Home Care of Myrtle Beach | Affordable In-Home Care

My parents need Home Care but refuse to hire a Caregiver

7/11/2016

On any given day our phone will ring and on the other end, is someones son or daughter who is very concerned about their parents. They have come for a visit which they were meaning to make 8 or 9-months ago and are shocked to find that their parents have declined significantly. It is obvious (at least to the children), that Mom and Dad are going to need the services of a Caregiver if they are going to continue to live at home. {Mom or Dad} or {Mom and Dad} are now having trouble walking, their home once immaculate is now in need of a good cleaning, both have lost weight and there is not much in the refrigerator. Dads favorite chair has a towel on the seat which seems odd until it is discovered he is having incontinence problem.
So out the door we go, confident we can help, after all we are the highest rated Home Care Company in the area, with a great staff of experienced Caregivers. We knock on the door and are greeted by one of the children, Mom and Dad are sitting quietly on the coach looking a little confused wondering why we are there. After a brief introductions and some pleasantries, the conversation begins. So Mr.& Mrs Smith, your daughter/son called us this morning because they are concern about you, and asked us to come over to discuss how we can help you. We can prepare your meals , take care of the grocery shopping, do some light house keeping, change your bed linens, do the wash, take you to the doctor and most importantly help you in the shower.
This conversation usually does not go very well
More times than not, Mom, or Mom and Dad in unison say "WE ARE FINE WE DON'T NEED ANY HELP, WE CAN TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES THANK YOU FOR STOPPING OVER, GOOD BYE." A quick glance over to the children reveals a look of disbelief. The thought circling around in their heads is "OH-MY-GOD, my parents have lost their minds what am I going to do"

So what causes this behavior and how should one approach the problem.

Remain clam, getting upset at your parents is not going to be productive. They are your parents and you are their child and nothing is going to change that.
Let the Home Care Company representative try to get through to your parents. Immediately end the conversation however if a hard sell approach is being used. A Skilled Home Care Representatives knows how to handle the situation without being pushy.
If that does not work let the Home Care Company leave and sit down with your parents for a heart to heart talk. Tell them how concern you are about their well being and try to find out why they are so resistant to getting a little help around the house. Often times they may feel they are unable to afford Home Care. Medicare unfortunately will not pay for Home Care, which means it must be paid for out of pocket. The fact that In-home-care is not covered by Medicare, comes as a shock to most people who mistakenly assumed Medicare would pay for Home Care when it was needed. Thankfully, in-home-care is not as expensive as many people think. Home Care of Myrtle Beach is the least expensive full service Home Care Company in the Greater Myrtle Beach area. We offer 3-hour shifts which makes our services affordable for most. We can accomplish quite a bit in 3-hours which may be just enough to get Mom and Dad back on track and keep them safe. This approach is far less expensive than the cost of Assisted Living or a Nursing Home.
Explain to them that a fall at their age can be devastating and they may loss their independence altogether and end up in a nursing home.
Tell them it is much better to prevent a problem than deal with it after one develops (think fall and fractured pelvis.)
As an owner of a Home Care Company the words I hate to hear most is "WE SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOU". Waiting to long to bring in a Caregiver can be very costly and even life threatening.
Denial could be the problem. Often times an elderly person does not want to admit they need help. In situations like this, sometimes you have to call in the troops. Enlist the help of other siblings, aunts and uncles, Priest/Rabbi's social workers, and friends. Do not give up, they will appreciate it later. Call us for more ideals we will be glad to try and help.

Please share your experience below, it is certain to help other struggling with getting help for their aging parents.

1 Comment

Critical Information-Hospital Discharge

3/2/2016

1 Comment

In the event you become ill or need to have a procedure and find yourself in a hospital, chance are the care you will receive will range from good to excellent. You will have doctors and nurses checking on you throughout the day and If you have a problem when no one is around you will be able to summon a nurse by simply pressing a button. The nurses will have easy access to a doctor and the problems you are having can be quickly dealt with. This level of care however, abruptly ends when you leave the hospital. The Doctors from the hospital are now gone and can't easily be reached and the nurses who took such good care of you at the hospital are no longer available.

You are now on your own

Now that you know what to expect here is what to do when you are discharged:
1. Immediately call you primary doctor
and tell him or her you have been discharged from the hospital, and make an appointment to see him immediately. Do not settle for anything less than an immediate appointment. Your primary Doctor must take over your care. The Doctor(s) in the hospital can not be relied upon to take care of you any longer. Your primary Doctor is the Doctor you now must now rely upon. I can't stress this point enough. After discharge see you must see your Primary Care Doctor ASAP.*
2. Do not under estimate the need for help at home.
You most likely will be going home in a weakened condition. Friends, relatives and home care companies like Home Care Of Myrtle Beach will be needed from the minute you arrive at home. Hospitals today are under a great deal of pressure to release patients as soon as possible, often times before you are feeling ready to begin caring for yourself. You are going to need help.
3. Expect mistakes, question everything.
Every prescription you came home with should go with you when you visit your primary care Doctor. Find out what each medication is for and mark it on the bottle. Ask about the side effects of the medications and the dosage. Also ask your doctor if there are newer medications with fewer side effects available. Remember you are now responsible for caring for yourself. Question everything about your care and if it the answers you are getting don't make sense call your doctor and express your concerns.

We at Home Care of Myrtle Beach watch out for our clients and go out of our way to call attention to problems. We will call your doctor when we see a problem and voice any concerns you or we may have. Ultimately however you must be your own advocate . Medicine today is completely different than it was 10-years ago and those that do not recognize the differences will have a difficult recovery.

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Family Matters

1/22/2016

9 Comments

As a home care company owner, I am involved with many seasoned adults. Most of our clients are between the ages of 80 and 95. There physical and mental conditions vary widely, some are very ill and have difficulty with just about every aspect of life while other are as sharp as a tack and are very active. Although each of our clients our very different the one thing they have income is some level of loneliness. They feel isolated from their families and long to spend more time with them. Seniors have a wealth information that to often never get to shared with family members especially grand children. I urge those of you who's parents are growing old to interact with your parents as often as possible and involve the grand children as much as possible. Forget Ancestry.Com the information about your families lie with our grand parents and great grand parents, learn as much as you can before they are gone.

9 Comments

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