Are You Falling for These Common Hospice Misconceptions?

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If you knew that a significantly better quality of life could be achieved for someone you care about, you wouldn’t hesitate to explore that option. Yet one of the most beneficial types of care – hospice care – is one that family members shy away from, because of many different hospice misconceptions.

Hospice is intended to help someone with a life-limiting illness obtain relief from pain along with other difficult symptoms, while benefiting from comfort as well as spiritual and emotional support. Hospice care is available around the clock, both for the person needing care along with family members. And, for anyone covered by Medicare, hospice care is available for a very low cost or possibly at no cost. Many additional insurance policies cover hospice care too.

Here are some of the top myths and the real facts you should know about hospice care:

• Hospice is only needed at the very end of life. Lots of people mistakenly assume that hospice services are for a person’s last day or two, when in fact, the earlier hospice care is started, the better. The criteria for Medicare-covered hospice services are simply for a doctor to certify that the individual could die within six months. The hospice team and the doctor continue to monitor and modify this prognosis ongoing, either discharging the individual from hospice if improvement is noted, or recertifying if life extends beyond six months.

• A person can no longer receive medical treatment while on hospice. While it is correct that typically aggressive treatments that won’t lead to a cure are discontinued, the goal of hospice care is to help an individual with pain and symptom management. Treatments designed to improve the person’s level of comfort are an integral part of hospice care.

• Hospice takes place in a facility or at a hospital. Hospice care is available anywhere the individual and loved ones wish. In-home hospice care is readily available for individuals who opt to remain at home for a lifetime or in a facility setting, if preferred. Whatever the living arrangement, hospice care is brought to that individual – eliminating the need to go out to physician’s appointments.

Hospice care is a holistic approach to meeting the needs of the person receiving the care, in addition to his or her loved ones. Beginning care as soon as possible allows maximum time to take advantage of the resources, support, and comfort necessary for the most peaceful transition possible.

For answers to any other questions about hospice care, call Responsive Home Care at 954-486-6440. We can share additional information with regards to the benefits of hospice care and provide you with a free consultation to talk about the options that are available to you for in-home care in Plantation and throughout the surrounding areas.

 

Senior Health News: 5 Myths About Aging Debunked

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Road sign symbolizing decision between Myths and facts

Responsive Home Care is your go-to source when it comes to senior health news.

Feed a cold, starve a fever. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. And for goodness’ sake, never go outside with wet hair or you’ll catch your death of a cold! While some may swear by old wives’ tales like these, it’s important to separate truth from fiction when it comes to senior health news.

Likewise, there are a number of myths accepted as fact related to growing older. The experts in home health care services in Fort Lauderdale, FL at Responsive Home Care wants to help seniors and their families separate fact from fiction to achieve the highest quality of life throughout aging. For instance:

Serious memory loss is not a normal part of aging. Although some mild forgetfulness may be common in older adults, severe memory loss, especially related to recent occurrences, may be indicative of Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia.

Falls are preventable. Falling should never be accepted as an inevitable part of aging. Senior falls can cause serious harm to older adults, and steps should be taken to prevent them, such as ensuring the senior maintains a routine of balance and strengthening exercises, receives vision checks, and has the home evaluated and modified to reduce fall risk. (Responsive Home Care can help with this!)

Nursing homes are not inevitable. In fact, the vast majority of seniors, given the choice, would prefer to remain at home throughout aging, and with the assistance of a professional home care agency, like Responsive Home Care, this is a viable option for many.

Engage hospice services early. While the tendency may be to consider hospice as a last resort, put off until the very end of life, it’s most beneficial to bring in hospice services as soon as possible. Research shows that individuals receiving hospice care experience a better quality of life, are more comfortable, and even live longer than those who do not.

For more resources on senior health news and aging, contact Responsive Home Care. It’s our goal to ensure that families are equipped with as much education and support as possible to help their senior loved ones. Call us any time at 954-486-6440 for an expert home health aide in Fort Lauderdale, FL or the surrounding areas. To learn more about all of the areas that we serve in Florida, please visit our Service Area page.

How to Help Dad Overcome His Fear of Doctor Visits

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Why don’t we face it: lots of us have a fear of doctor visits. It could be uncomfortable and downright distressing when something is wrong and we are facing the prospect of an undesirable diagnosis. Nonetheless we recognize it makes sense to complete what’s best for our health and to be conscientious about obtaining essential healthcare.

A senior man of African descent is indoors in a hospital room. He is watching his female doctor using a tablet computer. She is explaining a medication schedule to him.

Our senior care services in Pembroke Pines and the surrounding area include helping older adults overcome a fear of doctor visits.

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Think It’s Dementia? Think Again—It Could Be One of These Treatable Conditions

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Periods of forgetfulness, confusion, disorientation—witnessing these in a senior loved one can trigger an immediate alarm that Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia has taken hold. And although these symptoms are a concern, it’s important to realize that they could be indicative of a variety of other conditions, many of which are easily treated, such as:

  • Urinary tract infections. UTIs are very common in the elderly, and often display differently than in younger patients, through delirium, confusion, agitation, or even hallucinations. A simple course of antibiotics, fluids, and rest can completely reverse these symptoms.
  • Thyroid disease. Thyroid-related symptoms can include forgetfulness, anxiety, depression, and lethargy—and it’s estimated that as many as 15 million adults (most over age 50) are currently undiagnosed. A blood test and medications may be all that are needed.
  • Vitamin deficiency. In particular, insufficient levels of vitamin B-12 can result in confusion, irritability, forgetfulness, and other symptoms that imitate dementia. Sometimes in aging, the body becomes unable to absorb B-12, resulting in a condition known as pernicious anemia. The problem is often correctable through monthly injections or oral supplements.
  • Alcohol abuse. According to Majid Fotuhi, founder of NeurExpand Brain Center, “Alcohol abuse, even binge drinking for a short time when you’re young, destroys brain cells in areas critical for memory, thinking, decision making and balance,” and can lead to a chronic memory disorder later in life. This condition can sometimes be reversed, however, through thiamine replacement therapy.

Explore more dementia-mimicking conditions and their treatment options from AARP.

Senior Loneliness More Deadly Than Obesity

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Recent data is both startling and disturbing: seniors who suffer from loneliness and isolation are twice as unhealthy as those who are obese, and have a 14 percent greater risk of dying earlier than those experiencing normal socialization. And with as many as 20 to 40 percent of older adults reporting feelings of loneliness, we need to pay particular attention to this dangerous trend.

According to John Cacioppo, Professor of the University of Chicago Department of Psychology, “People are becoming more isolated, and this health problem is likely to grow.”

It’s important to note that preventing loneliness involves more than simply providing people for lonely seniors to interact with, although that is important. It is also a matter of reshaping their negative sense of self-worth and how others perceive them.

Hiring a professional caregiver from a reputable home care agency like Responsive Home Care can go a long way towards fostering feelings of belonging in lonely seniors. Contact us to learn more about the health and quality of life benefits that can be realized through a caregiver-senior bond.

Are We Medically Over-Treating Seniors?

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Take a peek into the calendars of many older adults, and you’re likely to find them inundated with scheduled doctors’ appointments, therapy sessions, reminders to refill and pick up medications, reminders to schedule MORE doctors’ appointments…you get the picture.

Many feel however, that our focus as a society has been far too often on medical interventions, and far too infrequently on the type of care needed to improve quality of life. With as many as 12 million Americans requiring assistance with activities of daily living, one of our goals as advocates for older adults is to help educate those in the medical realm on the benefits professional home care can provide.

According to Howard Gleckman, contributing writer for Forbes.com, “Rather than doing that third scan on the same body part, we could better spend our dollars on home delivered meals or an adult day program for an otherwise homebound senior.”

Better communications between doctors, seniors and their families is essential to ensure that quality of life is not being sacrificed in favor of aggressive medical procedures, but instead, that appropriate care is provided according to the patient’s wishes and goals. Read more of Gleckman’s perspective on seniors and medical treatment and contact us to learn more about our Fort Lauderdale elderly care and the communities we serve. See our website for our full service area.

FACT OR FICTION? DISCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THESE AGING MISCONCEPTIONS

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It’s certainly no surprise that the aging population is exploding, and poised to increase exponentially over the next few decades. The statistics are staggering: 900 million adults age 60 and older currently worldwide, and expected to rise to 2 billion in the next 20-30 years.

The twist in thinking, however, lies in the demographics. While the impending impact on first-world countries is a given, the challenges ahead for less developed areas has been less explored. For example, take a look at some of these assumptions and the realities behind them:

  • Developed countries will be hit the hardest by aging challenges. Actually, according to Dr. Linda P. Fried, geriatrician and dean of the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, China’s population of elderly is about to surpass that of the U.S. It’s anticipated that by 2050, third-world countries will have shifted from a population of mostly younger residents to an equal number of young and old.
  • Cities are for the young. While cities have a long way to go in improving accessibility and age-friendliness issues, urban populations are steadily aging—by one estimate, up to 16 times more elderly in cities worldwide by 2050. The World Health Organization is taking steps to make life easier for seniors  in cities through its Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities project—such as reinstalling bus stop benches that had previously been removed in New York City.
  • Chronic diseases of aging impact the wealthiest nations. Surprisingly, it’s the less developed countries that are battling the most cases of diabetes and heart disease, along with diseases related to smoking and alcohol; and, the vast majority (88%) of health conditions related to environmental issues.
  • Families value the elderly in other cultures, so care is superior. In both Africa and India, for example, there’s an assumption that elders are revered and cared for by family members; but sadly, as many as one in five Nigerian elders require care from family, but are not receiving it. And, because of limited resources, family care that is available is “severely compromised,” according to Isabella Aboderin of the African Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi, Kenya.

Clearly, the effects of aging are reverberating around the globe, and thankfully, professional home care agencies, like Responsive Home Health, are positioned to provide the quality care and solutions needed for seniors today and into the future.