There is a great debate surrounding long-term care insurance; at what age to apply? While most insurance carriers recommend that you purchase long term health care insurance around age 50; Consumer Reports thinks it should only be necessary to purchase LTC insurance around age 65.

There are many factors to determine when the right age to purchase long-term care insurance is; seniors should look at their family history of medical problems and chronic illnesses since insurance premiums may be higher or seniors ineligible if they apply once health problems are already present. It is never recommended to apply for long-term care insurance after age 65, because often at that stage in life, seniors are beginning to demonstrate health problems which could cause them to fail the mandatory medical assessments required during the LTC insurance application process.

While the right age to apply for LTC insurance may remain up for debate; senior care experts agree that all aging Americans should invest in long-term care benefit policies to cover their long-term health care and custodial care needs; which 74% of seniors over 65 do require at some stage in their lives. Without long-term care insurance, seniors are often stuck funding elderly care services that they can’t afford, especially with limited assistance available from Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare only provides insurance coverage for some categories of medical long-term care, but never provides assistance with custodial care; and Medicaid long-term care insurance gives limited options regarding the long-term care facilities and types of care they receive.

Before purchasing into any LTC policy, seniors should research their options thoroughly to ensure that they select a plan that is suitable for both their budget and their long-term care insurance requirements; for federal government employees, there is federal long-term care insurance available.

Seniors nearing the age of 65 should start securing their future in long-term care by looking into insurance options available to them.

Sources: http://www.ltcfeds.com/whyFLTCIP/index.html
http://www.medicare.gov/LongTermCare/static/Home.asp
http://www.longtermcarelink.net/a9insurance.htm
http://www.helpguide.org/elder/long_term_care_insurance.htm

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

Most seniors in Phoenix are having to cut corners and pinch pennies due to the economy - be careful that you do not put yourself at risk.

Older adults in Phoenix, Arizona are cutting everyday expenses to keep up with the economic downturn.  Local senior and elder care experts warn families and older adults be on alert to make sure seniors aren’t cutting too deeply. 

Warning signs:

• Skipping medications
• Pulling the plug on air conditioning 
• Canceling social outings
• Cutting back on grocery items 

A report released AARP in May, “The Economic Slowdown’s Impact on Middle Aged and Older Americans,” shows that 59 percent of seniors 65 and older surveyed said they’d found it more difficult to pay for essential items such as food, gas and medicine.  And almost half 47% said they found it more difficult to pay for utilities such as heating, cooling or phone service.  46% reduced the number of times they eat out and 45% cut back on entertainment.

Cuts of essential items such as food and medication should be of immediate concern to seniors’ families, suggest Home Instead Senior Care Phoenix. Other reductions in spending can lead to less obvious issues - the biggest problem that we see is senior isolation, which can magnify during this troubled time in our economy with the high price of gas.

When families live long distance from their aging relatives, and adult children are busy trying to make ends meet themselves, an older adult can get in trouble very quickly.  It’s critical that that someone near your loved one look out for their well-being. Home Instead Senior Care Phoenix checks in on loved ones to ensure they are safe in their homes and eating properly, taking their medications and able to maintain their appointments and a healthy social life.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

Resistance Training Beneficial For Older Adults

Resistance training is beneficial for keeping older people in tip-top form, researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have found. While many older people are encouraged to do basic aerobic exercise like walking to maintain their health, the benefits of increasing their muscle strength and power are as important if, if not more important, in the prevention of functional decline, researchers said.

“By building strength, we are aiming to improve the quality of life of older people and allow them to maintain independence into later life,” said Dr. Tim Henwood, a postdoctoral research fellow. Study participants ages 65 and older did a basic twice-weekly, machine-based resistance training program that targeted the major muscles of the upper and lower body.

We provide non-medical senior care in the Phoenix and surrounding communities. You may be thinking.. What is non-medical care?

At Home Instead Senior Care Phoenix, we know that caring for a senior isn’t always easy. Every day, all across the country, people juggle the demands of their busy lives.  Jobs, children, and dozens of other activities all compete for time.  And then mom or dad gets sick or otherwise needs in-home help.

These seniors’ adult children, the ones who typically end up as their caregivers, are referred to as the “sandwich generation,” caught between providing for their own young families and assisting their aging parents.  They’re already stretched to the limit, and the strain shows no sign of easing.  That’s largely because of numbers; by the year 2030, 70 million Americans – 20 percent of the population – will be over the age of 65.

 Here are some global statistics:

• More than 37,000 CAREGivers
• Hundreds of thousands of clients served
• 20 million hours of service delivered annually

Paul and Lori Hogan started Home Instead Senior Care, opening the first office in Omaha principally to assist other local families like theirs.  You see, Paul’s grandmother, Eleanor Manhart, of Omaha, was an active widow and grandmother with a large extended family.  When she was in her 90s, the family – including Lori and Paul – began providing a little extra non-medical assistance to keep her safe and independent.

Home Instead Senior Care was born from the Hogans’ unique idea: to assist seniors on a non-medical basis with their activities of daily living, thus allowing them to stay at home longer – where they want to be – and to do so comfortably, safely and affordably.

Visit us tomorrow when we give you more information about “what in-home non-medical care is all about”.

In the meantime, if you need help with your aging parent or relative, call Home Instead Senior Care Phoenix at the number below.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

The Elderly and Pets for better home health care in Phoenix.

Socializing with a pet brings a senior not just joy and companionship. Studies have found that when seniors interact with animals, it gives them hope and a sense of independence, ultimately benefiting their mental well being for better home health care.

Pets can act as a support system for older people who don’t have any family or close friends nearby to act as a support system. Often the elderly have trouble leaving home, so they don’t socialize with many people. Pets give them a chance to interact. This can help combat depression, which is one of the most common medical problems facing seniors today. Since pets help combat depression, it makes for an enhanced home health care.

The responsibility of caring for an animal may also give the elderly a sense of purpose, a reason to get up in the morning. Pets also help seniors stick to regular routines of getting up in the morning, buying groceries, and going outside, which help motivate them to eat and sleep regularly and well.

If you feel that your loved one is up to the responsibility that comes with being a pet owner, be sure to talk to them before you pick one out. Make sure that they want the responsibility of a new pet, as well as the noise and the messes that may come along with it.

Pets and the elderly have a lot to give to each other and can enhance each other’s lives in more ways than one, but most of all, the unconditional love they can share will bring happiness to the pet and your loved one.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

Today we are discussing how to organize your home for someone with memory problems, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.  Today we are focusing on the bedroom and making sure it is organized well to prevent injuries, confusion or falls.  The goal here is to maximize functioning, so that your elderly loved one can take out and put away clothes, dress and do other daily functions in the bedroom for as long as possible.

Solutions for the Family:

1)Only use drawers at waist level for easy access.  If possible, latch them to the chest so they cannot tip all the way out.

2)Make sure the closet clothes bar is at chest level for easy access. Encourage your senior to fold items over the bar if they can no longer use hangers.

3)Limit the amount of clothing in the closet and in drawers.  This avoids confusion.  Store less frequently used items in another room.

4)Encourage a spouse who shares the bedroom to put their personal items in a different room to reduce  confusion.

5)Store items they like to use in drawers with easy access.  Bed rails are usually unsafe for someone with memory problems, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease because they may try to climb over them and possibly fall.

6)Put a railing along a wall beside the bed if this would help them get in or out.

Source:  Home Instead Senior Care - Alzheimer’s CAREGiver Training Program.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

It’s usually a crisis that begins family conversations. Families with seniors who have emerging needs, those not yet facing more serious age-related problems, are sometimes reluctant to seek help; communication is often the barrier.

Here are some suggestions from Home Instead Senior Care and University of Arizona Communication Expert Jake Harwood, Ph.D.:

1) Get started

If you’re 40 or your parents are 70, it’s time to start observing the situation and gathering information carefully and thoughtfully. Talk with your parents (see the next tip, below), and gather information with an open mind. Until you’ve done so, don’t reach any conclusions or try to decide on potential solutions.

2) Talk it out

Approach your parents with ideas for a conversation. Discuss what you’ve observed and ask your parents what they think is going on.

3) Sooner is best

Talk sooner, rather than later. Don’t wait for a crisis to occur. For instance, if you know your loved one has poor eyesight or has trouble driving at night, then begin addressing those issues before a problem arises. However, while sooner is better, it’s never too late to start.

4) Forget the baby talk

Remember that you’re talking to adults, not children. Patronizing speech or baby talk will put older adults on the defensive and convey a lack of respect for them. Put yourself in your parent’s shoes and think how you would want to be addressed.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

Here are the key findings from the 2008 Back up Care Survey conducted by Work Options Group.  More than 1,200 employees who used back-up care through Work Options Group between March 1 and May 31, 2008 completed the survey.

The question asked was, “If back up care was not offered, what would you have done?”

• 71 percent would have missed work to provide care for their loved one
• 14 percent would have conducted an independent search for short-term care
• 13 percent would have asked friends or family to provide care for their loved one
• 2 percent said they worked from home, changed their work schedule or brought their child to work.

Work Options Group serves as a third party liaison to link employees of companies with a network of service contractors who can help them provide back-up care for loved ones of any age – from infants and school-aged children, to adults and seniors.

One of those contractors who works on behalf of seniors is Home Instead Senior Care Phoenix, an international franchise company with 800 offices worldwide.  Our CAREGivers go into the homes and care communities of older adults to keep them independent.  Through these types of relationships, you could locate the help you need in a moment’s notice.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care Phoenix, contact  us or call the number above .  For more information about the survey, log on to http://www.workoptionsgroup.com/press_release_survey.html.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

The Activities that family members plan to do with an aging relative who is living with Dementia, Alzheimer’s, or memory loss, should be for pleasure and success, not training or discipline. The most meaningful activities that a friend or family member can plan for loved ones are those that complement lifetime habits. To design these activities, you need to assess your loved one’s lifestyle activities before Alzheimer’s disease and put them into one of the following two categories:

• Home Chores
Did your loved one pay the bills, cook the meals, organize activities, water the plants, shop, do laundry, build and repair items, do yard work, etc?

• Career Activities
Was your loved one an accountant, secretary, manager, waiter, soldier, tradesperson, volunteer, teacher, academic, CEO, homemaker or banker? Think about the activities the job involved.

Activities should:
• Mirror your loved one’s life experience.
• Honor the need to feel useful and appreciated.

One way to mirror a loved one’s life experience is to create an environment that is similar to one from the past. For example, if he or she had an office at work, you can create a similar space in the current environment. Make it safe by eliminating scissors, staples, letter openers, tacks or matches. Remove important mail to a new location under your control and place nonessential mail in trays for sorting. Ask neighbors and family members to save catalogs for a mail sorting activity.

Items typically found in a garage provide a good sorting activity for men. Provide several boxes or jars for sorting. Your loved one can sort nuts and bolts into jars and boxes. Remove dangerous items and replace them with sanding wood and leather objects to craft. Other things in a garage may also interest women, such as seasonal greeting cards, wrapping paper, ribbons and bows, gift boxes and countless holiday decorations.

Home Instead Senior Care Phoenix - giving specialty care for memory loss in Phoenix, Arizona.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

Memory Loss and Dementia Home Care concerns in Phoenix - Feelings, Behaviors and Activities

Family members of an aging relative living with Alzheimer’s Disease or Memory loss in Phoenix, Arizona, can find help with Home Instead Senior Care Phoenix please contact us or call the number above.

Family members of loved ones who are living with memory loss such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s may better understand the confusion that is part of living with memory loss. It’s difficult to see one’s parents struggle with memory deficiencies but know that it is part of the disease.  Here’s a list of what your loved on may be experiencing:
• Want to know who to turn to.
• Want to keep everything in sight.
• Become agitated (because they feel stranded or lost).
• Need constant reassurance.

When you imagine your loved one’s feelings of confusion and fear, it’s easier to understand how those feelings can lead to frustration. What’s more, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease cannot sequence events properly and that, too, makes them feel frustrated or angry. For example, when looking at a plate of food, they may not recognize it, or they may not understand what to eat, or how to use the utensil. The behavior that follows may be to simply sit there, not eat and push the plate away out of frustration.

Not being able to put routine actions in sequence can turn your loved one’s world upside down. Common actions become impossible tasks. The behavior around this maddening circumstance may be to strike out in frustration. Family caregivers are often the recipient of this rage. To understand how this feels, imagine how you would react if you looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the person staring back.

Paranoia
People with Alzheimer’s disease can become paranoid and show it in the following ways:
• They may feel that someone or something is out to get them.
• They can be accusatory: “Someone is trying to poison me,” believing someone is trying to poison them with food they do not recognize.
• They believe everyone is robbing them.

Paranoia may result in the following:
• Fear of strangers, thinking these people are evil.
• Anger, resulting from not understanding what is happening.
• Agitation that occurs when the person with Alzheimer’s feels fear and anger.

Catastrophic Reactions
A catastrophic reaction is a sudden change in behavior for the worse, due to a person’s inability to process, understand, and cope with input from the environment. Catastrophic reactions can be violent and dangerous to the person with Alzheimer’s disease and to those people who are nearby. If one occurs, it is imperative that you help redirect your loved one to another place or activity. If these reactions persist, you should consult your loved one’s physician regarding medication to manage the behavior.

Creating Meaningful Activities
For a person with Alzheimer’s disease, an activity is anything that occupies time. When time isn’t filled, it can be spent on the creation of new and challenging behaviors. As a family caregiver, you can also benefit from activities in the following ways:
• Increased free time
• Increased quality of time spent together
• A happier loved one

Home Instead Senior Care Phoenix are here to help family members of an aging relative living with Alzheimer’s Disease or Memory loss in Phoenix, Arizona. Please contact us or call the number above.