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The Importance of Hospice Care for Patients and Their Families
When diagnosed with a limited life expectancy, patients, as well as their families, are left with decisions to make about end of life services. If you’re considering hospice care near Memphis , it’s vital to understand how this service can help patients and their families.
For Specialized Care
Hospice care providers are uniquely equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for helping terminally-ill people feel more comfortable and at ease during their final days. The support that these providers can lend can make the end of life process easier on both the patient and his family. When you and your loved one choose to benefit from hospice care, this prevents complications associated with overtreatment at this stage in the patient’s life. Additionally, hospice providers can help patients and their families cope with the final stages of life.
For Personal Assistance
When a patient is considering hospice care, they may be worried about the help they will require in their final days. Opting for specialized end of life care can help patients and families enjoy more time together. Caring for a sick individual can be time-consuming and exhausting, as well as stressful. Hospice care providers can help by providing assistance with light housekeeping, laundry, food preparation, and personal hygiene. These services allow family members to take a break from their caretaker duties and spend more quality time with their loved ones during this emotional period.
For Quality Time
Making patients as comfortable as possible during the final stages of life can help them feel less fearful about the dying process and ease some of their stressful emotions. Hospice care providers are skilled at helping patients who are terminally ill, and can be prepared for situations that family members may not be prepared to handle. Hospice care enables families to enjoy more of their remaining time together by experiencing less stress and worry. When family members feel confident that their loved one received quality care in his last days, the grieving process can be less painful and confusing, making the transition easier for all involved.
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Recognizing the Symptoms of Caregiver Burnout
When acting as a caregiver in Memphis, you’re vulnerable to feeling more stress and experiencing poorer health due to lost wages and not making time for yourself. If you’re providing in-home care for a loved one , it’s essential to be aware of the symptoms of caregiver burnout. Watch this video to learn more.
Providing elder care can be exhausting, time-consuming, and emotionally draining. The greatest challenge that most caregivers face is making time for themselves and knowing when they need a break. Common symptoms of caregiver burnout include depression, decreased productivity at work, and ongoing fatigue. If you’re struggling with these symptoms, consider taking advantage of elder care respite services.
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Making Your Home Safe for Your Loved One During Stroke Recovery
After surviving a stroke, your family member may require in-home care as she recovers. If you’re planning on acting as a caregiver in Memphis for a recuperating loved one, you may be wondering what you should do to make your home safer.
During your loved one’s stroke recovery, it’s essential to examine your home for any obstacles that may cause her to trip and fall, such as end tables and area rugs. Make rooms and hallways as navigable as possible, leaving little room for injury. Next, consider installing grab bars in your showers and tubs. Combined with non-slip bath mats, these safety features can help prevent dangerous slips.
Additionally, speak with your loved one’s doctor about what changes he suggests, and consult an occupational therapist for recommendations. Finally, consider talking to an assisted living agency regarding the alterations that you should make. These establishments frequently offer transitional and elder care services and are familiar with what home modifications are needed for recovering patients.
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Finding Out a Spouse is Terminally Ill: What to Do Next
If you have learned that your spouse has a life-threatening disease, you may be wondering what to do next and how to talk about terminally ill caregiving near Memphis . Discovering that your spouse has a terminal illness will mark the beginning of a powerfully emotional process for both of you. Talking about end-of-life care is often difficult to do, but is an essential part of the hospice care process.
Reach Acceptance
After first learning about your spouse’s illness, you may both find yourselves in denial and experience difficulty accepting the situation. Some people react by ignoring the news for a while, and others jump into action, seeking out potential cures and experimental treatments. Procedures and medications can sometimes provide a respite for you and your loved one to enjoy more time together, but your loved one’s condition may become terminal, and their passing will draw nearer. At this point, there are several things you can do to make the time your spouse has left more comfortable.
Share Emotions
You will both be dealing with many feelings and reactions throughout your loved one’s illness. Allow for each of you to speak with each other, family members, medical professionals, and counselors as needed. It’s also important to make time to express your care for your spouse, offer any necessary forgiveness or apology, and to say goodbye.
Discuss Death
Talking about death is difficult for most people, and your loved one may resist this conversation initially. This is also the time to discuss practical matters, such as living wills, do-not-resuscitate orders, and health care power of attorney. Depending on your spouse’s illness, hospice services may be beneficial for both of you. Talk to hospice workers to learn if this type of care is right for your spouse’s situation. Additionally, ask your loved one what they need and want at this stage, and learn how you can make his or her passing as comfortable as possible. LPG masažas ir plaukų šalinimas lazeriu Vilniuje už gerą kainą salone Oblaka
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How Caregivers Can Ask for Help
Caring for a senior loved one can be a rewarding, but challenging responsibility. If you are caring for an aging loved one, you may benefit from senior assisted living services in Memphis. As a caregiver, it’s vital to be aware of your limits. Caring for a senior family member requires significant time and effort, and can be both physically and emotionally draining. Luckily, there are many places that caregivers can turn to for support.
If you find yourself struggling with an aspect of your caregiving responsibilities, talk to your friends and family members. Also, your church or place of worship, therapists and counselors, and national caregiver associations are valuable resources to turn to for advice.
When you need more time to take care of yourself or your family, it’s important that you don’t hesitate to ask for help. Speak with other family members about how they can contribute, and consider hiring an in-home caregiver for assistance. Other options include respite care, assisted living communities, and elder care services. Remember that asking for help can improve the quality of life for both you and your loved one.
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Understanding Gerontology
If you’re considering elder care in Memphis for an aging loved one with dementia, you may have heard of gerontology. This field of study is closely related to hospice care and assisted living. Watch this video to gain an understanding of gerontology.
Gerontology studies aging at both individual and population levels. This interdisciplinary field uses information taken from biology, public policy, humanities, economics, psychology, sociology, public health, and more. It looks at how aging and society affect one another, how disease patterns affect health and aging, and how aging can influence policy. Gerontology does not study the clinical and medical aspect of aging.
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Identifying Goals for Home Care Transitions
A mistake many people make when a loved one is transitioning to home care is assuming that once he or she is home that everything will be normal. In reality, your loved one is likely to have care needs that you are not accustomed to, and failing to plan for them can cause frustration. Consulting with a caregiving agency in Memphis as well as your loved one’s care team can help you determine a plan for providing the necessary assisted living services and identifying goals to encourage your loved one’s recovery.
Goals for the transition to home care can include things like increasing your loved one’s ability to walk around the block one more time each week or completing a set of daily exercises recommended by a physical therapist. The exact nature of the goals depend on your loved one’s condition, but having a recovery plan in place can prevent the need for your loved one to return to a care facility. Be sure that your in-home caregiver understands these goals as well so he or she can incorporate them into the assisted living and home health care plan as needed.
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Helping Your Loved One Transition Home from a Stroke Rehab Facility
Because of the damaging effects of stroke, many patients spend a period of time in an in-patient rehab facility in the period immediately following the incident. Eventually, most patients will transition out of the rehab facility and back to home. Although you may welcome the opportunity to have your loved one home again, it is important to plan carefully to make the transition as easy as possible. Hiring an in-home caregiver in Memphis to assist with transitional care can be enormously helpful. These tips will help you prepare for this new kind of care as well.
Identify the Goals
Although your loved one is leaving the rehab facility, he or she likely still needs to be engaged in a treatment plan. Decide on a set of short-term and long-term goals to help your loved one get stronger, and learn strategies you can use at home to support the progress. Physical, occupational, and speech therapy may be needed on an outpatient basis, so determine a schedule and find out if there are any exercises you should be doing between appointments. Make sure your in-home caregiver also understands these goals and how to help your loved one meet them.
Prepare the Home
The rehab center staff can explain to you the kind of care your loved one will need and offer advice about preparing your home for the transition. For instance, you may need to set up a bedroom downstairs for your loved one or remove trip hazards from walking paths through the home. The earlier you start preparing your home, the easier your job as caregiver will be and the safer your home will be for your loved one.
Ask for Help
During the transition, you will need help. Recognize that asking for help when you need it makes you a better caregiver. Explore your options, from having a family member take over care one day per week so you can do errands to hiring an in-home caregiver for assisted living services. Arranging help before your loved one returns home can ensure a smoother transition.
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Preventing Medication Overdoses in Seniors
Medication assistance is often a key part of elder care in Memphis . Most seniors take some kind of medication. Whether it is a prescription heart medicine or regular insulin for diabetes, almost all seniors take at least one pill daily. Often, these prescription drugs are essential to their very lives. Unfortunately, as they age, seniors become increasingly likely to either forget their medicine or accidentally overdose. Read on to learn how you can help prevent a dangerous medication overdose in your senior loved ones by using medication management, hiring caregiving help, and checking prescription safety.
Use Medication Management
Medication management is often essential for elderly care. To prevent medication overdoses, consider investing in modern medication management tools to remind yourself and your senior loved one of how much medicine to take and when. Many bill bottles come with different compartments for days of the week. Modern pill bottles are also equipped with alarms and even electronic disbursement systems, so your loved one and his or her caretaker know which pill to take. Many medications must be taken at the same time each day, which means these systems are integral.
Hire Caregiving Help
Hiring caregiving help is one of the best ways to prevent medication overdoses. Many seniors become forgetful with age, whether it is due to a neurological condition like dementia or as a natural side effect of the aging process. When you hire elderly care help, you can count on your loved one taking the correct dose of medication every time. Otherwise, seniors could forget that they have already taken a pill or how much was ingested.
Check Prescription Safety
Whether you are the primary caregiver or hire caring companions to assist with administering medication, you should always remain vigilant when it comes to the medications your senior loved one has been prescribed. Many people visit different doctors for different ailments. Make sure that all your loved one’s physicians, including dentists and psychiatrists, are aware of all medications that have been prescribed. This will ward off both accidental overdose and bad medication interactions.
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Planning for End-of-Life Care
When it comes to end-of-life care in Memphis , it is essential to plan ahead. Whether you know a loved one who will shortly need comprehensive elderly care or you may want to move into an assisted living facility yourself, starting your research early will guarantee you get the very best care available. In addition to having the most experienced caring companions, you can get a more affordable rate. Read on to learn more about how you should go about planning for end-of-life care by researching options, discussing choices, and considering costs.
Research Options
When you invest in end-of-life care, you deserve to have the highest quality of care possible. Whether you are considering moving your loved one into an assisted living facility for round-the-clock care or will be the primary caregiver yourself, you will need comprehensive support. In the final stages of life, many people choose to stay at home so they will be as comfortable as possible. When you consider your options for professional caregivers, you should only hire experienced and compassionate professionals to assist you and your loved one through this difficult time.
Discuss Choices
When it comes to end-of-life care, you should make sure to discuss all available options with your ailing loved one and all close family members. Make sure that your loved one realizes that he or she has your complete support. Often, individuals who require end-of-life care are still sufficiently mentally sound to make informed decisions about their lives. Allowing them to choose between different caregivers and to personally select an in-home caregiver can preserve their sense of independence and dignity.
Consider Costs
In-home care should not place an undue burden on surviving family members. Whether you need more comprehensive dementia home care for a senior relative or need to have a caregiver agency help with a younger loved one nearing the end of his or her life, you should work with an esteemed agency that provides affordable options for home care assistance.