How to Choose Quality Home Healthcare for Your Loved Ones

Choosing quality home healthcare for your loved ones can be a daunting task. It’s important to consider the qualifications, experience, and reputation of the provider so you can be sure you are making the best decision for your family member. It’s also essential to understand the different types of home healthcare services available, the costs associated with them, and the various options you have for payment. Taking the time to research and evaluate your options will ensure you make the best choice for your loved one’s care. With a little guidance, you can make an informed decision that will ensure your loved one gets the best possible care.

In this article, Elly Kleinman, founder and CEO of Americare – a home healthcare provider, will share some tips to help you can make an informed decision that will ensure your loved one gets the best possible care.

What is home healthcare?

Home healthcare services are customized to meet the needs of the person receiving care. Whether you have a chronic condition, are recovering from surgery, or are caring for someone with a chronic illness, home healthcare can help. Home healthcare includes a variety of services, many of which can be provided by qualified individuals without the need for a home healthcare provider. You may want to consider hiring a home healthcare provider when you need a higher level of care that exceeds what you can provide yourself or what family members are able to provide. Home healthcare can include medical care, such as nursing services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and medical social work. It can also include non-medical care, such as housekeeping and meal preparation.

Founded by Elly Kleinman in 1982, The Americare Companies is one of the largest healthcare organizations in New York State. Americare's certified caregivers provide compassionate, kind, and trusted care to those in need.

Qualifications and experience of home healthcare providers

When evaluating home healthcare providers, be sure to consider their qualifications and experience. Be wary of providers who are not qualified to meet your loved one’s needs. It’s important to note that some providers specialize in certain care areas. Elly Kleinman Americare CEO shares some examples of health care provider’s specialties:

- Acute care - This type of care is best suited for a short-term condition, such as a surgery recovery, or to address a sudden injury or illness.

- Chronic care - Chronic care is best suited for a longer-term condition, such as a chronic illness.

- Long-term care (also known as custodial care) - Long-term care is short-term care that is ongoing.

- Specialty care - Specialty care is care for rare conditions.

Tips for evaluating home healthcare providers

When you’ve narrowed down your list of potential home healthcare providers, it’s time to start interviewing them.

When interviewing home healthcare providers, Elly Kleinman Americare CEO suggests keeping these tips in mind:

- Talk to more than one provider - You want to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. It’s essential to talk to a few providers so you can compare the services they provide, their fees, and the way they accept payment.

- Be honest about your loved one’s needs - It’s important to be honest about the type of care your loved one needs. If you lie to a home healthcare provider, they won’t be able to provide the care your loved one requires.

- Ask for recommendations - Make sure your provider has the experience and knowledge to provide adequate care and suit your loved one’s needs.

Final Thoughts

Now that you have read these tips by Elly Kleinman (follow him on Instagram), you have the knowledge to make sure the provider you select has the availability to provide the care your loved one needs.

COVID-19 Guide for Caregivers of People Living with Dementia

Older adults and people with serious underlying conditions are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, according to clinical and public health care experts. Among adults with confirmed COVID-19, those 65 or older are more likely to be hospitalized, admitted to intensive care units, and die. In fact, 8 out of 10 COVID-19-associated deaths in the United States occurred among adults 65 years of age or older.

Older adults also have the highest rates of dementia. Approximately six million adults have some form of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia.

Given the risk older adults face from COVID-19 and dementia, Elly Kleinman Americare provided this additional guide for caregivers of adults with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and help them manage the physical and mental well-being of their patients and preserve their own well-being. Not all people with dementia need a caregiver. Therefore, the degree of assistance a person needs will depend on how advanced their dementia is. For people with dementia, behavioral changes or worsen dementia symptoms should be assessed, as this could indicate an increased level of stress and anxiety as well as COVID-19 infection or other infectious diseases.

With over 35 years of experience as a licensed home care services agency that has been servicing the greater New York area, Americare, founded by Elly Kleinman, works with patients with various stages of dementia.

If you are caring for someone with dementia, it is important for you to know what you must do to protect yourself and others during the COVID-19 pandemic and what additional steps you can take to protect your loved ones.

Know when to request medical care for a loved one.

• ·         Call a healthcare provider if your loved one has the symptoms of COVID-19
• ·         Keep in mind that older adults with COVID-19 probably won't always have the typical symptoms like fever or cough.
• ·         Use the Self-Check Guide1 to make decisions about your loved one and know when to seek appropriate medical care.

If your loved one has advanced-stage dementia and needs to be hospitalized because of COVID-19, make sure the hospital staff know that they will likely need to receive in-person assistance to provide important health information and provide emergency support. Below, Elly Kleinman, the President of Americare, shares several important questions to consider:

• ·        Be prepared to stay in a healthcare setting with your loved one. Be willing to follow the personal protection measures recommended by hospital staff in case you need to stay in the room with your loved one.
• ·        Be aware that both you and health care providers may have difficulty caring for your loved one because the person:

1.       Does not cooperate and may not comply with personal protection measures such as wearing a cloth face covering or maintaining social distance

2.       Rejects diagnostic procedures

In that case, do everything possible, or as much as you are allowed, to ensure that the person with advanced stage dementia complies with WHO guide.

If you get sick, follow the WHO guide and have an alternate caregiver take care of your loved one.

Implement guidance in your daily routine and that of your loved one:

• ·         Wear cloth covers for your face and make sure others do too.
• ·         Do not apply face cloth cover to people with respiratory problems or who are unconscious, disabled or unable to remove it without assistance.
• ·         Wash your hands often.
• ·         Cover your mouth with a disposable tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• ·         Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth if you did not wash your hands.
• ·         Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

Caregivers: Be on the lookout for COVID-19 symptoms

The first step to take when caring for a person living with dementia in any setting is to assess for behavioral changes or worsening of symptoms as this could indicate a COVID-19 infection or an increased level of stress and anxiety. Not all people with COVID-19 have symptoms, but when people with dementia have COVID-19, the symptoms may include:

• ·         Increased agitation
• ·         Greater confusion
• ·         Sudden sadness
• ·         Cough
• ·         Difficulty breathing
• ·         Fever
• ·         Shaking chills
• ·         Tremors and chills that won't go away
• ·         Muscle pain
• ·         Headache
• ·         Sore throat
• ·         Recent loss of smell or taste

Elly Kleinman Americare: Care-giving for People Suffering from Mental Disabilities

Around two to three percent of Americans have a need for caregiving. Some of those people are suffering from mental disabilities. For that reason in the past decades has been opened several institutions that provide various services for elderly and disabled persons. One of those is Americare, as one of the best healthcare providers in Brooklyn. That means that the person finds it more difficult to learn and process new information and to manage the complex tasks required for everyday living, shares Elly Kleinman, a healthcare executive from Americare.

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day is an annual event celebrated on 10 October, created by the World Federation for Mental Health to raise public awareness of mental health issues worldwide. This year the World Federation has chosen "Dignity in Mental Health" as the main theme. Public education and raising awareness of dignity was the center focus on this year's ceremony co-hosted by Americare's founder Elly Kleinman held at New York City Mental Health Institute. The idea behind this ceremony was to establish different ways in which dignity can be provided in all aspects of mental health, and share those viewpoints with the general public.