Caregiver Hints

Just a quick word about Caregiver Hints and the year ahead. I hope this year I can devote more time to the site, posts that is. I have an entire folder of things to write about, but the trick is finding the time. The last couple of years I have been getting back on my feet and I feel like 2010 is the year I will finally push ahead a meet some goals.

Here are a few things that have already happened for Caregiver Hints:

- Upgraded to the latest and greatest version of WordPress, which should make the site easier to maintain. Thanks to the WordPress programmers for making such a great tool.

- Finally got a new logo and some “corporate identity” graphics to help the site feel more professional. Thanks to Really Great Design for their help in getting the design just the way I wanted, and for giving me a discount.

- Caregiver Hints joined the ranks of Twitter! Yes, if you are on Twitter, you can follow @caregiverhints, or click on the new tab on the right side of the web page and see tweets when new articles are posted, or get links to items I have found useful from other caregivers on Twitter. I have 180 followers already which is amazing.

Goals for 2010:

- Post more often! I’m already working on better time management for this.

- Get some guest writers or contributions from other caregivers or web sites. This will offer a broader spectrum and provide a more regular stream of information.

- Some kind of sponsorship, whether it be donations or contributions from other services and companies. I have made a conscious decision not to use Google Ads or anything random like that. If there are going to be ads, I’d like them to remain relevant to the site, and perhaps even provide discounts and benefits to readers.

I hope there will be a lot more, that that is what I have lined up. I hope everyone will keep coming back to check out the site developments. Wish me luck!

So, there has been some movement forward on the site additions and redesigns. The first being the new logo, designed by Holmquist Design. It took us a while to nail the look I wanted but I think we finally got it. If it isn’t on the site when you read this than it will be shortly. Other tweaks to the site’s layout should also be coming soon, but at least now there is an identity.

Another addition is that Caregiver Hints is now on Twitter. Look it up at http://www.twitter.com/caregiverhints. I am following a number of great contributors discussing health and caregiver issues whose content I will “retweet” when I find some good tidbits of advice or information. You can also preview the new logo there.

The biggest hurdle to keeping up the site is that I have to maintain it and contribute during my spare time, of which there is very little. I am also blogging for a number of web sites besides my regular day job, so most of the work has been behind the scenes. I literally have stacks of notes of possible articles, but no time to get them on the site.

Since I was to ensure that the site remains a valuable resource, I’m putting out the call for contributions. If there is anyone out there who would like to write articles for the site, or maybe just pass on something valuable you have learned about in your caregiving experience, I’d love for you to write in and I’ll post it on the site. Whether it’s a tool that helps you with caregiving, organizing your time, or maybe even a product or service you found useful, I’d like to hear about it. I will give you full credit as the contributer and you will be helping me and anyone else looking for caregiving hints. Personally, I’d love to hear some tips and experience from others in the caregiving community. I envisioned the site as a way to share what I had leaned on my own in the hopes it would help other caregivers avoid some of the pitfalls I had to deal with. I think it would be ideal if other tips and stories came from non-professional writers and caregivers. Sharing and building a community is very important since the act of being a caregiver, especially for a spouse or parent, can be a very isolating world.

If anyone is interested, please email me using the contact form and we can discuss your story submission.

Take care of yourself, as well as others.™

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?