Senior Caregiving Blog- Elder Care & Caregiving News & Tips – Caregiverlist.com

Illinois Revokes Nursing Home's License

Julie Northcutt — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:53:35 GMT

A Chicago Tribune investigative report has been succesful in exposing a lack of compliance to Illinois laws for admitting and caring for nursing home residents. Criminal background checks and risk assessments were not being conducted on new residents, allowing for mentally ill patients and convicted felons to become rent-free residents of Medicaid nursing homes and placing senior residents at risk.

Seniors who do not have personal assets and a monthly income to pay for nursing home costs can qualify for ongoing care in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid, a state and federally funded program. Owning a Medicaid nursing home can be compared to owning an apartment complex which is always rented - as long as you can admit qualifying patients, the government will pay the rent each month.

One nursing home housed 18 felons and drew attention after 17 assualts and 2 incidents of sexual violence were reported.

If a nursing home is housing a large percentage of mentally ill patients, additional staff are needed, along with around-the-clock supervision to protect seniors who may have memory loss and not be aware of how to interact with someone who is mentally ill and could cause them harm. One of the easiest ways to find out if a nursing home houses a large percent of mentally ill patients is to check the average age of residents - - if there are lots of residents who are not seniors then this is a red flag that the qualifying residents are there for mental illness. It follows that necessary precautions should be in place to prevent the assaults and sexual abuse that happened at the Chicago nursing homes.

Somerset Place in Chicago housed more than 300 residents and the federal government has pulled the plug on their Medicaid payments. However, it took good reporting to make this happen - another indicator that the state nursing home inspection reports do not provide all the answers for maintaining quality nursing homes. Felons belong in prisons, not nursing homes.

nursinghomecare, seniorcare, nursinghome

January 2010 Unemployment at 9.7%: Caregiving Jobs Growing

Julie Northcutt — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:35:20 GMT

The U.S. Department of Labor reported this morning that the unemployment rate for January, 2010, is 9.7%, with employment in retail and temporary work increasing. At the same time, the health care and social service industry sector increased from 13.3 % to 17.1 % of the total job market from January a year ago - another indicator that employment opportunities in the healthcare field are indeed growing to keep up with the needs of the large baby boomer generation.

What type of jobs are available in senior care for individuals with no experience in caregiving?

Companion Caregivers
Senior Home Care Agency Office Staff: Office Manager, Scheduler, Recruiter
Community Relations (Sales)

What types of jobs are available in senior care for experienced caregivers?

Certified Nursing Aides
Certified Home Health Aides
Personal Care Aides
Licensed Practical Nurse
Registered Nurse
Social Worker

You may become a certified nursing aide by attending a state approved training program and successfully completing the state C.N.A. exam. You can obtain companion caregiver training by working for a senior home care agency which usually will provide training as part of their new employee orientation program (some states require a specific amount of training hours for each new caregiver). You may also take a sample or practice nursing aide test to learn more about the skills a training program will teach.

As the Department of Labor statistics indicate, you will most likely enjoy long-term employment in the senior care field, along with the fulfillment of doing work which is highly appreciated.

seniorcarejobs, caregivingjobs, healthcarejobs

Medicare Fraud: Spot It, Report It, Spread the Word

Julie Northcutt — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:44:01 GMT

The U.S. government does not provide universal health care, but pays out an estimated $60 billion a year in fraudulent Medicare claims - that is $60 billion with a "b". A private business that has to earn a profit in order to pay employees and cover their operating costs would not keep their doors open if they had this amount of fraud. The Obama administration realizes the government is partly to blame for creating a system which allows this much fraud to happen. They have setup a website to educate seniors and caregivers about Medicare fraud and to assist us all in reporting it.

How can we stop Medicare fraud?

Learn about how Medicare fraud happens.

Check out 60 Minutes reporting on Medicare fraud to understand the system better. It is important to realize that the reimbursement claims for home care visits for Medicare skilled care (care provided by a Registered Nurse, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist) pay very generous amounts to the Medicare agencies for the visits: $500 per visit for a R.N., for example. The claim system is complicated - some visits pay more than others - filing a claim is similar to filing a federal tax return. However, Medicare agencies quickly learn the system and so do those who are seeking to abuse it. The same type of care for various medical diagnoses pay different reimbursement rates, for example.

Ask questions.

If you or your spouse or relative are receiving skilled care visits by Medicare, ask the agency what the government reimbursement amount will be and based on what qualifying factors. Ask them how long the care has been approved for and confirm with your referring doctor - - - all Medicare visits must be doctor approved.

Ask your doctor if he is associated with the Medicare agency. While referral fees are not allowed, doctors are often invited to be on the advisory board or receive other incentives to refer to a certain agency - find out why the doctor refers to the agency and if they refer to more than one agency.

Medicare Fraud Warning Signs:

Service is offered for free - free medical equipment or additional free caregiving services
No approval needed for services
Door-to-door sales call or telemarketing call asking for your Medicare number for pre-approval
Medicare is offering you the service for free and a random company is calling to notify you

Note: Medicare services are pre-approved by your medical doctor after a hospital or nursing home stay and require you to be confined to your home. Remember, even wheelchairs paid for by Medicare require extensive forms to be filled out, along with pre-approval from a medical doctor (and the Scooter Store, which advertises on Infomercials that they will get your wheelchair pre-approved for you definitely has the legal right to educate you about the Medicare approval process, but as they found out when they were convicted of Medicare fraud, they cannot hire their own doctors to drop by and approve you for a wheelchair). You may review the Scooter Store Medicare fraud case which also is an indication of the generous reimbursement rates for some Medicare-approved services which is a reason for the high rates of fraud.

Learn more by reviewing information presented at the national summit on health care fraud. Senior caregivers should also make sure a senior checks with their doctor before moving forward with any Medicare service, as only their medical doctor will authorize the Medicare home care services.

MedicareFraud, seniorcare, ScooterStore

Alzheimer's Clinical Trial Studies Benefit both Caregivers and Seniors

Julie Northcutt — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:23:43 GMT

By participating in a clinical drug trial, you will receive valuable medical information at no charge, along with access to medical care which may improve your medical condition. Remember that all medications we currently take first had to be tested in a clinical trial study - and many of these medications work very well. The U.S. government's Food and Drug Administration requires medications to show positive performance in clinical trials before being approved.

How can you learn about clinical trials in your area?

Ask your doctor
Ask your pharmacist
Check with the local association for your disease (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc.)

You may receive a monetary stipend for your participation along with travel and telephone expense reimbursement. Be sure to first learn about the requirements for participants, as these are usually very specific. Sometimes caregivers are also provided with reimbursement as their feedback is considered valuable.

This Alzheimer's Disease research study requires participation in 14 meetings and 3 telephone calls and will span 14 months. The medical evaluations alone can be worth participating in a study, as you will be working with a leading team of doctors and researchers.

You may also contact the department of aging in your area to find out about age-related programs which may be helpful, and sometimes they also know about clinical trials. drugtrials, AlzheimersDisease, memoryloss

Hospital Care - Protecting Your Loved Ones

Julie Northcutt — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:33:01 GMT

Yesterday we blogged about the increase in health care associated infections (HAI's) which are infections patients develop while staying at a healthcare facility such as a hospital or nursing home. Those of us in the senior care industry are very familiar with the new friends - HAI"S - seniors gain when they go into the hospital for a hip-replacement or another surgery - MRSA being one of the most common infections senior's take home with them.

A new book provides information on how to naviagate the healthcare system and make it home alive:

Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide to Get Your Loved One Out Alive

The book interviews more than 150 doctors, nurses, hosptial staff and family members and provides advice on how to avoid the medication mistakes, infectious diseases and prevent medical errors. The book also helps with ways to develop positive relationships with medical staff.

Senior home care agencies provide Geriatric Care Managers to assist families with making sure seniors are receiving quality care and that communication flows between all care providers and Caregiverlist provides information on quality standards for senior home care agencies.
seniorcare, caregiver, hospitalcare

Caregiver Protection from Health-care Infections

Julie Northcutt — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:32:42 GMT

Recent statistics have shown that more people die from health care facility infections than from cancer in certain areas of the country. These numbers are heavily argued but anyone in senior care knows that many times a senior will be hospitalized and come home with an infection that causes even more problems. My own uncle survived cancer surgery but took home an infection he picked up at the hospital which killed him. When I owned a senior home care agency, one new client who had worked as a pharmacist made every person that entered his hospital room wash their hands before they came near him - he even made the doctors and nurses do this.

These healthcare-related infections are known in the industry as HAI's and they have rapidly grown in the last decade. It is important for seniors and their caregivers to protect themselves properly from these infections.

What is a healthcare-associated infection (HAI)?
An infection developed at a hospital or nursing home that the patient did not have prior to treatment at the facility. These infections impact both senior patients and their caregivers who sometimes become infected when caring for the senior after they have returned home from the hospital or care facility.

How frequent do HAI's occur?
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 1.4 million people worldwide are suffering from HAI's at any one time.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that the number of U.S. deaths from HAI's are rapidly increasing at 100,000 per year.

What can you do to prevent HAI's?
Monitor cleanliness: as a caregiver be sure to wear gloves and wash your hands before and after meals and before touching a patient. As a patient, be sure to wash your hands frequently and ask all care providers to wash their hands or to wear fresh gloves before providing hands-on care.

"Not on my Watch" provides educational tools for healthcare professionals and families in an effort to help eliminate these preventable illnesses: www.haiwatch.com

Learn about care techniques and find about more about certified nursing aide skills which assist in protecting both patients and caregivers. Explore professional senior home care options which eliminate the exposure to hospital and nursing home infections.

seniorcare, heatlhcareassociatedinfection, caregivertraining

$150 Research Opportunity for Nursing Assistants Funded by NIH

Julie Northcutt — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:54:37 GMT

Caregiverlist was just informed the Oregon Center for Applied Science is conducting a research opportunity for working Nursing Assistants (you must be currently employed). Participants will complete 3 surveys and view two computer training sessions and will receive up to $150 for their time.

Name of the Research Project: Caring Skills Project

Research Study Participant Requirements:

Working as a Nursing Assistant
18 years of age or older
Working at least 16 hours per week
Read and speak English
Access to a computer with high-speed internet connection
Active e-mail address

How do you apply to participate?

Submit Application Form: http://screen-caringskills.orcasinc.com

This research project is funded by The National Institute of Aging. All information is kept completely confidential. Research applicants will be accepted through September, 2010, for this ongoing project but to be accepted, you are encouraged to apply immediately. You may learn more about working as a Certified Nursing Aide and submit an application on our career center.

seniorcaregiver, caregiverresearch, researchstudy

Caregiver Job Benefits

Julie Northcutt — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:41:56 GMT

Caregivers working for senior care companies, including senior home care agencies, assisted living communities, hospices, nursing homes and hospitals qualify for certain benefits, by law, as employees.

What benefits do professional senior caregivers receive?

Worker's Compensation Insurance
Unemployment Insurance
Social Security Benefits Upon Retirement (Due to Payroll Contributions)
Health Insurance Usually for Full-time Employees
Training
Bonuses

Learn about ongoing training opportunities as the senior care industry will be a top employer in the coming decade as the baby boomer generation ages (anyone born between 1946 and 1964). About 78 million people are considered baby boomers.

Learn about training for senior caregivers, certified nursing aide programs and part-time and full-time job opportunities to grow your caregiving skills or to consider caregiving as a career.

seniorcaregiver, caregivertraining, jobbenefits

Caregiver Training Includes Emotional Care

Julie Northcutt — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:26:54 GMT

Senior caregivers provide assistance with what is typically called "activities of daily living", or ADL's.

What are ADL's? Anything you need to do to get through the day, such as eating, bathing, toileting and maintaining your household. Depending on your health conditions, you may need to adjust your daily activities to comply with medications and prescribed physical exercises. Caregivers help keep the day on track.

Along with assistance with physical care needs, senior caregivers provide emotional support. Aging presents many challenges and because of this, many times depression comes along with the territory. When someone does not feel well, has to adjust their daily activities because of changing health conditions and is regularly experiencing the death of loved ones and friends, it is expected that sometimes they will not have a positive attitude or be in a good mood.

Senior caregivers working for professional senior care companies receive training on how to interact with seniors who are experiencing emotional ups and downs. Certified Nursing Aides receive training as part of the certification program in how to interact with both seniors and their families appropriately in order to successfully assist with care needs.

Seniors who are terminal and decide to receive the assistance of hospice care also receive counseling in dealing with the acceptance of their terminal situation. Hospice also will provide counseling to family members.

Caregiving can take a toll on caregivers emotionally, as well as physically, and it is important for caregivers to talk with their managers about any issues and find away to share their story and manage the stress of caregiving.

The New York Times reported this week that a recent study published by a cancer journal indicates that medical doctors also prefer to avoid end-of-life talks - - - so the good news is that even doctors are challenged by the emotional aspects of caregiving.

Remember, talking about things always help, whatever your line of work. Professional senior home care agencies are valuable to caregivers as they provide an outlet for the caregivers to vent and provide support in addressing the issues that arise. Successful professional caregivers keep learning about the senior's medical conditions to better understand what the senior is feeling and keep taking time to "care for the caregiver".

C.N.A. (Certified Nursing Aide) Jobs

Julie Northcutt — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:14:10 GMT

Now is a great time to explore becoming a Certified Nursing Aide if you are thinking of continuing your caregiving career or looking to enter a new industry with ongoing employment opportunities.

Why will nursing aides continue to be in demand?
The baby boomer generation, Americans born between 1946 and 1964, are now beginning to turn 60 (Both former president's Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were born the first year of the baby boom generation). This generation will live longer than any previous generation and as advancements in medicine are allowing people to live longer while battling health issues, many of these seniors will need caregiving assistance.

Who hires certified nursing aides?
Nursing homes, hospitals and assisted living communities who provide care services are required by law to maintain a minimum number of certified nursing aides (C.N.A.'s) on staff. In addition, hospices, senior day cares and senior home care agencies hire C.N.A.'s to provide the hands-on care services.

How do you become a certified nursing aide?
You may become certified as a nursing aide by completing a training course that usually requires 120 hours of training, in a combination of classroom instruction and field work. Community colleges, non-profits and some nursing homes and hospitals provide certification courses. Contact nursing aide programs in your area to find out about admission requirements and available scholarships and grants - usually tuition assistance is available. You may also take a sample nursing aide test or practice nursing aide test to learn more about the skills taught in a training program.