Assisted Living
Nurses Week 2020
Houston Hospice 
‘s Our Nurses
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National Nurses Week starts with National Nurses Day on May 6, 2020 and concludes on May 12, 2020 with International Nurses Day, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, who is credited with founding modern nursing. The week-long celebration has been established as a recognized, annual event for appreciating health care workers, but you already knew this long-established, nursing-history fact. I bet you didn’t know that nurses make up over 50% of the global healthcare workforce, and on January 31, 2019, the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed a call for 2020 to be officially recognized as the ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife’. Finally, a whole year dedicated to nurses, and it’s about time. Wouldn’t you say?
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Today’s modern nurses are Frontline Heroes, from all walks of life, and with more strength and courage than you can shake a stethoscope at. “Houston Hospice places tremendous value in our nursing team,” says Jim Faucett, President and CEO, Houston Hospice. “Our highly skilled RN’s, LVN’s, and Nurse’s Aides epitomize hospice care excellence and are the cornerstone of Houston Hospice. Without them, we would not be able to provide the team-oriented, medical care that our patients deserve. For their faithful compassion and commitment to the needs of our patients and their families, I want to extend my deep appreciation and a Thank You to our entire Nursing Team,” continued Jim.
People of TMC
The Texas Medical Center interviewed our very own, Gabrielle Staten, RN, BSN, associate patient care manager, IPU. “We’ve been able to allow family members to visit their dying loved one when hospitals couldn’t,” stated Gabrielle. Click here to read the entire piece, highlighted on the TMC website.
Employee Committee Lights the Way
Asset Expert Explains What Long-Term Insurance Covers
Published in SmartAsset by Ashley Chorpenning
While Medicare and Medicaid both help aging adults afford some of their medical expenses, they may not cover the cost of an extended illness or disability. That’s where long-term care insurance comes into play. Long-term care insurance helps policyholders pay for their long-term care needs such as nursing home care. We’ll explain what long-term care insurance covers and whether or not such coverage is something you or your loved ones should consider.
Long-Term Care Insurance Explained
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Are You One of the 40 Million Americans Who Are Taking Care of a Loved One? Here’s What You Need to Know
It isn’t easy, but it’s important
Published in thriveglobal.com by BJ Miller, MD and Shoshana Berger
All over this country there are people like you who are driving out of their way to pick up a prescription after work, using coffee breaks to visit someone and make him lunch, missing out on dates with friends in order to make sure someone is safe before they go to bed, or taking trips to the hospital.
We see you (we are you), and you are not alone. In the United States at any one time, 40 million adults are caregivers. You are more likely to be a woman — especially if you’re doing the difficult work of bathing and toileting — though the percentage of male caregivers is on the rise: in 2009, 34 percent of caregivers were men; as of 2017 that number was 40 percent. On average you provide more than twenty hours per week of care for four years. It’s a hard job, but when they look back on the experience most people say they wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Courtesy of Africa Studio / Shutterstock
But, as the airline industry reminds us: in order to help others, we need to put on our own oxygen masks first. We’ll go even further — since someone in a predicament is relying upon you: it’s selfish to not take care of yourself. Self-care is a muscle you need to learn to flex so it becomes part of your routine, instead of a rare treat. It means paying attention to yourself, even when the only thing you want to pay attention to is your beloved.
Here are some ways to care for yourself.
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Financial Assistance for Assisted Living in Texas
The following post contains helpful resource information from assistedliving.org/Texas
STAR+PLUS
STAR+PLUS is a multifaceted program which provides reimbursement for people seeking assisted living. The STAR+PLUS Home- and Community-Based Waiver is a part of the program that helps seniors who are assessed as nursing home-eligible continue receiving their Medicaid benefits without being institutionalized. Eligible applicants are reimbursed for services that promote independence, such as assistance with personal grooming tasks, basic mobility, and caregiver respite. Services may be provided by direct care aides at an assisted living facility or by home health contractors.
Who is Eligible?
The STAR+PLUS program has absorbed many Texas Medicaid plans and services, so understanding whether you qualify can be difficult. This is due to the many caveats that may apply if you are eligible for multiple state programs under the STAR+PLUS umbrella, or for other programs like Supplemental Security Income. Eligibility requirements are listed on the Texas Health and Human Serviceswebsite, though understanding what you may qualify for is likely to require the assistance of a dedicated case worker.
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How to take the worry out of providing long-distance care to seniors
Photo by Pexels
Are you taking up the role of caregiver for a parent or older loved one? Wondering how to provide that care when you live far away? Long-distance caregiving doesn’t have to be so stressful if you take care of the following essential steps.
Get Familiar with Your Loved One’s Medicare Options
The number one concern for seniors is their health, and the number one source of senior healthcare coverage is Medicare. If you are providing care for a loved one from afar, you need to spend some time making sure they have the best Medicare coverage for their situation. Learn the pros and cons of coverage and supplemental plans, as well as important deadlines.
Primarily, you both should know that the Annual Election Period for coverage started on October 15, and you have until December 7 to help your family member make their choices. This crucial enrollment period is the only time you can make changes to current plans, and the deadline is fast approaching, so sit down with a checklist so you can go over all the options in detail. Pick a time when you can visit in-person so that you can have your family member’s Medicare card, copies of the previous year’s medical bills, and a list of any pertinent healthcare information (provider names, prescriptions, etc.). If you can’t do this in-person, use a video call service to connect and have your loved one show or scan you copies of needed materials.
Make Sure Your Family Member Is Safe at Home
Did you know that falls send more seniors to the hospital than any other injury? More importantly, most serious falls happen at home when seniors live on their own. This statistic is not meant to make you feel guilty, but rather to stress the importance of making sure your loved one’s home is free of any fall hazards, both inside and out. If you can make a trip, take a walk around your loved one’s home and look out for issues that could cause them to slip or trip. Clutter can be a recipe for disaster, so make sure any random objects are safely stowed off the floor and out of the path of your family member.
Bathrooms are another sore spot in senior homes, so you may want to help your loved one make changes, such as installing grab bars or putting a seat in the shower. When you need to make these upgrades from afar, you’ll need to find a contractor you can trust. Check reviews online, or ask friends for referrals, so you can find reliable, affordable help to assist your senior loved one with these projects, as well as future issues they may have in their home.
Stay in Touch with a Local Network of Help
When you are providing care from a distance, there will likely come a day when your loved one will need some help and you may not be immediately available to assist them. This is why it is important to build rapport with any neighbors, friends, or community members who may be able to help your family member in their time of need. It’s a major step in effectively providing care for loved ones without adding more stress to your life.
Don’t be afraid to ask neighbors to check in with your parent or loved one, or at least let you know if there is cause for concern. This may include severe weather, odd behavior, or anything else out of the ordinary. Your network can help your loved one get prepared for emergencies, get help when needed, or simply connect with you. As an added layer of protection and connection, look into medical alert services for your parent as well.
Providing care to a senior loved one, when you do not live nearby, can be nerve-wracking. But if you can do some planning, connect with locals, and find ways to keep them safe at home, you can take a lot of the guesswork out of being an effective long-distance caregiver.
5 advantages of early election of hospice benefits in assisted living and skilled nursing
Published in McKnight’s Senior Living by Rhea Go-Coloma, LMSW
For many, hospice care is associated with care received in the home. When provided early enough for residents in assisted living facilities and nursing homes, however, hospice care can provide important benefits for the resident and facility operator alike.
Hospice care, which is covered by Medicare and most private health insurance plans, eases pain and alleviates discomfort when a resident’s illness no longer is responding to treatment.
In fact, about one-third of assisted living residents receive end-of-life care at the community they have made their home. When residents become terminally ill, however, operators must provide care that may go beyond their capabilities.
When this happens, residents may be better served in a hospital or nursing home setting, but frequently it’s in the best interests of the resident to remain in the assisted living community. This is largely because residents have grown accustomed to the people and environment and feel the most at home.
When an assisted living community resident opts for hospice care, he or she also may be able to remain in the facility during the last months of life. This is best achieved when the assisted living community operator partners with an outside hospice provider. In this situation, it’s important for both organizations to work closely together to provide the best possible care for the resident.
Whether the hospice care is being provided in an assisted living community or nursing home, good communication between the family, staff, hospice staff and caregivers is important. Equally critical for success is early adoption of hospice care.
Early adoption of hospice makes all the difference
When adopted early, hospice care offers significant benefits for residents and families. Significantly, hospice healthcare specialists help residents and their families prioritize wishes and goals, creating a greater sense of ease and comfort.
Team-oriented hospice healthcare specialists work with the staff members of the assisted living community or nursing home to coordinate and plan care. Here’s a look at the five most important advantages of early election of hospice care for residents, families and facilities striving to meet the needs of these individuals:
Family support. Early involvement of an interdisciplinary team of hospice specialists helps families on many fronts: teaching family members how to care for the person who is ill, providing support and counseling to family and friends, offering education about the care process.
The hospice team also is there to help families clarify patient wishes, establish physician and patient relationships and balance family dynamics during this stressful time. Bottom line: hospice provides a way for residents to have a diverse group of committed professionals advocating for their needs.
Care goals. Hospice gives families the time they need to discuss goals of care, including an advance directive, a legal document that spells out end-of-life care ahead of time. The hospice team — including doctors, nurses, therapists, healthcare aides, clergy and social workers — addresses every aspect of a resident’s illness, with emphasis on controlling and reducing pain and discomfort. Team members provide symptom management and pain relief, increase quality of life and relieve patient suffering.
Family counseling. Guidance and support are a crucial feature of hospice, helping families deal with the range of emotions that surround this difficult time, offering guidance from social workers and chaplains. Hospice also offers bereavement and grief counseling after a loved one has passed, and it helps with some of the after-death tasks that need to be completed. Ultimately, choosing hospice care early makes end-of-life a calming and successful experience during a difficult time.
Dignity for the resident. Hospice offers the resident a chance to die with dignity. Hospice patients are not hooked up to loud machines, their vital signs are not constantly checked by medical personnel and they do not undergo invasive procedures to prolong life. It’s about respecting patient wishes.
By making arrangement to provide hospice care, operators of assisted living communities and nursing homes can make it possible for residents and families to focus on spending time with their loved one and not dealing with the red tape and medical procedures associated with hospital care.