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Archive for September, 2008:
Notes from Medicare Family Caregiver Webcast
On September 18th I watched the live webcast sponsored by Medicare and the National Family Caregiver’s Association that launched their new service, Ask Medicare. According to them, the purpose of this website is to “help caregivers get answers to their most common questions.”
Ask medicare includes a new web page and e-newsletter for caregivers. The newsletter is free but won’t be available until November. The site has tools to help caregivers address common problems and points to other resources and support.
Four Key Content Areas: 1) Help with Billing, 2) Navigating Medicare that includes how to enroll in drug and health plans, 3) Care Options that includes comparisons for hospitals and nursing homes and 4) Getting Help – finding support close to home and other caregiving resources.
Why Ask Medicare was launched:
- to acknowledge and support the people who take care of their disabled or elderly family members or friends
- to help caregivers find the information they need to take care of their loved ones
- people need accessible, credible information to make informed health care decisions
- build relationship with caregivers by providing them with information and assistance that they need to both help the person that they care for and themselves
- to make it easy for family caregivers to find out about programs, services and benefits they can access for their loved ones and themselves
- link to a variety of support tools developed by the Administration on Aging and other organizations
Other Resources
- AARP - Prepare to Care, which is good for family members and employers to start planning to get ready to have conversations with other family members
- Johnson & Johnson – links to health condition organizations, local organizations, AARP and many Medicare publications and articles on autism and Alzheimer’s.
- Federal Government’s Eldercare Locator – 1-800-677-1116 for people uncomfortable with the internet.
- National Caregiver’s Support Program – provides services and information for caregivers.
This is just some of the information that was included in the one hour webcast. Most of what you see here was taken directly from the webcase and condensed. I have visited the website and it is quite informative. If you are a caregiver or know someone who is a caregiver or will become one soon, please pass this information along to them.
You can e-mail this post from the comment page.
Elder Care and Pets – A Caregiver’s Dilemna
For the past few weeks I have seriously considered getting a cat for Gladys. She loves cats. Before she moved to Georgia to live with us, she always had one. I think a pet would be good for her since she is unable to walk up the stairs to spend time with the rest of the family. A cat would be a good companion for her. So, you ask, what’s the problem?
In a previous post I mentioned my cat, Cocoa. She is a pretty chocolate point Siamese cat who is anti-social. Cocoa doesn’t socialize with anyone except me. She tolerates my husband and daughter but will not let them pick her up and she won’t sit on their laps. Gladys has been here three months and Cocoa has just started to go downstairs, but only when Gladys is asleep or when I am bathing Gladys. In an ideal world, Cocoa would take a liking to Gladys and let Gladys pet her. That’s not going to happen.
The main problem is that Cocoa doesn’t like other cats. She is extremely territorial. What to do? I don’t know. Any suggestions?
Caregiver Burnout – Don’t Let It Happen to You!
Yesterday I wrote about how my family shares caregiving responsibilities. Caregiver statistics show that it is important for caregivers to have and accept help from friends and family members so they don’t burnout. Some caregivers are fortunate enough to have family and friends who help with caregiving responsibilities, but there are many caregivers who want, need and are begging for help. Burnout for these exhausted caregivers is right around the corner.
