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Tough Decisions: Providing Care for Aging Parents and Relatives

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"Q. I am trying to decide between a retirement/assisted living facility for my mother or hiring in-home care for her. Anyone have advice? Also, what's best way to find a quality assisted living community?"
I felt lost when it came to deciding what to do for my Dad. He made it clear to me that assisted living/ a nursing home was NOT an option. Of course, I was stressed out and wanted to make sure that I made the right decision for him. He was most comfortable at home, and could still do a lot of daily tasks on his own. I decided to look further into home health care. This option seemed perfect for his situation. After some research, I found a free online health assessment from Freedom Home Health. This made my decision much easier and it helped my specify what exactly my Dad needed help with. I suggest using Freedom Home Health is you are in the Ohio area. http://www.freedomhomehealth.com

Lane Merlotte of OH 12:58PM January 04, 2010

it is often less stressful to keep a loved one at home; there is less worry.

http://www.thecareregsitry.com of PA 12:43PM October 19, 2009

It can be a tough decision, but at-home care is often more affordable or just as affordable as nursing homes.

Senior Home Care of PA 12:42PM October 19, 2009

+1

soundtracks of AL 5:21AM July 17, 2009

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ultram er 100 of OH 6:52PM July 02, 2009

Having cared for my aging parents for 18 years totoal, I feel I have some experience with this issue. I tried hiring individual caregivers and through companies to care for my mother. There were problems with both, but the worst thing that happened is a caregiver and her family robbed my mother of over $8000.00 worth of items ranging from clothing and kitchenware to figurines that my parents had collected during their travels. I had removed her good jewelry from the home, but the company I first hired chided me for wanting to remove her valuables. I was told that she should have these things to enjoy. I have seen this happen to many elderly people once they are immobile and/or mentally compromised. The police were of no help, and they didn't seem to care. During the eighteen years of caring for my parents, I was trying to raise four children and couldn't be with my parents every minute. My mother was a difficult person which made it hard to place her in a different living situation outside of her home. However, I would highly recommend that people find a good assisted living place that provides more care as it it is needed. The cost of home care is no bargain; the cost for the final year of my mother's life was over $100,000.00 for ten months, and that was the most resonable company around.

Carol Hinterman of MI 3:55PM May 04, 2009

The best way to find out about the top rated (accredited) CCRCs (continuing care retirement communities) is to do a search on www.CARF.org. To become accredited, a participating community is scrutinized by a team of independent surveyors for financial and operational soundness and quality of care and services in such areas as culinary, activities, resident rights, access to services, nursing, and the overall safety and security of the community. A community must demonstrate continued conformance on an annual basis before being reaccredited by CARF-CCAC. ACTS Retirement-Life Communities, of which there are three in the 561 area code/Boca Raton, maintains the largest number of CARF accredited communities of any CCRC provider in the nation. Visit www.ACTSretirement.com

colleen of FL 4:38PM April 29, 2009

How do I rate/compare facilities in my area, 561 tel prefix

julius horowitz of FL 6:28PM April 27, 2009

A major problem confronting the Baby Boom generation is locating home-based services to avoid nursing home placement. An even bigger issue is locating providers who can be trusted alone with a frail loved one.
In South Carolina, we have created the non-profit Senior Shield, a Internet directory of reputable businesses that have passed extensive background checks that prove they are legitimate, licensed, insured, and crime-free and have no pattern of consumer or regulatory complaints.
Senior Shield is an innovative concept that emphasizes a free market approach by encouraging seniors to do business with businesses that agree to treat them ethically, and can prove they have insurance, post bonds, and have no outstanding consumer or regulatory complaints.
Senior Shield educates seniors and their caregivers to trust only businesses that have “earned their Senior Shield.” A Web site (www.scseniorshield.com) and toll-free phone line (1-877-723-3771) have been established to assist seniors in finding trustworthy businesses and verifying they are in good standing.

Frank Adams of SC 1:43PM April 27, 2009