Author: Tom Meyer

Tom Meyer is the Alliance's Membership Coordinator and Webmaster. His email address is tmeyer@thinkhomecare.org.

Best Around the Home Care Web IV

Each week, the Alliance scours the blogosphere for the news affecting — and of interest to — the home care industry.  Here are highlights from this week:

How Home Care Helped Save the Day During Hurricane Sandy

Rosita Ortiz, RN of the VNSNY on how home care saved the day during last year’s storm:

What Happens If A Client’s Power of Attorney Designee… Becomes Incompetent?

Making end of life wishes clear is crucial, both for each individual and their family members. It’s also vital to designate who will look out for your interests and desires when the time comes to assure your wishes are honored…

Fast forward five to ten years (or more) in the future and the holder of the power of attorney, the one charged with seeing that your senior loved one’s final wishes are followed, is now incompetent to carry out that role and may even be causing trouble due to their incompetence. — via Senior Care Corner.

NAHC Still Accepting Nurse Recognition Nominations

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice has extended the deadline to submit nominations to the Nurse Recognition Program to Monday, April 15, 2013. Each of the 50 state winners will receive a free registration to the NAHC Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, DC, and will be featured in the May issue of CARING. —  Via, HCAF

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Best Around the (Home Care) Web III

Each week, the Alliance scours the blogosphere for the news affecting — and of interest to — the home care industry.  Here are highlights from this week:

Treating Older Veterans for PTSD and Dementia

Because post-traumatic stress syndrome can trouble veterans’ physical health, their emotional lives and their relationships (there is also a connection to dementia, researchers are finding), the Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans advocacy groups have made it their mission to inform service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan about their PTSD risk.

But older veterans tend to know less about the syndrome, even as it haunts many of them. Their generation had less experience with psychotherapy, which once carried a stigma. Even now, if they do seek help, they are likely to describe their problems as physical. — via the NYT’s New Old Age Blog

New Group to Advocate for Improved Interoperability Standards

Top executives from Allscripts, athenahealth, Cerner, Greenway and McKesson appeared on the same stage at HIMSS 2013 Monday to announce that they will collaborate to push for interoperability standards to enable advancements in patient data exchange. McKesson CEO John Hammergren and Cerner’s Neal Patterson joined colleagues Jonathan Bush, CEO athenahealth, and Tee Green, CEO Greenway, to introduce the CommonWell Health Alliance (commonwellalliance.org).

The organization will become operational early next year but wanted to announce its formation and publicize its mission statement during the March 3-7 HIMSS meeting. The five charter members expect that they will soon be joined by many others. “One of the key challenges we face is not just automated healthcare but connected and together care,” said McKesson’s Hammergren. “Data liquidity is necessary to make it happen.” —  Via, HomeHealth News Continue reading “Best Around the (Home Care) Web III”

Best Around the (Home Care) Web II

Each week, the Alliance scours the blogospherefor the news affecting the home care industry.  Here are highlights from this week:

Not All Procedures Are Created Equal: Top Five to Avoid

The Choosing Wisely campaign, an initiative by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation in partnership with Consumer Reports… is an attempt to alert both doctors and patients to problematic and commonly overused medical tests, procedures and treatments.

It took an elegantly simple approach: By working through professional organizations representing medical specialties, Choosing Wisely asked doctors to identify “Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question.”

The idea was that doctors and their patients could agree on tests and treatments that are supported by evidence, that don’t duplicate what others do, that are “truly necessary” and “free from harm” — and avoid the rest.

Among the 18 new lists released last week are recommendations from geriatricians and palliative care specialists, which may be of particular interest to New Old Age readers. I’ve previously written about a number of these warnings, but it’s helpful to have them in single, strongly worded documents. — via, NYT New Old Age Blog

Are Video Games Therapeutic? Wii Think So!

Researchers asked 140 people aged 63 and older how often they played video games, if at all. The study participants then took a battery of tests to assess their emotional and social well-being. 61 percent of study participants played video games at least occasionally, with 35 percent of participants saying they played at least once per week.

The study found that participants who played video games, including those who only played occasionally, reported higher levels of well-being. Those who did not play video games reported more negative emotions and a tendency toward higher levels of depression. — via Medical News Today; original paper available for purchase here.

Skype Care: Families Prefer Check-ins By Video

For the study, 34 families were broken up into three groups: one receiving standard [pediatric] home healthcare, a web group receiving home healthcare supplemented with a web app; and a video group with home healthcare supplemented by Skype. Participating families and nursing staff completed questionnaires about the information and communication technology’s (ICT) usefulness.

The web application was easy to use, participants said, and Skype was useful for all surveyed, too. Nearly 90 percent said that video calls were better than regular phone calls. Meanwhile, 33 percent in the web group and 75 percent in the video group thought that home visits should be less frequent with the advent of Skype. Fifty percent in the web group and 100 percent in the video group said they felt more confident in caring for their child after using the technology. — via HCAF

Making Home Gardens Accessible For Seniors

It is now our turn as caregivers to share new, accessible gardens and the fulfillment of getting our hands dirty again with our senior loved ones as they age. Many seniors find that the effects of aging on joints, muscles and the freedom of movement have prohibited them from tending to their beloved gardens — via Senior Care Corner (includes a how-to video on making senior-friendly vertical planters).

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Best Around the (Home Care) Web

As a new feature, the Alliance will scour the blogosphere each week for the news affecting the home care industry.  Here are highlights from this week:

Prevent Falls with a Nightlight

Are you looking for a device that can help your loved one lower his or her risk of falling in the home? How about one that fits in the palm of your hand? Surprisingly this post isn’t about the latest generation of smart phones, but the good old-fashioned nightlight.  — VNSNY

CDC: Most Recent Flu Vaccine Ineffective For Seniors

This season’s flu vaccine was almost completely ineffective in people 65 and older, which could explain why rates of hospitalization and death have been some of the highest ever recorded for that age group, according to early estimates released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For people under 65, getting vaccinated this season reduced the need to go to the doctor for the flu by one-half to two-thirds.   — USA Today, via CommonHealthBlog

Talking to Seniors About ID Theft & Financial Security

Identity theft may never happen to one of your senior loved ones – – and we hope it does not. It’s so much easier to take protective steps up front than it is to repair the mess it can become afterward, however, that we should help the seniors in our lives consider and implement those steps. — via Senior Care Corner

Report: Alzheimer’s Cases Could Triple By 2050

Doctors, researchers and public health experts are already bracing for an onslaught of new patients by developing drugs and preparing caregivers for the emotional and physical stress.

“This is an issue that’s going to touch each of us personally or someone that we know and care about,” said Lora Connolly, director of the California Department of Aging, which expects to be serving as many as 1.2 million patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia in the state by 2030. “It won’t happen overnight, but the pressure will continue to mount.” — LA Times, via CommonHealth

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Caregiver Videos: Introduction to Physical Therapy

Earlier this year, we introduced the Care Giver Video Resource Center, our YouTube series for family care providers about home care and home care agencies.

In the seventh video in the series, Geoffrey Abraskin, PT, DPT of Amedisys Home Health & Hospice Care discusses what Physical Therapy is and how it can be used in a home care setting.

To view the full series, visit our YouTube channel.  To access library of hundreds of care giver resources on a variety of subjects, visit www.eldercareskills.org, who produced the videos with us. Continue reading “Caregiver Videos: Introduction to Physical Therapy”

Caregiver Videos: Parkinson’s At Home

Last month, we introduced the Care Giver Video Resource Center, our YouTube series for family care providers about home care and home care agencies.

In the sixth video in the series, Melanie Lewis & Jennifer St. Onge of Guardian Angels Senior Services discuss the challenges Parkinson’s Disease poses for family care providers and answer questions about what a home care agency can do to help.

To view the full series, visit our YouTube channel.  To access library of hundreds of care giver resources on a variety of subjects, visit www.eldercareskills.org, who produced the videos with us.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Nominations Open For Innovation Showcase

Our Time To Shine

The Alliance will be honoring our members’ best and brightest again at our annual Innovations Showcase & Star Awards program on April 17th, at the fabulous Revere Hotel in Boston.

Nominations in all categories are open through February 26.  Don’t miss this opportunity to have your best programs and colleagues publicly recognized!

Nomination Categories

Innovation Showcase

  • Patient Care and Services
  • Operations Management/Streamlining
  • Community Outreach or Advocacy
  • Cross-Continuum Collaboration
  • Human Resources/Staff Education

Star Awards

  • Clinician of the Year
  • Aide of the Year
  • Manager of the Year
  • Legislator of the Year
  • Physician of the Year
  • Home Care Champion

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Caregiver Videos: How to Set Up A Home For A Dementia Patient

Last month, we introduced the Care Giver Video Resource Center, our YouTube series for family care providers about home care and home care agencies.

In the fourth and fifth videos in the series, Joan Wright, CMC, CPD of NVNA & Hospice demonstrates some simple changes anyone can make to improve the quality of life for a person with dementia living at home.

To view the full series, visit our YouTube channel.  To access library of hundreds of care giver resources on a variety of subjects, visit www.eldercareskills.org, who produced the videos with us.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Caregiver Videos: What to Expect When Bringing An Aide Into Your Home

Earlier this month, we introduced the Care Giver Video Resource Center, our YouTube series for family care providers about home care and home care agencies.

In the third video in the series, Holly Chaffee, RN, BSN, MSN of Porchlight VNA demonstrates the knowledge, respect for privacy, and professionalism you can expect from a home care caregiver.

To view the full series, visit our YouTube channel.  To access library of hundreds of care giver resources on a variety of subjects, visit www.eldercareskills.org, who produced the videos with us.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Caregiver Videos: Working Effectively With An Agency

Last week, we introduced the Care Giver Video Resource Center, our YouTube series for family care providers about home care and home care agencies.

In the second video in the series, Melanie Lewis & Jennifer St. Onge of Guardian Angel Senior Services, Inc. answer questions from family care giver Lisa Krauss about the care her mother receives.

Topics include:

  • Communicating with the agency;
  • Rescheduling an appointment;
  • Understanding your service agreement/contract;
  • Can agency care givers help with financial matters?

To view the full series, visit our YouTube channel.  To access library of hundreds of care giver resources on a variety of subjects, visit www.eldercareskills.org, who produced the videos with us.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.