elder abuse

Better than a Resolution
After nearly a year of a pandemic and its quarantine, we are all ready to get back to normal. ...
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January 12, 2021
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Too Good to Be True
With over 300 clinical trials on vaccines for COVID19, it perhaps is not a surprise that at least two...
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December 1, 2020
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Abuse Thrives in Pandemic
Guest post author Gregory Peebles is a team member at CCM whose work focuses on helping aging adults and...
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June 16, 2020
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

Caregivers to loved ones with any of the many forms of dementia deal with their loss quite poignantly on special holidays like the one on our calendars for this Friday. While a loved one who is suffering from dementia may not remember what calendar date it is, they likely will have at least some distinct memories of past Valentine's Days just the same. So, if you are a caregiver to a loved one with one of the forms of dementia, there are ways to still share a special moment...even special memories with your older loved one. You doubtless have photo albums of moments shared with your loved one, and some of those photos may evoke a genuinely positive emotional response from your loved one. A walk down that memory lane can be surprisingly positive for both of you. Staying in the moment also can have its rewards. You can make it a point to bake festive cupcakes or cookies with a Valentine's look, or if your loved one is willing and able, you can even arrange flowers for the date. And maybe the flavor of chocolate will evoke "taste bud memories" in your loved one? Because more distant memories will be clearer than what has happened even earlier today with some patients, you can make Valentine's Day an opportunity to talk about first meetings, first kisses or first dates. And if you have special memories of a specific romantic movie that you had enjoyed with your loved one, you may find that a viewing now will evoke some of those good feelings again. Or at the very least, even if they do not remember the film, it may elicit similar positive feelings now just as it had back when you both first viewed it. In a similar vein, you and your loved one may have had "your song" or a number of songs that you enjoyed in an earlier time. If the song is one that you all learned the words and tune, you may find that your older loved one still remembers enough to sing along with certain refrains. Finally, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, hugs and gentle touch are every bit as important to an Alzheimer's patient now as they would have been before the onset of the condition. Alzheimer's patients also will respond to gentle talk as well as good humor...just as long as they do not feel they are the object of a joke. And while we are talking about caring for your loved one who may be wrestling with a fading memory, please remember my cardinal rule. You will do a better job of caring for your loved one if you also are caring for you, the caregiver. Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecaremanagement.com.
In my experience as a geriatric care manager, I field a lot of questions from people who are suddenly faced with caring for an older parent or spouse. For people who become caregivers overnight after a parent has a fall or experiences a significant medical setback of some sort, it can be an overwhelming responsibility. Where does one go to learn how to be a caregiver for an older adult or someone else with special needs? It is easy to tell a person how to become certified as a geriatric care manager (not as easy getting certified) or even a paramedic (again, not as easy getting certified), but how do you become a caregiver right away?

As much as some folks may have a predisposition for being “good with people,” being a caregiver poses some unique challenges and an aspiring caregiver can benefit from some special training. One of the resources I featured last month, Julie Northcutt – President of CaregiverList.com, talked about using summer visits as a time to take stock of the needs of aging family members of other with special needs. She has a new training module that has come to my attention, and I am sharing it with you here, because it may give a lot of you a jump start to caring for older family members or others in your orbits.

In her 10-hour on-line program, CaregiverList.com offers training that meets the requirements of state licensing boards for caregivers, and it also may offer peace of mind. I was impressed with its topical coverage:
- Communicating with Others
- Observation, Reporting and Recording
- Providing Personal Carburetting and Maintaining Good Mobility
- Elimination and Toileting
- Infection Control
- Environmental Hazards and Safety
- Basic First Aid
- Understanding Elder Abuse
At $49 it seems to be a reasonable investment in care for an elder and peace of mind and confidence for the caregiver.

Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Case Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families throughout metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to Charlotte Bishop.
…and when to not say anything…read further. It seems like such a waste of talent…the energy and brains that scammers invest in finding new ways to bilk people of their money, and older adults are more susceptible than others. Let me start with that part first. Older adults more often get scammed, because they answer their phones, they tend to be more trusting and they have more liquid assets. Let me share the short version of a number of relatively new scams targeting seniors. For more details, please also go to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission web site (https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts ). 1. A Government program that will pay bills. The scammers have been selling this “government program” at places of worship. The scammers at first appear legitimate as they take enrollment information from enrollees. The first bills appear paid, but the scammers cancel the transactions and keep the funds. When the bill comes the next month, it will have late fees, and the scammers will have the credit card and personal identification and financial information of the enrollees. 2. The “good-looking” bad check. This one actually seems to go back to the faxes that used to come across from a Nigerian prince, but it is still being used. The scammer asks you to deposit a check for a substantial amount of money because they do not have access to their own local bank. But could you please write a check for a much smaller amount in the meantime? Well, by the time the check bounces, so does the scammer. 3. More taxing issues. With the tax filing deadlines approaching, some people will be approached by email or even conventional snail mail with notices that the government demands more. If the email has a link, do not click it; it may have malware or worse. If the written letter asks for a wire transfer, prepaid debit card, gift card or other form of payment than a check, it also likely is a scam. If the request is to make payment to I.R.S., that also is a scam, because Uncle Sam asks for checks to be made payable to the U.S. Department of Treasury. 4. I cannot hear you now. Sprint used to famously ask, “Can you hear me now?” Well, there are robocalls going out with the same question…do not say yes! Scammers will be recording your answer to be used later as confirmation in what may sound to be a legitimate solicitation that has your “yes” answer as the reply and that now will have a price tag associated with it. Don’t say anything! How do you help protect your older loved one? Well, for phone callers, you can still request that their numbers be placed on the “no call” registry: 888/382-1222. To report suspicious activity, the Federal Trade Commission can be reached at the site I listed at the top of this post or called at 877/382-4857. Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecaremanagement.com.
Free White Paper: How to Administer First Aid for a Senior
It is no secret that caregiving can be an everyday challenge, especially when managing a full time job and other family responsibilities. As geriatric care managers, we help caregivers and their families through difficult transitions and provide options for tough decisions. We also aim to ensure a high quality of life for both the caregiver and the loved on in need of care. Discover tips about how caregivers can limit stress, boost energy, and stay positive in our latest white paper.

Inside "First Aid for the Caregiver"

Ways to stay positive and prevent reaching "the breaking point" as a caregiver

Tips on how you and your loved one can be prepared in case of an emergency

A self assessment to determine if caregiving demands may be taking a toll
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Most of us have grown up with the faith that when we have a medical issue, there is likely to be a drug to take to alleviate the problem. Yet, we as geriatric care managers have found that more than 700,000 hospitalizations each year result from adverse events or side effects of drugs or because patients are over-medicated. Most of these patients are older adults, despite the fact that those over age 65 years of age represent only about 13.5 percent of the population. If you are a caregiver to an older adult or other person with special needs, you should pay particular attention to the following to keep your loved one out of the hospital:
- It is not just prescription drugs that should concern you. Most of the medicines that we all purchase over the counter (OTC) were once prescription medicines. They can represent potentially harmful side effects like Tylenol with its potential for liver toxicity. And don't forget that even aspirin is an acid; but it was on the drug store shelf before there was an FDA to protect us from its stomach slide effects.
- Keep track of all the medicines your elder may be taking (and include the OTC meds). Most doctors' offices are getting very good about asking what medicines are being taken with each visit, but be prepared with your loved one's lists at each visit. And ask if any can be dropped; you may be surprised at how many prescriptions handle the side effect of another medication.
- Be careful about how a medication is to be taken. Make sure your older loved one and you both understand the time of day a drug is to be taken, with or without food or how it might interact with another medication or even certain foods.
- Read the fine print. Every prescription has something pharmacists call the package insert or PI. Read the indications and usage section of this long page and call your provider with any questions. Also read the adverse events to make note of anything that has a greater than 5% incidence - and what steps to take should that event happen.
- Make sure you watch for anything out of the ordinary and ask your loved one how they feel. It may be just a dry mouth, or it may be hard stools or other side effects they may not volunteer. Everything is important to monitor. And if your loved one suddenly has any difficulty breathing or feels anxious, call your provider.
Underlying all of these caveats, appreciate that your older loved one has less fluid per pound than a younger adult. Their metabolisms also function more slowly. And most drug trials are conducted only with younger and healthier adults, so side effects may be minimal and less consequential. Birthdays and drugs may have bigger side effects than the pharmaceutical companies may have found in their trials. Charlotte Bishop is founder of Creative Care Management, a team of geriatric care managers, certified professionals, advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecasemanagement.com.
One of every three adults over age 65 will have a fall this year. This rate increases to one half of adults over age 80 who will fall during the year, some of them multiple times. On top of this, half of all falls occur in an older adult's home. With these alarming rates, it may come as no real surprise to those of you who may be caregivers to an older loved one that falls affect more older adults than heart attacks and strokes combined. As a geriatric care manager, I commonly get the call from a caregiver to an older loved one who has had one of these falls. And the fall often has resulted in serious injury, most often a fractured hip. One thing caregivers may not know is that unintentional falls result in death of the older adult in nearly 22,000 cases each year. We are not talking about just a bump or a bruise, and even more sobering is the simple fact that most falls are preventable. And, if not preventable, early intervention can make a huge difference in your older loved one's safe recovery from the fall. Here are some tips you can employ to help your older loved one be safer from falls:
1. Exercise. Yes, it is that simple. I have talked in other postings about "use it or lose it." It is not news that older adults tend to lose muscle mass as they age, and with this loss there is a proportional diminution of strength and endurance. There also is a loss in balance and coordination. Encourage your older loved one to take part in an organized exercise plan, perhaps with a fitness instructor who can teach safe exercise to improve balance. Research has shown that this can reduce fall risk by as much as 20% to 50%. And yoga or TaiChi can be a wonderful way to improve balance by strengthening and enhancing muscle coordination.
2. Home Safety. Do a search of my Blog for other postings devoted to "home safety" and you will see a lot more detail than I will give here. But safety at home starts with clearing floor surfaces of scatter rugs, worn carpets or electrical cords in trafficked areas. Go through your older loved one's home at night and look for dark or shadowy areas that may be fall risks. And be sure that a light is within easy reach of your loved one's bed so that getting up at night in the dark does not result in a fall. And be sure to have sturdy handrails in stairways as well as long hallways. Bathroom grip bars are also important as most falls in the home happen in that porcelain minefield we call the bath.
3. All of the Above. The most successful fall prevention efforts incorporate steps toward a safer home environment along with a more fit older loved one. To these I would also add a healthy diet high in protein and complex carbohydrates to help fuel the musculature that will prevent a fall. Although the evidence is not entirely clear yet, there is good reason to believe that vitamin D supplements also can be important as they help to maintain bone density and strength as well. Not sure how to implement these steps? If you are a caregiver to an older loved one, speak with their provider about appropriate exercise or a nutritionist about their diet. And reach out to a geriatric care manager about a home safety inspection. You may find that your older loved one may be much more willing to listen to an expert outside the family that to their son or daughter. We are here to help. Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@cr eativecaremanagement.com.

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Creative Care Management, LLC.

1740 Ridge Avenue • Suite 111
Evanston, IL 60201

847.869.5118 x511 tel

info@creativecaremanagement.com

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elder abuse

Better than a Resolution

Too Good to Be True

Abuse Thrives in Pandemic

Free White Paper: How to Administer First Aid for a Senior

Inside "First Aid for the Caregiver"

Get a FREE Consultation! Call 855-455-5118 x512

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