Caregivers

Seniors who have dysphagia can benefit from a variety of easy-to-implement care tips.

There’s nothing better than a tall, cold drink on a warm summer day, but for someone with dysphagia, this simple pleasure can be downright dangerous. There are millions of seniors with dysphagia – or trouble swallowing – due to weakened mouth and/or throat muscles. Alzheimer’s, MS, cancer, and stroke are all culprits as well. 

Signs of dysphagia include:

Drooling
Coughing, gagging or choking when eating, drinking, or taking medication
A gurgling sound in the senior’s voice after eating/drinking

Additionally, if you suspect dysphagia in an older family member, ask him or her the following questions – and check with the doctor right away for further guidance:

Are you coughing or choking when trying to eat or drink?
Are you having frequent problems with food “going down the wrong pipe?”
Is food … Read More »

Hired Hands Home Care, providers of hospice care in Pleasanton, CA and nearby areas, have gathered tips for the sandwich generation.

Ask anybody in the sandwich generation if they’ve achieved a healthy life balance between caring for an older loved one, children at home, career, self-care, household management, etc., and you are likely to receive a similar refrain: perhaps a sigh of longing, a snort of frustration, or a rolling of the eyes. And if you happen to be a sandwicher yourself, you may be struggling to set aside the time to even read this article completely! Nonetheless, allow yourself just a few minutes to consider the tips for the sandwich generation below that may just help you to breathe easier and let go of some of the pressure and stress associated with striking a better work-life balance:

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Hired Hands Homecare, providers of elderly care in Santa Rosa and the surrounding areas, provides tips for overcoming caregiver dread.

What are your first thoughts when you wake up in the morning? Are you looking forward to what your day holds, or would you like to crawl back under the covers and stay there? If you are experiencing more dread than delight when you think through your caregiving responsibilities for the day, you are not alone. Overcoming caregiver dread is possible, it just takes a little presence of mind.

Contact us online or call us at (866) 940-4343 to learn about how we can help your family

Distinctly different from anxiety, depression, and even burnout, caregiver dread is an exhausted, heavy sense of duty. It comes from feelings of over commitment together with the desire to get away from obligations. … Read More »

Hired Hands Homecare, provider of senior care in Novato, CA and nearby areas, provides tips for avoiding caregiver depression.

There’s no question that it’s a wonderful honor to care for family we love. Family caregivers encounter a closeness and connection with those in their care that very often far outweighs the difficulties. Yet there are difficulties. A continuous to-do list to ensure the senior loved one you are providing care for is as happy and healthy as possible. Household duties and errands to run. Work responsibilities. The requirements of other relatives and friends. And don’t overlook self-care. The end result is an often an overwhelming quantity of stress, that if left unchecked, can easily transform into caregiver depression, which can appear in any or all of the following ways:

Thoughts of frustration, unhappiness, despair, anxiety
Trouble with falling or remaining … Read More »

Hired Hands Homecare, providers of elderly care in Napa and nearby areas, provides advice for the boomerang generation.

Thanks to the advances of science and medicine, we’re now living longer than ever before, resulting in a new responsibility for not only the sandwich generation (adults who are providing care at home for both children and aging parents) but for countless aging adults who have been coined the boomerang generation. Luckily, there are some pieces of advice for the boomerang generation that can help seniors care for their aging parents while also caring for themselves. 

“Aging together” is the term being used to describe older adults whose mother and/or father are still living and in need of support to remain safe at home. This leads to a wave of seniors uprooting and “boomeranging” back to live in close proximity … Read More »

It was such an honor to go out and deliver recognition to Apple as our most recent Employee of the Month!  We have had the absolute pleasure of working with Apple for close to five years now, and she has developed into an amazing caregiver and has become Napa’s go to caregiver for so many reasons.  Apple has a positive, friendly approachable attitude and has been so extremely helpful, flexible and willing to jump in wherever needed.  Apple has worked hard to develop her skill set, and is now an active member on both our Hospice and Alzheimer’s’/Dementia Care Teams.

She recently stepped in when we needed her on a hospice client with little notice, and they absolutely loved her.  When we ask her to switch her shift out and run on over to assist with a difficult case in Marin … Read More »

The providers of in-home support services in Santa Rosa offer tips on how to make use of care management services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially concerning for seniors and their loved ones. Seniors are disproportionately affected by the virus, especially those with underlying conditions such as COPD and heart issues. In an attempt to maintain social distancing and minimize contact with potential contagions, many seniors have become increasingly isolated from their family members. In the absence of routine socialization and attentive care, loneliness and depression as well as memory issues linked to dementia and other diseases can creep in. In response to these difficult circumstances, many families are seeking the assistance of care management services. 

Care managers help families ensure that their senior loved one is safe and cared for, even in unprecedented times such as these. … Read More »

Care management services can help families navigate care options and services.

Hiring a professional care manager could potentially make your everyday life or the life of a loved one who needs care support easier; however, are care management services the best choice for your particular situation? When determining whether or not to hire a care manager, also referred to as an Aging Life Care Professional, consider the following questions:

Are your obligations or the adult’s care issues becoming more complex and numerous than can be comfortably managed alone?
Are other family needs and responsibilities getting in the way of providing the desired amount of supervision and care for the loved one?
Are care responsibilities interfering with the paid employment of family members?
Is the current family caregiver struggling to provide the required level of care and supervision due to health issues or … Read More »

A care manager can help families navigate senior care options.

Are you helping to manage a loved one’s care? If so, you know that hiring services and managing finances to make living at home a safe and viable solution for relatives can be overwhelming, to put it mildly. Many people who are helping loved ones simply do not know where to seek trusted advice, what questions to ask, or where to find a supportive care advocate. A professional care manager (sometimes called an Aging Life Care Professional) is a great resource for these situations. Professional care managers are experienced and trained to work with families to create and manage a detailed care plan that fits each adult’s needs with services such as:

Care planning assessments to determine needs, challenges and eligibility for assistance
Coordination and communication across all medical and … Read More »

Family caregivers have many responsibilities to juggle each day.

It might have come completely without warning: an unexpected fall that resulted in a broken hip plus the need for Mom to have help and support to stay at home. Or, it may have been building up over the years, such as through the incremental and slow progression of Alzheimer’s. Regardless of the circumstances, you have now found yourself in the role of family caregiver, and maybe are wondering precisely what this means and how to navigate these uncharted waters. You could probably use some caregiver tips to help you get started.

First and foremost, take a good deep breath, and a moment to acknowledge the selflessness of your choice. Caregiving is a respectable and extremely rewarding undertaking, yet not without its challenges. A bit of proactive planning will … Read More »