How Can Non-Medical In-Home Care Reduce Hospital Readmissions?

The professionals at Always Best Care Asheville have assisted numerous seniors with the transition from the hospital back into their homes. In most cases this is a joyous occasion, as elderly individuals are frequently ecstatic to finally return to the comfort of their own beds and familiar surroundings; however, hospital readmissions are high when seniors lack the support necessary to make this transition in a positive, healthy manner. You see, elderly individuals frequently need a bit of extra help with regard to home care when they leave the hospital. With the assistance of non-medical care professionals, tasks like grooming and dressing can change from daunting and potentially dangerous to simple activities.

Where Is the Danger in This Transition?
The first thought that comes to mind when seniors are told they are going home after a hospital stay is frequently, "Finally!" After days or even weeks in a medical facility, getting home is often the first priority of elderly individuals. But the truth is that this is not as simple a task as it may seem at first glance.

After a senior leaves the hospital they are often vulnerable. For instance, they may find it more difficult to navigate their home if they are using a wheelchair, walker, or cane. Additionally, they may face challenges when getting dressed or executing personal hygiene activities, such as bathing, if they are facing a reduction in their range of motion. As such, trying to jump into their old routine on their own can prove dangerous, and can lead to hospital readmissions if seniors fall, open their stitches, or have other types of accidents.

Elder Care: A Wonderful Solution
For seniors who are physically ready to leave the hospital but not yet strong enough to navigate life on their own, non-medical in-home care is a fantastic solution. Through this form of elder care, seniors can receive assistance with the activities of daily living while they continue to heal and regain their strength. Dressing, grooming, bathing, meal preparation, and even light housework are all activities that senior care professionals can perform to help your loved one ease into life at home rather than jump into their old habits.

Four Steps to Successful Medication Management

Medication management is a very important responsibility. As a caregiver, you must ensure that your elderly loved one takes the right medication, in the right dose, at the right time each and every day. This can become an overwhelming task—especially if your senior has a variety of prescriptions. Although it is a big undertaking, successful medication management does not have to be too complicated.
In fact, simplifying the process is the best way to ensure that you succeed in providing the quality medication management that your loved one deserves. Here are four ways to make this task easier and more successful.

1. Fill all medications at the same pharmacy. Building a relationship with the pharmacist will allow you to feel comfortable asking any questions that may arise. Furthermore, your pharmacist may be able to catch incompatible prescriptions before your loved one begins taking the latest medication recommended by their doctor. Because seniors often have a variety of doctors on their side, this is an incredibly important aspect of proper medication management.
2. Keep all of the literature about your elderly loved one’s medications in one, easy to access location. With this bundle of literature, keep any notes that you take while speaking to the doctor or pharmacist.
3. Go with your senior to the doctor’s office if they are comfortable with you doing so. When a new medication is prescribed, ask the doctor any questions that both you and your loved one may have. By the time you leave the office, you should both understand why the medicine was prescribed, its intended effect, possible side effects, and how soon it should start working.
4. Maintain a list of all of the medications your elderly loved one is taking and when they are to be administered. Include the proper dosages. Additionally, mark each time you give your senior their prescription on a calendar or in a notepad so that you can document when they took each medication.

As you manage your senior’s medication, remember to monitor your loved one for any side effects or adverse reactions. Keen observation paired with these four tips will help you manage your loved one’s medication successfully.

Seven Tips for Fall Prevention

Falling causes an alarming number of injuries for elderly individuals each year. From tripping over rugs to stumbling over clutter in the walkway, seniors can fall due to a long list of hazards.  At Always Best Care of Western NC, which serves Asheville, Hendersonville, and surrounding western North Carolina communities, senior care professionals encourage families to protect their loved ones against such hazards.

Accidents happen; this is a fact that cannot, in many cases, be avoided. Despite this fact, there are many instances in which fall prevention can keep your elderly loved one from sustaining painful and, in severe cases, fatal injuries.  The following seven tips will help you protect your senior against falls and the harm that they can cause:

• Clean your elderly loved one’s home. Seniors commonly fall after tripping over a misplaced object, such as a pair of shoes left in the walkway.  By cleaning up each day, you can maintain a safe and tidy environment that offers clear walkways to your elderly loved one.
• Examine the flooring of your senior’s home for any damage.  Cracked tiles, loose floorboards, and ripped carpet can cause them to trip and fall.  Should you find any warping, tearing, breaking, cracking, or other damage, fix it as soon as possible.  While doing so, make sure that all rugs are secured to the floor with double sided tape and that their ends lie flat.
• Ask your senior and their doctor if they would benefit from a cane, walker, or other mobility aid. Make sure that the equipment your elderly loved one uses is the right size and in good repair.
• Move any cords that are strung across walkways or in other hazardous areas. In some cases, this may require moving the furniture so that televisions, DVD players, and other electronics are closer to electrical outlets. You may also consider running them overhead if your senior does not want the furniture moved or if there are no other options.
• Install safety equipment, such as grab bars, bath chairs, non-skid mats in bathtubs and showers, and handrails along stairways.
• Keep stairways, hallways, bedrooms, and bathrooms well lit. Additionally, have your senior’s vision checked annually to ensure that they can see any obstacles in their path.
• Have your senior wear slippers or shoes that have non-skid soles instead of just wearing socks.

At Always Best Care of Western NC, professional home care providers help families create safe environments for their seniors. If you need assistance making your loved one’s home a bit safer, do not hesitate to reach out to professionals for help.