http://create.mopro.com/410144/blog/rss/feedsWe have developed a team of experts to deliver to consumer's a well-balanced approach to Homecare services. Our agency is one of the few that offer community services such as assistance in the application of Medicaid, SSI and SSD, as well as other services.Wed, 06 May 2026 23:28:13 -0700http://create.mopro.com/410144/blog/post/aging-in-place-plans-may-be-possible%E2%80%A6-or-nothttp://create.mopro.com/410144/blog/post/aging-in-place-plans-may-be-possible%E2%80%A6-or-not By As Our Parents Age so do WeOriginal post For as long as I can remember, my parents planned to age in place in their home. They made me promise to support them in this endeavor, and I did. They understood initially that some situations — severe illness or extreme memory problems, for instance — might require their plans to be changed. But as time passed and they aged into their 90s they focused on the aging at home part and swept other possibilities our of their minds. When people age in place they live in their homes and support services — caregivers, medication aids, and others — come to them as needed. In my parents case we had several individuals who came in for various tasks and home health aides who eventually needed to be scheduled around the clock, after my father had a heart attack. Some incredible people provided care to my parents in their home, but mom and dad could not get used to always having someone around. They grumbled about not having enough privacy. And at night when my dad would wake up, he could not reccognize the individual who was sitting in the living room, and sometimes he reacted with hostility. For several months we tried to make it work. Unfortunately, aging in place wasn’t working well. The next option was assisted living. Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC), where my parents lived, offers small communities with one and two room apartments, ten of them around a large commons area where there were separate spaces for dining, television viewing, scheduled activities, and reading, Residents have privacy in their apartments, and assistants always knock to be admitted. As in most assisted living communities there is a tier of services offered, depending on the health needs of the resident. Both of my parents, except at the very end of their lives, remained on tier one, needing very little additional care. At VMRC, the assisted living section is never — EVER — referred to as a facility. It is a community and the people who live there are residents. The aides in the community have three basic responsibilities — ensure that residents get their medications, remind them about meals and activities, and keep a non-invasive eye on those ten apartments to ensure everything is fine. Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community had six assisted living communities. The aides were remarkable. One reads about all of the potential problems that a family must be aware of when a relative moves into assisted living. VMRC had none of those issues. Of course my parents did not want to move, but they needed the structure offered by residing in an assisted living community, and their apartment would be allow privacy most of the time. Dad’s memory was so weak, and he could not do much without my mother’s assistance. Again, the situatio involved many conversations, and many decisions about what to move and what to dispose of in some way. I spoke to Mom about dad’s memory and the possibility of his needing assisted living without her. I spoke to Dad about mom’s tendency to fall. Mom, especially, responded most of the time about her desire to age in place They finally agreed to move, but they were not happy. Along with driving, this is one of the most difficult conversations for an adult child to have with their elderly parents. Moving their possessions was challenging. The new apartment in the Crestwood community was small, and choosing what items to move was impossible for them. Thus it was left to my husband and me to decide what they would like to take with them, and just to be sure, after their move I took a fair amount of possessions that they might have wanted to my basement. My parents eventually settled in, and as my dad’s memory worsened my mother even commented that she was glad that they lived where they did so that if something happened to her, dad would be in a friendly, respectful, and helpful living situation. As it turned out, Mom did pass away before dad, and he, despite his memory continuing to decline, was able to remain in the Crestwood community for two amazingly stable years after my mother died.Sun, 26 Feb 2023 10:23:00 -0700http://create.mopro.com/410144/blog/post/lifeline-for-caregivers-respite-care-is-now-a-medicare-benefithttp://create.mopro.com/410144/blog/post/lifeline-for-caregivers-respite-care-is-now-a-medicare-benefit By Danielle Kunkle. She is the co-founder of Boomer Benefits, Source Transition Aging Parents How does Medicare and Respite Care Works? Being a full-time caregiver can be both challenging and exhausting. There is so much that goes into being the primary caretaker of someone that is either terminally ill or disabled that many people don’t recognize. It’s a full-time job with very few breaks. That’s why respite care was designed – to give caregivers a break while providing their loved ones with good quality care in their absence. What exactly is respite care? Respite care is the professional care that a primary caregiver will hire to take over their duties in their absence. This form of care can come in many different forms depending on the kind of care needed and the preferred environment. For example, respite care can be provided in an inpatient hospital, a long-term care facility, an adult daycare and even at home. Trained respite care providers are able to take on managing basic daily functions, administering medications and even tube feedings for those disabled or in need of round-the-clock medical attention. Skilled care by a registered nurse may also be included under respite care for those that are very ill. These trained providers can be hired on to substitute for a primary caregiver for as little as a few hours to as long as a few days. Is respite care covered by Medicare? Medicare Part A covers respite care for beneficiaries who are on hospice and have six months or less to live. Part A pays for up to five days of inpatient respite care at a time, although you may be responsible for a 5% coinsurance amount. If the beneficiary has a Medicare supplement plan, their supplement may pay for this coinsurance. Take note that you can only use the respite care benefit on an occasional basis. Does Medicare Advantage cover respite care? There is good news for caregivers in the new Medicare Advantage guidelines approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in October 2018. Respite care is one of the newly allowed supplemental benefits for Medicare Advantage plans. Benefits that Medicare Advantage carriers may now build into their plans include two items that would benefit caregivers: · Custodial support in the home: In-home support care is a great option for caregivers that need a temporary break but are in a situation where the patient cannot leave the home. · Adult day care: Caregivers can schedule respite care through an adult day care on occasion or a set schedule. This is a great change of pace and scenery for the patient while giving the caregiver a temporary break. Other benefits approved for coverage include non-emergency transportation to and from medical visits and expanded meal delivery. Keep in mind that some of these benefits might be limited to only a certain number of uses a year. The newly approved respite care benefits is a positive sign that there is an increase in recognition of the need for elder care in the home and caregiver support services. CMS expects a larger number of insurers to offer supplemental benefits in 2020. Sun, 26 Feb 2023 10:14:00 -0700