Families of aging seniors are confronted with many choices as they navigate options to help maintain a healthy and productive life for elderly family members.  Home safety, medication management and transportation are key concerns for every family facing the naturally changing capacities seniors face as they age.  In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, one third of seniors aged 65 and over need some assistance with activities of daily living such as dressing and personal hygiene, shopping and preparing meals

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, one third of seniors aged 65 and over need some assistance with the activities associated with daily living.  Facing the need for such assistance is often greeted with resistance and disappointment by the senior herself, and concern and worry on the part of her family members.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

There is a high demand from our seniors to “age in place," to be able to stay in their home as long as their health allows. They are adverse to moving to any kind of facility, such as a nursing home, retirement center or hospice, where skilled and professional care givers can take care of them.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

We read with interest this wonderful article about when families with an aged elder family member in the household hit the crossroads - the elder needs more care and attention than the family caregivers can provide and keep their own sanity.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

Aging adults increasingly want to remain independent and age in their own home.  Grandma or grandpa are really happy living at home and don't want to move out.  Their family and loved ones worry, however, because they are not able to completely take care of themselves on their own.  It is time to objectively assess the senior's abilities and limitations, and to develop a future care plan that helps them to safely age in place.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

Many families that hire a senior or elder caregiver to care for a loved one want to document the arrangement so that all parties - the senior caregiver, the supervising family member, other family members and the senior receiving the care - all understand the terms and scope of the employment agreement. This is a best practice at all times! You will want this document to restate the terms of employment, including hours and wages, and to memoralize the items you originally agreed upon with the caregiver. So what do you need to include in this senior caregiver work agreement?

 

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

As more and more seniors are opting to "age in place", more families consider privately hiring senior caregivers as a way to help their loved ones stay in their homes, which are a safe and happy environment . This is uncharted territory for most people, and adult children who may have hired nannies to care for their children years ago wonder what they need to consider when hiring the senior caregiver.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, babysitter nanny tax, housekeeper, cleaning lady, maid, nanny, companionship services

Direct hiring of senior caregivers by families continues to increase, and families have questions about minimum wage, overtime and whether to pay the elder caregiver when they are sleeping. US News and World Report recently noted that "by a 9-to-1 ratio, people prefer to stay in their homes as they get older rather than moving into an institution." They often become household employers as they hire individual home-care workers to help them age in place.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services, companionship exemption, senior home-care workers

Q. We have a regular babysitter. Most weeks she watches the children 3 afternoons/evenings a week, just until I get home from work, so my wife can attend classes. We only pay her $200 a week. I have heard about "nanny taxes" but since she is not full time or a real nanny, that doesn't apply to me, right?

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, babysitter nanny tax, housekeeper, cleaning lady, maid, summer nanny, companionship services, household payroll tax