Elder Care - Instrumental Activities of Daily Living

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) should not be confused with activities of daily living (ADLs). If not familiar with ADLs, please see a previous article written by this author, Elder Care - Activities of Daily Living. These two categories are assessed separately but are actually very connected as far as ability to perform the activities.

This is why IADLs are important to elders and why they need to increase their knowledge on this subject. Understanding these actions may mean the difference between independent living and assisted living out of the home.

IADLs are any actions that we perform on a daily basis that requires the use of an instrument. The use of the word instrument throws most people off because of the multiple meanings. But there really is not a better word to describe all the different items that are included in this category. I'll explain. IADLs include: transportation, shopping, laundry, telephone calls, food preparation, handling finances, housekeeping and managing medicine. With a little thought it's apparent that there is an instrument involved in each one of these activities.

The daily activities performed using an instrument are measured very similar to the method used to evaluate general activities of daily living. The medical professional or case manager uses a chart with headings such as: Always, Frequently, Sometimes, Never. Now let's apply this categorizing to the actual IADLs.

Transportation - This does not mean there is or is not the ability drive. That's a possibility, but it could also mean a person has the ability to understand and use different types of transportation. It's important to understand that if a person is creative and informed enough to find an alternative to an IADL that they are starting to experience difficulty performing, it doesn't mean you have lost the ability; it's just done a different way. For instance, if using a bus instead of a car because a person no longer drives; they would be scored as always able to perform this activity as long as it's independently accomplished.

Shopping - Is the individual able to manage their way through the grocery store, push a cart, carry a basket, select food, and get through the check out process by themselves.

Laundry - In this case the instrument is the washing machine and dryer or clothes line.

Telephone calls - Using the telephone as we age becomes more and more difficult largely due to changing eyesight and advances in technology. There are ways to cope with both of these. Get a phone with bigger numbers; they're inexpensive and available everywhere. Don't let other people force a present of a new telephone with tons of gadgets for you to have to learn when you really aren't interested.

Food preparation - The stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, and general small kitchen appliances are the instruments here. Again if any of these items start to become difficult to use, make adjustments. For instance, if your short term memory is giving your problems use a loud timer every single time the stove is used.

Handling finances - This requires the ability to calculate, write checks, use debit cards, handles cash, schedule and pay bills, and create a budget. Most people of all ages have some problem with this but specifically for elders the difficulty starts to arise with the short term memory. Use calendar. This is not trite, place a calendar where you can see it and put all of your bill payment due dates on it as soon as you receive the bill. Many elders pay a bill the minute they receive it because they are afraid they'll forget later. This is a really good way to get ripped off. Everything that appears to be a bill in your mail may not be so.

Housekeeping - The vacuum is the big instrument here. The act of vacuuming is difficult for anyone, much less a person who may become frail.

Managing medicine - The instruments in this category include the medicine bottle, medicine box, or an automated medicine box.

This is a very basic introduction to the instrumental activities of daily living; a discourse not only meant for elders but for everyone. Either you are an elder, know an elder, or are going to hopefully become an elder. If you want to stay at home as long as possible become educated on these types of issues.

Assisted Living Costs

The average monthly base cost of assisted living increased 15% this year, to $2,905. That works out to $34,860 a year The annual survey was conducted by LifePlans, Inc., a risk management and consulting firm that provides data analysis and information to the long term care insurance industry.

Rates ranged considerably by region. The most expensive city was Boston, where people in assisted living facilities spent an average of $4,629 per month. The lowest cost was Jackson, Miss., where the average was just $1,642.

Assisted living is a form of housing for older Americans that is growing in popularity. This is in response to the aging of the population and the preference to age in a home-like setting. The monthly private pay base rates, which are defined as room and board and typically include at least two meals, housekeeping and personal care assistance, were obtained for private rooms with private baths in assisted living facilities. Quarters can range from a small house to a large apartment-style complex.

For the most part, base rates include 24 hour supervision, two to three meals per day, assistance with the activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring and continence), social activities, medication management, laundry, housekeeping and maintenance and recreational and spiritual activities. Most residents pay privately or through long-term care insurance policies.

The average assisted living costs in Georgia are $2,795 for Alpharetta and $2,643 for Atlanta. This is slightly below the national average. Do you have a plan in place to pay for this type of care when you need it? If you have a plan, have you reviewed it recently? Contact us for an evaluation of your plan to pay for assisted living costs.

Invest in Home Care Franchises That Stand Out From the Rest

The senior care industry is seen by many as one of the highest potential markets in 2012, having already grown into a $55 billion industry. As a result, more companies have opened their doors to franchising. But given this increase in home care franchises, prospective entrepreneurs will need to be more discriminating in their choice of investment opportunity to gain an edge over the competition.

Experts say that by 2030, the country's senior population is expected to double to a staggering 70 million. With developments in technology and medicine, a growing number of seniors are expected to live longer - and many of them will want remain in the comfort of their homes for as long as possible. Staying home also poses many benefits for seniors, including lower costs than moving to a nursing or assisted living facility, the ability to remain independent in a familiar and comfortable environment, and for some, close proximity to family and friends.

The combination of these circumstances has brought about the growth of the senior care franchise industry. Each company has something to offer, so how will budding entrepreneurs determine the best one to invest in?

The answer lies in three words: unique selling proposition. Entrepreneurs need to find out what a particular franchise offers that can differentiate it from the rest.

Companies that offer home care franchises will generally offer the service of caregivers. However, only a select few offer comprehensive care management. Care management involves assessing a senior's lifestyle, condition, needs, and preferences, and tailoring a care plan to suit all these factors. This goes beyond traditional caregiving in the sense that it gives caregivers a more comprehensive view of what will best meet the client's needs, enabling them to provide the services or obtain the resources necessary to not only maintain, but enhance the client's quality of life.

Care management is best handled by a professional care manager - someone with expertise in areas such as geriatrics, nursing, social work, or similar fields. Care mangers not only develop the care plan, but also update it to adapt to the changing needs of the senior. They also oversee the caregiver to ensure the plan is carried out properly.

A company with this type of approach can give entrepreneurs a distinct edge over other home care franchises. This careful attention to detail with deference to the big picture allows them to grant the seniors they serve as well as their families not just the care they need, but also peace of mind.

Switching Addictions - Changing Seats on the Titanic

Anyone can stop using any drug, just start using another one! The only reason we use any drug is to change how we feel. Most of us know that we can do that with any one of a number of mind or mood altering substances. Most addicts (or "druggies," if you don't like the term "addict") have a favorite way to get high, a "drug of choice." If unable to get that drug, or into "proving" they are not really addicted to it, they may stop using it for a period of time... a day, week, or longer, although not usually much longer than a few weeks. During the time off of the favorite drug, the addict almost always uses something else, often alcohol or THC (marijuana, hash, etc.). All drugs have the same result: altering how we feel. Someone recently wanted to argue that marijuana is not "mind altering," but "mind enhancing." DUH! It is the same thing... if we are mind enhancing, we are mind altering! Still, any drug use is all in the service of changing how we feel, how we perceive things, respond to the world around us, deal with people, life, and so on. When we are high, we are doing life through the filter of our drugs and we cannot be emotionally present.

All the druggies I know are capable of using whatever is available when they want to get high. Opiate addicts usually start out with either Heroin or prescription narcotics like Percocet, Vicodan, Dilaudid, or Oxycontin. It is common for Heroin addicts to stop using Heroin, perhaps because it becomes difficult to get, or because the local supply is cut or contaminated, and switch to narcotic pills from a doctor or friend. Some people actually justify that since it is a prescription, it is legal and it must be OK to use. They deny that they are using it to get high. Some addicts are more honest and acknowledge that they are just using their "H" in a different form. If they have used needles in the past, it is likely they will shoot up (inject) the (dissolved) prescription pills as the high from eating a pill is not enough for a committed needle addict.

Addicts are also able to switch categories of drugs. Opiate addicts can pretend to try to get off of the narcotics and simply switch to benzodiazepines (Xanax, Valium, etc). It is just a matter of time before they are using both benzos and opiates. Everyone except the prescribing doctor knows this. Studies done on Heroin addicts in California found that one hundred percent of Heroin addicts who stopped using opiates for a full year, and continued drinking alcohol, were drinking alcoholically and having problems related to the alcohol within a year. Another "DUH." Alcohol is a drug and can be substituted for other mind altering drugs. The real addict always gets into trouble with his drug; it is just a matter of time. Addicts are also known to switch to using a process addiction, like gambling or shopping. The search is for something to fill the void.

If you, or anyone you know, wonder if drugs are causing a problem for you, try stopping all drugs, not switching to prescription drugs, or to processes that give you a high. You can always go back to using if you find that you can't deal with life without them. Do not be fooled into thinking prescription drugs are safe. Benzos and opiates are the most serious drug problem in this country; actually, the doctors who prescribe them are the most serious problem, as patients and their families are led to believe that they are safe, and not addictive if prescribed by a doctor. Not True. Any good addict can get a doctor to collude with him that he really NEEDS a 'script for a mind altering drug: again and again and again. Benzos and prescription opiates get you just as high as street drugs!

This progressive disease eventually leads to overdose, suicide, or some other major dysfunction. The end point of abuse of any drug is always the same: jail, or a mental institution from frying your brain cells, or nursing home from an accident that leaves you brain damaged, or death...or recovery. Switching from one drug to another is comparable to changing seats on the Titanic: you are going down wherever you sit, whatever your drug is...just a matter of time.

Private Practice Strategies: How to Develop Multiple Streams of Psychology Income

Mental health professionals have a wealth of valuable, even crucial, information and expertise in which many people are in need.

One-on-one therapy is only one way we can deliver this expertise and help.

There are a number of possible ways therapists can create revenue streams while sharing their talents, expertise and skills with people in need.

Some of these ways are traditional and common, but others are rather innovative ways therapists are beginning to put their abilities to good use. In doing so, they are creating revenue streams.

Traditional Services

Although its time for therapists to think out of the box and develop new services that creatively meet the felt needs of niche markets, there is a place for the traditional therapeutic services.

These include psychotherapy for the DSM diagnoses, psychological testing and evaluation, marriage and family therapy and behavioral health care.

And, yes, people will forgo managed-care reimbursement and pay out of pocket for services that are of higher value because they are higher quality, offer real privacy and are truly customized for the individual needs.

One of the frustrations I hear from mental health care service consumers is that they can't find a specialized therapist in their managed-care insurance network.

It's as if managed care's philosophy is, "We'll help you obtain access to psychotherapy, but we don't care whether the therapist we connect you with is a specialist. A generalist is fine."

Set yourself apart and demonstrate your true value in the marketplace through specialization. Many people in the market for therapy value specialization.

Getting Published

A book is a powerful way to affect lives. It is also a good way to establish credibility, highlight your practice and services and position yourself in your niche.

And, it's easier than you think if you self-publish. It has become very affordable to do so, and it puts you in charge of the content, price and reprints.

It can actually be more profitable, too. You keep every dollar above your costs. If you went through a major publisher who sells a few thousand books, you would only receive the author's fee. You can make as much selling a few hundred copies of a self-published book yourself.

If your book is successful, you may even attract a large publisher to take over your book.

Writing a book opens doors to speaking engagements, media opportunities and a reputation in your niche market.

It also helps you to crystallize your thinking and enhances your effectiveness as a practitioner; it's a great exercise in that sense. You will learn a lot both in breadth and depth.

Take the opportunity now to brainstorm ideas for a book that's inside you.

It doesn't have to be long. One hundred pages is plenty.

Teaching

Teaching courses part-time at a local college or university can be an attractive stream of income.

I have been teaching as adjunct faculty in the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) program at Widener University outside Philadelphia for several years and find it both rewarding and enjoyable.

Think about areas of special interest on which you could teach a course. Courses that adjunct faculty teach can be core curriculum in a graduate program, an undergraduate course or an elective.

I find that part-time professors who are practitioners have a lot to offer because they are immersed in what they teach. Students seem to appreciate this as well.

E-books

E-books are another medium in which you can package and share specialized information.

And e-book is a written piece of information that is distributed via the internet electronically. It is offered free or for a cost (typically $10 to $30) on a web site.

You can also submit an e-book to web sites that list hundreds of e-books to make them available to the public.

Tens of thousands of e-books are downloaded each year, and are changing lives for the better.

Perhaps you can make yours one of them.

Do you have a solution to a specific problem or can you research the answers?

The best e-books share answers to a specific problem.

E-book topics I have heard of recently include: how to write a eulogy, how to cope with a hysterectomy and the topic of recovering from fibromyalgia.

These are e-books written by non-mental health professionals. Imagine what information psychotherapists can offer in this just-in-time format.

E-books cost very little to produce and nothing to distribute. You can attach the file for an e-book to an email or make it downloadable from a web site.

A great e-book is not long. Many of the best are 10 to 35 pages long.

E-books offer short answers to problems readers want to solve, and are available to people quickly.

Good e-books are specific and do not contain general information. The key to marketability is communicating your precise answer to a specific problem.

E-Courses

E-Courses are similar to e-books, but they may be lengthier and delivered to readers one segment at a time. As the name implies, these can be formatted as guided self-study programs.

E-courses allow for the content to be integrated over a specific period of time. Each lesson can be a simple article or more in-depth with guided self-study. Write between five and 10 lessons, and you have a good e-course.

Written by a professional, a good e-course can bridge the gap between a reader learning new information and the reader applying that information to his/her life and making a behavioral change.

Personal Coaching

In sports, coaching is important to help an athlete develop a winning strategy, develop skills and execute the plan. The coach knows how the athlete can progress and move forward. He/she urges the athlete to set high goals and provides motivation, support, focus and encouragement.

Over the past 10 years, the field of professional coaching in personal development and business arenas has grown tremendously.

What is coaching? Personal coaching is a one-on-one professional relationship in which a client is assisted in achieving a personal, business or career goal.

What is the difference between coaching and therapy? Although coaches sometimes assist people with challenges and problems of various kinds, they do not try to help people overcome problems related to diagnosable conditions as found in the DSM.

Rather, coaches assist well-functioning people to attain greater levels of achievement and satisfaction in their personal lives, businesses or careers.

While therapy is remedial and restorative, coaching is developmental and growth-oriented.

Therapy heals mental and emotional infirmities, while coaching helps healthy individuals achieve more or reach important goals.

Personal coaches work with clients on a wide range of issues, such as coping with a problem or crisis, focusing their efforts on achievement, making career transitions, living more fulfilled lives, achieving life goals and building better relationships.

Other coaches assist people with business development or managerial or leadership development. These coaches are called business coaches or executive coaches.

While coaching is not always based on psychology, it often is. And many of the skills a coach uses are the skills in which therapists are trained. So, there is considerable overlap between coaching and therapy.

This is why many psychologists, counselors and therapists have found coaching attractive and transitioned into coaching either entirely or as a part of their practice mix. I am one of them.
In many ways, therapists have an ideal background to be coaches. But the differences between coaching and therapy are significant and important to keep in mind.

Therapists can make great coaches because of their insights into human motivation and behavior, their understanding of human development and life transitions, their communication and relationship skill and their sense of professional ethics, knowledge base and experience in helping people.

Live Workshops, Retreats, Trainings

Presenting live events such as seminars, workshops, retreats and training programs can be a very lucrative stream of income.

And, it can be a powerful way to affect peoples' lives.

The group setting allows learners to engage with your material and benefit from the collective knowledge and experience of the group.

Live programs can also be an introduction to your other services. Brief programs, such as a "lunch and learn," can be delivered for free as a solid marketing vehicle for your practice.

As a therapist, if you have developed and packaged your message into a program as recommended earlier, you have the makings of a great seminar or workshop.

Why not kill two birds with one stone?

Promoting a workshop or retreat is promoting your practice at the same time -- and may be psychologically easier to do.

Consider adding a post-training element to your program. It could be a follow-up mini-workshop, a series of workshops or one-on-one work.

You can leverage the energy of a live event in many ways for additional revenue streams.

And, it is likely that some participants will choose to work with you after the event is over.

You will want to casually present your other offerings at the event. You may make it easier for them by having a sign-up sheet.

Teleseminars

A teleseminar (also called a teleclass) is a seminar held over the telephone, like a conference call.

The advantage of a teleseminar is the convenience. No one has to commute and the consumers dial to a bridge line at the specified time. No physical accommodations need be arranged; you only need to rent a telephone bridgeline.

Teleseminars can include people from all over the country, even internationally, at the same time.

Classes are typically 60 minutes long, but can vary. Often teleseminars are offered in a multi-class series.

Teleseminars are another way to offer your packaged content and introduce people to your services. Teleseminars can be offered for free to attract prospective clients and let them sample your services.

See [http://www.teleclass.com] for examples of what various professionals are offering. Or, do a search on Google for teleseminars or teleclasses. There are hundreds to browse and attend.

To get a better feel for how to conduct a teleseminar, attend some yourself.

Consulting

The goal of this book is to help mental health practitioners build thriving managed-care free private practices.
One of the themes I hope I have conveyed is that psychology is not just for DSM diagnoses.
While we have discussed ways to market traditional services, diversification is important, as it increases the chances we can generate sufficient income to operate outside of managed care.
Multiple streams of psychotherapy income can be developed in one's practice.

When I decided to build a manage-care free practice, I gave considerable thought to how

I could provide private-pay services. I explored how I could use my skills in ways that people would readily pay.

Many psychologists and other mental health professionals are successful in consulting in the workplace for the benefit of employees and employers. Business consulting can be a very lucrative income stream.

Like many practitioners, I found my skills could be applied in the business arena. Today, through a business I started called Leadership Concepts, I offer services in the areas of business consulting, executive, business and career coaching and seminars and workshops for businesses. This has proven to be a solid and growing income stream for me, and it is work I really enjoy.

Other ways to diversify into consulting include behavioral medicine, forensics and sports psychology.

Consulting is a very broad and diverse area, so I won't scrape the surface of the possibilities here. But perhaps I can give you good directions for exploration.

If this area is new for you, you will be surprised to find out the many valuable ways our psychology and mental health expertise can be of benefit to people in the workplace.
Our background makes us capable of assisting businesses with many different barriers to productivity.

To familiarize yourself with this terrain, I suggest you do a Google search using the keywords "business," "consulting" and "psychologist" and browse the web sites that come up.

Forensic Consulting

Another specific type of consulting is worth considering separately.

Forensic consulting has to do with psychological or mental health service specifically related to the court system.

Often times, a court has to deal with issues that impinge on mental health issues.

Some of these include:

Criminal cases

• Competency to stand trial


• Mental status at time of offense


• Mitigating factors in offenses


• Risk assessments, violence

Civil cases

• Emotional damages in personal injuries


• Assessments for malingering

Family cases and other

• Child custody evaluations


• Court-ordered psychological evaluations

In addition, attorneys often need help sorting out the issues when questions of a psychological nature occur in their cases. They retain psychologists and other experts to review files and help them prepare for depositions or cross-examination of experts.

Psychologists and other professionals can inform the court on issues, perform assessments and testify as experts.

Consultants in this area testifying as experts typically receive $1,000 to $2,000 for their testimony.

I find that this niche is an attractive one for several reasons:

• It is completely managed-care free


• It is interesting work


• It makes good use of our background


• It is lucrative


• It is a specialized area that many professionals find intimidating,
  which means less competition

If you find this an interesting prospect as a part of your practice, then I encourage you to begin taking some training workshops to familiarize yourself with the terrain.

Web sites

Revenue streams can be active or passive. Therapy sessions, therapy groups, workshops and consulting services are all active forms of revenue streams. You exchange your time and skills for a fee.

Passive revenue is revenue from streams that do not involve service delivery, but once set up, occur automatically 24/7. A common form of passive revenue is income from products sold on a web site.

Can you see the advantages of passive revenue? Can therapists develop passive revenue streams? You bet!

Therapists can productize their most useful expertise and offer information products to benefit others.

Some of these we already looked at, like books, e-books and e-courses. These can all be offered on a web site for web seekers to obtain and utilize to fill their needs.

There are other possibilities as well, such as licensing programs.

As an example of a passive revenue web site effectively offering information products to a specific niche, see TeachMeTeamwork.com.

Passive income streams utilizing the internet via web sites are a burgeoning area for many service professionals, but few mental health professionals are taking advantage of the potential so far.

This will be changing soon.

Active income streams can also be marketed on the internet.

Web sites can also be effectively used as a marketing tool for your fee-for-service practice. More and more therapists are putting up web sites and for good reasons.

A web site is your practice brochure, available any time, day or night, to seekers on the internet. People you meet, people who hear you give a presentation and people referred to you by another professional, can be directed to view your web site, find out more about you and, hopefully, be stimulated to contact you.

A simple, attractive, intriguing postcard sent to a mailing list can direct your niche market to your web site. Or, your yellow page ad in the phone book can include your web address.

A web site is much more than a brochure. It is also a potentially powerful marketing vehicle, when combined with internet marketing strategies.

If you decide to have a web site for your practice, or for a particular niche service, make it full of resources (articles and free information) that will attract people to it and make them want to spread the word.

Although beyond the scope of this article, internet marketing strategies can be developed to drive people to your web site.

Increasingly, people are beginning their search for products and services on the internet.

The yellow pages are not the first choice for many.

Are you effectively represented on the Internet?

Licensing Programs

After you have developed effective structured programs for your niches, you can license the use of these programs to other professionals.

Other therapists have been doing this for years. Psychologist Dr. Daniel Dana, a conflict resolution specialist, certifies mediators and licenses his program at MediationWorks.com.

Another example can be found at DifficultChild.com, as we mentioned previously. Howard Glasser, M.A. offers a parenting approach and program, as well as other materials, for ADHD children. His program involves a book, a training program for parents and a training and certification program for therapists.

His program is called "Transforming the Difficult Child: The Nurtured Heart Approach."

One of my coaching clients is certified in this program and speaks highly of it.

Howard Glasser's web site actually models several streams of income, including a book, workshops, training other professionals, licensing or certification and internet marketing for all the above including his practice.

These "programs in a box" are typically complete turnkey therapy, counseling or consulting programs that therapists can purchase. They are usually complete, including the structured program itself, instructor materials, workbooks and also include marketing pieces you can use to generate business.

For those of you who want to do niche marketing but prefer not to do the creating part, you may want to find out whether someone has developed a program you can utilize to serve your niche.

Someone may have done the work for you.

If you can find a program suitable for your niche market, you could be a few days away from having a marketable service in your repertoire.

Training Other Professionals

When you have developed an effective program, you can leverage it by training others in your approach and methods.

Innovators in therapy have been training others for years. If you develop a specialization, program or niche service in a growing area, you may find many other therapists would like to learn from you.

Sometimes the innovation is mainly in how a service is packaged.

You can train other professionals via live workshops, self-study program packages and teleseminars.

Diversification by developing a number of streams of psychotherapy income increases the chances you can create sustainable income and can be rewarding in other ways too.

Make A Difference In The Lives Of Others - Become a Nurse

Nurses are compassionate and hardworking; they care for others around the clock and make connections with their patients. There are several different paths you can take if you would like to work in the nursing field, but one thing is for certain, you must start with a bachelors degree in nursing.

One sector of the nursing field is neonatal care. Of course, working with infants can be challenging, but saving the life of a tiny baby has its own rewards. Neonatal nurses are skilled in working with tiny equipment and the fragility of newborns. It can be difficult to see newborns struggle in their first stages of life, but these caring professionals that help save their lives receive personal gratitude.

If you choose to work in a private health care facility, such as a nursing home, there are a few things to remember. First, nurses in private nursing homes administer care to patients with whom they build relationships. Patients in these types of settings usually stay for the remainder of their years. In most other situations, RNs may treat patients for a few days, weeks, or months. In nursing homes, the staff forms bonds with their patients because they see them every day for several years. The loss of a patient in this setting may be one of the harder things nurses contend with as they've formed bonds through the years.

The families who have loved ones in hospitals form a certain connection with nurses because they are the ones who are frequently caring for their loved ones. Nurses receive respect from people all over the community, as well as inside their hospitals. People recognize a nursing uniform and address the person wearing it with respect and kindness.

The emergency room is a very fast paced environment that requires many healthcare professionals in one place. Those nursing professionals who choose to work inside emergency see patients as they have just entered the hospital following accidents and in other forms of acute distress. Nurses must be prepared to see some pretty gruesome things in the emergency room.

After earning your bachelors degree in nursing and passing a certification examination, you will be considered a registered nurse. An RN can work anywhere in a hospital or nursing home. Some may choose to return to school to become an ARNP, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner. An ARNP can practice advanced nursing in four specialized areas: certified nurse midwives, certified nurse registered anesthetics, certified nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialist.

If you have a passion for serving others as well as your country, you may choose to join the military and serve as a registered nurse in any branch of the military. Military nurses have the ability to travel around the world, follow soldiers wherever they need help, and care for wounded soldiers.

Ways to Avoid Abuse of the Elderly

Statistics show that over 2 million senior citizens are victimized by abuse annually. The abuse can occur in places of care such as hospitals, nursing homes, and even their own home. What steps can you take to make sure a loved one who is getting older is receiving good treatment? Use these guides to avoid elderly abuse of your loved ones.

Locate a good practitioner to provide treatment. In most cases, those who abuse senior citizens lack close bonds with that older individual. When you hire a caregiver whom you have made a connection with in the past, you'll be more assured that your loved one will not be abused. Find someone that you will be able to trust to care for the elderly person that you care about.

You should ensure that the caregiver knows what to expect. Frustration is the cause of some elderly abuse. It could be that the caregiver was in the dark about what your elderly family member was going to require. Usually, the caregiver believes that he or she has too much on his or her plate. Sometimes the sheer volume of demands your loved one may put on their caregiver, whether mental, physical, or overall medical needs, may overwhelm the giver and push him/her to abuse their patient.

Elderly abuse is on the rise and you must stay on their toes to prevent your loved one from suffering - your family's doctors and your elder's caregiver should be in constant contact. This open communication might be able to avoid elderly abuse because of making the caregiver fully comprehend the specific needs of the patient. Don't give the older caregiver more responsibility than you have to. Make arrangements to perform duties like bill paying and errand running for your older loved one.

You need to make sure to check in regularly with the older members of your family. It is essential that older adults are checked on periodically to ensure their safety.  If an older adult is being cared for by a visiting nurse or other employee, it is especially important to make surprise visits. Discuss a schedule for checking-in with your acquaintances and loved ones. Tuesdays and Thursdays may be reserved for seniors, and neighbors can stop by on Monday and Wednesday and your sister can be requested to visit your family member on the week end. It is best if you do not specify anything in regards to time. Simply make sure that plenty of people are making unscheduled visits to the care facility that you aging family member is at.

A fool-proof way to ensure that abusing the elderly does not happen, is to visit the homes of elders on a daily basis. If you find it impractical to do regularly, you can approach organizations like Alzheimer's Association within your own community, which are very willing to undertake the services.

Look into day time elder care, similar to daycare for children. There are other options in addition to a caregiver if you find that you are unable to attend to your elderly loved ones needs throughout the day. Your loved one's name can be entered into adult day care. Be certain to seek out one that is managed by professional staff. The best way to prevent elder abuse is to only use a reputable elder care facility.