Benefits of Home Care

The Santa Rosa, CA home care team at Hired Hands explains veteran’s benefits for care.

Many times, families make the assumption that as long as their loved one is covered by Medicare, paying for care at home isn’t something they need to consider. Unfortunately, however, this is a common misconception. As we noted in a previous blog post, most people use private funds in paying for care at home. There are a couple of alternatives to consider though for veterans and their spouses. The top home care company Santa Rosa, CA, Hired Hands Homecare, outlines the details to help those who have served in the military to access all of the resources available to them in paying for care at home.

First to consider is the Veterans’ Aid and Attendance program, which helps wartime veterans and/or their spouses with paying for … Read More »

Our Napa senior living experts have tips on options to pay for in home care

At some point, it’s likely your aging parents will require a little extra assistance in order to remain safe and independent, and if they’re like the vast majority of older adults, they prefer to age in place at home. The first question that usually arises is how to pay for in home care services. The Napa senior living team at Hired Hands Homecare hears this question often, and we have the answers you need.

When it comes to paying for in home care assistance, typically services of a non-medical nature are paid for out of pocket. For this reason, assessing your finances and determining what assets are available to assist in paying for home care services is essential.

The Napa senior living experts at Hired Hands Homecare have compiled … Read More »

Santa Rosa home care offers transitional care considerations to keep in mind.

After recovering from heart surgery, an intricate web of transitional care needs develops, from nutritional changes to incision care, pain management, swelling minimization, and more. The last thing an older adult wants after returning home from such a traumatic event is to face the need for rehospitalization.

Hired Hands Homecare, the top-rated home care company Santa Rosa, CA families trust, wants to help make sure your senior loved one recovers completely and as quickly as possible from heart surgery, and shares the following guidelines for effective transitional care:

Caring for the Incision

Instructions on how to care for the incision will be provided prior to being discharged from the hospital. Issues to be aware of include:

Always keep the incision clean and dry.
The incision can be gently washed (don’t rub) with soap. Do … Read More »

Napa senior living experts discuss how to have a smooth transition home from the hospital

What a relief it is when the medical personnel informs you that your elderly loved one is ready to be discharged from the hospital after surgery. But as they hand you that stack of discharge papers and directions, a certain amount of anxiety may start to creep in. Will your family member be able to care for herself at home?

The Napa senior living team at Hired Hands Homecare wants to help you arrange for smooth discharge planning from hospital to home by outlining the questions you’ll need to get answered prior to surgery:

Who will pick up prescriptions? Do I need to depend on a family member for this job? Will he/she be readily available when a refill is needed?
Who will answer questions about the prescriptions? Should I … Read More »

The home care experts at Hired Hands outline simple exercises to improve senior safety.

The CDC reports that as many as one-third of all seniors fall each year, and surprisingly, less than half of those seniors talk to their doctors about it. When a senior experiences a fall, even if it does not cause serious injury, she can develop a heightened fear of falling, which may result in limited activities, reduced mobility, loss of physical fitness, and in turn, an increased risk of falling again.

In our last blog post, we discussed some home modifications you can make to improve senior safety and reduce the risk of falls. In addition, there are a number of exercises that seniors can do on a regular basis to increase muscle strength and improve balance, which will not only help reduce … Read More »

Wikipedia defines Elder abuse (also called “elder mistreatment“, “senior abuse“, “abuse in later life“, “abuse of older adults“) as “a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person.”  Abuse can be physical, psychological/emotional, financial, or even sexual, and often comes in the form of neglect, abandonment, and direct abuse.

Since 1994, Hired Hands Homecare has proudly provided services that support Bay Area seniors in staying safe and well in their own homes.  Our professional Caregivers and Management Team spend significant time with our senior clients, and keep trained eyes out for any signs of undue influence and elder abuse.  Trust and Security are foundational to our company culture.

Hired Hands is proud to celebrate this day by participating in the North Bay … Read More »

Hired Hands Homecare shares details on how to keep seniors safe from falls.

You may have at one time been by a senior loved one’s side at the hospital or doctor’s office and noticed the medical worker attaching a colorful “FALL RISK” band to his or her wrist. Notifying those providing care to this possibility allows additional measures to keep seniors safe during medical treatments. However, did you realize that ongoing, everyday life can pose a fall risk danger to those diagnosed with the following conditions?

Arthritis

Osteoporosis, a bone density disorder that can also increase a person’s chances of fracturing a hip

Vertigo

Cerebrovascular insufficiency

Neurologic disability (stroke)

Postural hypotension (sudden decrease in blood pressure)

Diabetes

Read More »

Today, we’re proud to be presenting to hospital Discharge Planners and Case Managers at the 15th Annual Case Management Conference in Napa.  Kirsten, Phyllis and Erick are discussing our innovative Coming Home Program, where we work very closely with Discharge Planners and Case Managers BEFORE patients are discharged from the hospital.  Building this bridge establishes new standards of communication, assuring superior transitions home, resulting in better outcomes and reduced hospital re-admissions.  We’ll even bring our Caregivers in to the hospital for specialized training before the Client is sent home.  We’re working together.  Better Communication = Better Care!

For more information, please contact us at Info@HiredHandsHomecare.com, or by phone at 866-940-4343 to find out more about our senior care in Napa, CA.

“Here, I can help you with that.”

“Don’t overdo it now!”

“Why don’t you sit here and rest? I’ll handle that.”

How often have we made comments such as these to older adults—with the very best of intentions, of course? We want to do what we can to help our older loved ones, to help them stay safe and to take care of them in the same way they took care of us when we were growing up. However, there’s a concealed risk in trying to do too much for older individuals and depriving them of the ability to do as much as possible for themselves – the threat of harming their self-esteem and sense of purpose in life and making them feel robbed of their senior independence.

Take, for example, an elderly gentleman who spent his entire life … Read More »