Is a Family Member or Friend Providing In-Home Care in Seattle WA for Your Aging Loved One?

Fantastic Gift Ideas for Caregivers on Valentine’s Day!

If you have a friend or family member providing in-home care for a loved one, finding a wonderful treat for Valentine’s Day is a great way to say thanks. In-home caregivers empower clients to enjoy cheerful, healthy lives in the privacy of their own home and what better way to return the favor than by showing your appreciation for all they do.

Massage

A gift certificate for a massage is the perfect gift for someone who provides in-home care. Half hour and hour massages are available to reduce pressure and emotional stress.  The benefit of an intensive, hands-on massage might motivate them to make a massage a part of their monthly routine. There are many qualified massage salons in your area and who wouldn’t love a relaxing time at the spa!

Gift Basket

You can buy pre-packaged gift baskets at many retail stores, on the internet and at florists. If you already know the caregiver, you can build the basket yourself by including some of their favorite things. One example is, if you know they like to garden, fill up the basket with small garden tools, packages of flower seeds and a flowerpot. If the caregiver is a guy, fill the basket with sports-themed objects and a gift certificate for a round of golf.

Gift Certificates

Give the caregiver a Valentine’s Day card along with a gift certificate to dinner or to the movies. Attempt to find out some of the caregiver’s favorite places to eat and get a certificate to that certain place. Order movies tickets online so they will not  expire and the caregiver can use them at anytime.

Spa Treatments

Female caregivers will like a spa day or spa treatments. Provide her a gift certificate to a local spa. Some spas offer you half day and full day amenities. Another approach is to get a gift certificate to a local nail salon for a manicure and pedicure. This will allow the caregiver to spend time on herself and relax.

Tea or Coffee

If the caregiver enjoys tea or coffee, make a special gift to give them on Valentine’s Day. Fill sizeable coffee mugs with an array of coffee and a gift card to a nearby coffee shop. For a tea lover, fill sizeable glasses with different bags and boxes of tea.

Overview

In-home care takes a special person with a lot of patience. Show your caregiver how much you care about the things they do for you and your loved one by giving them a special gift on Valentine’s Day.

If you are looking into hiring a caregiver for in-home care in the Seattle WA area, contact Andelcare. We are a premeire home care agency providing quality and affordable home care in Seattle and the surrounding communities. Call 888-788-3051 for more information.

How to Hire Urgently Needed In-Home Care
6 steps for getting appropriate, affordable in-home care — fast
By Kate Rauch, Caring.com senior editor

If you need help at home right now, the ideal solution may be to hire an in-home caregiver. These steps can help with this sometimes-daunting task.

1. Begin with a doctor’s assessment for in-home care.

To help you understand what kind of caregiver to hire (such as someone with a nursing background versus more of a personal assistant), have the person in your care checked by his doctor. A doctor can also help determine whether in-home care is the best route or whether he really needs to move temporarily to a skilled nursing facility.

Helpful hint: If the person is acutely ill or recovering from surgery or another medical procedure, be sure to ask his doctor whether he’s eligible for in-home care as part of his treatment, which may be covered by his insurance plan.

2. Determine your in-home care budget.

Before you can hire someone, you’ll need to know how much money is available to spend for a caregiver. This will help you make important decisions about the salary and number of hours you can afford. Talk with the individuals and other family members to nail down roughly how much money you can pool to pay for in-home care to get started. Then you can start looking at other options for ongoing care.

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The caregivers at Andelcare are available to talk with you and your family about all of your in-home care needs. Andelcare is a home care agency providing quality and affordable in-home care in Seattle WA and the surrounding communities. Call 888-788-3051 for more information.

In-home Care Can Help Elders Stay Part of Family Functions
by Carol Bradley Bursack, Editor-in-Chief

Caregivers are often torn between wanting their parent, who may live in assisted living, a nursing home or even at home alone, to be a part of family functions, and wondering how they can pull it off. Whether the event is a family wedding or a Christmas celebration, they often think “Grandma would love this.” And then?

How do we combine taking care of Grandma and attending or creating the function itself? How do we pay attention to the bride and groom, if Grandma needs all of our care? Enter in-home care.

Most in-home care agencies do far more than just care for an elder in the home. They are often hired to help elders who want to stay in assisted living, because they don’t feel ready for a nursing home, but need extra health care not provided by the facility.

Even if caregivers are primarily hired for caring in the home, this care generally spills out into errand running and even event care, depending on the type of agency and contract negotiations.

In-home Care Can Offer Major Flexibility

In-home care was quite new when I began my caregiver journey that eventually was to include seven elders, and last more than two decades. Locally, we had only one choice of an agency when I needed help with my neighbor, Joe, and that agency was associated with our local hospital.

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If in-home care in Seattle WA is what you and your family need for your loved one, contact the caregivers at Andelcare. We are an in-home care agency providing quality and affordable caregivers to our elders, veterans and disabled in our community. Call 888-788-3051 for more information.

As our parents age, we can become concerned about their safety and care. In home care is a wonderful option for adult children who find themselves worrying about their parents’ elder care. Enjoy this article from eldercarelink.com and contact Andelcare if you have questions or need help with in home care for your loved ones.

In-home Care Can Fill A Variety of Needs
by Carol Bradley Bursack, Editor-in-Chief

In-home care is one of the most flexible types of care for the varying needs of our aging loved ones. As a family caregiver with multiple elders to care for, I used in-home care for both short-term and long-term situations. While getting used to “strangers” in the home was an adjustment for my elders, the advantages were worth the stress of change. How can an in-home care agency help you and your loved one?

Prior to my need to find care for my elderly neighbor, Joe, after he dislocated his shoulder, the closest thing I’d seen to “in-home care” was the public health nurse who used to come to our home to give my grandmother her vitamin B-12 shot. That was decades before I became Joe’s caregiver. I simply hadn’t had a need to keep up with care trends.

After Joe’s wife died, it became evident to me that Joe needed someone close by that he could count on. His only child, a son, lived on the east coast, while Joe remained in his native North Dakota. Joe’s total hearing loss didn’t make life any easier for him, as his only contact with his family was by mail. He had some long-time friends to check on him, but that was it. I as his neighbor felt a draw to help him, so I did.

Joe had a history of falling, but his first serious fall happened while he was out in his garage. That time, he dislocated his shoulder. I rode the ambulance with him, accompanied him through all of his medical work, and then chatted with a social worker who insisted we get him some in-home care, at least temporarily.

Learning the Ropes: Nursing Care is Generally Covered by Medicare while Custodial Care is Not

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Andelcare is the perfect solution to temporary or long term in home care in Seattle WA. If you have questions or need help for your loved one, call us at 888-788-3051. We provide quality and affordable in home care for seniors, veterans and the disabled in our community.

Help a Homebound Senior on National Grandparent’s Day

In fairly recent years, the second Sunday of September has been reserved as a time to recognize and remember grandparents. September 11, 2011 will mark the 32nd National Grandparent’s Day. Grandparent’s Day is celebrated in September as it is the month which transitions us from summer to fall and likewise symbolizes the “autumnal season” of one’s life. The first Grandparent’s Day was held September 6, 1979 after a proclamation was signed by President Jimmy Carter.

However, this national holiday actually came to be due to the efforts of Marian McQuade, a mother of fifteen, grandmother and great-grandmother from West Virginia who believed that grandparents deserved a day of special recognition, that children and grandchildren could benefit from the wisdom and knowledge that older citizens can offer, and that more attention needed to be given to the lonely elderly population, both in nursing homes and those receiving home care.

On September 11, many will take their parents or grandparents out to a nice lunch, encourage their children to make a homemade card for grandpa and grandma, or perhaps even present a memorable gift to the grandparent who has been a positive influence and role model. What will take place much less frequently this September 11 is an unexpected visit to an invalid neighbor, a card sent to an elderly widow who attends one’s church, or a package delivered to an assisted living resident. And yet any of these seemingly simple gestures can mean the
world to one who either lives a distance from family, has no family, or is unfortunately often neglected by his family.

So, this year when it comes time to plan what you will be doing with or giving to your grandparents, take a few moments to plan something for a senior citizen that receives in home care as well. If you need some ideas in addition to the ones mentioned above, consider packing a lunch and taking an hour or two out of your day to eat with that invalid neighbor. If your daughter is willing, drop her off at the house of that elderly widow in your congregation and encourage her to listen to, and maybe even record, the stories that woman will most certainly have to tell. Perhaps you could even discover the needs of that assisted living resident and offer to run an errand or do a chore or two. And if you could then make that a repeat occurance, it would surely be all the more appreciated.

To celebrate this National Grandparent’s Day, try to think outside the box, or perhaps just down the block, and recognize someone who may have otherwise been forgotten. And as this Grandparent’s Day does fall on the anniversary of 9/11, perhaps this celebration can be made even more memborable by honoring an elderly veteran who has served our country so that we are even able to enjoy such holidays as National Grandparent’s Day.

For more information about receiving care for your loved one at home. Contact the caregivers at Andelcare. We can help your family with all of your care needs. We are an in home care agency providing quality and affordable in home care in Seattle WA and the surrounding communities. Call 888-788-3051.