Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Caregiver Services significant meaning
Caregiver Services stands for our employees who are:
C OMPASSIONATE
A MIABLE
R ELIABLE
E NDEARING
G OOD-NATURED
I NDUSTRIOUS
V IGILANT
E NGAGING
C OMPASSIONATE
A MIABLE
R ELIABLE
E NDEARING
G OOD-NATURED
I NDUSTRIOUS
V IGILANT
E NGAGING
R ESPONSIVE
S YMPATHETIC
E XCEPTIONAL
R ECEPTIVE
V IBRANT
I NTERESTING
C HEERFUL
E XTRAORDINARY
S TEADFAST
S YMPATHETIC
E XCEPTIONAL
R ECEPTIVE
V IBRANT
I NTERESTING
C HEERFUL
E XTRAORDINARY
S TEADFAST
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Alzheimer drug may stabilize brain plaque
Studies: Alzheimer drug may
stabilize brain plaque
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE | Associated
Press – Tue, Sep 11, 2012
An
experimental drug that failed to stop mental decline in Alzheimer's patients also
signaled potential benefit that suggests it might help if given earlier, fuller
results of two major studies show.
Some
patients on the drug had stable levels of brain plaque and less evidence of
nerve damage compared to others who were given a dummy treatment, researchers
reported Tuesday.
The
drug is called bapineuzumab
(bap-ih-NOOZ-uh-mab), made by Pfizer Inc.
and Johnson & Johnson. The new results suggest it might work if given
sooner, before so much damage and memory loss have occurred that it might not
be possible to reverse, experts say.
"We're
very disappointed that we were not able to come up with a treatment to provide
to our dementia patients in the near term,"
said Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of the
Alzheimer's center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and leader of one
of the studies.
But
brain imaging and spinal fluid tests are
"very encouraging" and suggest the drug was "doing something to
the biology of the disease."
"We've
got a path forward" now to test it in people with mild mental impairment
or those who show plaque on brain imaging but have not yet developed symptoms
of dementia, Sperling said. Of people with
mild cognitive impairment, about 15 to 20 percent a year will develop
Alzheimer's disease.
About
35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common
type. In the U.S., about 5 million have Alzheimer's. Current medicines such as
Aricept and Namenda just temporarily ease symptoms. There is no known cure.
This
year researchers had been hopeful of major progress in treating the disease,
but study after study has proved disappointing, including results reported
earlier on bapineuzumab. The drug failed to slow mental decline or improve
activities of daily living for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's in
two studies in the United States and Canada.
Bapineuzumab
is designed to attach to and help clear amyloid, the stuff that makes up the
sticky plaque that clogs patients' brains, harming nerve cells and impairing
memory and thought. Doctors don't know whether amyloid is a cause or just a
symptom of Alzheimer's, but many companies are testing drugs to try to remove
it.
Sperling's
study involved people with a gene that raises the risk of developing the
disease. Dr. Stephen Salloway, a neurologist at Brown Medical School in
Providence, R.I., led the other study of people without the gene. Both
researchers have consulted for the companies that make the drug and presented
results Tuesday at a neurology conference in Stockholm.
Brain
imaging on a subset of patients in Sperling's study found 9 percent less
amyloid in those on bapineuzumab compared to those on a dummy treatment. The
drug group had stable levels while the others developed more plaque. Spinal
fluid tests on some participants also showed the drug group had less of another
substance called p-tau that is released when nerve cells are damaged.
There
were potential safety concerns, including six deaths from various forms of
cancer among those on bapineuzumab and none in the placebo group. But a wider
review of all studies of the drug found that cancer was not more common among
users.
"That's
not raising any red flags," said an independent expert, Dr. Maria
Carrillo, a senior scientist at the Alzheimer's Association. She said the
biological changes suggest the drug is helping, so if it's used sooner,
"we can perhaps affect cognition."
Salloway's
study produced less evidence of benefit. Too few participants had brain imaging
to make definitive conclusions about amyloid, and there was just a trend toward
less of the nerve-damage substance in the group receiving the higher of two
doses tested.
The
hopeful signs on biomarkers are "the silver lining" in studies that
failed to show the drug was helping patients, said Dr. Eric Yuen, head of
clinical development for J&J's Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy unit.
Bapineuzumab
is given as periodic intravenous infusions, and the companies have said they
are stopping development of that form but continuing to test a version that can
be given as a shot.
More
results on this drug and a similar one — Eli Lilly & Co.'s solanezumab —
will be presented at a conference in Boston next month. Lilly recently
announced that combined results of two large studies of solanezumab suggested
some benefit on cognition.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
The Four Phases of Resolution
The Four Phases of Resolution for Alzheimer
cases as role played by Naomi Feil (Speaker & author of Validation Therapy
for Alzheimer's)
Phase 1
Mal-Orientation
Phase 2 Time-confusion
Phase 3 Repetitive
Motion (becomes non-verbal)
Phase 4 Vegetation
(minimum movement & no speech) ---> Click & watch:
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
'Baby Boomers' needing senior care for their parents
A great reading for ‘Baby Boomers’ with parents living in Los
Angeles area, Orange County, San Bernardino County and Ventura County area to
help them make a decision how they can hire an At-home or In-home Caregiver for
their family members.
How to Hire an At-Home Caregiver
By Lisa Trottier, Caring.com
Quick summary
When your parents start
struggling with everyday tasks, hiring a home care aide can help them remain in
their home -- and take some pressure off the rest of the family. Here's help on
finding the best care possible.
What is a home care
aide?
At-home caregivers fall
into three categories: certified nursing assistants, home health aides, and
personal care attendants. Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) have some medical
training and must pass an exam to get a license. They generally work under the
supervision of registered nurses. CNAs can check vital signs, care for wounds,
and help your parents with everyday activities like bathing and eating (you'll
often hear these referred to as "activities of daily living," or
ADLs). Home health aides generally assist with ADLs. And personal care
attendants (PCAs), also sometimes called personal companions, assist with
household chores like cooking, cleaning, and shopping. The job descriptions of
these caregivers can overlap considerably, and they're often referred to interchangeably.
Your first hiring
decision: agency versus independent
Hiring a home care aide
through the classifieds or word of mouth is usually the least expensive option.
But you should know that it might create unexpected liabilities for your
family, which legally becomes the employer. For example, you'd be held liable
for any costs related to an injury that happens on the job, including medical
expenses and disability payments. This may not apply if you hire your worker as
a contractor, but having a "freelance" aide rather than an employee
may not create the long-term solution you're hoping for -- high turnover
plagues this industry. That said, hiring someone on your own can be a good idea
if you have a personal connection or a strong endorsement from a friend.
If you hire an at-home
caregiver through an agency, hourly rates tend to be higher (often
significantly higher), but the agency will pay the FICA taxes, cover the
worker's liability insurance, and fill out the W-4 and W-2 forms. "Once
you factor in taxes and insurance, it really comes out to close to the same
price," says Jacqueline Dollar, a geriatric care manager in Des Moines,
Iowa.
Also, because an agency
has a stable of caregivers, you might be able to try out a few and find just
the right aide for your parents. "With an agency, you also have the right
of refusal," says Anita Silverman, a geriatric care manager in Lake Worth,
Florida. "The agency can replace the person if the arrangement doesn't
work out." An agency may be able to provide a substitute caregiver if your
primary home aide is out sick or on vacation, which can save you a lot of
frantic last-minute phone calls.
Keep in mind that agency
caregivers are bonded and insured, and they're trained in the basics of care,
and usually in CPR and first aid as well. Agency employees are expected to
abide by an ethics policy and company rules. And agency CNAs may also have
nurses checking in on them to make sure all is well and to offer advice.
Particularly if you live
far from your parents, or don't want to get involved with supervising an
at-home caregiver day-to-day, an agency can do some of that for you.
Finding a gem of an
at-home caregiver
Whether you choose to
hire independently or go through an agency, doing some homework on your
candidates will help ensure that you hire a reputable worker.
An excellent way to find
a high-quality agency is Medicare's new Home Healthcare Compare tool, which
allows you to search for agencies in your area that have met with Medicare's
approval. The site gives a summary of statistics on the quality of each agency,
such as "percentage of patients who get better at walking around,"
that you can use to guide your decision.
Also look for an agency
that's licensed (if state law requires it) and that has liability insurance.
Check to make sure the agency's caregivers are bonded and insured and that
they're screened for communicable disease like tuberculosis, since the elderly
are especially vulnerable to these.
If you hire someone
yourself, it's a good idea to find an individual who has (or who once had) a
home health aide license, so you know a registered nurse has trained the person
in the basics of care. Also get a criminal record check from a service such as
Intelius or SentryLink and always call references. There are always a few bad
apples who'll take advantage of vulnerable clients -- make sure you don't
unwittingly hire one. "If the person doesn't want to submit to a reference
check, that's not the person you want -- it's a big red flag," says
Dollar.
It's important to find
an at-home caregiver your parents are comfortable with. When you're
interviewing caregivers, include your parents and make sure they interact well
with the aide. Do they communicate well with each other? Are there language
barriers? Do your parents enjoy the person's company? "Having shared
interests can make a big difference," says Dollar. "One of my clients
loved NASCAR and found a home health aide who did, too. They immediately hit it
off."
Navigating the paperwork
If you choose to hire an
at-home caregiver independently, the first thing you need to decide is whether
to treat the person as an employee or as a contractor. If you hire an employee,
you'll be legally responsible for paying taxes and benefits such as Social
Security and Medicare (FICA), income tax withholding, and unemployment tax.
Payroll preparation agencies such as Paycycle and SurePayroll can help you with
the accounting and paperwork.
If you hire the worker
as a contractor, you'll still have to file a 1099 form with the IRS on any
wages you pay over $600 per year. However, the aide would be responsible for
paying her own taxes.
If you choose to hire
independently, you may want to consult a lawyer and an accountant to make sure
you're meeting your legal and financial obligations to the employee and to the
state and federal governments.
Forming a tag team
If your parents need
full-time care, you'll need to hire at least two caregivers. Nobody wants to
work seven days a week, complications will arise in any aide's schedule, and
turnover is really high in this field, so if you hire two at-home caregivers,
they can trade off and you can protect yourself from being left in the lurch
with no help. One way to ensure a smooth handoff is to schedule a half hour of
overlap between their shifts so that they can debrief each other on any issues
that may have come up during the prior day or shift. If they work on different
days, ask them to keep notes in a designated notebook about changes in routine
or any concerns.
If you hire the
caregiver through an agency, ask about backup provisions for when your aide is
sick or on vacation -- or if he quits the agency. Does the agency provide an
alternate? Is there an extra charge for this service?
Setting clear
expectations
"One big mistake
people make when hiring an aide is to say, 'Your job is to take care of
Dad,'" says Dollar. "That's not good enough -- you need a detailed
job description." Do you expect the aide to cook? Clean? Do laundry? Pick
up medications from the pharmacy and run errands? Will she bring her own lunch
or cook and eat with your parents? You need to make your expectations clear.
You also need to tell the aide when her routine evaluations and raises will
occur. If you put all these details in writing, you won't run the risk of
disappointment once you've hired your aide, and you'll have better luck keeping
her on board.
"You should also
enlighten your parents about what they should -- and shouldn't -- be asking
for," says Silverman. If the contract doesn't say the aide will wash the
floors, your parents shouldn't demand it.
Setting clear rules
about food and cooking is also important, says Silverman. "One problem I
often see is that the way the aide eats may not be the way the parents eat. You
need to make sure an aide will shop and cook for your parents' dietary needs,
not according to her own habits."
Keep in mind that aides
are employees; don't try to make them your friends. "People are so happy
to have help that they often treat the employee like a friend, and that creates
problems down the line," says Dollar. If your employee thinks of herself
as your pal, she may be more likely to take liberties such as bringing her kids
or pets to work, or she may bridle when you assert your authority and request a
change. The bottom line: keep it professional.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Caregiver Services stands for our employees who are
Caregiver Services stands for our employees who are:
C OMPASSIONATE
A MIABLE
R ELIABLE
E NDEARING
G OOD-NATURED
I NDUSTRIOUS
V IGILANT
E NGAGING
R ESPONSIVE
S YMPATHETIC
E XCEPTIONAL
R ECEPTIVE
V IBRANT
I NTERESTING
C HEERFUL
E XTRAORDINARY
S TEADFAST
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