Packing and Shipping for Seniors Home Care Path

One of the joys of senior living is sharing with family. Packing and shipping items to family can help the senior feel more connected. While out shopping in the Outlet Mall the senior purchases four Twilight movie themed shirts for the grandchildren. Home Care Path www.homecarepath.com staff determine the grandchildren all live in two seperate households approximately three blocks apart. The senior agrees shirts can be sent to one package and the receiver can distribute to the grandchildren of both houses. The senior would like the shirts to arrive safe and fast. The senior wants the grandchildren to be able to wear them with the summer season. Home Care Path staff and the senior find the items can be shipped by the United States Postal Service through priority mail. Home Care Path staff and the senior choose priority mail because the box is provided. Priority mailed items usually get to the persons home in 3-4 days. Home Care Path staff and the senior decide not to use the flat rate priority boxes because the items are shirts , lighter fabric. This can save some money. The senior and Home Care Path staff put together a hand written note to accompany the shirts. Home Care Path staff and the senior pack the shirts and the hand written note into the priority box provided by the Post Office. On each side of the box opening is a wax paper that lifts as the flap folds and the sealant closes the box securely. The senior and the Home Care Path staff write the return address and the shipping address on the box. The addresses are checked against the paper copies from the home to be sure they are written correctly. The Home Care Path staff and the senior apply some additional tape provided at the Post Office to each end. The box will be delivered just like letters would come to the families residence mail box. The postal clerk suggests mailing insurance which is about 1.30 for 50.00 worth of of coverage. The senior and the Home Care Path staff decide to insure the package for the 50.00. The total shipping cost is 7.34. The postal clerk provides the senior and the Home Care Path staff a mailing receipt and a mailing insurance receipt. The postal clerk instructs the the senior and the Home Care Path staff to hold on to the receipts until the merchandise has been delivered in a safe and timely manner. The senior and The Home Care Path staff call the family who will receive the package, requesting they contact the senior when the package arrives. The family calls the senior two days later to report the shirts arrived safe and sound and the grandchildren loved the surprise.

Funeral Planning Home Care Path

Many seniors plan their own funeral. This can mean paying in advance for funeral services and a burial plot. Cases continue to be reported to the State Of Wisconsin Funeral Board that regulates Funeral Directors. The report involves prepaid money being stolen by unethical business owners. Some Funeral Directors have advised planning ahead but keeping the money in a family bank account. The bank account should be set up so it is payable on death to the family member who will be in charge of arrangements. The senior needs to have a conversation with family members about their wishes. The family should be aware of the plans made and the bank account set up for payment. The funeral director provides a very important service to the community. The funeral directors ability to make money is dependent upon how much families spend. Families can find it easier to over spend in a greif stricken state. Try to remove the emotional portion by focusing on the family budget, wishes of the deceased, and religious, cultural traditions. Their is no monetary figure that best represents the current traditional or normal funeral. Most funeral directors will provide families with a price list in advance. Families can take the list home and allow extra time when evaluating realistic need.

Medicare Home Care Path

Medicare continues to become more complex for the beneficiary. Medicare Part A is Hospital Insurance. Home Care Path www.homecarepath.com staff provide companionship with hospital stays. Medicare Part A has deductibles. A senior could have a 1 thousand dollar deductible for a hospital stay of 60 days. Medicare Part B is Medical Insurance , which covers Doctors services and supplies. Medicare Part B has a 155.00 annual deductible. Medicare Part B has a monthly premium of 110.50. Medicare Part B has no cap on out of pocket costs after Medicare pays 80 percent of the approved expenses. So once the 155.00 Part B deductible is met medicare pays 80 percent of the total approved expenses. The senior then owes the rest of the balance. This is the reason the insurance industry can successfully market the Medicare advantage plans, Medicare supplement plans, and the Medigap plans. These are various Medicare Part C insurance plans that help the senior pay for services beyond the Medicare coverage. Medicare Part D is drug coverage. Medicare Part C Advantage Plans can include the Medicare Part D component. Medicare Part D helps seniors pay for medications. Many plans have copays on the medications. Plans can also encourage seniors to take generic medication verses brand to reduce expense. Thankfully the State Of Wisconsin has regulated plans to insure some basic consistent level of service.

Coumadin & Cucumber Salad Home Care Path

Everyone has heard of the summer cucumber salad. Sliced fresh cucumbers, onions, vinegar, half n half, sits in the fridge, great over potatoes, with sweet corn. The difficulty begins with a big metal bowl to make the cucumber salad in. Retreiving the bowl from a high placed cupboard, the senior drops the metal bowl. The metal bowl bounces on the floor and rams the seniors lower left leg. The rim of the metal bowl has left its mark on the seniors leg. The complication to the bowl striking the leg is the seniors daily use of the drug Coumadin. Coumadin interferes with blood clotting. Coumadin can prolong bleeding in superficial breaks of the skin. The senior is told to sit down and put the feet up. Elevating the feet will reduce flow of blood to the fragile skin. The senior is given a towel with ice cubes wrapped inside and is to lightly apply for short period of time to the area of skin the bowl hit. The senior is told to expect a visible bruise like discoloration of the skin. The senior is well aware of the discoloration with any bumping of the skin. The senior reports bumping the hand on the corner of the table resulting in a visible bruise. The senior is given time to discuss how the discoloration of the skin can be brought up a lot, making them feel self conscious. this is a kind of change in ones body image. Allowing the senior to talk this through is a form of therapeutic listening. Higher up on the leg is four discolored spots from mosquito insect bites. We jokingly wonder if the mosquito can survive consuming the Coumadin in the seniors blood. Try the senior care web site www.homecarepath.com

The Advocacy Componenet of Senior Care Home Care Path

Advocacy has become an essential part of the senior care service for several important reasons. The Health Care System is experiencing an increased number of users. The Health Care System is in transition to prepare for the increased number of users. Fiscal contraints will demand more of the seniors using the Health Care System.

Today's senior care advocacy is built on the desire to protect the interests of the individuals who are unable to effectiviely participate in the Health Care System. The senior may lack the skill, knowledge, and energy to be effectively served by providers in the health care system. The Health Care System is adjusting its practice model to to better serve the increased number of users. The providers in The Health Care System are in the midst of change which is disruptive to medical staff as well as seniors. Conservative health business labor budgets can lessen the staff available to help when it is needed.

Medical staff continue to recommend seniors have a regular care giver who can attend all providers visits. Home Care Path www.homecarepath.com staff accompany seniors to provider visits to improve follow through in the home setting. Provider visits usually involve the senior telling the nurse all the current medications being taken. The nurse then checks the seniors vitals, blood pressure, pulse, respiration, body temperature, and level of pain. The senior is asked to state the chief complaint, what the problem is for today. The nurse will want to know exact facts regarding the problem. Like when the problem was first noticed, what seems to worsen the problem, etc. The interview process can take time, something that is in short supply with the changes the Health Care System is expereincing.

Many seniors will have multiple chronic symptoms being managed by daily medications. Seniors can have more symptoms, diagnosis, and take more medications with increased age. Seniors may experience some changes with memory. Often described as slow recall. So besides having more medications, symptoms, and diagnosis, the senior can experience memory loss, diffuculty with recall. The provider at the medical visit will want an accurate picture of what is taking place in the home to prescribe an effective treatment to help with the problem.

Seniors can expereince functional changes in the bodies ability to physically move. Slow or no ability to walk. Loss of vision can result in limited ability to read. Simply getting in to the providers room for the visit may take extra time and assistance. Extra time, and additonal staff to help, may be in short supply in todays Health Care System.

Home Care Path staff www.homecarepath.com are taught to participate in the advocacy component of senior care service. Staff take extra time in the home setting to collect adequate and accurate information. Staff collect adequate information to arrive at a written starement of the problem. The staff and the senior interpret all the collected information to formulate an accurate and acceptable explanation of the problem. Both the staff and the senior must come to an agreement on what the problem is. The senior and staff are now ready to present the problem to the medical provider at the Health Care System visit. During the medical visit the senior, the staff, the nurse, and the medical doctor agree on a recommended solution to the problem. The medical doctor prescribes a treatment for the problem. Home Care Path staff encourage the senior to comply with the prescribed treatment. The success of the visit depends on the senior participating in the prescribed treatment correctly. At home staff continue to encourage the senior to engage in the prevention activities. The Home Care Path staff provide ongoing support and direction to insure the senior benefits from the prescribed treatment.

From this description of the advocacy process one can see how the senior can benefit on all levels. The senior begins to sense purposeful results from the effort involved in the medical visits. The Health Care System provider staff become more comfortable in their ability to effectively serve the seniors ongoing needs. The home setting becomes mores consistent, stable, and can be a health giving dwelling.

From Comparative Effectiveness to Patient Centered Research

PPACA is The Patient Protection and Affordability Act of 2010. PCORI is The Patient Centered Outcome Research Institute. Congress has disbanded the Federal Coordinating Council for (CER) Comparative Effectiveness Research. Federal authority has shifted from The Council For CER to PCORI The Patient Centered Outcome Research Institute. PCORI Board is appointed by the Comptroller General of The United States and supervised by The Government Accountability Office, which is currently an agency of the U.S. Congress. PCORI The Patient Centered Outcome Research Institute will operate as the federal funding authority for Patient Centered Research infrastructure. PCORI controls federal money in the form of contract grants. Large Health Organizations and Universities assemble systems that include data, research methods, staffing, training etc. to qualify for federal research money. PCORI The Patient Centered Outcome Research Institute will award contract grants to large Health Organizations, Universities, having the infrastructure to best perform the tasks required by the PCORI Mission. The Mission has shifted from comparative effectiveness to patient centered research. The focus with patient centered research calls for electronic linking of data sources. The observation of transparency with ongoing, fast, communication of information to the patient and medical providers. This will give patients and doctors more information so they can make the best medical decisions.

Dimebon Home Care Path

Dimebon (Latrepirdine, Dimebolin) is an antihistamine drug. A 1980's Russian drug sold over the counter for hayfever symtpoms. Recently recognized by the pharmaceutical industry for its neuro protective properties, with a potential to combat Alzheimer's disease. Dimebon has been shown to inhibit brain cell death in pre clinical studies of Alzheimer's disease. The earliest series of studies were able to show the results necessary to facilitate the continuation of clinical research trials. In April of 2009 Pfizer and Medivation announced trials were unable to show desired benefit to participants with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This has been frustrating for prescribers who saw early trials of Dimebon demonstrate an ability to inhibit cellular death associated with neuro degenerative diseases. Currently The Dean Foundation www.dean.org is conducting a clinical research study to test the effects of an investigational medication (Dimebon) in patients with Alzheimer's disease . The study is to determine if Dimebon improves cognition, memory, daily functioning, caring for oneself, and behavior over a 12 month period. Participants will be required to have a regular care giver attend all 10 visits over the 12 month period. Home Care Path www.homecarepath.com staff attend provider visits with seniors to help improve follow through in the home setting. This Dean study is number 549, and JoAnn in Madison Wisconsin is the contact person.