CareGrade Blog

NJ Assisted Living Reviews

admin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:21:39 +0000

Options for senior long term care are growing quickly as the baby boomers continue get older. This can be a wonderful thing as it creates more options for seniors as they grow older. Assisted living is one area that provides senior care services and has grown in popularity. While the increased senior care options are nice, they also create a problem. How do you know which facilities provide the best care for parents?

One solution is Assisted Living Reviews. There are a few companies and individuals that perform reviews for senior long term care facilities. Geriatric care managers often do this service for their clients and often do an excellent job. The only draw back is that it can be rather expensive. CareGrade offers free assistance along with assisted living reviews for their clients to help them make an informed decision when choosing care.

If you are looking for long term care for seniors, you should consider researching the facilities and including reviews.

Assisted Living in NJ

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:08:25 +0000

Finding assisted living in NJ can be an overwhelming task to many children trying to find the best senior care services for their aging parents. Many facilities are beautiful in construction, but that does not necessarily translate into the best assisted living services for your parents. Many families are not aware of what questions they should be asking when doing their research.

Is there a full time RN at the facility at all times? Are all activities included in the fees or are there extra charges? These and many other questions should be asked before a decisions made. It is also helpful to find honest websites where you can read reviews on the assisted living facilities in New Jersey that you are considering.

CareGrade offers both reviews and free advisers to help you find the best care for your loved one. You can also read some of the interviews on our blog with professional care managers who tell you what they look for in a facility.

Live-in Home Health Care in NJ

admin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:54:46 +0000

Is Live-in care something that could benefit your parents? Live in senior care puts a caregiver in the home of the senior to provide 24 hour in home care services. It is the most cost effective way to provide care if you require more than 9 hours of care each day. The caregiver can work a few hours here and a few hours there, basically when you need it. The great part is that they are always there.

You are required to provide room and board on top of their pay and they do need to have time to sleep as well as time for themselves. Live-in home healthcare can be a great alternative to a nursing home for seniors who need extra supervision.

Are Free Senior Care Referrals a Good Deal?

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:11:41 +0000

There are several companies out there who advertise free referrals for senior care services. These include home health care, assisted living, Alzheimer’s care, nursing homes and more. While this can be an excellent service when done by the right person, there are a few things you need to look out for. One is whether the company does any kind of review or follow-up on the services they are referring. Many times they will refer any company who pays to have their service advertised.

You also need to be careful of the motivation of the referral source. Often times, a referral source will make a recommendation to service based on who is paying them the best for each referral. Make sure you are careful that your parents are getting the best service for them, and not what is best for the referral source.

A Time To Give

admin — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:18:49 +0000

Nice weather in the spring and summer means lots of chances to participate in an outdoor fund raising event. As a site dedicated to care giving, we support the numerous events that cover a wide variety of causes. You can pick a cause based on your own personal experiences or those of someone near to you. I would suggest doing a Google search for what you are looking for. As an example, if you have a loved one affected by Alzheimer’s and you live in Philadelphia, go to Google and type in “Alzheimer’s fund raising Philadelphia” and you will find information about the upcoming memory walk among other events.

The cancer society has several large bike rides, Alzheimer’s Association has the memory walk, Susan G. Komen has the Race For the Cure and the 3Day walk, and my favorite is the Livestrong Challenge which as both walking/jogging and bike riding. No matter which you choose, they promote great causes and get you to exercise. What could possibly be better.

Vial of Life: Every Senior Needs One

admin — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:40:02 +0000

The first thing you need to know is what the vial of life is. According to the Ameda County Fire Department “The Vial of Life is designed to speak for you when you can’t speak for yourself. The vial contains important medical information that can assist emergency personnel in administering the proper medical treatment.”

While it would be a good idea for everyone to have a vial of life, it is critical for seniors. You can keep one in your wallet, in your glove compartment, and especially on your refrigerator door, and one in your child’s pocket.

When someone is in an emergency situation, it is often difficult to think straight. Obviously if you are unconscious, you can not speak for yourself at all. At these times, all emergency personnel who are trying to help you need to know many things about you.

Information that is important for them to know about you include:
• Who you are
• What medications you are using
• Any allergies you have
• What illness’s you have.
• Emergency contacts
• Your normal blood pressure
• Are you wearing hearing or seeing devices
• Do you have any implanted devices such as a pacemaker or defibrillator
• What language you speak.
• If possible a record of your last EKG looked
• When you get to the hospital they will want to know what insurance you have.

Planning for emergencies has proven to save lives and the vial of life is just the sort of planning that all seniors need to do. Take the time to have this information at hand. Emergency personnel are trained to check your wallet or look on your refrigerator door for this type of information. The Vial of Life speaks for you when you can’t.

Snowbirds: How To Return Home

admin — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:29:10 +0000

In the last blog I wrote about the need for people to reevaluate their physical condition when returning home from a winter stay. Another consideration is the commute. Because many people stay in their winter homes for several months, they often drive their vehicle so that they have it there for local transportation.

As changes occur, it may become more difficult to make that long drive. Several things should be considered
1. Instead of making the long drive in just a few trips, consider stopping more often and shortening the total miles driven each day.
2. Drive with a partner in your car so that you can have someone to help keep you alert and possibly share the driving.
3. Consider shipping your car and either flying or taking other public transportation. A helpful website where you can get bids on shipping your car is http://www.123movers.com/

Snow Birds Returning

admin — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:46:58 +0000

As many seniors return from their winter migration to a warmer area of the country, they may need to reassess their needs. For some, there may have been a decline in their health since they were last in their home. Things to consider include:
• Any changes or adaptations to their house to help them with new limitations.
• Considering hiring home hare services. While they may not have been necessary in the past, some additional help around the house can make a huge difference in the quality of life for a senior.
• It may be time to consider downsizing to a smaller home or assisted living facility.

Not only should the senior themselves be aware of changes, but their children should also be aware. Ask your parent if there have been any changes since they were last in their home and make plans prior to them coming up.

If they are using home health care services in their winter home, have the agency they are currently getting service from communicate with the agency they will be using. If you do not have an agency already, they may be able to refer you to one.

Is it important for home health care workers to be bonded?

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:34:42 +0000

Depending on who you ask, you may get different answers. Most consumers are told to ask if the people who are working for a home health care agency are bonded, however they have no idea what that actually means. Bonding means that if a person steals from you while working in your home, the bond will re-pay you for what ever is stolen.

There are several problems that consumers need to be aware of. First of all, in order for the bond to actually pay for damages, a person must be convicted of theft. That means the home owner must be willing to press charges and have the accused thief arrested. Many seniors are reluctant to do this as they are afraid of the repercussions.

It is often hard to prove that a person has stolen anything unless you actually catch them in the act.

Consumers need to see how much the bond that an agency purchases covers. Some bonds may only be for a few thousand dollars and not large enough to cover a major theft.

The best thing for consumers is to work with a reputable agency that does a very thorough screening. While there is no guarantee that even the most stringent screening process produces 100% honest people, it is certainly better than using a service that has a loose screening system. As the old saying goes “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”

Obviously hiring a person who is bonded does add an additional layer of security, but choosing a reputable service that has proven experience in screening candidates is the best insurance you can get.

An Interview with FOLO CEO Rene Cantwell

admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:30:16 +0000

CareGrade did an interview with Rene’ Cantwell, Founder and CEO of FOLO (Families of Loved Ones)

CG - What is FOLO all about?

RC - FOLO - Families of Loved Ones is a magazine available as a hardcopy or online. The mission of FOLO is to bring strategies and resources to caregivers and those concerned with loved ones needing assistance.

CG - Who would benefit by reading FOLO?

RC - The magazine is designed to engage those family members who would be most likely to advocate for loved ones. Many readers are advocating and planning for themselves, others for spouses or parents.

CG - How does someone get a copy of FOLO?

RC - Subscriptions are free. Registration is available on the website at www.familiesoflovedones.com, or by mail to FOLO Subscription Offer, 310 Grant Ave, Dumont, NJ 07628.

CG - When is the next issue and what are the major topics?

RC - The Spring 2008 Issue is going to press as we speak. Mailing should occur by February 27th. This issue is covering stress, with articles on Laughter Therapy (Mirth Aid), Meditation and also covering the Influence of Cultural Diversity on decision making, the legal aspect of falling, and hospice.