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Who are you caring for?
Which best describes their mobility?
How well are they maintaining their hygiene?
How are they managing their medications?
Does their living environment pose any safety concerns?
Fall risks, spoiled food, or other threats to wellbeing
Are they experiencing any memory loss?
Which best describes your loved one's social life?
Acknowledgment of Disclosures and Authorization
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
Remember, this assessment is not a substitute for professional advice.
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Absolutely! It is not hard, though there is a learning curve. I did it for a while with my husband after his throat cancer which prevented him from oral meds and food. It was actually a bonding time as I sat with him while the process took place.
My granddaughter who is 16 has been on one since birth as she has a swallowing issue which prevents her from oral swallowing also. It can be done. Trying to help the patient feel as normal as possible is the goal. If you are uptight about it, that will make them anxious.
Good luck with this. Be kind to yourself and the patient and give yourselves both time to adjust to this new norm.
There are lines of care that even an experienced, dedicated caregiver should probably not cross. I don’t know from personal experience, but I imagine that dealing with all of the implications of a feeding tube would be very intense and even more emotionally and physically draining than ordinary tasks required of home caregivers. We do what we CAN do and not what we can’t. Sounds like time for professional care hard as that is to accept. Making that decision takes as much courage as trying to do it yourself.
My husband had a feeding tube for the last year of his life and I cared for him at home. A home health nurse trained me. It was simple to use and keep clean. I agree with AlvaDeer though. You must have the necessary resources.
My friend is an RN and cared for her husband with a feeding tube for over two years. These years were fraught with difficulties. Various health issues that required long hospital stays, rushing to the ER after midnight, a lift in their home to get him upstairs, etc. She had no other interest or job besides taking care of him 24/7 day in and day out. He couldn’t be left alone.
Without that level of training and knowledge, it would be impossible. She was exhausted by the time he died. She had no life of her own left.
Is the patient competent to decide if she even wants a feeding tube? My Healthcare Directive and personal letter specifically exclude that as an option. It may be time to call in hospice or palliative care. If a feeding tube is placed, IMO the patient should likely receive professional care.
Assuming you’re addressing a stroke patient, the feeding tube is simple to use and keep clean. They do need occasional replacement, a simple outpatient procedure that takes minutes. The far bigger challenge with a stroke patient is caring for a body with paralysis and them not being able to help with transitions, changes, baths, etc. as if often the case. My family didn’t know that strokes often bring on a unique depression that’s ongoing and hard to deal with. In our case, the care was far too intense to be accomplished in a home setting. For a far milder stroke than my mom had, perhaps so
Technically, yes. But it's kind of a big deal. Someone I know was caring for someone with one and it was one thing after another. The patient would pull the tube out or it would twist or whatever and the visits to the ER and surgeries continued on and on. I would not touch that area of caregiving with a 10 foot pole.
Sure. Easily. With training. I think that the tube isn't the problem. The problem is whether you wish to and have the wherewithal and the time to take on this burden overall.
I would not take her on. Let her kids do their job. If they do not want to care for her then get her set up with care. You have Mom and a job. You will have no time for yourself.
You also would have to deal with getting her to your State and getting her a new supplemental. They don't usually go over State lines. With a stroke and feeding tube she needs to be in care.
It seems that you are asking about your elderly Aunt, who has had a stroke and has a feeding tube. You say that her children have "abandoned" her and that doctors are calling your mom about her care.
I assume that your aunt's children have jobs, spouses and families to manage. The question may be not so much "can a feeding tube be managed at home"--by anyone, rather, can THEY manage their mother's care at her home/their home without destroying their lives.
Look, I loved my mom (as did both of my brothers). But there was simply NO way that ANY of us could have cared for her in any of our homes. None of us was able to quit our jobs to provide full time care.
My feeling about care in facilities vs. care at home has ALWAYS been (this applies to childcare and elder care) that care in a facility provides more socialization and more eyes on a situation than care at home by a CNA/Nanny.
Are you looking to care for your aunt in your home, or mom's?
Make sure that you have POA and that your are adequately compensated and that respite is provided for.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
My granddaughter who is 16 has been on one since birth as she has a swallowing issue which prevents her from oral swallowing also. It can be done. Trying to help the patient feel as normal as possible is the goal. If you are uptight about it, that will make them anxious.
Good luck with this. Be kind to yourself and the patient and give yourselves both time to adjust to this new norm.
Without that level of training and knowledge, it would be impossible. She was exhausted by the time he died. She had no life of her own left.
Don’t even think about it.
I think that the tube isn't the problem.
The problem is whether you wish to and have the wherewithal and the time to take on this burden overall.
You also would have to deal with getting her to your State and getting her a new supplemental. They don't usually go over State lines. With a stroke and feeding tube she needs to be in care.
It seems that you are asking about your elderly Aunt, who has had a stroke and has a feeding tube. You say that her children have "abandoned" her and that doctors are calling your mom about her care.
I assume that your aunt's children have jobs, spouses and families to manage. The question may be not so much "can a feeding tube be managed at home"--by anyone, rather, can THEY manage their mother's care at her home/their home without destroying their lives.
Look, I loved my mom (as did both of my brothers). But there was simply NO way that ANY of us could have cared for her in any of our homes. None of us was able to quit our jobs to provide full time care.
My feeling about care in facilities vs. care at home has ALWAYS been (this applies to childcare and elder care) that care in a facility provides more socialization and more eyes on a situation than care at home by a CNA/Nanny.
Are you looking to care for your aunt in your home, or mom's?
Make sure that you have POA and that your are adequately compensated and that respite is provided for.