Massachusetts Home Care

Home Care for the 21st Century

Free Web Conference Helps Caregivers Identify Depression in Aging Parents

Download a flyer for this web conference here

Caring Companion Home Care of Concord, MA and the nonprofit National Private Duty Association (NPDA) will host a consumer education web conference entitled Depression and Older Adults – What Every Caregiver Should Know on March 13, 2012, at 8 p.m. EST. The live and interactive program will provide advice on how family caregivers can work with professionals to identify this condition and develop an effective plan of care for a loved one with depression. Caregivers will learn how to identify key issues and problems, locate needed experts and resources, and outline a plan to provide the best care for a parent. The event is free of charge and anyone can participate.

“Unrecognized, untreated depression is widespread among elders, who may present somewhat different symptoms, and who may need different types of treatment than younger people,” said Deborah Bier, PhD, director of the Concord office of Caring Companion. Bier holds a doctorate in therapeutic counseling, and has spent more than 20 years working with people of all ages with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. “Effective treatment can bring about an amazing improvement in quality of life and ability to function. This webinar is the type of increased public education and awareness that’s sorely needed.”

5 Life Lessons from Caring for Someone with Dementia

Note: The following was published in our monthly column "Living and Loving: Elder Care in the 21st Century" in Gate House News' Concord Journal. We will continue this theme of dementia in this blog with periodic articles on the subject.

Deborah

The popular cultural view of Alzheimers Disease and other dementias is that they are all about pain, tragedy and heartbreak. But this is only part of the story -- stop there, and we are robbed of real sweetness.

The wisdom that care partners (family, friends and professionals) can glean from people with memory problems can be profound. If viewed through an all-too-often missing lens, and by utilizing known best practices, time with such folks can also be enlightening, love-filled and satisfying.

Here are five life-affirming lessons I've received from “Habilitation Therapy,” the best standard of care for those with dementia, their families and professional caregivers. I believe that what helps dementia patients feel happy, calm, secure and fulfilled actually represents vital life lessons reduced to their essence, revealing wisdom of the ages.

Alzheimer's & Dementia Care Training is Vital for Massachusetts Caregivers

You want your loved one with Alzheimer's Disease or related dementias (ADRD) to be cared for at home by someone experienced in meeting their needs, right? Someone trained specifically to care for those with dementia. Of course!

But does experience really mean that home caregivers are offering the care that's truly right for people with such diseases? All too often, the answer is: NO. Caring for dementia patients is specialized and requires training for a set of skills all-too-often missing in the homecare setting.

Did you know that dementia-specific training is not included in home health aide or nursing assistant certifications? "While many home care aides have experience with dementia patients, few are actually adequately equipped to do so," said Deborah Bier, PhD, the director of Caring Companion Home Care's metrowest Boston, MA office located in Concord, MA. "As a result, many don't know or use the best, most proven approaches -- the very ones that dementia patients and their families most benefit from." The result can be challenging behaviors difficult or even impossible to manage in the home setting. But proper training for homecare workers can help make the difference between patients being able to stay comfortably (and less expensively) at home or being institutionalized.