By Lisa Genova, PhD Mon, Feb 06, 2012 Alzheimer's disease begins at the synapse, the space where neurons connect. The biggest bad guy in this disease is a sticky protein called beta-amyloid. Either too much is made or not enough is cleared away, and as beta-amyloid accumulates, it creates a gooey clog in the synapse, preventing the neurons that meet there from communicating. As a result, the information those neurons carry can't be transmitted or retrieved. The beta-amyloid "goo" prevents these two neurons from "talking" to each other. We notice this molecular event because we forget something.When too much beta-amyloid causes the synapse to fail, we begin to see the symptoms of Alzheimer's. There are many risk factors that can contribute to having too much beta-amyloid. What are these risk factors?First, let's imagine a seesaw-style scale and the risk factors, which each vary in weight, are being piled on one arm of the scale. When that arm hits the floor, we have Alzheimer's. Risk Factors
1. AgeThe biggest risk factor for developing Alzheimer's is age. For reasons we still don't entirely understand, as we get older, we accumulate more beta-amyloid. The chances of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's increase steadily as we age. Right now, the risk of Alzheimer's doubles every year after the age of 65. About half of people who are 85 and older have Alzheimer's.2. Genetics Another risk factor is genetics. There is a rare form of Alzheimer's called Familial Alzheimer's, which always begins well before the age of 65 (typically in the 40s and 50s) and runs in families, that is autosomal dominant. This means that a single genetic mutation causes the disease. Picture the seesaw scale again. Genetic mutation is the only risk factor on the scale, and the arm is sitting on the floor.Scientists have discovered three genetic mutations that cause this early-onset Familial Alzheimer's. All three of these mutations result in molecular changes that cause an excess of beta-amyloid.But this type of genetic risk factor is relatively rare, accounting for only about 5% of Alzheimer's cases. The contribution of genetic risk factors to the development of Alzheimer's for the vast majority of cases weighs much less on the scale, tipping the arm only a little bit.For example, ApoE4 is a known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's. Forty to 65% of people with Alzheimer's carry at least one copy of this mutation. But you can have two copies of this mutation (one inherited from each parent) and not have the disease. Again, imagine the arm of the scale tipped a bit with each copy of this mutation, but the arm is still well above the floor. Likewise, you can have zero copies of ApoE4 but have Alzheimer's. The arm of your scale would be free of ApoE4 but piled high with other risk factors that tipped the scale over, leading to expression of the disease.3. Head Trauma Prior experience with head trauma, especially if consciousness was lost, increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's. Always wear a seat belt and helmets.4. Diabetes In a recent study out of Japan that looked at over 1000 men and women over the age of 60, it was found that people with diabetes (especially type 2) were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's. Researchers are now trying to understand the molecular mechanisms that link diabetes to Alzheimer's. It's thought that the link may be twofold.Nerve cells require a lot of energy to do the work of communicating. They get this energy from oxygen and glucose in the blood. With diabetes, cells lose their ability to respond to insulin, the molecule that transports glucose from the blood into the neurons, and so neurons have to cope with less glucose. Diabetes also often leads to damaged blood vessels, which compromises the delivery of oxygen to the nerves in the brain. Neurons already struggling to communicate despite too much beta-amyloid may lose the battle if glucose and oxygen are deprived.Think of the scale arm with a bunch of risk factors piled on it. It's hovering above ground but fighting to maintain that position. Things aren't looking good for that synapse, but it's still managing to function. Those neurons are still able to talk to each other. We aren't showing any symptoms of Alzheimer's yet. Add diabetes, and less oxygen and glucose to provide the energy the neurons need, and the scale arm goes crashing to the ground. Now we have Alzheimer's.5. Cardiovascular Disease Eighty percent of people with Alzheimer's disease also have cardiovascular disease. Scientists are trying to better understand the link between heart health and Alzheimer's disease, but we do know a few things about this relationship.Cholesterol drives the production of beta-amyloid. For a brain that is already struggling to keep beta-amyloid levels in check, high cholesterol can be a risk factor that tips the scale. Doctors prescribe statins for people diagnosed with Alzheimer's to help keep cholesterol levels down.Again, the neurons in your brain need a lot of oxygen to do their job. If you have high blood pressure and if you have plaques in your blood vessels, your blood vessels are less efficient at delivering this oxygen to your brain. Not enough oxygen can be the weight that tips the Alzheimer's scale.All the risk factors for heart disease (things like poor diet, lack of exercise) are also risk factors for Alzheimer's. And this means that things like a healthy, Mediterranean diet (whole grains, red and purple fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts) and exercise may not only protect the heart, they may protect us from Alzheimer's. In fact, in animal studies, exercise has been shown to clear beta-amyloid better than any pharmaceutical we know of. Think of diet and exercise as weights on the other arm of the scale.There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's, but understanding these risk factors offers us some good news. While we can't do anything about getting older or the genes we've inherited from our parents, eating smart, keeping cholesterol levels and blood sugar low, exercising, wearing a helmet when bicycling or skiing, and wearing a seat belt in the car are among the things we can do to keep the arm of the Alzheimer's scale from tipping to the ground. http://health.yahoo.net/articles/aging/alzheimers-5-greatest-risk-factors "Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Inland Empire, California
Senior Helpers provides many services in the Inland Empire, California area. We provide a full array of home care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our home care services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a national background check.
If you need Home Care services in Corona, Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Hemet, the Inland Empire, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Norco, Perris, Riverside, Sun City Menifee, Temecula, Wildomar, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Inland Empire Home Health Care Company. "
Logistics, communication difficult for 7 million Americans who are long-distance caregivers
By MATT SEDENSKY
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Kristy Bryner worries her 80-year-old mom might slip and fall when she picks up the newspaper, or that she'll get in an accident when she drives to the grocery store. What if she has a medical emergency and no one's there to help? What if, like her father, her mother slips into a fog of dementia?
Those questions would be hard enough if Bryner's aging parent lived across town in Portland, Ore., but she is in Kent, Ohio. The stress of caregiving seems magnified by each of the more than 2,000 miles that separate them.
"I feel like I'm being split in half between coasts," said Bryner, 54. "I wish I knew what to do, but I don't."
As lifespans lengthen and the number of seniors rapidly grows, more Americans find themselves in Bryner's perilous position, struggling to care for an ailing loved one from hundreds or thousands of miles away.
The National Institute on Aging estimates around 7 million Americans are long-distance caregivers. Aside from economic factors that often drive people far from their hometowns, shifting demographics in the country could exacerbate the issue: Over the next four decades, the share of people 65 and older is expected to rapidly expand while the number of people under 20 will roughly hold steady. That means there will be a far smaller share of people between 20 and 64, the age group that most often is faced with caregiving.
"You just want to be in two places at once," said Kay Branch, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, but helps coordinate care for her parents in Lakeland, Fla., about 3,800 miles away.
There are no easy answers.
Bryner first became a long-distance caregiver when, more than a decade ago, her father began suffering from dementia, which consumed him until he died in 2010. She used to be able to count on help from her brother, who lived close to their parents, but he died of cancer a few years back. Her mother doesn't want to leave the house she's lived in for so long.
So Bryner talks daily with her mother via Skype, a video telephone service. She's lucky to have a job that's flexible enough that she's able to visit for a couple of weeks every few months. But she fears what may happen when her mother is not as healthy as she is now.
"Someone needs to check on her, someone needs to look out for her," she said. "And the only someone is me, and I don't live there."
Many long-distance caregivers say they insist on daily phone calls or video chats to hear or see how their loved one is doing. Oftentimes, they find another relative or a paid caregiver they can trust who is closer and able to help with some tasks.
Yet there always is the unexpected: Medical emergencies, problems with insurance coverage, urgent financial issues. Problems become far tougher to resolve when you need to hop on a plane or make a daylong drive.
"There are lots of things that you have to do that become these real exercises in futility," said Ed Rose, 49, who lives in Boston but, like his sister, travels frequently to Chicago to help care for his 106-year-old grandmother, Blanche Seelmann.
Rose has rushed to his grandmother's side for hospitalizations, and made unexpected trips to solve bureaucratic issues like retrieving a document from a safe-deposit box in order to open a bank account.
But he said he has also managed to get most of the logistics down to a routine.
He uses Skype to speak with his grandmother every day and tries to be there whenever she has a doctor's appointment. Aides handle many daily tasks and have access to a credit card for household expenses. They send him receipts so he can monitor spending. He has an apartment near his grandmother to make sure he's comfortable on his frequent visits.
Even for those who live near those they care for, travel for work can frequently make it a long-distance affair. Evelyn Castillo-Bach lives in Pembroke Pines, Fla., the same town as her 84-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. But she is on the road roughly half the year, sometimes for months at a time, both for work with her own Web company and accompanying her husband, a consultant for the United Nations.
Once, she was en route from Kosovo to Denmark when she received a call alerting her that her mother was having kidney failure and appeared as if she would die. She needed to communicate her mother's wishes from afar as her panicked sister tried to search their mother's home for her living will. Castillo-Bach didn't think she could make it in time to see her mother alive once more.
"I won't get to touch my mother again," she thought.
She was wrong. Her mother pulled through. But she says it illustrates what long-distance caregivers so frequently go through.
"This is one of the things that happens when you're thousands of miles away," Castillo-Bach said.
Lynn Feinberg, a caregiving expert at AARP, said the number of long-distance caregivers is likely to grow, particularly as a sagging economy has people taking whatever job they can get, wherever it is. Though caregiving is a major stress on anyone, distance can often magnify it, Feinberg said, and presents particular difficulty when it must be balanced with an inflexible job.
"It's a huge stress," she said. "It can have enormous implications not only for someone's quality of life, but also for someone's job."
It can also carry a huge financial burden. A November 2007 report by the National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare, a division of United Health Group, found annual expenses incurred by long-distance caregivers averaged about $8,728, far more than caregivers who lived close to their loved one. Some also had to cut back on work hours, take on debt of their own and slash their personal spending.
Even with that in mind, though, many long-distance caregivers say they don't regret their decision. Rita Morrow, who works in accounting and lives in Louisville, Ky., about a six-hour drive from her 90-year-old mother in Memphis, Tenn., does all the juggling too.
She has to remind her mother to take her medicine, make sure rides are lined up for doctor's appointments, rush to her aid if there's a problem. She knows her mom wants to stay in her home, to keep going to the church she's gone to the past 60 years, to be near her friends.
"We do what we have to do for our parents," she said. "My mother did all kinds of things for me."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Inland Empire, California
Senior Helpers provides many services in the Inland Empire, California area. We provide a full array of home care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our home care services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a national background check.
If you need Home Care services in Corona, Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Hemet, the Inland Empire, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Norco, Perris, Riverside, Sun City Menifee, Temecula, Wildomar, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Inland Empire Home Health Care Company. "
Story by Diane Poulton | Posted: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 12:00 am Helen Seaman has something anyone with Parkinson's disease shouldn't live without: a companion This companion helps her in her daily struggles – organizing her medications, light housekeeping and taking her on errands and to doctor appointments. Seamen, 85, of Dyer, is a client of Home Helpers of Schererville. "I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have them," Seamen said. "They make sure I get to my appointments; I don't have to worry about imposing on my friends." Seamen said she enjoys the break in the routine and the companion's eagerness to help with anything she needs. "The service helps keep me in my home," Seamen says. AARP estimates 7,000 baby boomers turn 65 each day. As the population ages and faces associated health concerns, coupled with the steadily increased cost of nursing home care, there is a growing need for home health care services that enabling senior citizens to stay comfortably in their own environment. It is a quality of life issue, local home health caregivers say. Most of these services were started because their owners through personal experience saw a need that wasn't being filled. All report substantial business growth. Tammy and Bill Spearson started Home Helpers of Schererville in 2010. "Our motivation was caring for Tammy's mother who had cancer for 13 years," Bill Spearson says. "Then Tammy's father was diagnosed with lung cancer." Being the primary caretakers for Tammy's aging grandmother, mother and father while working two hard-hitting jobs, the couple didn't know where to turn, Spearson says. "It was a roller coaster ride," Spearson says. "You want to be there for your family; it taxes you emotionally and physically." Home Helpers provides nonmedical daily living home care and companion care. "If clients like to bake, the companions will help them, Spearson says. "One caregiver, who is 82, is teaching an 84–year–old client to play the piano; I have never done anything in my life that has meant so much to so many people. Our services give the elderly the opportunity to stay at home at about half the cost of nursing facilities." Spearson says of his 27 trained employees, 90 percent are Certified Nursing Assistants and the rest are companions. Home Helpers provides a host of personal emergency response equipment including a fall sensor, which summons help if a person is unconscious and also has a button the patient can push to speak to a person. Care watches provide global positioning tracking systems. Automatic medication dispensers have sound and light alarms, which are activated when the patient fails to take their medication at the proper time and a call center is alerted. If the patient cannot be reached, emergency contacts are called. Tammy Spearson is a Hospice of the Calumet Area volunteer and a Certified Senior Advisor, providing free advice on Veteran's benefits, Medicare and Medicaid. Spearson estimates business, which covers Lake, Jasper, Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, has increased tenfold since the first six months of operation. A growing need
Patricia Hayes quit her job in physician reimbursement to take care of her aging parents. During the four years she helped them full-time, Hayes saw a growing need for specialized care for seniors. "I would sit at the Veteran's Administration Clinic with my dad and see people coming in who shouldn't be driving but had nobody to bring them in," Hayes said. After her father died, Hayes, who has an MBA, obtained a degree in gerontology and was certified as a geriatric care manager. On March 17, 2011, her late father Tony's birthday, Hayes opened her Crown Point-based business, Hayes Helping Hearts. Hayes' company has two separate divisions. The first, geriatric care management, helps families find needed legal and financial aid resources through links on the company website. The second division provides trained certified nonmedical caregivers who help with daily living activities and transportation and serve as companions. "It needs to be about their quality of life," Hayes said. "Their generation was frugal. They saved; they worked their whole lives. Most of them have pension and Social Security income, but that can quickly diminish." Hayes said her business, which has seven employees and covers Lake and Porter counties, has doubled in the past year. First-hand experience
Owner Gina Kelly she started her business, ComForcare of Valparaiso, two years ago. It has 30 employees and covers Porter, LaPorte and part of Lake County. "My father has Alzheimer's disease and I experienced first-hand the struggles people were going through," Kelly said. "With the population growing, people living longer and the baby boomers aging, there was a big need to be filled." Kelly said business has more than doubled. ComForcare assists with daily living activities, medication reminders, safety supervision, family respite care, transportation/errands, chore services and light housekeeping both at home and at assisted living facilities. "It is most satisfying to know that we can keep people in their homes longer through their last stages of life, making them more comfortable in their own surroundings," Kelly said. Kelly said she enjoys meeting and helping family members. "Many children today live out of town because of their jobs," Kelly said. "We give them the security of knowing their parents are being taken care of and we keep them informed." ComForcare has a 10–step requirement process for employees, which includes testing, professional and personal references, background checks, drug testing, orientation and training. Additional training includes the topics of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, COPD, congestive heart failure, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and a program for fraud prevention. ComForcare provides transitional care from hospital to home and the company partners with skilled care facilities and the Visiting Nurses Association. All employees are insured and the majority of caregivers are certified nursing assistants or home health aids. A one-stop shop
Michele Weathreford–Towle is Regional Director of Marketing Services for Total Home Health Services and Complete Home Health of Illinois The companies serve Cook, DuPage, Will and Kankakee counties in Illinois and Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Marshall, Starke, St. Joseph and Elkhart counties in Indiana with 150 employees. It provides skilled nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapists, medical social workers, home health aides and private duty services. Founding board member of both companies, Stan Sroka, is a physical therapist by trade. For 18 years, Sroka worked in nursing homes and home health services. Sroka decided to venture into home health care after noticing that patients had improved in rehabilitation only to decline after a month at home. Sroka said home help in rehabilitation was lacking in Northwest Indiana. He said both the service areas and client base has increased significantly since the companies were established in 2005. He expects further growth when new Medicare regulations take effect in March. "If a patient is admitted to the hospital within 30 days of being discharged, with the same diagnosis the hospital does not get paid for the second stay," Sroka said. "We keep people in their setting; we provide the medical care." Sroka said. "We believe that quality prevails. We believe that the industry is on strong footing and will emerge stronger after health care reform takes full force." Sroka said the best part of his business is patient satisfaction. Many of their clients are repeat business or word of mouth referrals, Sroka said. Sroka said his companies follow strict Medicare guidelines for providing services to home bound patients. "From a clinical perspective, we are truly a one-stop shop," Weatherford–Towle said. "When people come home from the hospital they don't have to worry about their supplies or medications. We follow them from the moment they get home."
Story by Diane Poulton Posted in Inbusiness on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 http://www.nwitimes.com/niche/inbusiness/an-aging-population-creates-a-need-for-specialized-care-for/article_5fc9c1ce-7ec9-5783-a645-382d3455f3fb.html
"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Inland Empire, California
Senior Helpers provides many services in the Inland Empire, California area. We provide a full array of home care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our home care services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a national background check.
If you need Home Care services in Corona, Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Hemet, the Inland Empire, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Norco, Perris, Riverside, Sun City Menifee, Temecula, Wildomar, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Inland Empire Home Health Care Company. "
14 Nov 2011 Scientists studying how the sense of smell changes as people age, found that olfactory sensory neurons in those 60 and over showed an unexpected response to odor that made it more difficult to distinguish specific smells, putting them at greater risk from dangerous chemicals and poor nutrition. "We found clear changes in olfactory sensory neuron responses to odors for those 60 and up," said Professor Diego Restrepo, Ph.D., director of the Center for NeuroScience at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who led the researchers. "When we presented two different odors to the olfactory sensory neurons of younger people they responded to one or the other. The sensory neurons from the elderly responded to both. This would make it harder for the elderly to differentiate between them." According to the study published in the latest issue of Neurobiology of Aging, those losing their sense of smell are at a higher risk of malnutrition since taste and smell are closely related, they may also be unable to detect spoiled food, leaking gas or toxic vapors. Researchers looked at 440 subjects in two age groups - those 45- years-old and younger and those 60 and over. Their olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) were tested for their responses to two distinct odors as well as subsets of those odors. Restrepo wanted to determine if age-related differences in the function of OSNs might contribute to an impairment of the sense of smell. For this, in a collaboration with Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, researchers biopsied cells from both age groups. "Whereas cells from younger donors were highly selective in the odorants to which they responded, cells from older donors were more likely to respond to multiple odor stimuli... suggesting a loss of specificity," the study said. The scientists had expected to find less OSNs in older subjects and they thought the neurons would be less likely to respond to stimuli. In fact, they found as many neurons in the old as the young but those over 60 could not differentiate between two odors, they blended together. The study suggests that changes in nose and the brain contribute to smell loss in the elderly, Restrepo said. Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions. References: University of Colorado Denver University of Colorado Denver. (2011, November 14). "The Elderly Lose Their Ability To Distinguish Between Odors, Posing Hazards." Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/237524.php "Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Inland Empire, California
Senior Helpers provides many services in the Inland Empire, California area. We provide a full array of home care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our home care services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a national background check.
If you need Home Care services in Corona, Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Hemet, the Inland Empire, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Norco, Perris, Riverside, Sun City Menifee, Temecula, Wildomar, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Inland Empire Home Health Care Company. "
By Jessica Marcy KHN Staff WriterAug 15, 2011 This story was produced in collaboration with 
WASHINGTON, D.C. - At her home health care agency here, Venus Ray quizzes 65 job applicants assembled before her: Can they cook? Do they know the right way to wash their hands? Can they safely transfer patients into wheelchairs? If they give wrong answers, speak English poorly or — God forbid — forget to turn off their cell phones, she asks them to leave. By the end of the session, Ray has dismissed 42 of the applicants, almost two-thirds, even though she's in dire need of employees.Ray is executive director of Health Management Inc., which employs about 410 people, including 395 home health aides. With business booming, she is constantly looking to hire more, and she holds group interviews once or twice a month."There's a huge demand, and it's only going to get larger as the years go by," Ray said. With the nation's aging population, she added, many people "will tell you that they are more comfortable in their home."The demand for workers by Ray's company mirrors national trends and is fueled in part by stepped-up efforts to keep seniors and the disabled out of nursing homes. The growth is likely to pick up in coming years as the 2010 federal health law tries to reduce hospital readmissions and expands programs such as Money Follows the Person, which encourages Medicaid recipients to receive care at home. But experts warn that a shortage of qualified labor is looming. Workers often lack the training and support needed to properly care for patients, and poor working conditions lead to high turnover, experts say. In addition, salaries are low: In 2009, the median national hourly wage for direct-care workers — a term that includes home health aides — was $10.58, substantially below the $15.95 median for all U.S. workers. Nearly half lived in households that received food stamps, Medicaid or other government aid, according to PHI, an advocacy group for direct-care workers. In addition, experts say, regulations about training and background checks for direct-care workers vary across states, and often leave consumers without adequate protection."I see tremendous challenges on the care side and the consumer side," said Peggy Powell, national director of curriculum and workforce development at PHI, which is based in New York. "My fear, my deep concern, is that in this quick switch [to provide care at home], there is the potential for care to get worse and for the direct-care workers' job to get harder, with less support and training."A Growing Force There are several types of direct-care workers, and their titles often vary: - Certified nursing assistants provide basic clinical care such as taking blood pressure and caring for wounds. They also help with the activities of daily living such as eating, dressing and bathing. They usually work in nursing homes or assisted living facilities and have at least the 75 hours of training required by the federal government for positions at a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified facility.
- Home health aides provide similar care but in private homes and under the supervision of a nurse or therapist. If they're employees of a home care agency, these aides also may need at least 75 hours of training because the federal requirement extends to agencies that serve Medicare and Medicaid patients.
- Personal care aides work in the home and help with everyday activities such as bathing and also perform light housekeeping and cooking chores. There are no federal requirements for their training, which is generally minimal. About a quarter of these workers are not employed by agencies, according to PHI.
In some states, certified nursing assistants and home health aides can administer medication, although some states require that they get extra training to do that. Personal care aides cannot. More than 3.2 million people work in direct care, according to 2008 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is 52 percent more than in 1998. Jobs in direct care are projected to account for four of every 10 new health-care jobs between 2008 and 2018, according to PHI. 'What's Your Passion?' Venus Ray begins her group interview by asking: "Why do you want to be a home health care worker? What's your passion?" Many describe caring for a loved one, while others say they have been drawn to the field by their deep religious faith. Latreaviette Stewart, 21, says she decided to become an aide after caring for her grandmother, great-aunts and her mother's best friend, who recently died of breast cancer. She just completed a home health aide program at the Community College of the District of Columbia.Pamela Nfor, a 34-year-old aide from Cameroon who has a child with disabilities, says she enjoys seeing how clients, even those who are depressed and can't go out, improve under her care. "I love the job and I hate the money," she tells other applicants, who erupt in laughter.Emotions run deep during the morning's activities. One West African woman passionately describes how God revealed her vocation to be in home health care after she prayed intensely, while another woman nearly breaks into tears when she's asked to leave after her cell phone goes off. Both women fail to pass the interview process.Later, Ray said that she once had to dismiss an entire group of 12 applicants after all of their cell phones rang. The applicants provide a visual snapshot of national trends. Direct-care workers are disproportionately minorities, and 23 percent are foreign-born. Almost 90 percent are female. The average age is 42, but the number of workers older than 55 is increasing rapidly, according to PHI.To ensure a qualified workforce, experts say, it's important to increase wages, improve training and beef up licensing requirements."It's really important to figure out how to build career ladders for these workers so that they can advance and see this as a real career," said Bob Konrad, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "We have to turn these folks into really active and engaged people in the health policy world."Washington D.C. Area Requirements Vary
The area is a good example of how regulation of direct-care workers can really depend on geography. - In Maryland, the Board of Nursing licenses all certified nursing assistants and home health aides. The state requires them to complete 100 hours of training. Those working in homes must also undergo an additional 12 hours of training annually, and pass a competency evaluation. They must also undergo a criminal background check. Although Maryland does not standards for personal care aires, some people hire companions to help with household chores, but they are not supposed to provide any care.
- Virginia requires that certified nurse assistants have 120 hours of training and that home health aides have the 75 hours specified by federal law. Personal care aides must have 40 hours of training if they work for a Medicaid agency. The state requires all employees of home health agencies to have a Virginia State Police check, which does not include fingerprinting.
- The District mandates that certified nursing assistants have 120 hours of training and that home health aides and personal care aides have 75 hours. People in all three professions also must receive 12 hours of annual training.
-Jessica Marcy
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2011/august/16/direct-care-workers-in-demand-as-seniors-ranks-grow.aspx "Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Inland Empire, California
Senior Helpers provides many services in the Inland Empire, California area. We provide a full array of home care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our home care services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a national background check.
If you need Home Care services in Corona, Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Hemet, the Inland Empire, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Norco, Perris, Riverside, Sun City Menifee, Temecula, Wildomar, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Inland Empire Home Health Care Company. "
25 Oct 2011 The death of a spouse is always a tragedy, but for seniors, that tragedy can spur some significant life changes. And one University of Alberta researcher says the choices they make are something policymakers need to pay attention to.
Sociologist Lisa Strohschein says that losing a partner can precipitate the need for the surviving spouse to leave the residence they once shared. And the bereavement period is often key for them or their family members to decide whether it makes sense for that person to continue living alone or whether they give up living independently.
"Two people can take care of each other; they can share the burden of household tasks and may share income sources that allow them to live the kind of life that allows them to live independently," she said. "What this study shows is that, in fact, bereavement is a triggering mechanism (for the surviving spouse to move out of independent living)."
Strohschein's research noted that these seniors choose to either move into an institution or to reside with family members, most often their adult children. She says that when it came to these decisions, men and women were both equally likely to having to move when their partner died. She also noted that immigrants to Canada were more likely to reside with their families than their Canadian-born counterparts. Yet, she says, more needs to be done to help seniors make the final choice of where to live, but when to move should be left to the seniors themselves.
"Perhaps we can do a better job of providing services and/or counseling for recently widowed seniors to help them make decisions that are going to be right for them," said Strohschein, "and provide more services for those ones that really do want to move out of independent living who say, 'I can no longer bear these burdens,' to ensure that they are supported."
Strohschein says that understanding the processes that lead to seniors' decisions to leave their homes is important for the government to acknowledge, especially with an aging population. She says that developing processes and putting services in place would allow these people to retain their independence and their dignity in their twilight years, which is critical to ensuring the system does not become needlessly taxed.
"How do we delay that onset of moving a person to institutional care, care that tends to be quite costly, and can be depersonalizing for the person who's receiving it," Strohschein said. "As people come towards the end of their lives, how do we give them the most ability and the greatest dignity to exercise their right or their need for independence?
"Coming up with other kinds of options that are going to maintain seniors' independence as long as possible and give them the services that they need to help maintain that are going to be absolutely critical."
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