Tips to Keep Seniors Relevant in Your Family
I am always looking for or trying to create relevant home care content for the website, all the gurus are constantly telling us that if we are going to post make sure it is relevant. But really, what is that?
According to Merriam Webster relevant means: having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand. That makes sense when writing for your website but one of the synonyms for relevant is relative and that leads directly to the subject of this post.
The other day I was having coffee with another home care agency owner and he related a story to me which has pursued me daily. He was visiting a family for whom he provided a caregiver. It was a Sunday afternoon and the elderly parent was with him in the living room as he sat and chatted with Continue reading “Tips to Keep Seniors Relevant in Your Family” »
When Caregiving Turns to Burnout – Caregiver Burnout
Managing Caregiver burnout has become a popular topic lately and one that is very close to my heart as a person who provides professional caregivers to overwhelmed families. Family caregiver burnout is also the main reason we started “Fourth Saturday Family Caregiver Groups” creating a safe place to voice frustrations and learn from others how to face the challenges many experience.
The good news is caregiver burnout can be avoided by learning to manage your care.
In a recent article by Diane Carbo in “SeniorsList” I found some wonderful information and positive steps to recognizing burnout and how to avoid it.
Recognizing that you have burnout is the first step. Here are just some of the signs Diane lists:
- Difficulty with sleep, falling asleep, staying asleep
- Feelings of fatigue, lack of energy (physical and mental) even if you had a good nights sleep
- Easily becomes angered or unusually irritable
- Difficulty focusing or making decisions
- Feelings of anxiety, frustration, guilt, depression or grief
- Feeling of hopelessness
- Lack feelings of joy or moments of happiness or enjoyment
- Neglected your own health and personal care
- Have a chronic health condition
She also gives a list of how to avoid the burnout syndrome. Of course my favorite was the last one -
- talk out your feelings with others – Join a support group – Have a family meeting – Seek professional help or talk with your spiritual counselor.
It’s a great article which you can read in its entirety by clicking HERE.
The Care and Feeding of a Home Care Provider
How did you become a care giver?
Well like so many tasks that we tackle in life we put on our big person pants and get on with it. There are enormous amounts of joy and laughter involved in being a family care giver as well as being connected to your aging loved one like no one else in the family.
There are special times, shared stories and an opportunity to extract family history that will be passed on to future generations. But there are times of grief, self pity, frustration, resentment and even anger which can lead to Continue reading “The Care and Feeding of a Home Care Provider” »
What’s so special about the Senior Care business?
By Teresa Simpson
At age 26, I was a busy, happy, stay at home mom; caring for Michael and our two sons on the sunny beach in Oxnard, CA when it became necessary for us to bring Michael’s beloved 91 year old grandmother into our home to live. It was one of those “best of times and worst of times” type of experiences, and it gave me a clear picture of how difficult it is for today’s “sandwich generation” to be caring for both their children and their aging parents.
Some years later my mother had to move our precious “Baba” (her mother) out of her home and into a nursing home because there was no other way of caring for her. I know the guilt my mother suffered; and still does to this day because she was not able to care for my grandmother by taking her in or letting her stay in her own home. There just wasn’t a “Visiting Angel” to call for help.”
Continue reading “What’s so special about the Senior Care business?” »
Angel Rides
Have you heard about Angel Rides.
If your weeks are filled with trips to doctor appointments, grocery shopping and running errands for your loved one this service may be right up your alley. In talking to prospective clients we have learned that many do not yet require the full use of the services we offer. However they could use assistance with doctor’s appointments, the beauty salon and the grocery store.
Senior Minute – Episode #2
Warning Signs for Aging Parents
Whether your parent lives with you, lives down the street or lives 3,ooo miles away you are always concerned that they are receiving the best home care and that they are safe in their home. As a family care giver there are many options available to you but as with all decisions that impact the family; careful exploration of the alternatives is critical.
This is another video in our on going series titled “Senior Minutes”. These are designed to help family care givers deal with the many issues of aging such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mobility and independence. Continue reading “Senior Minute – Episode #2” »
Three Tips on Possible Future Senior Health Problems
It seems like we are always looking for the magic key that will grant us wisdom in a certain area and home care is no different. It could be “Five Tips for Weight Loss” where if we read the tips and agree (I didn’t say do them only agree) then tomorrow the scale will show that our weight is headed down. I like bullet-point lists too so here are three tell-tale signs that your aging parent might have some health issues.
If you are a family caregiver and your aging parent is living with you or you see them every day then these changes might be hard to Continue reading “Three Tips on Possible Future Senior Health Problems” »
Help Parents Transition to Becoming Elderly
It happens in Peoria, AZ, it happens in Glendale and Surprise Arizona too. In fact it happens all over the nation and at some point in time it happens to you. I don’t think it comes to us as an epiphany but in retrospect we see when it began and of course know where it is now. I am talking about the journey when seniors and parents make the transition into aging loved ones and might need home care or at least companion care.
When adults reach their senior years, they at first joke about it and brag that they got the senior discount at Denny’s but as the years Continue reading “Help Parents Transition to Becoming Elderly” »
Senior Minute – Episode #1
Home Care in Arizona is producing a series of short videos entitled “Senior Minutes”. These videos will be aimed at those who are personally involved with providing home care for an aging parent or loved one.
We will explore all the issues that family home care givers are dealing with including safety, dealing with dementia, medical issues, mobility, driving concerns and many others.
Here is our first video.
Continue reading “Senior Minute – Episode #1” »






