Caregiver Hints

I just wanted to take a little time out to say Season’s Greetings, and offer some tips and suggestions to deal the chaos that sometimes goes with them.

When traveling, please be aware that due to the holidays, there may be more people in wheelchairs at the airport. Be considerate. Not only is it difficult to get around in a wheelchair, but when the airport is busier it is also more difficult to get assistance. When traveling with my Mother, the airport was the most stressful part of a “vacation”. Not only did she need assistance with everything, but I needed to carry my bags plus bags for her medication, insulin, etc. We also had to go through the “pat-down” line at security. Please, if you see anybody in this situation, don’t make their day any more difficult. Everyone is in a hurry, but some peoples’ problems are bigger than yours.

During the holidays, many businesses may take on part-time or volunteer help to address the extra shopping traffic. Sometimes elderly folks will take these positions for some extra spending cash. This may be even more common now with the struggling economy and layoffs. Some of these “new” employees may not be accustomed to the hectic pace of holiday shopping sprees. This plus learning a series of new tasks may be overwhelming. Do everyone a favor and try to keep a cool head and be sympathetic to that cashier who seems to be having trouble with the cash register.

At home, don’t forget to lend a hand. If you are going out shopping anyway, ask your older relative if you can help out by picking up some of their shopping for them. Helping out around the house can be especially welcome whether it be cleaning up or helping in the kitchen. And if you have relatives living alone, or far away be sure to give them a call during the holidays, or send a gift basket from one of the many online retailers. If you have any family that are acting as caregivers, try to give them a hand so they can relax and enjoy the holiday as well.

Lastly, the are a lot of people, elderly and otherwise, who will be struggling to stay warm, or get enough to eat, so try to set something aside for the Salvation Army, your local foodbank, or church, so that they can help those in need during the season.

Think about it. Happy Holidays from Caregiver Hints.

I’m a pretty regular Google user. I have a Gmail account, although it’s more of a backup than my primary email account. Once Google swallowed up Blogger, they got me there too. I also used Google Calendar for work for a while. So, I frequently browse over to Google’s Product and Lab pages to see what else they have cooking.

A few months ago I ran across one of their latest experiments, Google Health.

In their own words…

“Google Health allows you to store and manage all of your health information in one central place. And it’s completely free. All you need to get started is a Google username and password.”

“Google believes that you own your medical records and should have easy access to them. The way we see it, it’s your information; why shouldn’t you control it?”

• Keep your doctors up-to-date
• Stop filling out the same paperwork every time you see a new doctor
• Avoid getting the same lab tests done over and over again because your doctor cannot get copies of your latest results
• Don’t lose your medical records because of a move, change in jobs or health insurance

The service is still in beta, meaning it is still in early stages of development, as most Google services are (even GMail is still listed in beta), but seems to be a good start. Keep this in mind if you are considering using it on a daily basis.

It would be difficult to cover the service in it’s entirety in this article, especially since it appears that Google is constantly adding new features to it. The most recent includes the ability to link your Google Health account to other services such as pharmacies, so that you can track additional health info from your Google Health pages. Currently, the list of participating companies is small, but includes the likes of Walgreens, Longs Drug Store, and Quest Diagnostics.

As it stands now, I’m not sure how useful it would be to the individual user wishing to track their health info. I do believe it is the ideal application for managing health data for individuals that have multiple caregivers or family members who may need access to the same information such as lists of medications or doctor appointments.

I look forward to seeing how this service develops. I have not yet looked into the security issues of maintaining health info on Google Health, but I see it as a viable tool for caregivers to help manage the frequently overwhelming mass of data needed to care for an individual.

For me, there wasn’t much of a question of who would pay for my Mother’s care. Once her assets were extinguished, as the only child it was up to me to foot the bill for anything not covered by insurance, Social Security, or Medicare. In larger families, however, the issue may arise as to who is responsible and for what?

The following CNN article discusses this question and the rising need to find solutions to the expanding issue of healthcare for the aged. Even though it not a popular subject, families should discuss the issue as a group before they are in the middle of dealing with it. Choosing who will provide hands-on care, if any, or financial assistance early could prevent a lot of fighting and bickering later. Also, as people get older, they should take the initiative to have a say in their care by planning ahead and discussing their wishes with the family.

CNN - Who should pay for mom and dad’s care?

I found this little tidbit just in time

National Family Caregivers Month is organized each year by the National Family Caregivers Association and is designated as a time every year to thank, support, educate and empower family caregivers.

“This year we are encouraging people to speak up during National Family Caregivers Month.” said Suzanne Mintz, NFCA president and co-founder. “One of the most important attributes on being an advocate for your loved one is the willingness and the ability to speak up and keep your eye on the ultimate goal, protecting not only the health and safety of your loved ones but for yourself as well.”

Be sure to use this time to make an extra special effort to encourage a caregiver you know. It’s a difficult job and getting a “thank you” or acknowledgement frequently can help a caregiver through that particularly tough day, but use this month to do something a little extra special.

Respond in the comments with any particularly good ideas you come up with and would like to share or let us know what YOU did for the caregiver in your life that is helping you to taking care of a friend or family member, or is taking care of his/her own loved ones.

And if you are a caregiver, take extra time to do something for yourself. The holidays are just around the corner and you might not get another chance for a while.

I wanted to bring some attention to this web site, not only because it is run by a fellow caregiver, but also because I think it does a great job of highlighting the design aspects of products, and how they relate to making peoples’ lives easier. Some of the posts may relate directly to the elderly or handicapped, but I think it also emphasizes how good design can benefit everyone.

In their own words…

“This is a collection of design-thinking news, products and services around the Critical Support Point (CSP) of aging, the point when we may turn to our built environment, helpful products, and assistive services to prolong independence and maintain the daily life we want.

My purpose is to refocus user centered design-thinking to encourage the development of innovative products and services that extend and enhance the Critical Support Point. Increasing design-thinking around this topic will transform how society views, and how individuals experience the aging process.”

In today’s world of electronic-based lifestyles, social networking through the internet, and smart-phones, I think it pays for us as a society to start looking at how this evolution is affecting the older generation, and how it will affect future generations as the pace is likely to move even faster. Products need to be able to “talk” to everyone, and focus on usability, not just functionality.

So swing by Good Age Design Well and have a look.