Show #439 Airing Sunday, 6/29/08
Summer’s the time for celebrations – like weddings, graduations, and vacations. You’d like your spouse or parent to attend, but his or her health makes it real tough to get him out of the house. Is there any solution to this sad problem? Here to offer help is Sheila Niles, director of community projects and elder health at the Visiting Nurse Association of Cleveland.
Question: Let's take a common summer situation, a wedding or a graduation. We want Grandma to be able to come, but she can't walk and she has other health problems. Do we have to leave her at home?
Answer: No. There’s help available. Our home health aides are often asked to accompany a family to an event like a wedding or graduation to care for a frail person as they attend along with their family. This service can allow the loved one to attend an important event when they otherwise might not be able to, and for the family to relax and enjoy their time at the party without worrying about their loved one, or feeling guilty that they mom/dad/spouse had to stay home.
If the person is absolutely too frail to come, we can offer respite care at home so that the family can attend.
Question: What if we just want to take mom out to dinner for a couple of hours?
Answer: We can help there too. There’s no minimum time period.
Question: Let's go the other direction: what about a longer time period - several days, or a longer vacation?
Answer:We can accompany a family on a vacation to take care of the patient (or again offer respite at home). The services can last as long as an hour, or can be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We’ve gone to Maine for two weeks, driven a client to meet his family in New Jersey, accompanied mom on a plane down to visit her daughter in Florida, gone to Indians games, picnics, the zoo, Cedar Point, etc.
Families so often tell us that they never realized services like this existed, and that they were so glad they didn’t have to leave their loved one at home.
Question: How would one of our viewers access these services?
Answer: They can call us at 1-800-HOMECARE and let us know their needs. We would like as much time to plan as possible—24 hours is great if you can handle it. For longer trips, we need a longer planning time.
Question: Who pays?
Answer: These services are private pay. There is an hourly rate.
Question: I want to digress for a minute. A viewer recently asked if there are any services available to help seniors who may be downsizing or moving into assisted living. Any thoughts?
Answer: Yes. A home health aide can help a person organize and pack with care, in a way that moving companies really will not. For example, we once helped a woman go through her belongings and catalogued them so that she could send them to each of her 27 grandchildren. We went with her to the post office to help her mail the items as well. Again, you can call 1-800-HOMECARE for more information.
Your loved one doesn’t have to stay stuck at home all summer, just because they’re not in good health. There’s help available from the Visiting Nurse Association. Call them at the number that’s next for more information. My thanks to Sheila Niles.
