Caregiving Issues

Free Research Studies for Seniors and Caregivers

Julie Northcutt — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:29:09 GMT

Seniors and their caregivers may participate in professionally managed research studies to help provide feedback on various medications and care approaches.

Advantages of participating in a research study?

Free medical evaluation
Free medications (if medications are being studied)
Free check-ups with medical doctors, psychologists, social workers and other medical professionals
Education about best-practices for your diseases and health conditions

In addition, usually the senior's caregiver may also participate in providing feedback for the study and will receive a free medical physical, which is usually required for most studies.

The medical professionals are usually very experienced in researching specific diseases and health conditions and just having access to these high-quality care practitioners is another benefit of participating in a study.

Remember, every medication we currently take was once part of a drug research study and it only makes sense that more helpful drugs are part of these studies and they just might help with your current medical condition (without the price tag of a pharmacy bill).

Find out about the current research trials needing senior participants at Radiant Research - view the research trials by city and submit your request to participate. Current studies include Alzheimer's Disease, Osteoarthritis, Heart Disease, Diabetes and more. You may also find information about caring for various age-related diseases in our Care Briefs.
seniorcare, researchstudies, freetrials

Healthcare Reform: Including Insurance for Senior Caregivers

Julie Northcutt — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 02:10:38 GMT

Everyone agrees the current U.S. healthcare system is broken - including both Republican and Democratic Congressman while sitting at the same table discussing how to fix the problems. While many special interests are fighting to make sure they keep their sweet deals, it is important to let your voice be heard.

The healthcare bill will not be perfect. But overhauling anything is a challenge and you must begin by unloading the truck. Some items will eventually be tossed back onto the truck and the same thing will be true for the healthcare bill. Once it is passed, amendments will come along to modify and change various aspects of it.

Caregiverlist's survey of professional caregivers resulted in nearly 75% of senior caregivers not being covered by a company health insurance plan. The reason? Either small businesses did not offer it or offered a plan that was not affordable.

It is estimated that 66 million family caregivers assist a loved one with senior care needs. If they must quit their job to assist with care, they also have the challenge of no access to health insurance as an individual, or paying an average of $250 per month for a high-deductible health insurance plan. Yikes!

As a senior or caregiver, let your voice be heard by contacting your congressmen or senators. To find out how to reach them, visit: www.congress.org or call the Capitol Switchboard, toll-free, at 1-800-828-0498.

Remember that many Americans never have health insurance until they turn 65 and qualify for Medicare insurance - which also burdens the healthcare system because all of these seniors did not enjoy preventive healthcare. Imagine how much better Medicare insurance would be if those entering the system had prior healthcare to prevent and manage health problems rather than allowing them to escalate.

seniorcare, healthcare, caregiver

Caregiver Health Insurance Cost Increases: NPDA Report

Julie Northcutt — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:57:01 GMT

The National Private Duty Association's annual conference is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this week.

Today's keynote speech, by Dr. John Bowling, the Director of the PRS School of Aging Services and Coordinator of the Management of Aging Services program at Southern Oregon Univesity, outlined the future needs of aging seniors.

What is the future of aging? No surprise, the majority of seniors plan on a combination of professional and family care to age-in-place. 65% of seniors prefer this solution, while 0% plans on aging in a nursing home.

Dr. Bowling also mentioned that the healthcare system is broken.

Among the issues?

Small companies, which includes senior care agencies, hospices and Medicare agencies, are paying 18% more for employee benefits than large corporations.

This helps explain why only 26% of Caregivers said "yes, as a professionally employed caregiver, I receive health insurance benefits", in Caregiverlist's recent survey.

Caregiver Health Insurance

Julie Northcutt — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:13:42 GMT

As Congress debates the healthcare overhaul legislation, Caregiverlist decided to find out if professional caregivers receive healthcare benefits, as oftentimes companies require caregivers to be full-time employees to qualify.

The results? Only 26% of Caregivers said "Yes, as a professionally employed senior caregiver, I receive healthcare benefits."

Another 18% of Caregivers said the do not participate in their company health benefit program because the co-pay is too much.

Caregiverlist Survey:
Professionally Employed Caregivers Receiving Health Insurance as a Benefit: 26%
Professionally Employed Caregivers Not Participating in the Company Health Insurance Because it is Too Costly: 18%

However, those Americans who do not have insurance, are not turned away from emergency rooms for care, even if they are unable to pay.

According to Northwestern Memorial Hospital's annual report (Northwestern is located in downtown Chicago, Illinois and is a leading university research hospital), in 2008, $28.6 million was spent on providing "charity care" to these individuals who did not have insurance and could not pay for care. Another $110.3 million was for the additional costs of unreimbursed Medicare and Medicaid patient care.

Because healthcare is not available to everyone - even co-pays can be too expensive for small businesses and individuals because they do not enjoy the benefit of having risk spread out over a large number of people - health care costs are higher for those who do pay and insurance costs are higher.

Many Americans only receive health insurance for the first time in they go onto Medicare insurance, which everyone receives at age 65.

One wonders what would happen if preventive care were part of our system. In addition, as the baby boomer population numbers 77+ million people, many more senior caregivers will be needed. It would be nice to know that individuals who must quit their jobs to care for a relative and caregivers working for small businesses will have access to affordable health insurance. As we try to find the best ways to provide care for seniors, Caregiverlist hopes we can also pave the way to provide care for the senior caregivers through affordable health insurance benefits. seniorcaregiver, caregiverbenefits, healthinsurance

Senior Caregivers: Is Health Insurance a Standard Benefit? Surprisingly, It Usually Is Not

Julie Northcutt — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:00:13 GMT

Starbuck's founder, Howard Schultz, was passionate about finding away to provide health insurance for all Starbuck's employees. Each Starbucks coffee shop employees several people to take the drink orders, make the coffee and take the money. These positions do not require high level skills but do pay more than minimum wage (the national minimum wage rate is $7.25).

The challenge in providing health insurance for workers, as a corporation, is technically 75% of your staff must participate in the group health insurance plan in order for a group plan to be offered. The employees must also be willing to chip in for the monthly premium. This usually is no problem for higher income workers. But a monthly premium of $50 hits harder for an employee being paid $8 or $9 an hour and usually the premium is higher than $50 a month.

Senior care companies have the additional challenge of high employee turnover (even at nursing homes, the nursing aide turnover is often higher that at a fast-food restaurant due to the emotional and physical toll caregiving takes and the high number of patients each nursing aide must care for during a shift).

Starbucks succeeded in providing health insurance for all employees working at least 20 hours per week, and much to the dismay of many shareholders, the company takes the hit for this cost. Howard Schultz was passionate about this because as a child, his family suffered financial hardships because his father's jobs did not provide health insurance. The family lived in public housing and he knew from experience that when your entire paycheck must pay for health problems, there is nothing left over.

In today's current health system, the burden for insurance is placed on companies and there is not a good alternative for individuals seeking their own individual health insurance or for those who are unemployed. Unless you show up at the emergency room - and then the circle continues as hospitals and doctors eat these costs which are passed on in higher insurance costs and higher costs of services.

Professional caregivers should all be provided with health insurance benefits - - - there is such irony in being a caregiver yet not being cared for as an employee receiving health insurance - - - and even those who must quit their jobs to be a family caregiver should have access to affordable health insurance. That is not the case now.

PROFESSIONAL CAREGIVERS: LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE IN THE CAREGIVERLIST SURVEY

seniorcaregiver, healthbenefits, caregiveremployment

Caregiver Training Schools

Julie Northcutt — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:21:14 GMT

Senior caregivers may begin their careers first as a caregiver for a family member, neighbor or friend. They develop many of their skills on the job.

Caregivers working for quality senior home care agencies must first complete a training program and orientation. This training can be from 1 hour to 20 hours and more and more states are enacting legislation to require training hours for even non-medical, companion caregivers. In addition, most senior care companies provide on-going training opportunities for caring for seniors with specific conditions and training for providing care for each of the types of memory loss.

Senior care briefs provide information on caring for specific conditions, such as a stroke or hip replacement. You may also view caregiver training videos to learn how to transfer a senior safely and manage care needs for a senior with memory loss.

Certified Nursing Aide training programs provide classroom and field training for caregivers to learn the skills necessary to manage for all the personal care and emotional care needs of seniors. C.N.A. training programs will enable students to pass the state certification exam and begin working at a nursing home, hospital, hospice or home care agency when hands-on care is required.

You may explore training opportunities and take a free sample nursing aide test to find out about the skills taught in a training program. Ongoing employment opportunities are available for certified nursing aides as the large baby boomer generation ages - living longer and requiring assistance with care. seniorcaregiver, caregivertraining, trainingvideos

Healthy Aging Doctor Andrew Weil Increases Vitamin D Recommendation

Julie Northcutt — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:22:31 GMT

Dr. Andrew Weil, the founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and a leading doctor in studying healthy aging, has increased his daily recommendation of vitamin D to 2,000 IU per day from 1,000.

You can grab more vitamin D from sunshine, but for those of us who live in colder climates and stay indoors for much of the year, or for those who are not able to be outside as much because of medical conditions, Vitamin D must be found somewhere besides under the sun. When the sun is shining, just 10 to 15 minutes of exposure per day will help your body absorb vitamin D.

Dr. Weil suggests taking vitamin supplements for the daily dose of Vitamin D, because the top foods delivering this vitamin, such as fortified milk, eggs, salmon and tuna, do not contain enough of it to increase blood concentrations to optimal levels.

Many seniors are automatically prescribed vitamin supplements by their doctor but you should check to see your daily intake, especially if just a little more of a vitamin can prevent cancer and other diseases.

The Moores Cancer Center at the University of California at San Diego conducted a meta-analysis study which combines data from multiple studies and determined that raising blood levels of vitamin D could prevent one-half of the cases of breast cancer and two-thirds of the cases of colorectal cancer in the U.S.

Caregivers can assist their senior clients in monitoring their vitamin intake by using a Care Plan and medication tracking system and taking this information along to doctor's appointments.

C.N.A. Training Schools

Julie Northcutt — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:01:45 GMT

Caregivers interested in advancing their careers and gaining more pay and more job opportunities may consider becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (C.N.A.).

C.N.A.'s learn senior caregiving skills, both hands-on care techniques for safety and managing the emotional aspects of caregiving.

Many C.N.A. schools offer scholoarships or grants or tuition-reimbursement programs to attract more students to the industry. As nursing homes, hospitals and assisted living communities must maintain a certain percentage of C.N.A.'s on staff to maintain their licensing requirements, there are ongoing job opportunities available for certified nursing assistants.

Each state requires nursing aides to pass their certification exam after first completing a state-approved nursing aide course which includes field work. Usually courses are between 6 and 8 weeks and both part-time and full-time courses are available through colleges and community programs. Some nursing homes and hospitals offer C.N.A. training programs.

Learn about the job duties for certified nursing aides, take a sample nursing aide test or practice test and find the location and cost of nursing aide schools in your area on Caregiverlist and apply for a professional caregiving job (both part-time and full-time opportunities are available).

Illinois Revokes Nursing Home's License

Julie Northcutt — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:53:35 GMT

A Chicago Tribune investigative report has been succesful in exposing a lack of compliance to Illinois laws for admitting and caring for nursing home residents. Criminal background checks and risk assessments were not being conducted on new residents, allowing for mentally ill patients and convicted felons to become rent-free residents of Medicaid nursing homes and placing senior residents at risk.

Seniors who do not have personal assets and a monthly income to pay for nursing home costs can qualify for ongoing care in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid, a state and federally funded program. Owning a Medicaid nursing home can be compared to owning an apartment complex which is always rented - as long as you can admit qualifying patients, the government will pay the rent each month.

One nursing home housed 18 felons and drew attention after 17 assualts and 2 incidents of sexual violence were reported.

If a nursing home is housing a large percentage of mentally ill patients, additional staff are needed, along with around-the-clock supervision to protect seniors who may have memory loss and not be aware of how to interact with someone who is mentally ill and could cause them harm. One of the easiest ways to find out if a nursing home houses a large percent of mentally ill patients is to check the average age of residents - - if there are lots of residents who are not seniors then this is a red flag that the qualifying residents are there for mental illness. It follows that necessary precautions should be in place to prevent the assaults and sexual abuse that happened at the Chicago nursing homes.

Somerset Place in Chicago housed more than 300 residents and the federal government has pulled the plug on their Medicaid payments. However, it took good reporting to make this happen - another indicator that the state nursing home inspection reports do not provide all the answers for maintaining quality nursing homes. Felons belong in prisons, not nursing homes.

nursinghomecare, seniorcare, nursinghome

January 2010 Unemployment at 9.7%: Caregiving Jobs Growing

Julie Northcutt — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:35:20 GMT

The U.S. Department of Labor reported this morning that the unemployment rate for January, 2010, is 9.7%, with employment in retail and temporary work increasing. At the same time, the health care and social service industry sector increased from 13.3 % to 17.1 % of the total job market from January a year ago - another indicator that employment opportunities in the healthcare field are indeed growing to keep up with the needs of the large baby boomer generation.

What type of jobs are available in senior care for individuals with no experience in caregiving?

Companion Caregivers
Senior Home Care Agency Office Staff: Office Manager, Scheduler, Recruiter
Community Relations (Sales)

What types of jobs are available in senior care for experienced caregivers?

Certified Nursing Aides
Certified Home Health Aides
Personal Care Aides
Licensed Practical Nurse
Registered Nurse
Social Worker

You may become a certified nursing aide by attending a state approved training program and successfully completing the state C.N.A. exam. You can obtain companion caregiver training by working for a senior home care agency which usually will provide training as part of their new employee orientation program (some states require a specific amount of training hours for each new caregiver). You may also take a sample or practice nursing aide test to learn more about the skills a training program will teach.

As the Department of Labor statistics indicate, you will most likely enjoy long-term employment in the senior care field, along with the fulfillment of doing work which is highly appreciated.

seniorcarejobs, caregivingjobs, healthcarejobs