The Importance of Socialization in Senior Living Communities
Posted on April 12, 2017
Many people don’t realize it, but socialization is just as important for seniors as it is for children. While most understand they need to encourage their kids when it comes to socializing, it is too easy to overlook the importance of this for older adults. As a person ages, certain life circumstances may push them toward isolation and loneliness unless steps are taken to cultivate new and meaningful relationships. This applies to seniors, regardless of if they live alone or in senio...
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How to choose a home healh provider
Posted on April 6, 2016
How Do I Select the Right Home Care Provider?
Once you acquire the names of several providers, you will want to learn more about their services and reputations. Following is a checklist of questions to ask providers and other individuals who may know about the provider's track record. Their insight will help you determine which provider is best for you or your loved one.• How long has this provider been serving the community?• Does this provider supply literature explaini...
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No Need to Look Far for the Perfect Florida Senior Living Facility
Posted on August 10, 2016
One of the most difficult decisions most of us will ever make is the decision to put a loved one in a nursing home. Adult care centers offer a variety of activities and specialized care for patients with all sorts of medical conditions, including dementia and Alzheimer's, and finding the perfect facility for you and your family is an extremely important decision. Finding the perfect Florida senior living center is easier, however, if you start your research online. Nowadays there are hundr...
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Finding the Best Home Healthcare Agencies in Florida Can Be Simple
Posted on August 9, 2016
Many of us have family members with old-age illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer's, and when it becomes too difficult for us to care for them ourselves, we must often make the difficult decision to place them in a special care facility. Finding top-notch home healthcare agencies in Florida may seem complex and maybe even overwhelming, but there are things you can do to make the entire process much easier. These days, the Internet has a lot of information regarding diagnoses, treatments...
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Questions to Ask Your Home Care Agency
Posted on December 16, 2016
Choosing the right Florida home health care agency for a loved one should not be difficult. When you know what to look out for in a home health care, you can be able to get quality service and at an affordable price. Below are some questions guaranteed to help you find one that's right for you and your family.
1. Is the company licensed?
A home care agency licensed by the state has attained the minimum standard set by the state that guarantees they can do their job of carin...
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Misconceptions and Reality of Hospice Care
Posted on December 16, 2016
People seek out hospice care when they have chronic illnesses that are impacting the quality of their life. However, there seems to be misconceptions about what hospice care entails and this kind of notion makes people have too much expectation on the kind of help they get from Hospice care of South Florida. Below are a few misconceptions and truths revealed about hospice care.
Misconception: Hospice is where you go when you’ve given up.
Reality: Hospice care of South...
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Searching for the Right Nursing Home
Posted on December 19, 2016
If the family is exhausted from taking care of your elderly loved one, it might be time to decide on a nursing home instead. Here are some questions to help you determine the best nursing homes in Florida:
Is the food palatable?
Pay a visit to the home and take a meal with your elderly loved ones in the cafeteria. It's an easy way for you to know what kind of food your loved ones will get. Is it palatable? Will it meet with their dietary requirements? However, if your loved...
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What Difference Does Home Hospice Care Really Make?
Posted on December 20, 2016
What is hospice care?
It's about providing end-of-life care. It's an option for people with a life expectancy of about 6 months or less. This often goes hand in hand with palliative care. Palliative care focuses on providing patients with symptom relief. The treatment is no longer focused on finding a cure but on easing and managing the symptoms of the illness instead.
Taking back control
Florida hospice home care allows patients to come home and live out the rest o...
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What Is the Average Length of Stay in a Nursing Home?
Posted on July 10, 2017
There are numerous nursing homes in Florida and all across the country. At some point, someone you love may need to stay at one of these facilities, and you may need to live at one of them eventually yourself. With all that in mind, it can be beneficial to learn some helpful statistics about people’s experiences in nursing care centers.
Average Stay
The average stay for nursing home residents is 892 days. This comes out to around two and a half years. Naturally, every...
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Funding Strategies for Assisted Living Facility Care
Posted on July 13, 2017
By understanding how assisted living facilities are funded, you can better evaluate potential payment strategies. Facilities may be funded through several sources, depending on the senior's financial position.
Medicaid
Seniors may apply for Medicaid, a form of government assistance, to pay for all or part of the cost. To determine eligibility, Medicaid officials may conduct a thorough review of the applicant's income and spending from the prior five years. Seniors may want ...
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Tips on Making Your Home Safe for Seniors
Posted on July 20, 2015
Although retirement communities have their benefits, many seniors prefer staying in their own homes for as long as possible. According to a 2010 AARP study, nearly three quarters of the research participants said they wish to remain in the current homes as long as they can.
Staying at home is not just more comfortable for some seniors, but it may also make economic sense. The average annual fee for an assisted-living facility, which provides aid with daily living for sen...
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Who Pays for Senior Living Facilities?
Posted on July 3, 2017
As individuals age, they may find aging in place is no longer a safe, viable option. This is when they need to look at other options for senior living in Florida. However, in addition to your choices, you also need to consider how you will pay for it. Understanding who pays for senior living facilities will help you make the right choices and financially plan for this time in your life.
Make Your Home Work for You
Your home can help pay for senior living in Florida...
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Steps to Find a Right Nursing Home for Your Loved One
Posted on July 4, 2017
The first thing you need to do is be sure that you are looking at nursing homes in the right frame of mind. Since you'll want your parent or parents to retain their dignity and continue to live their lives as vitally and fully as they possibly can, there are some very simple steps you can take to be sure that you have found the perfect place for them.
Some Simple Steps to Guide You
One of the best things you can do is to tour the facilities available in your area before you ...
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Home Care can increase Wellness and Fulfillment for Independent Seniors
Posted on July 4, 2017
One of the biggest reasons to make the choice of in-home care for your loved one is that it will allow them to remain in their own home surrounded by their own belongings and memories and they will not be forced to leave their friends and neighborhood. To begin with the simple fact of being uprooted and having to move out of your home where you have lived for many years and trying to choose what possessions you will be able to take with you into a small room at a facility can be f...
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How Long Can a Person be in Hospice Care
Posted on July 4, 2017
Hospice care in South Florida is a service provided for individuals who are nearing the end of their life. It is designed to provide comfort, rather than a cure. Those who work in the hospice field provide compassionate and comprehensive care for the patient, as well as their family.
Anyone who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness may be considered eligible for hospice palliative care. Any citizen in the United States who is over the age of 65 and who are entitled to Medicare...
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How a Nursing Home Will Provide Care and Comfort for Seniors
Posted on March 1, 2017
As people enter their senior years, it’s inevitable that they will slow down physically and sometimes mentally. Despite your loved one’s best efforts, later years are bound to bring health challenges that will eventually limit activity and hinder quality of life. For some people, serious illness or disease can make caring for themselves impossible. As a loved one or caregiver, this can bring tremendous stress and worry. If your family member has reached a point where full-time ...
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How nursing homes are funded?
Posted on March 10, 2017
There are four ways nursing homes are funded: through Medicare, Medicaid, the Quality Assurance Program and pay from patients.
Percentage of funds covered
For nursing homes in Florida, about 40 percent of long term care expenses are covered by private funds, the Florida Health Care Association says. Medicare, which takes care of expenses for rehabilitation services when an individual is finally discharged from the hospital or a healthcare facility, covers about 19 percent o...
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How to Choose Quality Hospice Care
Posted on March 15, 2017
As we age, the body changes and illnesses become more prevalent and severe. Eventually, there may come a time when your loved one requires specialized in-home care to offer comfort during their final days. Hiring a hospice care provider is often one of the best ways to achieve this goal. However, you need to make sure you are choosing quality hospice care, rather than just any solution.
Service Locations
First and foremost, you need to determine whether the hospice care provider s...
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4 Types of Senior Living Solutions for Your Loved One
Posted on March 2, 2017
Living out the golden years or the final few years of one’s life should provide a senior with comfort, peace, convenience and easy access to all the services they’ll need. If you have responsibility to help an aging parent, grandparent or other loved one find a new place to live or service to help the quality of their life, it’s essential that you select something you can feel good about and know that your family member will be taken care of. The last thing you need is to...
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Are Seniors for Sale? Understanding how some referral companies work.
Posted on March 22, 2016
Written By: Kelly Wilson Legislative Advocate and Owner of Tailored Senior Care
With the close of another Legislative session in Florida and 131 new laws taking effect on July 1, 2015, we also marked the third anniversary of legal patient brokering! Since July 1, 2012, a number of senior referral providers who act as brokers making transactions involving older adults with the sole intent of receiving payment have reeled in big profits. These brokers advertise a free service to cons...
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What is Discharge Planning
Posted on March 25, 2016
What is discharge planning?
Discharge planning helps to make sure that you leave the hospital, nursing home, or post-acute facility safely and transition you for the proper care afterwards.
The discharge planner should work together with you and your caregiver/family to address your concerns in a discharge plan. Your plan outlines the care you need and your choices, regardless of where you are going. Your plan outlines the care you need and your choices, regardless if ...
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Preventing Falls Among Older Adults
Posted on March 7, 2016
Preventing Falls Among Older AdultsWe all want to protect our older family members and help them stay safe, secure, and independent. Knowing how to reduce the risk of falling, a leading cause of injury, is a step toward this goal.The RealityEach year, one in every three adults ages 65 or older falls and 2 million are treated in emergency departments for fall-related injuries. And the risk of falling increases with each decade of life. The long-term consequences of fall injuries, such as hi...
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Is Assisted Living Covered By Medicaid?
Posted on May 12, 2017
Medicare does not cover assisted living, but Medicaid does cover at least some of the expenses. In the state of Florida, Medicaid can also be combined with social services like the Assisted Living for the Elderly Waiver. Consulting with a senior living specialist in Florida can help you discover the best ways to offset the costs associated with assisted living.
Living in assisted living tends to be cheaper than living in a nursing home, which is why insurers and Medicaid need to sh...
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How Much Does It Cost to Live in a Retirement Home in Florida?
Posted on May 12, 2017
The cost of living in a retirement home in Florida will vary depending on the quality of the retirement home, the facilities and amenities offered, the location of the facility, and the level and type of medical care the person requires. A retirement home in Florida usually refers to fully independent living, as opposed to assisted living or nursing homes. Retirement homes can be stand-alone or constructed within a gated community, with access to recreational facilities. Assisted living fa...
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Important Facts About Alzheimer’s Everyone Should Know
Posted on May 6, 2016
Important Facts About Alzheimer’s Everyone Should Know
In my original article, which posted on the Alzheimer’s Reading Room 9/11/2014, I
identified three facts everyone should know about dementia/Alzheimer’s and share with
others. I’ve expanded on that list in this article to be more comprehensive.
http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2014/09/3-important- facts-about-
alzheimers.html
No disrespect...
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Seniors and Polypharmacy
Posted on May 6, 2016
Seniors and Polypharmacy
“Polypharmacy” refers to multiple drugs, an actual affliction for many of our seniors. According to 2015 data collected by the Kaiser Health Foundation, the typical senior (65+ years old) in the United States fills an average of 27 prescriptions per year.1 Furthermore, this estimate doesn’t include any over-the-counter drugs and supplements that they may be taking (think Tylenol, Advil, Benadryl, Tums, etc.) This can be an i...
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Preventing Medical Errors
Posted on May 6, 2016
Preventable Medical Errors May Be the Third Leading Cause of Death in the United States.
According to 2013 research published in the Journal of Patient Safety, 210,000 Americans are killed by preventable hospital errors annually. This is particularly important for our seniors. How can you minimize the risk to you or the senior in your life?
“Needed changes involve not only doctors and hospitals but increased participation by patients in their health-care decisions&he...
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Searching for Right Nursing Home in Florida
Posted on October 17, 2016
You want your loved one comfortable. You want to make sure they have what they need and that includes medical or nursing assistance as well as emotional and spiritual care. That’s why finding the right nursing home matters. Here’s what you can do to make sure you pick one that suits your loved one the best:
Do your homework
Ask friends and family for recommendations and suggestions. If they know someone or a facility, that would be a tremendous help and could gi...
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The Best Assisted Living Facility for Your Loved One
Posted on October 18, 2016
Your parents deserve the best care you can offer. So it's only right that you find the right living facility for them. Here's a look at what you need to know to find one: What is assisted living?
It's a residential option for senior loved ones who require help with some daily tasks or activities such as moving around, getting to appointments or maintaining the home. Some also need assistance with getting to the bathroom in the middle of the night or preparing meals.
How it is ...
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Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Facilities - Choosing
Posted on September 11, 2015
When you no longer need the amount of care provided in the hospital, the hospital will begin the process to discharge you.
Most people hope to go directly home from the hospital after surgery or being ill. But even if you and your doctor planned for you to go home, your recovery may be slower than expected. As a result, you may need to be transferred to a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility.
Skilled nursing facilities provide care for people who are not yet able to c...
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