Western Pennsylvania Healthcare News

Covering healthcare news in the Pittsburgh region and beyond.

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4 Tips for Home Healthcare

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It can be difficult to accept the fact that an elderly relative’s health is in decline. Yet it is essential for their wellbeing that you provide them with the right level of care for their needs so that they can enjoy a greater quality of life. If you believe your parent, grandparent or another aging relative needs additional care, but you want to ensure they can remain at home, read the following tips for home healthcare.

1. The CDPAP Initiative

The last thing an aging loved one might want is for their home care decisions to be made by an outside party. The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) can, therefore, help qualified patients to choose a family member or friend to become a paid caregiver, if it isn’t their spouse. By using such a program, it could allow you to care for your relative without impacting your finances. Contact FreedomCare NY for more information.

2. Mobility Aids

Mobility aids can be a great support for dependent relatives, as it will allow them to move around their home without fear of falling or burning out. It can, therefore, provide a loved one with greater independence, so they can enjoy a better quality of life and will depend on others less for daily tasks. There are a wide variety of low-tech and high-tech mobility aids on the market, and there are options to suit various lifestyles and budgets. For example, your loved one could benefit from crutches, canes, walkers, rollators, motorized scooters, power wheelchairs, and manual wheelchairs. [Read more…]

How Does Technology Make A Difference For Home Care?

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By Arielle Kimbarovsky

Unfortunately, we don’t all live three minutes away from our parents, grandparents, or other older loved ones who need care. And even if we do, most family caregivers have full time jobs or other responsibilities that can prevent them from being accessible 100% of the time.

In situations like these, many family caregivers must skip work or important obligations, or hire home care agencies to fill the void. Unfortunately, home care agencies are usually expensive to hire, and don’t pay their caregivers enough. In addition to that, scheduling the care can prove to be pretty tricky- not to mention unpredictable.

Anyone who has dealt with hiring, using, or working in home care knows that it can be a very challenging field to navigate.

Image credit: Jurgen Appelo

But with the outbreak and evolution of new technologies, companies are making it easier on caregivers, loved ones, and their families to be a part of home care. Companies are enhancing specialized devices, simplifying and expanding communication channels, and centralizing information. It’s never been a better time to use or be a part of home care! [Read more…]

Dying Patients Who Received Palliative Care Visited the ER Less

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Community-based palliative care – care delivered at home, not the hospital – was associated with a 50 percent reduction in emergency department visits for patients in their last year of life.  The results of an Australian study were published online February 3rd in Annals of Emergency Medicine (“The Association of Community-Based Palliative Care with Reduced Emergency Department Visits in the Last Year of Life Varies by Patient Factors”).

Researchers studied nearly 12,000 records for patients who died of cancer, heart failure, kidney failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or liver failures in Western Australia from 2009 to 2010. Dying patients visited the emergency department on average twice a year during their last year of life. The average number of emergency department visits was reduced when patients received palliative care.

“It is encouraging that palliative care was associated with reduced emergency department visits for five different diseases, so isn’t limited to just cancer or heart failure, for example,” said study lead Lorna Rosenwax, PhD. of Curtin University in Perth, Australia. “Most patients who were in their last year of life visited the emergency department at least once, with one person visiting 74 times in the space of a year.  Only about one-third (32 percent) of the patients we studied received community-based palliative care but they were much less likely to require emergency medical treatment as a result.” [Read more…]

JEVS at Home Brings Home Care Excellence to Allegheny County

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JEVS at Home, a registered 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization providing non-medical home care support services to disabled and aging individuals, announced plans to open an office in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 5.

With a service area including Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, Bucks and now Allegheny counties, JEVS at Home is one of the largest home care service providers in Pennsylvania, continually recognized for their integrity of service, ethical focus, client trust and commitment to home care excellence. 

“Bringing a caregiver into your home for yourself or a loved one is a highly emotional process that also needs to include the practical decisions of cost, coverage, experience and service capabilities,” said Aurora Kripa, CEO, JEVS at Home. “JEVS at Home understands all this and it truly shows in our service model, training programs and culture. Since establishing JEVS at Home in 2012, we’ve honed our approach and capabilities, established our name, and built a stellar reputation in southeastern Pennsylvania. We’re excited to now bring all of this to the communities of Allegheny County and our commitment to these residents is as steadfast as it is to all those we’ve served in the past 5 years.”  [Read more…]

The Give-Back Program

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Screen Shot 2014-03-26 at 3.04.41 PMThe effects of aging could make some seniors feel they can no longer give back to their community or help family and friends.   

The “Give-Back” program is a series of activity resource sheets for caregivers and care community activity professionals who are trying to help keep even frail and isolated seniors engaged and provide them opportunities to help others. Some projects can be adopted by an individual; others are ideal for group projects or as a meaningful activity with friends.

The need to be needed does not diminish with age, experts say. Keeping seniors connected and giving back might even help them age with better health, and help reduce feelings of isolation and depression.  The Home Instead Senior Care® network has captured simple and adaptable ideas from seniors and care community professionals to create the “Give-Back” program.   Older adults across North America are proving that – with a little help – seniors can still make a difference.

Giving Back to the Community

Giving Back to Senior Care Communities

Giving Back to Children

Giving Back a Talent

Giving Back Holiday Cheer

Giving Back to Those Who Served Our Country

If you’re a family caregiver who needs help keeping your senior engaged, contact your local Home Instead Senior Care office to learn how a CAREGiver could assist you and your senior. 

CAREGivers from Home Instead Senior Care can make a difference in the lives of older adults and their families by providing support with activities of daily living to help keep them independent for as long as possible.  For more information about Home Instead Senior Care visit www.homeinstead.com/greaterpittsburgh or call 1-866-996-1087