Recently, Always Best Care trained its caregivers on treatment of patients who had been hospitalized for pneumonia, heart attack, and congestive heart failure. We conducted this training as part of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, a nationwide initiative by ABC to help hospitals avoid readmission of patients having these three conditions. Most of our caregivers [...]
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One element of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to encourage hospitals to reduce readmissions within 30 days of discharge for certain conditions. For 2013, the target conditions are pneumonia, heart failure and heart attack. (Additional conditions will be added in 2014 and beyond.) Hospitals that have higher-than-normal readmissions will face reduced reimbursements from Medicare. [...]
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Managing Incontinence while Providing Senior Care Incontinence is a condition that affects people of all ages; however, the elderly population experiences the majority of the cases. The causes of incontinence are many and, in numerous instances, can be addressed. Whether the root of the problem is curable or not, it is important that senior care [...]
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Characteristics of a Good Caregiver Providing care to an elderly loved one is a very important task. From helping with daily activities to offering companionship, an in-home caregiver is a wonderful way to keep your senior happy and healthy without detracting from their independence. The elder caregiver professionals at Always Best Care of the Midlands [...]
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How to Maintain Dignity While Providing Senior Care Senior care is a service that countless elderly individuals find indispensable; however, despite its popularity among families who want their seniors to be able to continue aging in place, senior care presents unique challenges to elderly loved ones, their families, and their caretakers. One of the challenges [...]
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Many people outside the senior care profession are surprised by how prevalent hoarding actually is. In fact, senior care professionals are keenly aware of the physical, emotional, and mental damage that hoarding can cause, and are often tasked with assisting elderly individuals in de-cluttering their homes. Take, for instance, the hoarding case of Margot in [...]
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by Charlene Richardson, Director of Client Services Recently, one of our clients, we’ll call him Mr. Smith for confidentiality reasons, celebrated a huge success. At 80 years old, he had been very independent until he was hospitalized from a fall which broke his hip. He came home from the Rehab facility wheelchair bound, very weak, [...]
Read more »From the Alzheimer’s Association website www.alz.org In addition to funding research, the Alzheimer’s Association is an excellent source of information and support. Their website contains a wealth of information such as the following comparison chart between signs of Alzheimer’s and signs of typical age-related changes, 10 signs of Alzheimers and other useful diagnostic and support related [...]
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by Tonya Edelman, MSW What’s the difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia? The two terms are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference. Think of dementia as an umbrella that covers all types of cognitive decline, and Alzheimer’s disease as one of the many types of disorders that is under the umbrella. Alzheimer’s is the [...]
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Taking on the responsibility of providing in-home care to an elderly loved one is a major decision. Senior care is a very demanding yet rewarding service to provide; however, it is not for everyone. Michael, who lives in Columbia, South Carolina, recently had to decide whether to provide in-home care to his mother or hire [...]
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