Wednesday, December 2, 2009
December Issue of Caring Right at Home Now Available
Be sure to check out our latest edition of the Caring Right at Home eNewsletter at www.poststat.net/RightAtHome. In it you’ll find informative articles on Long-Term Care, holiday visits may be the time to discuss home care, confusion and forgetfullness: the right diagnosis is important, and coping with medical challenges during the holidays. Let us know what you think!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Assessing the Holidays
All business have "seasons." Beach resorts make most of their income during the summer while ski resorts make their bounty during the winter. Gym memberships have a tendency to "perk up" after January 1st (new year's resolutions and all) and of course the gift under the tree for many retail business during Christmas season is supposed to be increased sales.
In the homecare industry, however, business is not nearly as predictable. Let's face it, most people can't predict when they may become ill or injured and find they're in need of a trained caregiver. Still, in homecare there are some general business trends you notice. The summer, for example, is usually a little slower for whatever reasons.
And in that same breath, business tends to pick-up over the holidays and into the new year. The reason seems to be that often times sons and daughters (or grandsons and granddaughters) come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas and find that a particular family member may not be doing as well as when the last time they saw them. Perhaps they're not moving quite as well or their eyesight seems to be a little less sharp and concern starts to grow.
Obviously, when coming home for the holidays, ideally one hopes to rest, relax, keep the drama to a minimum and enjoy the time with family and friends. Still, if you are concerned about a particular family member and whether or not they may need a little extra assistance, there are a couple of small things you can observe that might help give you an indication.
* Does the house, kitchen or even bathroom look a little more unkempt than usual.
* Has laundry begun to pile up
* Do you notice that maybe their pill boxes seem to be filled when they should be empty or empty when they should be filled
* Are they no longer changing clothes daily and maintaining personal hygiene
These are obvious but important examples that it might be time to at least consider having someone come in once a day, once a week or even just once a month to offer some assistance. From meal preparation, light housekeeping and even medication reminders to more personal care needs, a caregiver can offer your loved one not a life of dependence, but rather the ability to maintain independence.
At Right at Home, we offer free, in-home assessments. We'll come to the home and meet with family members and together help figure out what, if any, assistance may be needed. And there's no obligation for you to sign-up with Right at Home to provide a caregiver at the time of the assessment or ever. But if you do find that bringing a caregiver in would be a good idea, we'll be there to help if you want us to. To set-up an assessment with Right at Home, feel free to call us anytime at 818-956-5905.
In the homecare industry, however, business is not nearly as predictable. Let's face it, most people can't predict when they may become ill or injured and find they're in need of a trained caregiver. Still, in homecare there are some general business trends you notice. The summer, for example, is usually a little slower for whatever reasons.
And in that same breath, business tends to pick-up over the holidays and into the new year. The reason seems to be that often times sons and daughters (or grandsons and granddaughters) come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas and find that a particular family member may not be doing as well as when the last time they saw them. Perhaps they're not moving quite as well or their eyesight seems to be a little less sharp and concern starts to grow.
Obviously, when coming home for the holidays, ideally one hopes to rest, relax, keep the drama to a minimum and enjoy the time with family and friends. Still, if you are concerned about a particular family member and whether or not they may need a little extra assistance, there are a couple of small things you can observe that might help give you an indication.
* Does the house, kitchen or even bathroom look a little more unkempt than usual.
* Has laundry begun to pile up
* Do you notice that maybe their pill boxes seem to be filled when they should be empty or empty when they should be filled
* Are they no longer changing clothes daily and maintaining personal hygiene
These are obvious but important examples that it might be time to at least consider having someone come in once a day, once a week or even just once a month to offer some assistance. From meal preparation, light housekeeping and even medication reminders to more personal care needs, a caregiver can offer your loved one not a life of dependence, but rather the ability to maintain independence.
At Right at Home, we offer free, in-home assessments. We'll come to the home and meet with family members and together help figure out what, if any, assistance may be needed. And there's no obligation for you to sign-up with Right at Home to provide a caregiver at the time of the assessment or ever. But if you do find that bringing a caregiver in would be a good idea, we'll be there to help if you want us to. To set-up an assessment with Right at Home, feel free to call us anytime at 818-956-5905.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving from Right at Home
All of us at Right at Home in Glendale wishes everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Setting Your Mind at Ease
As owner of Right at Home in Los Angeles, I’m on-call 24 hours a day/7 days a week. Even if another employee is taking calls during the evening or weekend, I know that they may reach out to me anytime if an issue arises beyond their authority to rectify.
Back in November, I took my first vacation in over 2 years. While still reachable, I was going to be outside of California. Although I had confidence in our employees, I was still nervous leaving them “on their own.”
As I thought about this, I realized my feelings of unease probably don’t compare to how family members of our clients feel when they leave their loved one alone for the first time with a caregiver. Yes, it’s true that Right at Home caregivers are trained and criminally background checked; covered by liability and worker’s compensation insurance; licensed and bonded. But that doesn’t assure they’ll bond with their family member in need of help.
From clients who’ve had the same caregiver for over a year to clients who’ve asked for a different caregiver literally every other day, we’ve seen it all. That’s why we always do an assessment when possible prior to placing a caregiver so we can meet the family, meet our prospective new client and select the best caregiver for their needs. And its why, even when on vacation, the owner of the company is always just a phone call away to address any concerns a family member may have.
As we exit the holiday season and enter into 2010, Right at Home will continue to do everything in our power to make sure your loved one is receiving the highest quality of care so you can be at ease while you’re away.
Back in November, I took my first vacation in over 2 years. While still reachable, I was going to be outside of California. Although I had confidence in our employees, I was still nervous leaving them “on their own.”
As I thought about this, I realized my feelings of unease probably don’t compare to how family members of our clients feel when they leave their loved one alone for the first time with a caregiver. Yes, it’s true that Right at Home caregivers are trained and criminally background checked; covered by liability and worker’s compensation insurance; licensed and bonded. But that doesn’t assure they’ll bond with their family member in need of help.
From clients who’ve had the same caregiver for over a year to clients who’ve asked for a different caregiver literally every other day, we’ve seen it all. That’s why we always do an assessment when possible prior to placing a caregiver so we can meet the family, meet our prospective new client and select the best caregiver for their needs. And its why, even when on vacation, the owner of the company is always just a phone call away to address any concerns a family member may have.
As we exit the holiday season and enter into 2010, Right at Home will continue to do everything in our power to make sure your loved one is receiving the highest quality of care so you can be at ease while you’re away.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Veteran's Aid & Attendance Benefit
The Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefit is a benefit paid in addition to monthly pension. Benefits are available for Veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in bathing, dressing, meal preparation, medication monitoring or other various activities of daily living. This benefit is available to individuals who reside in assisted living communities, personal care homes, skilled nursing facilities and those receiving personal in-home care.
Any War Veteran with 90 days of active duty with at least one day during active War time (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf). A surviving spouse of a War Veteran may be eligible if he/she remained married to the Veteran until his/her time of death and has not remarried. The individual must also meet medical, service and financial qualifications.
Right at Home is committed to meeting the needs of those we serve to improve their quality of life. As part of our commitment, we want to make Veterans and their families are aware of this little known benefit available that can help them pay for care services. A veteran may be eligible for up to $19,728 a year, a Veteran with a dependent spouse may be eligible for up to $23,388 per year, a surviving spouse of a veteran may be eligible for up to $12,672 a year and two veterans married to each other may be eligible for up to $30,480 a year. Right at Home wants to connect Veterans with the people that can help Veterans qualify for these benefits.
If you want to learn more about the Aid & Attendance Benefit, call Right at Home at (818) 956-5905 or email info@rahglendale.net. We can get you in touch with the appropriate accredited claims agent to help you determine your eligibility and guide you through the process to help expedite your claim.
Any War Veteran with 90 days of active duty with at least one day during active War time (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf). A surviving spouse of a War Veteran may be eligible if he/she remained married to the Veteran until his/her time of death and has not remarried. The individual must also meet medical, service and financial qualifications.
Right at Home is committed to meeting the needs of those we serve to improve their quality of life. As part of our commitment, we want to make Veterans and their families are aware of this little known benefit available that can help them pay for care services. A veteran may be eligible for up to $19,728 a year, a Veteran with a dependent spouse may be eligible for up to $23,388 per year, a surviving spouse of a veteran may be eligible for up to $12,672 a year and two veterans married to each other may be eligible for up to $30,480 a year. Right at Home wants to connect Veterans with the people that can help Veterans qualify for these benefits.
If you want to learn more about the Aid & Attendance Benefit, call Right at Home at (818) 956-5905 or email info@rahglendale.net. We can get you in touch with the appropriate accredited claims agent to help you determine your eligibility and guide you through the process to help expedite your claim.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Happy Columbus Day!
It's been an unusually quiet day at the Right at Home Glendale offices today. I assume that probably has something to do with the oft-talked about, but not always celebrated holiday of Columbus Day.
So with a little extra time to take a breath today, everyone at Right at Home in Glendale would like to wish the hundreds...not thousands...no millions of readers of our blog a very happy Columbus Day and we look forward to a great last 2 1/2 months of 2009.
So with a little extra time to take a breath today, everyone at Right at Home in Glendale would like to wish the hundreds...not thousands...no millions of readers of our blog a very happy Columbus Day and we look forward to a great last 2 1/2 months of 2009.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Responsibilities of Ownership
A few years back while working at Game Show Network, we had a "Fire Drill." I don't mean that the fire alarm went off in our building and someone we worked with donned a green helmet and began directing us out while my co-workers slowly made their way to the stairs saying things that ranged from "A fire drill now, I'm in the middle of something due today." to "I hope it really is a fire so I can be off all week."
No, in business acumen, a "Fire Drill" is a fairly lame metaphor to describe a time when some sort of business "emergency" has occurred and everything you're working on needs to be dropped and all hands are called on deck to put out the "fire" of this particular emergency.
The fire drill I refer to had to do with a radio ad that was playing in Las Vegas that incorrectly stated that Game Show Network could be seen on Comcast cable, when in fact the cable company for the area was actually Cox cable. Due to a delicate relationship between Game Show Network and Cox at the time, this was more than just an unfortunate embarrassment and thusly a new radio ad needed to be created immediately and sent to the station that day.
So I called the owner of the production company that created the ad. I remember while speaking to him that there was a fair amount of noise in the background and hullabaloo all around. "Okay, okay," he said to me in a somewhat perturbed tone as I mentioned to him the problem. "I'm at the Dodger game right now, but I'll leave and we'll get something to you before 5pm."
The Dodger game, I thought to myself. I'd hate to be him. Buy those tickets, think you're spending a relaxing afternoon at the ballpark and then some schmo like me calls you up and makes you give up you're half-drunk, $11 beer just to re-record a 60-second radio spot. That's tough sledding.
Yet that's exactly the situation where I find myself today. Because at 3pm this afternoon, I too will be at the Dodger game. And this is no ordinary game, no mid-Summer Wednesday tilt against the lowly Pirates of Pittsburgh. This is a playoff game, against the slick pitching, high-powered Cardinals of St. Louis. And let me tell you, the last thing I want around the 3rd inning is a call from my office with the homecare equivalent of a new radio ad needing to be produced.
So what do I receive at 8am this morning. The "fill-in" caregiver (because the regular caregiver is on vacation) for one of our more difficult clients tells us minutes before her shift that she's got to go to the "emergency room" for an undisclosed illness and can't make her shift. I'll reserve comment on the legitimacy of the excuse, but thankfully our fine office was able to get another qualified caregiver over there and she arrived only a few minutes late. I commend both my office and that caregiver for their quick work.
Then, I receive another call at around 12pm from another client informing me that they need service at a different location than usual - some 48 miles farther away. When I inform them that we might not be able to send the same caregiver - who lives over 60 miles away from this new locale - they don't seem to quite understand why that is.
And first pitch is just 2 hours away.
Still, Right at Home here in Los Angeles is ready to go and certainly not depended on me to operate smoothly. My office staff is prepared, our schedules are set and we don't anticipate any issues for the rest of the day. Still, I full well know as the owner of this company that the buck stops with me...even if I sometimes wish the buck would stop with that other guy in row 9, seat 17 wearing the blue & white dodger wig.
But I made a promise to our clients. That one way or the other, we would always make sure a qualified, licensed and bonded caregiver will be there to take care of their loved one even if it means I have to stop what I'm doing and help tend to one our clients personally.
So, there will be no beer for me today and I'm prepared that my hot dog may have to be left behind half-eaten. But that's the deal I made and all in all, it's not so bad.
Oh, and by the way, GO DODGERS!
No, in business acumen, a "Fire Drill" is a fairly lame metaphor to describe a time when some sort of business "emergency" has occurred and everything you're working on needs to be dropped and all hands are called on deck to put out the "fire" of this particular emergency.
The fire drill I refer to had to do with a radio ad that was playing in Las Vegas that incorrectly stated that Game Show Network could be seen on Comcast cable, when in fact the cable company for the area was actually Cox cable. Due to a delicate relationship between Game Show Network and Cox at the time, this was more than just an unfortunate embarrassment and thusly a new radio ad needed to be created immediately and sent to the station that day.
So I called the owner of the production company that created the ad. I remember while speaking to him that there was a fair amount of noise in the background and hullabaloo all around. "Okay, okay," he said to me in a somewhat perturbed tone as I mentioned to him the problem. "I'm at the Dodger game right now, but I'll leave and we'll get something to you before 5pm."
The Dodger game, I thought to myself. I'd hate to be him. Buy those tickets, think you're spending a relaxing afternoon at the ballpark and then some schmo like me calls you up and makes you give up you're half-drunk, $11 beer just to re-record a 60-second radio spot. That's tough sledding.
Yet that's exactly the situation where I find myself today. Because at 3pm this afternoon, I too will be at the Dodger game. And this is no ordinary game, no mid-Summer Wednesday tilt against the lowly Pirates of Pittsburgh. This is a playoff game, against the slick pitching, high-powered Cardinals of St. Louis. And let me tell you, the last thing I want around the 3rd inning is a call from my office with the homecare equivalent of a new radio ad needing to be produced.
So what do I receive at 8am this morning. The "fill-in" caregiver (because the regular caregiver is on vacation) for one of our more difficult clients tells us minutes before her shift that she's got to go to the "emergency room" for an undisclosed illness and can't make her shift. I'll reserve comment on the legitimacy of the excuse, but thankfully our fine office was able to get another qualified caregiver over there and she arrived only a few minutes late. I commend both my office and that caregiver for their quick work.
Then, I receive another call at around 12pm from another client informing me that they need service at a different location than usual - some 48 miles farther away. When I inform them that we might not be able to send the same caregiver - who lives over 60 miles away from this new locale - they don't seem to quite understand why that is.
And first pitch is just 2 hours away.
Still, Right at Home here in Los Angeles is ready to go and certainly not depended on me to operate smoothly. My office staff is prepared, our schedules are set and we don't anticipate any issues for the rest of the day. Still, I full well know as the owner of this company that the buck stops with me...even if I sometimes wish the buck would stop with that other guy in row 9, seat 17 wearing the blue & white dodger wig.
But I made a promise to our clients. That one way or the other, we would always make sure a qualified, licensed and bonded caregiver will be there to take care of their loved one even if it means I have to stop what I'm doing and help tend to one our clients personally.
So, there will be no beer for me today and I'm prepared that my hot dog may have to be left behind half-eaten. But that's the deal I made and all in all, it's not so bad.
Oh, and by the way, GO DODGERS!
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