviate the stress.

7. Help them sort through their things. Another concern is "I can't leave my things". Help alleviate these concerns by helping sort through their lifetime of memories, finding new places for their things, and assuring them they will be cherished by the new person. You can consider hiring a senior move manager who will pour over the memories with them, and help the senior sell the items that might be of value.

8. Create a warm, inviting and familiar environment in their new home. Make the new facility seem as much like home as possible, bringing in pictures, pets, even furniture from the last place. This can make the space feel more inviting. You'll need to check with the assisted living or nursing home on what items are allowed before moving things in.

9. Try to have the Senior keep the same routine. If the Senior has gone to coffee at the same place, with the same people for 10 years, try to make that appointment a priority. Often the concern is I have to "give up" my life to move into a long term care facility.

10. Provide a list of activities and transportation to them. Nearly all long term care facilities offer activities in house. Some even provide transportation to outside activities as well. When transportation is not provided by the long-term care provider, look into independent transportation companies that only service the elderly. Showing the many social opportunities available can give Seniors a greater sense of independence.

How the Wall Clock Hidden Spy Camera Saved Mom

As the population ages, nursing homes are becoming more popular and a real alternative to many seniors. My parents were both in one at one time. While most nursing homes and assisted living facilities are good to great, some are not. Financial constraints limit the quality of employee they can get leading to all sorts of problems.

It has been estimated that up to as many as two million seniors are victims of abuse of all kinds in nursing homes. Elder abuse is an under recognized problem with devastating and even life threatening consequences. Only one in six actual cases is reported because seniors fear reprisals from their care givers.

Elder abuse can occur anywhere - in the home, in nursing homes, or other institutions. It affects seniors across all socio-economic groups, cultures, and races. Based on available information, women and "older" elders are more likely to be victimized. Dementia is a significant risk factor. It is a big and growing problem.

Well my friend Bill's mom had been in a nursing home for less than two months. She had early signs of dementia. She liked where she was and said the care staff were all very nice. Bill could only visit once a week because his home was in another city. She had her room fixed up the way she wanted it but kept her personal mementos to a minimum.

On one visit Bill's mom related an issue she was having with a staff member who was threatening her over small things. Bill mentioned it to the floor supervisor who immediately came to the employee's defense. The supervisor chalked it up to the dementia and an active imagination.

Bill was still suspicious so he got his mom a nice new wall clock for her room. The wall clock had a hidden camera, microphone and DVR all in one neat looking wall clock. Bill aimed it in the direction he wanted, set the recording speed to the lowest setting giving him 144 hrs on an 8GB SD card.

Bill figured he could check it once a week and really see what was going on. The camera is motion activated so a minimum of down time. When you are ready to playback remove the SD card and insert it into your computer or alternatively use the RCA cable to your TV for easy no brainer playback.

There was nothing suspicious the first week he checked so he felt better. Week two was different though. An orderly was seen going through his mom's purse and an aide was verbally abusing his mom about medications.

He had the proof he needed to get those two employees fired and save his mom from further abuse. If you want a simple and easy way to record what is going on when you are not there-this is it!

How to Become a Home Health Care Nurse

Home Health Care Nursing Information and Overview

Home health care is allowing the patient and their family to maintain dignity and independence. According to the National Association for Home Care, there are more than 7 million individuals in the United States in need of home health care nurse services because of acute illness, long term health problems, permanent disability or terminal illness.

Home Health Care Basics

Nurses practice in a number of venues: Hospital settings, nursing homes, assisted living centers, and home health care. Home health care nursing is a growing phenomenon as more patients and their families desire to receive care in their homes. The history of home health care stems from Public Health Nursing where public health nurses made home visits to promote health education and provide treatment as part of community outreach programs. Today academic programs train nurses in home care and agencies place home health care nurses with ailing individuals and their families depending on the nurse's experience and qualifications. In many cases there is a shared relationship between the agency and the academic institution.

Many changes have taken place in the area of home health care. These include Medicare and Medicaid, and Long Term Care insurance reimbursement and documentation. It is important for the nurse and nursing agency to be aware of the many factors involved for these rules and regulations resulting from these organizations. Population and demographic changes are taking place as well. Baby boomers approaching retirement and will present new challenges for the home health care industry. Technology and medical care in hospitals has lead to shorter inpatient stay and more at-home rehabilitation. Increases in medical outpatient procedures are also taking place with follow-up home care. This has resulted in the decrease of mortality rate from these technologies and medical care has lead to increases in morbidity and chronic illness that makes the need for home health care nursing a greater priority.

Home Health Care Nurse Job Description

Through an array of skills and experience, home health care nurses specialize in a wide range of treatments; emotional support, education of patients who are recovering from illnesses and injury for young children and adults, to women who have experienced recent childbirth, to the elderly who need palliative care for chronic illness.

A practicing nurse must have the skills to provide care in a unique setting such as someone's home. The nurse is working with the patient and the family and must understand the communication skills for such dynamics. Rapport is evident in all nursing positions, but working in a patient's own living space needs a different level of skill and understanding. There is autonomous decision making as the nurse is no longer working as a team with other nurses in a structured environment, but is now as a member of the "family" team. The host family has cultural values that are important and are different for every patient and must be treated with extreme sensitivity. Other skills include critical thinking, coordination, assessment, communication, and documentation.

Home health care nurses also specialize in the care of children with disabilities that requires additional skills such as patience and understanding of the needs of the family. Children are living with disabilities today that would have resulted in mortality just twenty years ago. Genetic disorders, congenital physical impairments, and injury are just a few. Many families are familiar with managing the needs of the child, but still need expert care that only a home health care nurse can provide. It is important that a home health care nurse is aware of the expertise of the family about the child's condition for proper care of the child. There are many complexities involved, but most important, a positive attitude and positive reinforcement is of utmost importance for the development of the child.

Medication coordination between the home health care nurse, doctor, and pharmacist, ensures proper management of the exact science behind giving the patient the correct dose, time of administration, and combinations. Home health care nurses should be familiar with pharmacology and taught in training about different medications used by patients in the clinical setting.

Many advanced practicing nurses are familiar with medication regiments. They have completed graduate level programs. Home health care agencies believe that a nurse should have at least one year of clinical experience before entering home health care. Advanced practicing nurses can expedite that training by helping new nurses understand the home health care market and teaching.

Employment and Salary

According to the United States Department of Labor, there were 2.4 million nurses in America, the largest healthcare occupation, yet many academic and hospital organizations believe there is a gross shortage in nursing staff. The shortage of nurses was 6% in 2000 and is expected to be 10% in 2010. The average salary for hospital nursing is $53,450 with 3 out of 5 nursing jobs are in the hospital. For home health care, the salary is $49,000. For nursing care facilities, they were the lowest at $48,200.

Training and continuing education

Most home health care nurses gain their education through accredited nursing schools throughout the country with an associate degree in nursing (ADN), a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN), or a master's degree in nursing (MSN). According to the United States Department of Labor, in 2004 there were 674 BSN nursing programs, 846 ADN programs. Also, in 2004, there were 417 master's degree programs, 93 doctoral programs, and 46 joint BSN-doctoral programs. The associate degree program takes 2 to 3 years to complete, while bachelors degrees take 4 years to complete. Nurses can also earn specialized professional certificates online in Geriatric Care or Life Care Planning.

In addition, for those nurses who choose to pursue advancement into administrative positions or research, consulting, and teaching, a bachelor's degree is often essential. A bachelor's degree is also important for becoming a clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners (U.S. Department of Labor, 2004).

All home health care nurses have supervised clinical experience during their training, but as stated earlier advanced practicing nurses hold master's degrees and unlike bachelor and associate degrees, they have a minimum of two years of post clinical experience. Course work includes anatomy, physiology, chemistry, microbiology, nutrition, psychology, and behavioral sciences and liberal arts. Many of these programs have training in nursing homes, public health departments, home health agencies, and ambulatory clinics. (U.S. Dep. of Labor, 2004).

Whether a nurse is training in a hospital, nursing facility, or home care, continuing education is necessary. Health care is changing rapidly and staying abreast with the latest developments enhances patient care and health procedures. Universities, continuing education programs, and internet sites, all offer continuing education. One such organization that provides continuing education is the American Nurses Association (ANA) or through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Conclusion

There are many rewards to becoming a home health care nurse. Some rewards include the relationship with a patient and their family, autonomy, independence, and engaging in critical thinking. The 21st Century brings with it many opportunities and challenges. We must meet these challenges head on - there is an aging baby boomer population, a growing morbidity factor due to increased medical technology and patient care, and the growing shortage in nursing care.

Becoming a home health care nurse today is exciting and an opportunity to make a difference one life at a time. With clinical experience and proper education, a home health care nurse will lead the future of medical care.

Dementia Sibling Wars

Family caregiving sometimes brings out the worst in families. It's hardly ever totally easy even with everyone on the same page.

Imagine then that some of these scenarios were going on in your caregiving family. If they aren't, then you are already far better off than you thought.

I'm going to set aside the obvious pictures of inadequacy. The errant son who comes home to barely take care of Dad, while running that little methamphetamine lab out in the garden shed. Clearly, everyone knows that's bad.

It's when you get to white-collar caregiver bad-hats that the age-old battle of siblings becomes -- well -- sometimes quite astonishing.

For example, the sister who drove all the way to Indianapolis from Santa Fe to kidnap her mother in the middle of the night from the senior apartment complex where her mother was living very happily. She put everything in her SUV that fitted and the rest they left behind. Then she drove her mother to the southwest, installed her in her home and never told her sister where their mother was.

Consider the two sisters who removed their father from their brother's house, where he was being happily and properly looked after. They installed him in an assisted living facility he didn't want to be in and forbade their brother to visit his father there.

The East coast brother who wouldn't let his West coast sister care for their father at home, who then took that father and placed him in a care facility where he didn't visit him.

The two sisters who took their mother back to Kansas, leaving her second husband behind in Arizona. Two more sisters who refused to let their 98-year-old father live in the care of his good friends in the town he'd lived in for most of his life. Instead one of them took him to Texas, not to live with her, but to be put in a care facility there.

What is this all about? It's the special behavior of siblings behaving badly. Most often, it's the final playing out of old family struggles, siblings unable to forgive some perceived inequality of love. The examples I give here did not involve parental neglect or abuse.

Sometimes it's the final revenge for not getting equal attention in childhood. Sometimes it's grabbing final control over a parent who somehow affronted the adult children, often through remarrying after the death of the other parent.

As a longtime observer of caregiver families behaving badly, not much surprises me. In fact, the quite unusual scene of a family behaving very well is more of a surprise -- and really I'm not a cynic.

In my town, some years ago, an entire family of seven children came together from all over the United States to make a family plan for the care of their mother with dementia. They decided to help three of the siblings to purchase a property, create a care environment and give total support to the care of their mother for the next four years until her death. Now that is holy work.

It's also what family care of elders should ideally always be about. If siblings but realized it, caring for a parent is your last chance to heal the relationship and many of your childhood wounds. Of course, it takes courage. But the rewards are immense. You never lose the strength you grew in the process.

Nursing Homes Jobs

As America ages, more and more job opportunities are created in nursing homes across the country. These jobs can be rewarding, but demanding. However, before one goes out and applies, it is important to know what jobs that are performed in these positions.

Jobs and duties in a nursing home will vary according to the training and certification of the nurse and the demands of the patient and the nursing home. In a nursing home that caters to more self-sufficient living, the care may be cursory, that is the nurse will be more of a friend than a caretaker. Mostly doing perfunctory care such as vitals and just ensuring that the quality of life for the elderly is maintained, while not interfering too much with the independence of the elderly person.

As the need of that person in the home escalates, so does the level of job responsibilities. Should the elderly person need help bathing or someone to do tasks such as dressing them, then the nurse will be required to perform what one person may consider a simple task. However, when you are the one needing it done, it is not so simple, or mundane.

Then there are the more invasive of nursing home care, the person on a respirator or bed ridden. Then the tasks required of the nurse will be even more demanding. Depending on the level of care and self-mobility of the one being cared for, the nurse can do a whole range of tasks. The nurse may be required to ensure the vital signs are constantly monitored, and that corrective action is taken whenever certain vitals fall within specific ranges. The nurse may even perform other duties such as feeding the patient and turning the patient to prevent bed sores.

Nursing Homes Jobs can be rewarding for the right person, but be ready for varying demands