Akron Life February 2023

FOREVER YOUNG

left: Visiting Angels Greater Akron staff, below: Jodi Wood, photos by Caitlin Ross Photography

Visiting Angels might recom mend that patients wear a Lifeline, which is a necklace or a bracelet that can alert emergency services. And for Alzheimer’s or dementia patients, caregivers can help prevent wandering by occupy ing patients’ time and keeping a close eye on them. Having a caregiver monitor patients at home near the end of their lives makes a big impact. “The fact that their loved one was able to pass away peacefully at home means a lot to people,” Wood says. Ball has held patients’ hands at their bedsides as they have died, and she has notified families when a patient is close so they can be there. She took care of one patient for three years, helping out as a guardian came and went. When she died, Ball attended the funeral and the guardian expressed his immense gratitude. Ball says the woman was like a mother to her. “We become a part of their fam ily,” she says, “if we’re doing our job like we should.” visitingangels.com

to an unfamiliar place can be disorienting. Plus, home care can cost less, Wood says. She advises contacting Direction Home Akron Canton to see if your family meets requirements to qualify for the Passport Medicaid program that covers some costs. The home care Visiting Angels offers is non-medical, so if your loved one needs help with administering medication or changing wound dressings, a medical-based option is best. And some might want to be in a community living setting to socialize with people their age. Caregivers can visit monthly, a few days a week or provide 24/7 care, which can be common for those coming out of the hospital. Twenty percent of older adults on Medicare are hospitalized within 30 days of hospital discharge. Having a caregiver during recovery can help reduce readmission rates, according to Visiting Angels. The family and caregiver work together to create a schedule

“Having somebody come into the home relieves that depression,” says Ball. “They smile more.” For those who are bedbound, caregivers can use tools such as a Hoyer lift to transfer them to a wheelchair so they can use the bathroom and get around. Caregivers also encourage families to set up pillboxes with medications sorted out, and they can ensure patients take them. “Medication mismanage ment by a client is one of the leading reasons besides falls someone can end up in the hos pital,” says Wood. To avoid injuries, Visiting Angels do assessments, notify ing the family of hazards like throw rugs or safety measures that can be implemented like handrails in the shower. Falls can happen because of decreased strength, reduced eyesight, stiff joints, cognitive disorders and more. “We want to prevent any sort of fracture,”

to keep the patient active, like one Visiting Angels home health aide Michele Kaiser made for her patient. “When I first got there, she would just sleep in the chair all day,” she says. “I was trying to get her to go outside and walk around. … That turned into our routine, and she liked that.” Visiting Angels can help with grocery shopping, bathing, bathroom use, feeding pets and more. One Greek patient can no longer cook, so she taught Kaiser to make baklava and moussaka for her. According to Visiting Angels, connecting over the internet can reduce depression in older adults by 20 percent, so caregivers can teach patients tech tools like FaceTime to communicate with family and friends. Caregivers also combat isolation with com panionship by playing cards, reading books aloud or simply having conversations. COMFORT OF HOME

says Wood, adding that frac tures can prevent older adults from being able to live at home.

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