Caring for our seniors

Monday, November 2, 2009 5:25 PM MST

National Home Health Caregivers Month celebrated

by Carol Crump

Mom forgets to turn off the stove and Dad is having trouble remembering to take his medication. The family home is starting to show signs of neglect and you’re wondering how they’re managing when the wash machine is in the basement and the snowy sidewalks need to be shoveled. Your older brother is alone since his wife died and now he’s facing prostate cancer.

As parents, our family members and friends we care about age, keeping them safe, healthy and happy can seem like an impossible task. Over the next decade, approximately 47 million baby boomers in North America will be facing the role of caregiver, and more than 54 million people have been involved with caregiving in the last year, according to the National Family Caregivers Association. In Wyoming, 82 percent of the informal caregivers are age 45 or older, a statistic that means many of the caregivers still are raising for their own families.

Fortunately, no one has to do it all alone. November is both National Home Health and Palliative Care and National Family Caregivers Month, an opportunity to highlight the assistive services that are available.

Jim Kauffman works through Wyoming Senior Citizens Inc. as coordinator for the state’s Senior Companion and Family Caregiver Respite programs. Senior Companions is a free program that provides non-medical help for such things as grocery shopping or trips to the doctor and social outings such as visits to the Senior Center. Respite care is available on a sliding fee scale for those who are providing care. A respite worker comes into the home once a week so that the care giver can leave. Again, there is no medical component to the service.

“We keep them safe, make sure they drink water, take their pills and have a visit,” Kauffman said.

Living independently

Wyoming Independent Living Rehabilitation, which is part of the Wyoming Department of Aging, has a variety of services that enable those with disabilities to live independently. The services include equipment such as wheelchairs, canes and walkers; limited home modifications like hand rails and widening doorways; transportation assistance; care giver support groups and other services. Many of the state department’s programs, including weekly noon meals, can be accessed locally through the department’s Casper affiliate, Central Wyoming Senior Services at the Senior Center at 1831 E. Fourth St.

Shirley Morrison is the regional ombudsman who also works through Wyoming Senior Citizens Inc. As the former director of Maurice Griffith Manor, she is an advocate for nursing homes and a watchdog for elder abuse. Her state agency can show a family how to find what’s right for them, including the step of moving from home into an assisted living facility or on to nursing home.

“I don’t want my seniors sitting at home, in front of the TV or looking at the four walls for eight hours a day, dividing their Meals on Wheels in half and not remembering whether to put it in the oven or the refrigerator,” she said. “That’s not quality of life.”

When it is time to move into some form of out-of-the-home, longer term care, Tim Haley, admissions/marketing director for Life Care Center of Casper said there’s a huge difference between assisted living and skilled nursing facilities.

“A skilled nursing facility isn’t the nursing home of 15 years ago,” he said, so he advises everyone to visit everybody. “Everybody has their own niche. We don’t have to steal from each other.” Haley often refers those who visit to another facility if it is more appropriate for an individual’s needs.

Life Care and the other facilities that offer long-term care have a limited number of beds available. In Casper and Wyoming in general, there is a waiting list. “A doctor can help with the next step, assisted living or skilled nursing,” Haley said.

Even for those who have been medically determined to be at the end of their lives, there are choices to make. Casper is fortunate to have two hospice providers: the nonprofit Central Wyoming Hospice and Transitions, which provides care at home and in the hospice center, and the for-profit, in-home provider, Amedisys Hospice Services.

The “line is gray” that determines when an individual can qualify for hospice care, said Matthew Guerttmann, Amedisys account executive, but hospice care is about meeting the needs of end-of-life needs of those who are elderly, disabled and chronically ill.

“People can get hospice care sooner than they think,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be the last couple weeks of life.”

Opportunities to Learn More:

Central Wyoming Hospice will be hosting a free community workshop on Advance Directives on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at noon at the Resource Center, 319 S. Wilson. For information, call 577-4832.

A Web conference designed for family caregivers is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5 p.m. “The Best Care for Parents: Senior Care Solutions and Potential Pitfalls” is presented by Home Instead Senior Services. To register, go to www.caregiverstress.com.

National Family Caregivers Association is offering a free national teleclass to learn how to communicate effectively with health care professionals on Nov. 6 and 13 at 4 p.m., local time. For information, call (800) 575-NFCA.

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