A Note From Carol
Welcome to this issue of Minding Our Elders ezine.
We continue to focus on caregiver and senior issues.
If we are boomers, senior issues affect us is two
ways: one, of course, is that we are caring for our
parents or other elders; the other is that we may be
coming close to the senior category ourselves. Some
of us qualify as both.
I had a poll on the Minding Our Elders blog site for
awhile asking readers if they were are caregiver, a
senior or both. I was surprised at how many are both.
People are living longer, and often people in their
sixties and seventies are caring for their own parent or
parents. Quite a world we live in, when "the kids" are
75!
Then, of course there are those of us in the sandwich
generation. I spent many years there - taking care of
children and elders all at once; making the tough
decisions about who needs the most help at any
given time.
Some of that care will nearly always encompass in-
home help and/or a facility. Two of the articles in this
issue of Minding Our Elders give tips on what to look
for in a facility. Our featured business, The Gilbert
Guide, is packed with tips and links to other help if you
are looking for assistance while caring for an elder.
Please remember - if you are getting help through an
agency, you are still a caregiver. You are just getting
support in what you are doing. Even when a loved one
is in a nursing facility, you will be on call day and night,
you will be visiting, bring favorite items and foods,
personalizing their living areas. You will still be
caregiving. So, please - take care of yourself, as well.
On the subject of taking care of yourself: I will be on
the "Loving Life Radio Show," with Jane Carroll.
The show is streaming twice: Tuesday 5/8/07 at 8
pm EST and again on Wednesday 5/9/07 2 pm EST.
After that, the interview will be available 24/7 in the
archives or for mp3 or iPod download, all from the
website. (to download-click on 'More Previous
Shows' and it will take you to the page where you can
do that).
Take care,
Carol
Living Life and Loving It
Quick Links...
|
|
Hello!
Caregiving expert Carol Bradley Bursack, Author,
speaker and columnist presents a collection of
articles, stories, news and research for you to
browse. Please check the blog and Web site links for
more information and feel free to email Carol at
carol@mindingourelders.com to chat or ask
questions. Thanks for reading.
|
|
In-Home Health Care: What To Look For
|
|
In-home health care is often cited as one of the fastest
growing industries in the economy. Researchers from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics have pointed out that
the
number of home health care workers is expected to
grow by 70 percent by 2014.
For caregivers like us, this means that many of us are
having to make some very important decisions about
who is caring for our elders - and in what setting.
Here is what you need to know to make responsible
and informed decisions about in-home health care.
|
|
Long-Term Care: What To Look For
|
|
Most of us don't make a habit of touring assisted living
and nursing facilities, just for the heck of it. I guess
there are more interesting things to do. But if you have
any reason to believe a loved one may need a facility
in
the future, it doesn't hurt to check out facilities so you
have an idea of what is good and what is not.
I had five loved ones in a nursing facility, for different
lengths of time, for a total of about 15 years. I definitely
have opinions. To me, no matter how fancy the facility,
how modern, how many frills - to me it's still the staff
that is most important.
|
|
Technical Glitch
|
|
My trial of the Audio Postcard had some glitches. The
first one was too quiet. On the second one, the
sample worked fine, but the copy I sent to myself
wouldn't start up. I still don't know why. New technology
is always an adventure!
With technology in mind, I want to add that the last
thing I want to do is send someone too many emails.
We all have individual needs for contact, and also
limits to how much we want to hear from someone.
So - I am creating another category for signing up.
Those of you who are signed up in the general
category (the only one available when you did sign up)
will only recieve the monthly ezine. If you would like to
get other - occasional - notes, please take a minute to
sign up for the "additional information" list.
These will not be a regular email, but just an update to
tell you about something happening, such the
the teleseminar release, that I'm speaking in a different
area of the country, or something new I'm trying. To
reward you for your effort, you'll be able to download,
free, an ebook on stress relief.
Onward to a story by one of my favorite people (and
writers) Barbara Masico of Senior
Approved Services...
|
|
Mother's Day Card Dilemma - How to Love an Unlovable Mother
|
|
Do You Have a Perfect or Imperfect Mother?
Thoughts to ponder by Barbara Mascio
You are standing in front of beautiful cards filled with
verses depicting the wonderful loving unselfish love of
a mother and none of them quite fit. You're wondering
why the card companies can't have a special section
just for the dysfunctional family.
Truth is, few families ever have the perfect mother. If
you ask one of my siblings (including step and half
brothers and sisters) you will get 13 different answers.
Perception, personal growth, and where he or she
landed in the pecking order have much to do with the
varied descriptions.
|
|
Featured Organization: Gilbert Guide
|
|
This organization actually sells a hard copy of The
Gilbert Guide that gives nursing home reviews and
much more. I wouldn't recommend it in this space and
on my sites if that were all it offered.
They don't even cover homes in the area where I live.
But that doesn't keep the site from being an extremely
valuable tool for your caregiving kit.
You'll find a long-term care insurance guide, cost
worksheets, symptoms of Alzheimer's and dementia,
senior care basics and much more.
I can't even begin to tell you how much information is
on this site, which is why I'm featuring it and asking
you to take some time with it. You just have to see for
yourself.
|
|
|
