The Caregiver's Toolbox

We have Tyler Gates as the guest on our podcast this month (trying to do a monthly guest) a financial advisor for Edward Jones.  Our conversation revolves around how individuals should be saving for care and the different products that can help achieve this goal. Some topics we cover: Lack of Savings From Boomers and Older Gen [...] The post How You Should Save For Care with Guest Tyler Gates appe...

Today we talk about Winnowing.  What the heck is winnowing? Well the definition: Winnowing-- Separating Grain from Chaff Background: Author daughter of 91 yr old mother who had moved from home of 40 years to 1 bedroom retirement apartment.  Her mother is in rehab and will be moving to the east coast to be closer to family [...] The post What is Winnowing? appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

For the first podcast of 2019 we did a little digging with three different articles that all revolve around the same topic, why are rural hospitals closing? It seems that many people are getting concerned about this as more isolated older adults whose children have relocated to different parts of the state or country are losing [...] The post Why Are Rural Hospitals Closing? appeared first on Minu...

In the past, we have talked about holidays and senior care from the aspect of what to do in the home during parties and celebrations with an older loved one.  To change things up, we thought we would talk about it from our point of view. What happens in the office in the weeks leading [...] The post Holidays and Senior Care appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

Today, Janet brings up an interesting article she found about readmission rates, urgent care centers, and unneeded ER visits. In Massachusetts, there are employers that are trying to cut health cost, focusing on unneeded ER visits.  The focus is to transition unneeded ER visits to the many urgent care centers that are popping up everywhere in [...] The post Urgent Care and ERs appeared first on Mi...

Today's podcast is about what has been going on at Minute Women these last few days!   We had an oil spill, not BP levels, but enough to shut down the office for a few days - but people still need care - so what do we do? We talk about unexpected delays, disruptions, and disasters [...] The post When The Oil Hits The Fan appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

We talk about an important (and surprising) subject we found in a recent article  Families who abandon their senior loved ones. Janet and I were taken aback by this article and were surprised about how these families were abandoned, but sometimes I wonder if I should be surprised when I see these types of articles [...] The post Abandoning the Elderly appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

Today we talk about the unsung hero of private home care - the field supervisor! They are an important member of the team when it comes to private home care. So we talk about: What they do Why they are needed How they help difficult situations Interactions with caregivers and clients Communication Helping make caregivers [...] The post 5 Reasons Why Field Supervisors Are Needed appeared first on M...

We talk about the supplements you get at the local pharmacy.  But are these worth it?  They can be expensive and are there is a self-regulated industry with zero oversight from the FDA. So are they worth taking?  Or are they just causing a placebo effect?  Additionally, what brand is good and what brand is [...] The post Are Supplements Worth It? appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

Today on The Caregiver's Toolbox, we talk about: A new neck scan that may detect dementia earlier What is vascular dementia Do we even want to know if we have it Genetic testing 23andme.com Connect With Us Twitter Facebook   Subscribe iTunes Google Play Stitcher Spotify The post Testing for Dementia and Genetic Defects appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

Today we get into the different ways to help pay for private home care services.  While the majority of people who receive private home care services pay out of pocket, there are some ways to reduce that cost, if not eliminate it all together (especially if you are not receiving a lot of help each week or month). [...] The post 8 Ways To (Help) Pay For Private Home Care appeared first on Minute Wo...

We talk about a big "why" today. Many know that people with dementia do better when they have a routine that is the same each day. This usually keeps people calm, anxiety stays low and issues are less likely to occur. But why is that?  What is the reasoning behind needing a routine and sticking to [...] The post Dementia and Routine appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

Today we wanted to talk about fall prevention tips. We honestly couldn't remember if we did a speicifc podcast on this topic and easy ways to prevent falls in the house. There is no doubt in my mind we have talked about all these issues at some point in time, but we are up to 90 podcasts [...] The post 9 Fall Prevention Tips appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

Today we talk about transitions in assisted living and hospitals. In assisted living facilities, transitions occur when moving from the traditions unit to the memory care unit.    These transitions are not always as smooth and easy as many hope.  It can take time to make the move from one unit to another and that can [...] The post Transitions in Assisted Living and Hosptials appeared first on Min...

private home care services (and any healthcare services) can get expensive quickly. There can be sticker shock to find out how much something costs and realize you may need services for longer than you expected.   We have had situations where people become aggravated spending so much money on a loved one.  One of the issues that [...] The post 7 Costs Associated With Private Home Care appeared fir...

It can be a challenge to introduce home care services to older adults. Understandably, they are scared; loss of privacy, loss of independence and being adverse to change are all common reasons why seniors are against accepting help. These reasons can leave adult children frustrated that their loved one is going to badly injure themselves while they [...] The post 6 Ways To Introduce Home Care appe...

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article a few weeks ago that was all about the financial inequality in retirement communities. In the article, it talks about a retirement community in California where there are many people on fixed incomes who are enjoying their golden years, but as younger wealthier retirees move into the community they have [...] The post The Battle of Pickleball appe...

Today we have a great interview with the executive director of the home care alliance of Massachusetts, Pat Kelleher.  She was a great guest and was extraordinarily informative about many of the issues that are facing home care companies.  We talked about a lot of different topics, which we will link to below.    Topics of [...] The post Pat Kelleher from the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts ap...

Today, we did a quick update on what's going on in the office this last week, we were sick.  Now that we are just getting over a bad head cold, we talk about: What happens when the office gets sick What happens when a caregiver is sick Overall emergency preparedness Connect With Us Twitter Facebook   [...] The post When The Office Gets Sick appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

Chris MacLellan is the owner of the Whole Care Network and our guest in this week's episode of the Caregiver's Toolbox. Chris talks about his journey to starting the Whole Care Network. He explains what the Whole Care Network is and how it helps people. We also talk about the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-nominated story “In Sickness and In [...] The post Chris MacLellan of the Whole Care Network...

There are some tasks that many people think automatically come with private home care, but this isn't always true.  Today we talk about the seven tasks that you shouldn't automatically expect from private home care. The post 7 Tasks You Shouldn’t Expect from Private Home Care appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .

In a recent article on Home Health Care News, they mention that large home care agencies are trying to tap into the retiree market to hire new caregivers. This is an interesting idea, as there are many baby boomers retiring from their main jobs that are wanting to stay active in the community, help others, [...] The post Will Retirees Fill The Caregiver Workforce Gap appeared first on Minute Women...

The Boston Glove released two articles last week, one about the troubles of hiring caregivers privately/under the table, and the second article was a human interest piece on what one caregiver goes through on a daily and monthly basis. This new article talks about a caregiver from Ghana, which is where (apparently) many caregivers are [...] The post Reactions to the Boston Globe Article Part 2 app...

Today we talk about an explosive article that was in the Boston Globe last week, titled the Stranger in the House.   It talks about how deregulated home care is in Massachusetts and how there are a lot of caregivers that are hired both privately, through PCAs and through agencies that are scamming and abusing the [...] The post Reactions To The Boston Globe’s Article Part 1 appeared first on Minut...

Today we talk about why seniors don't want to wear hearing aids.   Studies show that only 20% of those who have hearing loss decide to get a hearing aid. So why do people not want to wear a hearing aid?   It Makes Me Look Old Well, let's be honest here.  If you need a hearing [...] The post 5 Reasons Why Seniors Dislike Hearing Aids appeared first on Minute Women Home Care .