The Role Of Long-Term In-Home Care For Alzheimer’s Patients
Caring for a family member inflicted with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is both debilitating and a challenging task. Each day brings new demands as the caregiver copes with the rapid progression of the new patterns of behavior of the Alzheimer’s patient.
In preparing and setting up an effective home care for an Alzheimer’s patient, a compassionate caregiver must make the following changes in a new home environment:
1. As the disease progresses, adjusting your communication style to the patient’s changing needs.
2. Scheduling visitors to avoid surprises and have something to look forward to. Even if the elder with dementia does not recognize those who visit, the contact is nonetheless valuable for them.
3. Establishing routines in activities of daily living. Be accepting of the increasingly limited capabilities of the person with dementia and implement care strategies accordingly. Do your best to be patient, kind, flexible, supportive, and calm. This disease is no one’s fault, although it is very aggravating and disappointing.
By the same token, don’t take problem behaviors (like aggressiveness or wandering) personally. Accept the symptoms of the disease and proceed from there. Remember that the person is not behaving this way on purpose.
Plan activities that the patient is interested in, such as art, cooking, walking, swimming, or gardening. Focus on enjoyment, not achievement. If the person is lucid enough, involve them in making music, doing puzzles or crosswords, or playing memory games, card or board games. Or, the patient may passively enjoy hearing music, contact with pets, or sitting outside in the garden.
Go for walks in the neighborhood, go for a drive, or spend time at a park. Walking is often therapeutic, although the pace may not be as vigorous as you might like. Develop a style of paying more attention to the beauty and novelty of your surroundings as you walk.
4. Maintaining social contacts and fun. During the early stage of the disease, caregivers can promote the patient’s sense of well being by providing emotional support and by helping to maintain familiar activities and social contacts.
Even when Alzheimer’s patients no longer have the cognitive ability to understand your humor, they can still appreciate it. They may still smile or laugh and sharing that laughter can be a relief to both you and your charge. Use the same modes of humor as you always have: teasing, nonsense, clowning. Be even more silly than usual!
To counteract isolation and loneliness, encourage family and friends to stay involved. Take the patient to family gatherings if it’s comfortable to do so. Schedule visitors, to avoid surprises and have something to look forward to. Even if the elder with dementia does not recognize those who visit, the contact is nonetheless valuable for them.
Sometimes the caregiver will want to join the patient in family gatherings or stay in the home when visitors are present. Caregivers can start feeling isolated and lonely themselves as more and more of their time is built around the elder’s needs. If the patient feels safe with the visitors, the caregiver can use the visiting time as an opportunity for relief and respite. Adult day care has similar benefits: social stimulation for the patient and free time for the caregiver.
5. Promote comfort and safety. As problems with memory and judgment increase, the patient becomes more vulnerable to accidents and injuries. There will be times when you’ll want to remind the person that they have Alzheimer’s. At other times it might be better to refer to a “memory problem.” Even if you repeatedly tell the elder that they have Alzheimer’s disease, they may not remember that you told them. Be prepared to patiently repeat the information at times when you’re trying to help the person understand why they can’t do something or why you are taking over a task the person used to do.
Carefully screened and compassionate caregivers regard their responsibility as a way of being involved with their loved one. Their caring is based on unconditional love, and they do not consider it a burden. Dementia patients are able to read body language and to respond to the positive attitudes of the caregiver. Where patient and caregiver have had problems in their past relationship, it can be especially challenging to empathize and be kind, so a support system for the caregiver is most important.
6. Communicate with an Alzheimer’s patient. A good home care service trains caregivers to acknowledge requests and respond to these patients. Don’t argue or try to change the person’s mind, even if you believe the request is irrational. Be affectionate with the patient, if this feels natural. Try not to set up a cycle of paying attention only when the person displays problem behaviors. Break this negative cycle by being supportive of positive behavior.
Jack Haddad, MD, MBA
Portfolio Manager
MD Capital Management
Affiliated Hospitals
Sutter-Roseville Medical Center, Roseville, CA
San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA
San Jose Orthopedic Medical Group, San Jose, CA
Highland Hospital, Oakland, CA
Dr. Jack Haddad, MD, MBA is the founder and owner of King of Home Care, an independently owned non-medical In-home care agency. In addition to his compassion and dedication to the home care industry, Dr. Haddad’s expertise and knowledge with In-Home Care is evident by the clinical research trials that he has conducted over the years.
Save Your Life in the Event of an Emergency
Sometimes, even if you have your list of medications and dosages memorized, you might not be able to communicate this to others when it is needed in a life-saving situation. Many home care services recommend having a personal information pack nearby to ensure that you get the care you need to matter what.
Sometimes it’s easy to list off all your medications, dosages, and the contact information of your primary care physician. But what would happen if they began to experience some diminished capacity? They wouldn’t be able to give anyone that list anymore. Personal information packs make it possible for anyone to administer the correct medication when it’s needed.
Personal information kits should include, at the very least, a complete list of one’s medication and correct dosages along with how many times a day it needs to be administered. The contact information of the primary care physician is also very important, as is the contact information for the friend or family member that needs to be notified in case of a problem.
But you will need more than just some lists and information. There are many home care services that will recommend you keep a month supply of medication on hand. That means that if something should happen to your home to make it uninhabitable you’ll still have the medication you need every day. This also means that if you have to leave the house quickly, it will be ready to go at a moment’s notice.
It isn’t enough, though, just to keep everything in one place. Location is key. Always choose a location that is stable and memorable, that way you’ll always know where it is in an emergency. The refrigerator is a popular choice of many home care services.
This location is used so often that it is the first place many emergency personnel will look when they respond to an incident. A refrigerator is a cool and dark place, which means that storing your package there will help prolong its life. It will also be more likely to survive a disaster like a fire because the refrigerator will stand up to a lot more damage than other things in the house.
Another recommendation that home care services often make is that people register for disaster assistance whenever possible. This is another way to protect yourself in the case of a natural disaster, and make sure that you get medical attention as well as other services like water and food.
Aside from emergency situations, it is a good idea to have a friend, neighbor or family member to routinely make a physical visit to your home to assure that you are safe and doing well.
Jen Pursens is a professional copywriter, specializing in the subject of home care services and the intricacies of in home senior care. She puts out practical information for seniors and helps them to appreciate the aging development.
How To Select Home Care Services
There are many situations in which an elderly family member may not want to go to a nursing home or accept an assisted living situation because they feel like they are still self-sufficient. But if you?re sure that your family member really does need the assistance, then it is in the best interest of you and your loved one to select some quality home care services.
In many cases seniors do not want to have help. They feel that no matter how old they are or what their illness may be, they can handle themselves because they are old enough to care for themselves. Home care services can help senior citizens cook, clean, wash clothes, do lawn work, help with baths, wash their hair, and ensure that any medications are administered properly.
It is in your best interest, obviously, to choose a reputable company for home care service. You want to get your money?s worth when it comes to home care service and actually pay for services that they are providing.
Not all states require licensing; so makes sure that the home care service you go with is licensed. You can get this information from your local health department.
You also want to make sure that the agency is accredited by a governing agency, as the governing agency will evaluate and regularly review the service to ensure that they are providing ideal health care for your loved one.
See if the company is certified by Medicare and meets all the federal requirements for safety and health. You will not believe how many agencies do not follow proper safety protocol. Before hiring an agency, make sure that they are certified.
Before you make your final choice for home care services, you should think about getting some recommendations from doctors or hospitals or others within the field. You could even ask the provider to give you some references or talk to others who have used their services in the past. Make sure that they have a solid reputation for quality care.
There are many home care services that you can choose from, but when it comes to your loved ones, you want to make sure that the agency that you hire and the health aide that the agency sends are both qualified and have the proper credentials and good references to care for your family.
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