Kurt Hjelle

Summertime and Senior Care in Oswego, IL: Keep an Eye on the Elderly in the Summer Heat

June 14, 2012 By Kurt Hjelle

Just as the severe cold temperatures are dangerous for the elderly in the winter, the high temperatures of summer can be equally or more dangerous. Seniors are more prone to the effects of heat and at greater risk for dehydration.

According to the CDC, elderly people are more at risk for the following reasons:

• Seniors’ bodies do not adjust as well as young people to sudden changes in temperature.
• They are more likely to have a chronic medical condition that changes normal body responses to heat.
• They are more likely to take prescription medicines that impair the body’s ability to regulate its temperature or that inhibit perspiration.

It is important during this time of year that someone you trust is checking on senior loved ones who live alone. If you can’t be there, consider hiring a home care agency to visit a couple of times a week to assist with errands, light housekeeping, laundry, and general senior care. It’s always good to have a set of eyes and ears that can report anything unusual to the family.

Here are some tips on “beating the heat” with regard to senior care.

• Try to plan activities that require going outside during cooler hours.

• Move exercise indoors. Consider exercising at a gym, walking on a treadmill, or “mall walking” instead of outdoor walks or activities. Swimming and water aerobics are good options as well.

• Drink plenty of fluids (non-alcoholic, caffeine-free as these ingredients have a diuretic effect). Talk with your doctor if you take medications that affect fluid intake, such as Lasix or a “water pill”.

• Stay indoors in cooled spaces as much as possible. Check on senior’s air conditioning system, do a maintenance review. If electricity goes out or your loved one does not have air conditioning, consider alternative arrangements when heat is at dangerous levels.

• Be aware of signs of dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

The most common signs of dehydration in the elderly are thirst, confusion, irritability and poor skin elasticity. Keeping hydrated on a regular basis is the most important preventative measure, and individuals should be encourage to drink fluids even when not thirsty as thirst may not be triggered until already dehydrated. Heat and dehydration may make seniors more prone to dizziness and falls and can cause/increase confusion.

Heat exhaustion is the more mild form of heat-related illness that can develop after several days of exposure to high temperatures and inadequate or unbalanced replacement of fluids.

Warning signs of heat exhaustion in seniors vary but may include the following:

• Heavy sweating
• Paleness
• Muscle Cramps
• Tiredness
• Weakness
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fainting
• Skin: may be cool and moist
• Pulse rate: fast and weak
• Breathing: fast and shallow

Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness. It occurs when the body becomes unable to control its temperature: the body’s temperature rises rapidly, the body loses its ability to sweat, and it is unable to cool down. Body temperatures rise to 106°F or higher within 10 to 15 minutes. Heat stroke can cause death or permanent disability if emergency treatment is not provided.

Warning signs of heat stroke in seniors vary but may include the following:

• An extremely high body temperature (above 103°F)
• Red, hot, and dry skin (no sweating)
• Rapid, strong pulse
• Throbbing headache

For more information about senior care options in Oswego contact senior care counselors at Safe at Home Healthcare are available to talk with you about your senior care needs including how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care, including live-in care. We are an elder care agency providing senior care in Oswego.

Navigating Elder Care In Aurora, IL: Learn The Difference Between Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Pay Options

June 5, 2012 By Kurt Hjelle

Understanding where to turn for elder care services in Aurora, IL can be overwhelming, but understanding HOW elder care services are paid for, is even more complicated.

Here are some of the ways that elder care is paid for.

Medicare:

• Seniors age 65 and older qualify for Medicare. Without getting too technical, Medicare only pays for skilled care.
• Skilled care means that the care must be ordered by a physician and provided by a licensed professional like a Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, etc.
• The person receiving home health care under Medicare must be “homebound” (meaning they aren’t leaving the house to go to the grocery).
• The care will not be 24/7 care, and will probably only result in short visits periodically throughout the week or month.

Medicaid: (Medi-Cal in California)

You may be eligible for benefits through Medicaid. Medicaid programs vary by state, so you will need to check with your state Medicaid office for more information.
• Eligibility: People with disabilities are eligible in every state. In some states, people with disabilities qualify automatically if they get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. In other states you may qualify depending on your income and resources (financial assets).
• “Buy-Ins”: Some states also have “buy-in” programs that allow people with disabilities with incomes above regular Medicaid limits to enroll in the Medicaid program. Children with disabilities can qualify for Medicaid either under these disability-related rules, or based on family income.
• Expansion in 2014. Starting in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will expand the Medicaid program to cover people under age 65, including people with disabilities, with income of about $15,000 for a single individual (higher incomes for couples and families with children).
• Help for disabled people: This expansion helps low-income adults who have disabilities but don’t meet the disability requirements of the SSI program. The expansion also helps those whose income is above their state’s current eligibility levels.

To learn more about your state Medicaid program and other options available to you, use the insurance and coverage finder or visit Medicaid.gov.

Private Pay:

• Paying for care through private funds, including checking, savings, investments.
• Using Long-Term Care Insurance
• Using VA Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit

In order to know how your family might pay for elder care, talk to us for guidance and information.

Elder care counselors at Safe at Home Healthcare are available to talk with you about your in-home care needs including how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care, including live-in care. We are an elder care agency providing Elder Care in Aurora.

Private Duty Home Care in Aurora, IL: Can Help Patients with Congestive Heart Failure – Keeping them Safe and Healthy!

May 29, 2012 By Kurt Hjelle

Based on the American Heart Association, congestive heart failure in essence means that the heart is too weak to pump enough blood throughout the body. While this may happen due to a heart defect or heart attack, it could also occur if the heart muscle becomes weaker over time resulting from weight gain, continued inactivity and other reasons.

When the heart cannot pump blood through the body well, the kidneys do not get enough blood as a result, which means that less fluid exits the body through urine. This extra fluid can then collect in the lungs, around the eyes, in the liver and the legs. The collection of extra fluid is congestion, hence the term ‘congestive heart failure’.

Indicators

Patients with congestive heart failure generally get weary very easily and may seem short of breath a lot. Additionally, individuals may always seem to gain weight due the fluid collection throughout the body.

Other problems include frequent urination, coughing, loss of appetite, sudden weight gain, especially in the ankles and feet, and a rapid heartbeat. Since these problems may be similar to other health problems, a medical professional should make a proper diagnosis if congestive heart failure is assumed.

Treatment

More often than not, a doctor will order a diuretic, which boosts the frequency of urination to help remove the excess fluid from the body. Additionally, medication that helps relax the blood vessels can help the heart pump more efficiency and another medication can help the heart use more force in pumping. Ask your physician for strategies for the proper medications for you or a loved one who has congestive heart failure.

Home Care Assistance

Many times, elderly patients with congestive heart failure may benefit from home care services since they are often weak, tired and out of breath. There is also regular diet, blood pressure, weight and pulse monitoring that should take place on a daily basis.

A private duty home care service can help the patient with basic tasks around the house and monitor their symptoms. They can also assist with medication reminders.

Furthermore, a Home Care companion can help improve the client’s way of life by encouraging plenty of rest and staying off their feet for regular amounts of time every day.

However, since the senior should also participate in a low-impact exercise program, a home care worker can help get the patient out of the home every day for a nice walk or follow other activity ideas made by their medical doctor.

One more advantage of hiring a home care worker for a patient with congestive heart failure is that the home care provider can monitor the senior’s diet, decreasing salt content and encouraging a healthy diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables and protein. Foods high in magnesium and potassium may be beneficial for heart patients.

Frequently, a physician will highly recommend restricted fluids for a congestive heart failure patient and this is something that the home care worker can monitor, as well as encouraging the right type and amount of liquids to drink.

Documenting the patient’s weight daily can help track how the patient’s fluid retention is progressing, as well as regular blood pressure monitoring on a daily basis.

Additionally, a home care worker can remind the senior to take medications as prescribed. Any symptoms or worsening of the condition, or other infections, illnesses or problems that may worsen CHF can be monitored and reported promptly to the health practitioner as needed.

Get Help

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, consider hiring home care services. There are many benefits for congestive heart failure patients, including proper daily care, reminders about medication and vitamins, following of the proper diet and recommendations for exercise and rest. While many patients can do a good job of taking care of themselves, a home care provider can help improve the patient’s quality of life and may even help extend it!

Home Care counselors at Safe at Home Healthcare are available to talk with you about your in-home care needs including how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care, including live-in care. We are an elder care agency providing Home Care in Aurora.

Home Care Services in Aurora, IL: Keep Hypertension Under Control

May 22, 2012 By Kurt Hjelle

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a life-threatening ailment, particularly for the elderly. To keep it at reasonable levels, careful monitoring and taking prescribed blood pressure medications is very important. These responsibilities can sometimes be easily forgotten, no matter how old a person is.

Hiring home care services can enable seniors with elevated blood pressure to take care of themselves by keeping their disease stabilized.

In -home care services are not “skilled nursing services”. Companions, CNAs and Home Health Aides cannot give medications or make medical diagnoses. What they can do for seniors is remind them to take their medications.

For a condition like elevated blood pressure, medication reminders can be essential.

While away from home, home care service providers can assist the senior to check his or her blood pressure by using the automatic blood pressure cuffs found in pharmacies.

Blood pressure monitoring can quickly be included into a trip to pick up a prescription or to the grocery store. Even everyday blood pressure monitoring can help the senior know if his or her blood pressure medication is working correctly.

Some seniors acquire automated blood pressure cuffs in their own home. Automatic blood pressure cuffs can be bought at a practical cost at any local pharmacy or drug store. The in-home care agency can help the senior with daily blood pressure monitoring and recording at home.

Seniors with high blood pressure should find assistance in keeping their condition controlled. Without control, the original symptoms the senior felt before going on medication may appear. These symptoms may include: dizziness, nosebleeds, shortness of breath, blurred vision, or headaches. Such symptoms are only warning signs of more serious problems that could arise from uncontrolled high blood pressure levels.

Some of the most severe repercussions of out of control high blood pressure in the elderly are heart attacks and strokes. The constantly high force of the blood on the walls of the arteries serving the heart or the brain become weak and may burst, causing the heart attack or stroke. These are potentially deadly circumstances, which may be stopped by the senior taking his or her medication and having regular blood pressure checks.

High blood pressure causes many problems with the body, and as people age, the chances of these problems happening may increase, especially if the person has suffered from high blood pressure for many years. Preventing future problems from high blood pressure depends on regular monitoring and taking the doctor-prescribed medicine as directed.

A home care service provider can help a senior remember to take much needed medications, possibly saving his or her life by avoiding the deadly consequences of uncontrolled hypertension.

Home care counselors at Safe at Home Healthcare are available to talk with you about your in-home care needs including how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care, including live-in care. We are an elder care agency providing Home Care Services in Aurora.

Senior Care in Aurora, IL: Honor Our Veterans and Keep in Mind Those We Have Lost on Memorial Day

May 17, 2012 By Kurt Hjelle

Memorial Day, originally called “Decoration Day”, is a day of remembrance for people who have perished in our nation’s service. There are many stories as to its actual early stages, with over two dozen metropolitan areas and towns laying claim to being the origin of Memorial Day. There is also proof that organized women’s groups in the South were decorating graves just before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, “Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping” by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication “To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead” (Source: Duke University’s Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920).

While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the origin of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s tough to confirm conclusively the source of the day. It is much more likely that it had many individual beginnings; each of those towns and every scheduled or spontaneous meeting of people to honor the war dead in the 1860’s identified the common human need to honor our dead, each added honestly to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his formal proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is essential is that Memorial Day was established.

Memorial Day is not about dividing. It is about getting back together; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all. Traditional observance of Memorial Day has diminished over the years. Many Americans these days have forgotten the significance and customs of Memorial Day.

Since the late 50’s on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.

In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye’s Heights (the Luminaria Program). And in 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.”

The Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.

Senior Care counselors at Safe at Home Healthcare are available to talk with you about your in-home care needs including how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care, including live-in care. We are an elder care agency providing Senior Care in Aurora.