Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

What exactly is a skilled nursing facility? The definition is a medical facility offering similar services as a hospital, providing care for the appropriate seniors with optional long-term or short-term care. The price of skilled nursing home care is rising rapidly every year. However, skilled nursing homes are an excellent choice for those who require medical professionals. But they are not for every senior. Some seniors just need help with their activities of daily living (ADLs) such as dressing, preparing food, going to the bathroom, or bathing.

Is it necessary for a senior to be in an expensive nursing home facility when all they need in assistance with their ADLs?

As a matter of fact, there are a number of elderly folk who are in skilled nursing home facilities who only need help with their ADLs, due to the lack of experience and the knowledge, they are unaware of the options that are accessible to them. Skilled nursing homes supply solutions for patients with complicated medial issues. The problems the residents could have may include mental illness such as dementia, physical illnesses like major infections, wound care, IV therapy, tube feeding, and physical/occupational therapy.

There are many attainable alternatives to skilled nursing home care if a senior does not need the 24 hour service from a skilled nurse just to help them prepare a meal or something simple. Retirement housing options are abundant across the United States, assisted living, private, or senior living communities are just a few of the facilities offered.

Assisted living is a considerable alternative for elderly people who just need a little help to get them through the day and probably also one of the most common for retired seniors. A great benefit of assisted living is the resident can live in their own home, apartment, or retirement community and have a care giver come over and cook them lunch or help them get dressed or what ever they need help with to get them through the day. The resident still has their privacy and freedom in the comfort of their own space. Basically, assisted living homes are homes that provide care for seniors who are incapable of living alone and just need help with the ADLs, and do not require skilled nursing home care.

However, if the senior has more needs with assistance and medical issues then a skilled nursing home facility is probably their best bet to get the care they need. A skilled care nursing home is required to customarily have other professionals on board to assist with patients needs. A social worker is typically on staff to assist the residents with their emotional problems and arrangements for the patients care. Occupational and physical therapists work within the structure of care, reporting progress to the doctors and coordinating specifically ordered therapies. The nurses generally take care of administering medications and prescriptions.

Individuals contemplating a skilled nursing home should investigate their choices and options of their individual situation before making a decision. There are different types of nursing home care options to choose from and in some cases the best plan of care is to just stay at home and have a care giver come over and help.

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

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

PRESS RELEASE – Shakopee, Minnesota, October 1, 2007 – Aspirience Home Care to sponsor The Minnesota Epilepsy Foundation’s Maximize Your Care Convention.

This annual conference, being held Saturday, November 10th at the Radisson University Hotel 615 Washington Avenue S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55414, brings together national and local experts for a full day of education, information and support.

Understanding what happens in your doctor’s office or during the various tests for epilepsy and how to best prepare for your visits has a big impact on how well your seizures will be controlled.

Conference speakers will explain what happens during tests ordered for people with epilepsy, how to prepare for your follow-up visits and how to communicate with health care providers.

Other speakers will discuss the latest on anti-seizure medications, epilepsy surgery, VNS and brain stimulation for epilepsy. Our goal is to provide practical information to help you take charge of your epilepsy care.

The conference includes an exhibit area, where sponsors, such as Aspirience Home Care, and exhibitors can have face-to-face conversations with event attendees and volunteers.

Conference agenda:

8:15 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast - view exhibits

8:45 a.m. Welcome

9:00 a.m. Diagnosis and History: Neurological Exam Demonstration

• Fredrick Langendorf, MD, Hennepin County Medical Center

9:40 a.m. Imaging and EEG’s

• Tom Henry, MD, University of Minnesota

10:20 a.m. Break

10:30 a.m. Teaming with Your Physician: Get the Most Out of Your Visit

• Sarah Engkjer RN, BSN, Minnesota Epilepsy Group
• Role Play (Ted Walczak, M.D. MINCEP Epilepsy Care and John Thompson)

11: 20 a.m. Break/Lunch

11:45 a.m. Managing Your Medications

• Jeannine Conway, Pharm.D., University of Minnesota

12:30 p.m. Treatment Options Update

• Medication: Patricia Penovich, MD, Minnesota Epilepsy Group
• Devices: Ilo Leppik, MD, University of Minnesota
• Surgery Options: Ted Walczak, MD, MINCEP Epilepsy Care

1:30 p.m. Panel Q&A

2:00 p.m. Closing/Adjourn

This conference was a huge success last year and attracted professionals, care givers, people with Epilepsy and many of their family members. This year the expected turnout will be even higher. You can reach the Epilepsy Foundation at 1600 University Ave, Suite 205, St. Paul, MN 55105 or by phone at 651-287-2300.

It’s important to know, you can partner with a home care provider like Aspirience to help you too.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

I’m sure I am not the only one with this question.

As I have read the stories about awarding the 35W bridge contract to a company called Flatiron Constructors, out of Colorado, I get the feeling that there is, indeed, something going on that I don’t understand.

The Flatiron people came in $57 million more expensive than other, local bidders and tied for the longest construction time, 437 days, with another company called Walsh Construction and American Bridge.

What to do with $57 million? I have some ideas.

We could care for almost 900 Minnesotans for a year in a single room, private nursing home. This would be a 24/7 care facility with full room and board and on site nurses. Pretty comprehensive care.

We could care for about 1,000 Minnesotans for a year in a two-person shared nursing home. Same as above but shared by two residents often creating better companion care for both

We could care for almost 2,000 Minnesotans for a year in an assisted living facility. Often called adult day centers where the elderly can be taken to be with other elderly on a part time basis.

We could care for over 3,500 Minnesotans for a year part time with a Personal Care Assistant. Provide companion, bathing, housekeeping, cooking and other routine assistance consistent with activities of daily living.

Better yet, why don’t we take the extra $57 million and put it to use to rebuild the Veterans nursing home dilema. The entire yearly budget for the state funded Vets homes is only $36 million and we would have plenty of change left over. Just a thought.

It’s good to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with qualified home care.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

Elder abuse once again slips into the news as I was watching a news story of a home worker repeatedly striking a bed bound 90 year old gentleman for whom she was providing care.

Will we let our outrage fade into the background until it happens to our loved one? Will we learn from this event and be prepared when it is our father needing care?

A daughter, needing help for her father while she worked, hired the worker directly, not using the services of a home care company.

This is an all too familiar story: adult children trying to do the best they can to take care of their parents and, at the same time, deal with their own growing family and becoming the victims of unqualified caregivers.

Minnesota is aging rapidly, and soon 25 percent of our state’s population will be elderly. By the year 2030, the number of Minnesotans over the age of 65 will double from where it is at today.

Spouses, daughters and sons, grandchildren and others who have the responsibility to make decisions about who will be caring for a loved one have a better choice about whom to invite into their home, the right home care company.

Minnesota is fortunate to have a large number of qualified home care companies across the state that provide a variety of programs and services employing workers who have had training, had their backgrounds checked and who are given ongoing oversight and supervision.

Home care companies provide services funded by Medicare, Medicaid, insurance policies and private funds. Most home-care companies operate under state and federal regulations and have oversight of their programs and operations by the Department of Human Services.

Many of the companies that do not provide federal- and state-funded services adhere to national standards for the employment of workers and the operations of the home-care business.

But calling a home-care company is not enough. The consumer or purchaser of home care services must make informed decisions, asking questions and demanding answers, requiring documentation and reading the “fine print.”

With an aging population and a workforce shortage, the problem of elder abuse is bound to get worse. Using the services of professional home care companies, being informed about service options and taking advantage of the resources to minimize risk are a few of the ways to prevent elder abuse of any kind.

It’s good to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with qualified home care.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

I was talking with someone associated with the Muscular Dystrophy Association the other day and she was telling me about little Levi and how he is doing so well with his neuromuscular disease. I just had to share her story and what half-day home care has done for this little patient and his family.

Levi wasn’t suppose to walk, or eat without his feeding tube or live past his first birthday. All of which have happened, and with grace.

Levi turned 4 years old this past Saturday and is outliving and outpacing most expectations from doctors, nurses and even his own family.

He started out life in the Neuro-Intensive Care unit after he was born in Minot, ND. They were not aware that he was going to be born this way.

No one is supposed to be born this way.

No one really knew why he was not normal either. Doctors and specialists conducted tests for a year and a half. Something wasn’t right with him and all the family knew was that their little boy was fighting against an invisible illness.

They brought him home and had half-day, personal care assistant, home care, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s been like that for the past 4 years now.

After being sent to Rochester, Minnesota little Levi was diagnosed with a mitochrondial defect. But under that heading comes 50 other diseases that doctors were not able to pin-point.

Then after a second muscle biopsy another diagnosis of congenetal myopathy. Another condition with 50 or so diseases underneath its umbrella. It was not looking good as both diseases have no cure.

So that’s where he is. We have congenetal myopathy and a mitochrondial defect and they are both unclassified and the family has no idea which ones they are. But little Levi just keeps on improving and improving.

Now at age four with so much he wasn’t supposed to do, he’s doing so much. He has learned sign language to communicate, wheels himself around the house in his custom sized wheelchair and he plays baseball.

Levi may only be about the size of a one year old, he may only have the cognitive abilities of a two year old but he is not about to slow down.

His progress has been aided by the Muscular Dystrophy Association and a solid PCA home care provider, helping the family with resources and special needs.

It’s good to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with home care like little Levi.