Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

Sometimes I ask myself, do all Americans realize what Veterans Day is really about? Over the years, it seems to me that some have taken for granted the freedoms we enjoy in this country. Freedom is something that our veterans have worked hard to ensure that our children and grandchildren have these same freedoms. This liberty allows us, as Americans, to be who we want to be, what we want to be and where we want to be at different moments in time.

It’s called choice.

Other countries do not have these same rights and freedoms that we sometimes simply take for granted. Unfortunately, many of our armed forces have died fighting for our safety and liberties. However, it is inspiring and encouraging to hear the tales of those who came home to share their experiences.

Our veterans deserve to be recognized for their courageous and honorable work. With having young children in elementary school, it’s great to hear and see that many teachers are taking time in their school day to teach our children the true meaning of Veterans Day. I was in my daughter’s Kindergarten classroom recently and it was a pleasure to see the room decked out in patriotic red, white and blue. By educating our younger generation, we can teach them to appreciate what we have in the United States rather than thinking that this is simply how it is, how it has been and how it will always be. Our freedom and our country’s freedom will be at stake if that is what our children believe.

My father served in the Navy as a First Class, Radarman on the USS Norris, a destroyer, for four years. As a child, I remember finding a picture of a ship in shoebox in the basement of my childhood home in Aberdeen, SD. My dad was there with me and I asked him whose ship this was and he said it was his and he explained to me how he served on that ship. He honorably left the service in 1954 and that picture survived for a reason.

Looking back on our nation’s past, November 11^th was a significant day in United States history. In 1918, the World War I fighting ceased at the signing of the Armistice. A year following this historic event, President Woodrow Wilson dedicated a proclamation in anniversary to this day of peace honoring military members for their outstanding bravery for serving our homeland.

To this day, November 11^th has been a day to recognize our current and past military. Because of the many wars and conflicts that followed World War I, it was decided that the term “Armistice” was only relevant to the first war. Therefore, in 1954, the holiday was changed to Veterans Day to honor all veterans serving in times of war, conflict or peace. Today, we recognize all veterans for the sacrifices they made and our current military personnel who are making our country a safe place to live.

On November 11^th, let us remember and honor our veterans by flying our American flags and wearing our red, white and blue in their honor whether at our homes, at work or in our neighborhoods. All of us know a veteran somewhere, tell them thanks for the choice they made in serving our country.

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with your choices in home care.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

I know there is a ‘National Month’ for just about everything but, November is touted as National Home Care Month by The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). It is a time for all of us to commemorate the power of caring, both at home and in our local communities, by celebrating this event with gracious praise of those who care for others.

It is appropriate that we take a few minutes of our day to celebrate the nurses, therapists, aides, care givers and other providers who have chosen to use their lives to help give strength to the infirm, disabled and elderly people in our communities.

From the beginning of Aspirience, I have said often there is no work more nobler, fulfilling and rewarding that and no group in our society deserves more of our respect and admiration than those who care for others.

Back in 1999, the U.S. Supreme Courts’ Olmstead decision declared a Constitutional right for all Americans to be cared for in the least restrictive environment, their homes. The National Governors Association declared in 2004 that long term care is the greatest problem facing America and that home care is the best solution to the problem. In addition to these moves, the growth in the use of home care is being driven primarily by demographics, the graying of America, the advancement of technology, its cost effectiveness as compared with other forms of care and personal choice. Meaning that home care is all around us, everyday, everywhere.

Another fact is that home care is not just for the elderly but has viable importance to the young and middle-aged, especially chronically ill and disabled children.

Granted, 78 million Baby Boomers will soon hit retirement age, and a large percentage of them will begin to need help to remain independent in their own homes but, at this point, there is no Federal program that helps much with these needs, which also affects as many as 8 million more persons with disabilities who are younger than age 65. Home care needs are vast.

We believe that quality home care and hospice, a humane and cost effective alternative to institutionalization, is the right of all people. Home care provides important skilled nursing, therapy, supportive services and self care training and work in concert with the care provided by family members and friends. Home care encourages maximum independence of thought and functioning as well as the preservation of human dignity.

Home care is the preferred form of health care for millions of Americans as they go through their lives. Even when the end is near, most people appreciate the love and care which is so graciously given by the angels of hospice. Let us take time to celebrate the good that these special people do in the world.

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with your home care options by keeping your loved ones where they are most comfortable and safe, at home.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

Not to sound like a home improvement article but, with winter just around the corner there are some tasks around the house that should be done to prepare for the bitter chill and harsh elements we typically face here in Minnesota. Especially for the our loved ones that are in their own homes and we want them to feel safe and protected.

Take just a few minutes with some basic tools to do it yourself. You’ll save money and have great satisfaction in knowing you did it yourself. So grab your toolbox, get a grip on your patience and dig in. Here are five winter tasks you might not even know you can successfully tackle:

1. Shut off outdoor water spigots: Your faucets outside can freeze and break in extreme cold if the valve inside your house isn’t turned off. This task is as easy as finding the valve and turning it to the right until it’s tight. If you don’t know where the valve is, note how many feet the faucet is from the corner of the outside wall. Then go inside (usually to the basement wall) and measure from the same corner. The valve should be high on the inside wall near the foundation. After you shut it off, go outside and turn on the spigot to drain any remaining water. Don’t forget to drain hoses and store them inside so excess water does not freeze and cause the hose to crack.

2. Change your furnace filter: It’s important to change your filter once a month in the winter when the furnace is in high gear. Doing so will help it run more efficiently, which will save you money and keep cleaner air distributing throughout the house. If you don’t know which type of filter your furnace uses, check the owner’s manual. You can also remove the filter (with the furnace turned off) and take it to the hardware store to match it up. Most filter sizes go by standard inches (example: 16 x 22) and are about 1 inch thick. Once you find the filter slot in your furnace, simply pull it out. Some furnaces have a clip that holds the filter in place. Most filters, which are inexpensive, are disposable, so toss the old one then slide the new one in its place and secure the clip.

3. Winterize your lawn mower: To make sure your mower starts in the spring, drain the remaining gas from the tank by running the mower until it stops. If you’re unable to drain the gas or have a gas/oil mix, buy additives to treat your gas so it doesn’t go bad during the winter months.

4. Get your fireplace ready: Now is a great time to give your fireplace a once over and possibly even hire a chimney sweep to reduce the risk of a chimney fire. Take a good look at your damper and make sure it opens and closes properly. Also take a look at the mortar between the bricks (tuck points) inside the fireplace. If it’s crumbling or loose, arrange to have a mason make repairs. If you haven’t had your chimney cleaned in a few years, make that call.

5. Install storm windows and doors: It’s important to remove your screens for the winter to allow optimum sunlight for added warmth. Replace them with storm windows and doors. Most attach easily with a screwdriver to tighten four or five screws around the edges. But they’re all different and some involve vinyl or rubber edging that, when pushed into place, seals the storm door in place. Storm windows are key to helping conserve energy, so don’t ignore this task.

6. Lastly, make sure you have good snow shovels: It never fails, when the first snow falls and you go to shovel out you don’t have a shovel that can do the job. Worse yet, by the time you go to buy one most stores are sold out.

Again, not to sound like a home improvement article but, I bring this topic up since there always seems to be some tragic home care story that hits the news during the dead of winter that could have been prevented if some precautions around the home were cared for.

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with your home care options by keeping your loved ones where they are most comfortable and safe at home.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

I’m sure this is not news to anyone but, The Carlyle Group, a private-equity investment firm with investments in business sectors ranging from aerospace to telecommunications, is about to buy its way into Ohio’s nursing home market.

A cash offer to buy HCR Manor Care, the owner of some 500 nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, rehabilitation centers and hospice and home-care agencies in 30 states, including Ohio, received Manor Care shareholders’ approval this week.

The deal is getting resistance, especially from the Service Employees International Union, which has launched a nationwide campaign to get Carlyle to guarantee that if the homes change hands, the new owners will improve care and staff levels.

What a great idea!

A recent investigation by the New York Times lends an extra degree of credibility to the SEIU’s concerns. The newspaper found that private equity firms, which have bought into the nursing home industry in a big way since 2000, show a disturbing tendency to manage their properties with a great deal more concern about the bottom line than about proper staffing and patient care.

The Times also found that once they’ve gained control of a nursing home chain, private-equity firms use intricate management structures to insulate themselves from liability when things go wrong. In fact, it’s often hard to tell whose nursing homes they are.

Now comes Carlyle, with its plans for Manor Care and its 44 homes in Ohio, a state where the nursing home industry already has one of the most powerful influences.

State nursing home regulators should turn a stern gaze on the quality of care given at homes bought by private equity firms. Decreases in the level of staff, something Manor Care’s current ownership says will not happen, must be treated as cause for immediate concern.

Taking care of aging people who can no longer live independently is a big business, and it’s only going to get bigger as the baby boom generation goes deeper into its twilight years. But those who profit must be held accountable for the level of care they provide.

There’s no reason why private equity firms can’t do the job right. But like other nursing home owners, they’re going to have to be watched closely and constantly by regulators and residents’ families, to keep them honest.

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with your home care options by keeping your loved ones where they are most comfortable and safe at home.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

A long-time provider of child daycare services will close Friday, Dec. 7.

Kids Care Center, 640 N. Main St., River Falls, WI, will go out of business on that date. Families using Kids Care are now being assisted in their efforts to find other daycare providers.