A very important and challenging responsibility that Faith and Hope, a hospice care center in Burbank Ca, believes most family members will have to endure is becoming a caregiver to an aging or chronically ill loved one.
This type of obligation is something that usually isn’t planned, but more oftentimes arrives suddenly, and usually without many alternatives. Workers at the hospice care facilities in Los Angeles and Burbank have witnessed many ordinary people take on this job role without the necessary preparations.
And that is a fair observation from the caregivers at hospice facilities in Burbank Ca since the general public is not taught to be caregivers at school. If we were fortunate enough, we saw our parents take care of an elderly family member and are just educated by example.
To a degree, absolutely, if you don’t have the education or the experience, you are going to make mistakes. Many, many mistakes. Most of us do when we are taking care of elderly family members.
For this reason, hospice care centers like Faith and Hope in Burbank Ca and Los Angeles wants to share with you the three biggest mistakes made by family caregivers.
Mistake No. 1: Not Preparing Ahead
If you are one of the many people who have an elderly and/or chronically ill parent or spouse, you will try your best to delay the expected, and the inevitable. The staff at hospice care centers in Burbank Ca and Los Angeles understand your reasoning for this. Making decisions about how you are going to go about care for a loved one is not easy to do and it is emotionally exhausting. So, we take the painless route of living in a bubble in which you may never need to makes these decisions or maybe the person’s illness isn’t as bad as they appear to be.
Although thinking in this way is normal, hospice caregivers will tell you that you are not being realistic. It is ignorant to consider that the responsibility of managing care for a poorly loved one will never happen in your family. Nonetheless, today’s modern health system brings unprecedented advances in medicine and technology that allow people to live longer, and that is the reason for many to require care in our advanced years.
When you bide your time and the critical situation govern what you should do about care, your options become limited and you strip yourself of the ability to make educated, well-thought-out decisions.
Even though the task may appear to be overwhelming, everyone prospers when you are proactive instead of being reactive. There is nothing wrong with hoping for the best possible outcome, however, waiting for something and planning for the moment when your loved ones will require care will make the responsibility a lot more manageable.
Mistake No. 2: Not having healthcare, financial, and legal affairs organized
More than ever, especially with the ongoing pandemic that is occurring at the moment, it is important that you are sure that a person’s healthcare, financial, and legal affairs are in order, no matter the age. You have to ask yourself whether you and your loved ones have an advanced healthcare directive and other necessary documents that allow you to manage legal and financial issues such as a Power of Attorney if a sudden illness, disability, or death were to take place.
A good case study of this just happened recently when a couple in their 40s, who were both diagnosed with Covid-19 were in a similar position. The couple did not have any advance healthcare directives and there were no documents in order that would allow the wife to manage her husband’s independent financial accounts and property. To make matters even worse, the couple did not reside in a community property state.
Unfortunately, this is normal, particularly with younger people, to overlook the necessity of preparing for a time that you can no longer speak and act on your behalf. For this reason, it is important to plan ahead and not wait to make forced decisions.
As we are witnessing today with the global pandemic, the unexpected increase of emergency can rob you of options, resources, and even the ability to travel to places where you have to handle business. Hopefully, this horrible virus, is a wake-up call for all of us to get a grip on our legal affairs before it is too late.
Mistake No. 3: Not Hiring In-Home Help
The worst thing about caring for someone you love is the feeling of being alone and that there is no one to help you out. It is important to have a support team available to help you care for your loved one and it is also vital for your own well-being.
Nevertheless, and yet again, Covid-19 has made things difficult since social distancing measures have made it difficult to reach out to family and friends. While you are trying to keep your loved one and yourself as safe as possible, it is also essential to minimize or even do away with in-person contact with others. Hence the fact, you are feeling even more isolated and demoralized.
However, it may be necessary to give a loved one supplement care, especially after a hospital discharge. Apart from the pandemic, many do not feel comfortable allowing strangers inside their homes for fear of letting in scammers or abusers.
Admittedly, this can be true. However, to hire someone for in-home help is easier and more reliable today since many agencies screen potential caregivers to find a suitable and trustworthy person to take care of your loved one. Apart from picking the good apples from the bad, many agencies are now carrying out stricter infection-control precautions for their employees.
Normally, home health care is specialized medical care that a doctor recommends and is conducted by trained healthcare professionals such as nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, medical social workers, dietitians. Medicare and many other insurances cover home health. These services can be provided as long as the patient is homebound and under the care of a doctor who certifies that ongoing treatment is needed to keep the patient’s current condition and/or to avert decline.
