What is “Home Care?”

5 Star Home Care quality homecare for Seniors – call 404-719-4118.  Serving all areas in Metro Atlanta including Fulton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, and  Gwinett County.

Home care is exactly what it sounds like:  Care at Home.  When a person wants to continue living at home, but requires assistance that cannot be easily or effectively provided by a family member or friend, home care is the solution.  Advances in treatment and technology have allowed more people to leave institutions so that they may be cared for effectively and efficiently at home — even if they have illnesses that at one time were only treatable in a hospital or similar institutional setting.

Home care services may benefit people who:

• Need additional assistance to live independently at home due to an illness, disability, or advanced age.
• Have a chronic or life-threatening illness and want to rest in the comfort of the home environment.
• Are able to be discharged from a hospital or nursing home but need additional care at home.
• Require short-term assistance at home because of same-day or outpatient surgery, or maternity-related incapacity.

Recent studies have shown that people recover faster at home than in institutions. For instance, when chemotherapy is required for treatment of cancer, the smaller doses that can be administered at home cause fewer adverse reactions than the massive doses delivered in a hospital setting.

Home care and hospice services are provided for people of all ages. A significant percentage of older people electing to live independent lives are taking advantage of home care and hospice services, rather than spending their last years in a nursing home. Younger adults who are disabled or recovering from acute illness are similarly choosing to be cared for at home. Infants and children requiring even the most sophisticated treatments for serious childhood illness are often able to return to their loving families, and a secure home environment, thanks to advanced technology and pediatric home care services.

LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE FOR HOME CARE

5 Star Home Care quality homecare for Seniors – call 404-719-4118.  Serving all areas in Metro Atlanta including Fulton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, and  Gwinett County.

LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE FOR HOME CARE

For those who have the foresight to buy it, long-term care insurance will cover the cost of home care either for help with activities of daily living, with supervision for dementia and, if it is a newer policy, for help with many of the other activities listed at the beginning of this section. These activities are called “homemaker services”. Most policies will pay in addition, for home modification and other necessary training and support to help a person remain in the home.

Providing informal long term care services at home is changing significantly for the American public. Traditional caregivers are now employed full time or are living away from their loved ones and cannot provide the care directly. It is becoming increasingly difficult for caregivers to provide the level of care offered in the previous century. The time for long-term care insurance to play a significant role in paying the cost of home care has come.

Most people with long term care insurance will purchase services with the insurance they normally would have furnished for free themselves. This is an extremely important issue because caregivers may often have money to pay for these services but will not spend it because, as they reason, they may need the money after their loved one is gone. By not seeking help, many caregivers destroy their own emotional and physical health struggling to provide countless hours of care for a loved one.

The insurance survey specifically pinpointed the fact that with insurance to help, the stress from caregiving was substantially reduced, especially for caregivers who were employed and working outside of the home. Caregivers were given a needed rest. And unlike the tendency to avoid using personal funds, people with insurance will almost always use it and make claims to help with care.

Home Care Services

5 Star Home Care quality homecare for Seniors – call 404-719-4118.  Serving all areas in Metro Atlanta including Fulton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, and  Gwinett County.

Our Caregivers will provide your loved ones with the care, respect and the patience that they are worthy of receiving.  Always check with a representative of 5 Star Home Care if you are unsure about whether or not we can perform a service. Light Housekeeping Dust Vacuum Clean Kitchen Sanitize Bathrooms Organize closets Change the linen Light laundry Light ironing ERRANDS & TRANSPORTATION Personal Shopper (grocery, clothes & supplies) Pick up prescriptions Theater and movie events Dine out for lunch or dinner Drive to family gatherings Handle dry-cleaning Buy stamps, mail packages Accompany clients to church services Appointment set-up, reminders & chauffeuring Miscellaneous Socialization & Companionship Conversation Play board games Read Watch TV Do crossword puzzles Arts and Crafts projects Pet Care Supervise and/or assist with home maintenance such as housecleaning services, gardening, plumbers, etc. Medication Reminders Mend clothes Answer the phone Mail Management & Organization PERSONAL SERVICES Monitor bathing for safety Grooming Dressing SLEEP OVER SERVICES Sleep or stay awake overnight Prepare & serve meals LIVE-IN SERVICES Includes all the above Our Flexibility At 5 Star Home Care we take each client’s requirements into consideration. Therefore, we have flexible Care option plans for the one in need. Hourly – Come & Go Overnight Weekend Only No Minimums Temporary 24/7 or Live In Distinctive Circumstances We have experience with more than just daily activities; we can help your family members with so much more. For example: Alzheimer and Dementia Stroke Diabetes MS Heart Disease Cancer No task is too small or activity too large in order to aid your loved one.

Home Care VS. Nursing Home Care

5 Star Home Care quality homecare for Seniors – call 404-719-4118. Serving all areas in Metro Atlanta including Fulton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, and  Gwinett County.

The vast majority of those asked will say they want to stay in their homes as they age and have services delivered to them. We celebrate individuals making that choice and are striving to respond to that desire. So we continue to build an infrastructure to deliver services in a variety of settings.

But perhaps it is more complicated and nuanced than it first appears. It is certainly the American way to allow people to buy whatever they want with their money at a price negotiated between a willing buyer and seller. However, with so much of aging services paid directly from public dollars through Medicare and Medicaid and indirectly through Social Security, property tax abatements for seniors and so on, should there be boundaries on choices?

One way to think about this is to consider that the right of someone to wildly swing his fist around in any direction ends at the tip of his neighbor’s nose. Put simply, of course, I can’t unilaterally take actions that harm someone else. So what does that concept have to do with the ability to choose how and where we receive aging services-specifically the limitless right to receive these services in whatever setting we choose?

This debate becomes interesting and worthwhile when talking about society’s obligation to provide certain supports and services. In the 1950s, before the advent of Medicare and Medicaid, 35% of the nation’s seniors lived in poverty. Clearly, before Social Security, the facts would have been even grimmer than that. Society determined that a national retirement and healthcare system was imperative and that virtually every senior had certain minimum entitlements.

So the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs were established. They have worked well—less than 10% of the nation’s seniors live in poverty and virtually every senior has basic healthcare coverage. The result of these burgeoning programs, however, is that collectively they will, along with interest on the national debt, consume the entire budget of the federal government by 2030. So, we need to examine the appropriate level of support and services that should be provided moving forward so as not to place an undue burden on future generations.

Healthcare for sale?

For example, as aging services providers continue to expand various ways of delivering services, in the American culture it seems clear that anyone with enough money should be able to purchase whatever they are willing to pay for. But recognizing that Warren Buffett is on Medicare and Social Security, the proliferation of choice is more complicated.

Let’s suppose there could be multiple ways to deliver needed services to the senior population under Medicare (and since Social Security provides the bulk of income for the majority of seniors, we could argue that the example holds true for any service) and further that each “costs” a different amount of money. Is the recipient allowed to choose any of the options, even acknowledging that all but one of these service delivery models costs everyone else more money? And, in raising that question, does it matter how much more?

I think it is even more complicated. Let’s imagine a scenario where there are two different services packages or delivery systems that do in fact cost the same amount of money. But one is shown to be more effective than the other, producing clearly superior outcomes (assuming we were able to agree on and measure the desired outcomes). As above, with public dollars going into the entire fabric of aging services, should the recipient of the services be allowed to choose the less effective option?

It is fairly common to demand that the recipient of a service that is being subsidized or paid for by someone else must choose the least expensive alternative, or failing that, only gets the least expensive alternative covered. As an elected official said, “Suppose we told everyone to go to a store and pick out a television for themselves and we (i.e., someone else) would pay for it. How many people do you think would come out with a 12-inch black-and-white?”

We need to recognize that whatever services are paid for takes money away from everyone, and accordingly there is an obligation to take as little money as possible to “get the job done.” As alternative service delivery methodologies proliferate, we need to remember that, unlike any other buyer-seller transaction, the consumer making the choice often isn’t paying the bill. The typical consumer-driven model of demand ignores a crucial element that generally is only prevalent in healthcare—the payer.

So I think we need to establish rules. The first rule is that only the least expensive alternative is paid for. Anyone with sufficient funds can pay for whatever service they want, but the publicly funded programs do not pay for choice.

Similarly, the second rule is that only the most efficacious program is paid for—someone can’t choose an alternative that doesn’t work as well. That doesn’t answer the scenario where a more expensive alternative produces better results—what are we willing to pay for then?

These rules leave many more issues unresolved that need to be resolved. But in the rush to endorse and create additional choices for consumers, such as home- and community-based service models, perhaps we should consider these as prudent benchmarks—before we begin.

Tips for Caregivers

5 Star Home Care quality homecare for Seniors – call 404-719-4118.  Serving all areas in Metro Atlanta including Fulton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, and  Gwinett County.

Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at home is a difficult task and can become overwhelming at times. Each day brings new challenges as the caregiver copes with changing levels of ability and new patterns of behavior. Research has shown that caregivers themselves often are at increased risk for depression and illness, especially if they do not receive adequate support from family, friends, and the community.

One of the biggest struggles caregivers face is dealing with the difficult behaviors of the person they are caring for. Dressing, bathing, eating—basic activities of daily living—often become difficult to manage for both the person with AD and the caregiver. Having a plan for getting through the day can help caregivers cope. Many caregivers have found it helpful to use strategies for dealing with difficult behaviors and stressful situations. Through trial and error you will find that some of the following tips work, while others do not. Each person with AD is unique and will respond differently, and each person changes over the course of the disease. Do the best you can, and remind yourself to take breaks.

Tips on Dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis

5 Star Home Care quality homecare for Seniors – call 404-719-4118.  Serving all areas in Metro Atlanta including Fulton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, and  Gwinett County.

Dealing with the Diagnosis

Finding out that a loved one has Alzheimer’s disease can be stressful, frightening, and overwhelming. As you begin to take stock of the situation, here are some tips that may help:

• Ask the doctor any questions you have about AD. Find out what treatments might work best to alleviate symptoms or address behavior problems.
• Contact organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center for more information about the disease, treatment options, and caregiving resources. Some community groups may offer classes to teach caregiving, problem-solving, and management skills.
• Find a support group where you can share your feelings and concerns. Members of support groups often have helpful ideas or know of useful resources based on their own experiences. Online support groups make it possible for caregivers to receive support without having to leave home.
• Study your day to see if you can develop a routine that makes things go more smoothly. If there are times of day when the person with AD is less confused or more cooperative, plan your routine to make the most of those moments. Keep in mind that the way the person functions may change from day to day, so try to be flexible and adapt your routine as needed.
• Consider using adult day care or respite services to ease the day-to-day demands of caregiving. These services allow you to have a break while knowing that the person with AD is being well cared for.
• Begin to plan for the future. This may include getting financial and legal documents in order, investigating long-term care options, and determining what services are covered by health insurance and Medicare.

Home Care Services Will Help the Elderly Stay Independent at Home

5 Star Home Care quality homecare for Seniors – call 404-719-4118.  Serving all areas in Metro Atlanta including Fulton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, and  Gwinett County. OUR SERVICES

“Let Us Help You Stay Independent”

5 Star Home Care provides individual in-home non-medical care with services tailored to your needs and preferences, allowing continued independent living for your loved ones. Hourly Care 24 Hour Care Respite Care

HOUSE KEEPING Light Housekeeping Vacuum and Sweeping Laundry and Ironing Dust Furniture Change Linens Organize Closets, Cupboards, etc. Water House Plants Make Bed KITCHEN DUTIES     Prepare Meals Prepare Grocery List Review Recipes Check Food for Spoilage & Expiration  Clip Coupons Clean Refrigerator Arrange Shelves for Easy Access ESCORTED TRANSPORTATION Doctor and Hospital Appointments Grocery Shopping and Errands Worship Services Attend Movies, Plays, Concerts Pick Up Prescriptions Drop Off & Pick Up Dry Cleaning Escort to Club Meetings Accompany to Lunch or Dinner CORRESPONDENCE Mail Bills and Letters Send Greeting Cards Write Letters Organize Mail Assist with Telephone Calls

PERSONAL CARE Help with Bathing/Shower Monitor Diet and Eating Medication Reminders Provide Grooming Assist with Dressing Restroom  Help Assist with Incontinence  COMPANIONSHIP  Conversation Answer the Phone Reading Visit Friends & Family Apparel Selection Assist with Pet Care Religious Reading or Discussion Retrieve Telephone Messages   ARRANGE APPOINTMENTS Doctors Hair Cut & Styling Home Deliveries   ENTERTAINMENT Rent and Play Movies Play Music Encourage Neighbor Visits Play Cards and Board Games Arts and Crafts Projects WE CAN ASSIST WITH Respite Care Ambulation Dementia Care Hospice Walks and Exercise Morning Wake-Up Evening Tuck-In

This list of services are only suggestions.   Please contact us to inquire about your specific needs.  We are able to provide assistance with most of your requests. Our services insure invaluable peace of mind to adults and families whose loved ones need assistance living and maintaining an independent quality life. Shifts can range from 4 hours to a 24 hour period .

What is Home Care?

5 Star Home Care quality homecare for Seniors – call 404-719-4118.  Serving all areas in Metro Atlanta including Fulton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, and  Gwinett County.

Home care is a broad term that describes a wide variety of health and health-related services provided in the home setting. Home care is health care brought to your home to maintain or restore your health and well being. Services include: nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical social work, in-home aide services, medical equipment and supplies, infusion therapy, respiratory therapy and nutrition.

Care provided in the comfort and security of your home through a licensed agency gives you, your family and friends a sense of control and peace of mind. Home care provides a wide range of health and social services to patients and teaches families to help care for their family member. Home care is personalized care that reduces the anxiety and stress associated with most forms of healthcare and allows a maximum amount of freedom for the individual. In most cases, home care also means significant savings in the cost of care when compared to a hospital setting or nursing home.

Millions of Americans rely on home care to stay out of a hospital, nursing home, rest home or other institution, and remain in the comfort of their own homes. There is no more important social value than keeping families together, particularly in time of illness. There is much scientific evidence that patients heal more quickly at home and there is very high consumer satisfaction associated with care delivered in the home.

Home care not only helps add years to life, but also life to years. Studies in the US and abroad show that those receiving home care have higher rates of satisfaction with life.