Day-to-Day Caregiving Questions

1. FAQ: How Do You Fire a Personal Assistant?

   If you have a care manager on the case, let him or her handle it. Care managers do the matching and hiring, and if any problems arise, the care manager should handle them. A good care manger might be able to step in and fix the root issue, for example, before resorting to firing.
   FAQ 1 Expert Answer

2. FAQ: What's the Difference Between a Personal Aide and a Home Health Aide?

   The main difference between a personal aide and a home health aide is in the level of medical care they provide. Although personal aides typically have home health aide certification (which involves competing a 76-hour, nurse-supervised training program), they provide mostly personal care -- such as bathing, grooming, and dressing...
   FAQ 1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers

3. What is the best way to dispose of adult diapers?

   Thank you for your environmentally sensitive question. It is all right to put disposable adult diapers in the trash that goes to the landfill. Although, most brands are made from mostly biodegradable material, there is still some plastic covering as well as the fumes of human waste...
   1 Expert Answer, 5 Community Answers

4. What can be done to help my mom's diarrhea?

   Reading your letter, I have numerous thoughts about your mother's problem. You do not really say why you are worried about your mother's diarrhea. So, is she really having true diarrhea, which are watery stools, or are her stools just soft and runny? Is this causing her to have accidents (is she incontinent of bowels)...
   1 Expert Answer

5. FAQ: What Do I Do if the Night Aide Keeps Falling Asleep?

   If someone you hired to be a night shift aide keeps falling asleep, that's not a good sign. I'd start watching other aspects of his or her behavior more closely.
   FAQ 1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

6. FAQ: What's the Difference Between an Elder Companion and a Personal Aide?

   Although people often use the terms interchangeably, there's a difference between an elder companion and a personal aide in terms of both responsibilities and training.
   FAQ 1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers

7. FAQ: What Should I Look for When Choosing an In-Home Care Agency?

   When you're looking at in-home care agencies, start by looking into whether there's thoughtful supervision of the caregiving staff. If the person you're caring for has medical issues, for example, there should be nursing oversight of some sort -- someone available for the staff to call with questions...
   FAQ 1 Expert Answer

8. FAQ: What's the Best Way to Keep My Loved One From Falling out of Bed?

   Start by trying to figure out why the falling is happening. Is the person rolling out of bed, or getting up and then falling?
   FAQ 1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers

9. How do I show my elderly father how to use a bedpan?

   First of all, let him know what you're going to do. Just say, "Dad, I'm going to put a bedpan underneath you," and cue him verbally step by step. Assuming he's lying on his back, ask him to try to bend both knees up, if he can, and have him lift his hips off the bed to enable you to move an absorbent...
   1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

10. What can help my mother remember to take her medication?

    Frequent falls are a signal. Something is not right in the environment. So many of us are too proud to ask for help. Some of us send a signal.
    1 Expert Answer, 4 Community Answers

11. How can I find someone to cut my father's hair at home?

    If I want to find someone to cut hair in an elder's home, I ask barbers or hair stylists (in the neighborhood)if they are willing to do it. Most charge more than the price of a hair cut to make up for the extra time. Over the years I found several kind hair dressers who like to work on frail, older people...
    1 Expert Answer, 3 Community Answers

12. How should I prepare for my mother's return home from the hospital?

    This may be the time to make the decision to leave your mother at the nursing home, if they have long term care. Your mother may have adjusted to living there, and the return to your home will require another transition. For people with Alzheimer's, structure is very important; their environment and the daily routine need to be consistent...
    1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

13. Are there any agencies that can help give care to my father who requires 24 hour care?

    Yes, there are agencies who will help you set up home care for your frail father. 24 hour care is very expensive, but sometimes you don't need that much help. What you need is someone who will help you set up care. I recommend a professional geriatric care manager to come to your father's home to assess for you...
    1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

14. How can I help improve the life of my grandmother with dementia?

    Improving the life of a person with dementia is a challenging yet noble task.
    1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers

15. Dealing With Criticism of Your Caregiving for Someone With Dementia

    As hard as it is, try not to take harsh comments personally. Try these more constructive approaches:
    FAQ 1 Expert Answer, 20 Community Answers

16. FAQ: What Should I Ask a Personal Care Assistant in an Interview?

    When you're interviewing a possible personal care assistant, start with simple questions about a candidate's background and experience. Ask her where she's worked and what her work history has been like. What were her best and worst work experiences, and why?
    FAQ 1 Expert Answer

17. Does Medicaid Cover Long-Term In-Home Care?

    All states provide some kind of long-term care for certain people, including the elderly, who live at home and who would require nursing home care if they didn't receive these services. These programs aren't technically part of Medicaid but are funded by Medicaid through waivers of normal Medicaid rules...
    FAQ 1 Expert Answer, 3 Community Answers

18. Should I get a personal emergency response system (PERS) for my mom, who has early-stage Alzheimer's?

    A more appropriate system would be an electronic remote activity monitoring system like Simply-Home. This is a monitoring system with a series of wireless sensors connected to a base unit that responds to certain conditions with a preprogrammed alert...
    2 Expert Answers, 7 Community Answers

19. How can I find agencies or companies that provide in-home care in my area?

    Finding in-home caregivers is a major concern for so many people caring for elderly loved ones. It does take effort, but is well worth it when you get the care you need.
    1 Expert Answer, 5 Community Answers

20. How can we convince my father, who has cancer and can not live alone but insists, to move in with us?

    Many of our readers are struggling with this same issue. One of the hardest things in life is to see a loved one ill or unable to care for himself and not be able to provide the care that you would like to give. Sometimes when a situation becomes totally unsafe, a decision can be forced, but that leaves...
    1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers