Quality Companionship Care For Seniors With Dementia

| Thursday, February 14, 2019
By Jerry Lee


Taking care of seniors and elders can often be challenging as needs can often be client specific. For example, some disabled and young at heart seniors only need daytime help. Whereas, others may need 24/7 companionship care for seniors with dementia. Researching and running background checks on caregivers and companies providing the service is often recommended. For, there have been issues related to elder abuse, assault and theft, especially in high crime areas.

When it comes to home health aides, the Family Care Alliance or FCA and National Center On Caregiving can provide a number of resources. For, the alliance is a community based non-profit organization which addresses the needs of friends, families and caregivers caring for loved ones in the home. As such, the alliance provides a voice for those working in this area and provides advocacy, educational programs and services to those in need.

All services, programs and resources offered are developed and designed with caregivers in mind. In addition, a number of educational services and programs provide tailored material and tools to make learning easy. After which, caregivers often find it easier to meet the demands and challenges which the position can often entail.

Caregivers also have access to the National Center On Caregiving which works to promote cost-effective, high quality policies and programs, and a Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center for those living in the six counties in or around the San Francisco Bay Area which provides consultants whom work closely with family members caring for ill or elderly loved ones.

The FCA also offers resources and support such as a section on the website in which caregivers can share stories or ask questions about a specific situation. In addition, the site has a monthly calendar of events for caregivers in which some events are also open to clients. In most cases, the events are entertaining while also providing information important to caregivers and clients.

It can often be beneficial to know the seven stages of dementia when providing care to seniors or the elderly. For, by understanding these stages, caregivers can better understand the needs of clients whom often can not express such information first hand. The beginning, or stage one of the disease has no obvious signs and is the starting point for all those effected by Alzheimer's or dementia.

In stages two through seven, memory begins to decline slowly while other signs of Alzheimer's can often begin to appear somewhere between the second and third stage. The most dramatic changes begin to occur in stage 3, these include poor work performance, verbal repetition, poor concentration, difficulty solving problems, organizing and losing the ability to complete complex tasks. While, difficulty driving will often occur somewhere between the third and fourth stage.

Stages 4 through 7 often present with individuals becoming more isolated, anti-social and avoiding physical contact. It is also at this stage in which memory and problem solving skills begin to deteriorate more rapidly. At which point, it can often be impossible for the individual to recognize spouses, relatives, remember phone numbers and other pertinent information. In most cases, it is at this advanced stage in which physicians and families must decide the best options for treatment, housing or hospice care in the future.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment