Short Term Personal Care More Affordable

Short Term Personal Care Plans are now offered by Professional HealthCare at Home to help reduce costs of short term assistance. When someone requires a few hours or a few days of help due to a medical procedure or hospital stay, bundled packages are now available at discounted hourly rates.

Plans include Hospital or Medical Facility Transportation, Medical Procedure Attendant, Hospital Sitting, and Total Hospital and Home Assistance. If family members or friends are not available to drive and attend to someone, these are affordable options for comfort and peace of mind. READ MORE »

Dear Katy - My 85 year old dad has lost a lot of weight in recent months and I know that he's not eating very much. His doctor says he's healthy but I'm beginning to get concerned. Any suggestions? T.M., Vallejo CA

Dear T.M. - If everything has checked out with the doctor, the next thing to consider is why your father isn't eating. Many times when I speak with families this is a problem. Appetitie does decrease with age, but the majority of elderly people I speak with aren't eating either because they don't want to bother with cooking or they don't like to eat alone. In either of these cases, a personal caregiver could be of assistance. Someone could come in 1 or 2 days per week for a four hour shift. During this time, they could cook a nutritious meal, sit with your dad while he eats, cook and package up some meals for the remainder of the week, and maybe tidy up the house a bit. This is also a great way to "break in" the idea of your dad needing more assistance as he ages.

Dear Katy - Mom requires 24-hour care. We are a large family that will mix our caregiving with outside assistance? What's the best way to manage all of this? A.G., Salt Lake City UT

Dear A.G. - The first step is for someone in the family to be responsible for overseeing the 24-hour care. This person should get everyone's availability and put together a calendar that shows who will be with your mom at any given time. This calendar would be posted at your mom's house as well as distributed to all family members. From this calendar, you will easily be able to determine when you might need some outside assistance. One thing to consider is that if family members are flexible but don't want to devote too much time, schedule them so that the "gaps" in family coverage are as consistent as possible. If you can give a regular schedule to an agency, they will have greater success sending you the same people.

(Submit your questions to kdougherty@professionalhc.com. Follow her on twitter.)

Top Halloween Costumes for 2009

Have fun as you identify the most popular costumes that the grandkids and neighborhood tykes will choose this Halloween.

1. Traditional Favorites - witches, princesses, ballerinas, angels, pirates, cowboys, vampires, and superheros
2. Harry Potter - plus other characters in the series
3. Hanna Montana - blond wig and trendy outfits
4. Transformers - All the cool robots
5. Other movie hits - GI Joe, Star Trek, Star Wars, and High School Musical characters

Vol.1, No.8

Family Caregiver Resources

Insomnia Advice

Prevention of Elder Abuse

Costs of Long Term Care

Portable Shower System
Sit in a chair, inside a box frame with plastic sheeting. Hand-held shower nozzle connects to any sink. Easy to set up, use and stow.
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