PST Senior Care Advocates of Rhode Island

 PST Senior Care Advocates…Your Answer to Transforming the Aging Process

Transform Aging – Navigating the Changing Tides 

There are Options, we can offer Solutions

PST Senior Care Advocates is changing the way we view aging with their innovative, comprehensive, and affordable approach to caring for the elderly.  Try as we may, we can not avoid the aging process. However, we can change how we feel about this process.   Being in charge of the care of a loved one can be emotional, confusing, and undoubtedly a very challenging experience.  What is often lacking is knowledge and advocacy.  This is why PST Senior Care Advocates is the perfect solution to ensuring the safety, health, and well-being of your parent or perhaps grandparent. This service will be tailored to meet the needs of each individual client, making it an ideal alternative to other types of care.

There are so many considerations when it come to senior care and each one requires a great deal of understanding and research.  To begin with, the caretaker must consider the financial, legal, and healthcare options.  This information can be very daunting to a person who is not well versed this field.  Patricia Schumacher, owner and visionary behind this Rhode Island based company, is an RN with an extensive experience in the field.  From the ins and out of healthcare regulations to your financial options, you will be guided through the entire process while always keeping in mind, the best possible outcome for the client.  Healthcare literacy is imperative to a successful and effective plan.  PTS Senior Care Advocates will help you understand the information that comes your way.

Her expertise include but are not limited to:

• Clinician in Critical Care and Home Health Care.
• Quality projects for private insurers, including a nationwide study on Assessing the Care of Vulnerable Elders.
• Coordinator for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials, neuropathy and other neurodegenerative disorders.
• Consultant for medico-legal cases and a clinical surveyor for hospital accreditation.
• Quality Outcomes Coordinator for Stroke.

 

What is needed to Transform Aging?

In order to transform the aging process, one must first realize that getting older is not a disease, it is a part of life.  We need to look at the health-span of a client.  In other words, how can we keep each client at their optimal health for the rest of their life?  Optimal health not only means physically, it means mentally and spiritually also.

 

Why Choose Companion Services ?

Aging is a simple fact of life; fitness and frailty are two states of being. Frailty increases with age and can necessitate the need to employ in home services services. There are some different options to provide optimal senior care at home. 
One of the most important services is companionship, your loved one needs someone to be there for them. They may have experiences they need to share with a listening ear. Trained companions are compassionate individuals who value and respect the feelings of others. They provide social stimulation by engaging in activities and conversations the client values and enjoys
. Meal preparation, guidance and prompting to get ready for the new day, or assistance with errands. Service companions are there to make sure  that everything is done in the best possible way. Companions are also able to help clients plan, schedule and keep appointments as well as maintain social connections. Some social events might include sightseeing, trips, shopping, watching sporting activities, going to weddings, visiting friends and many other client specific choices. Exercise is essential to optimize the health and well-being for people of all ages. Appropriate and approved activities may include walks, swimming, jogging, gardening or any other activities that promote fun, function and well-being. Engaging socially 1:1 with a trained companion stimulates cognitive functioning and emotional well being. Companions trained to interact providing purposeful, directed engagement activities have been shown to delay progression and may reverse some forms of mild to moderate cognitive impairments.

 

Demystify the Myths about Home Care Services

 1: False: Home services are only meant for seniors who are ill

Truth: Home services are for people who need additional assistance in their homes. As you already know, there are seniors who are living at home and could use additional help as well as someone to keep track of their well being.

 

 2: False: Home services take away independence

Truth: The intention of in-home services is to do the exact opposite.  Having the additional support allows the person to remain independent for as long as possible! This gives the person support to get out into the community and do the things they love to do.

 

 3: False: Home service is not affordable

Truth: Home services might just be one of the most affordable alternatives for those who need assistance in their life. Often, the need for  services can vary from several hours a day, a few days a week, to 24 hour in-home companion service. Live-in care is a great alternative and keeps your loved one safely in the comfort of their own home.

 

 4: False: The quality of home services is inferior to other services

Truth:  Service providers offer 1:1 service in the comfort and safe environment of ones own home.  Companions are matched to clients that have similar interests and personalities so they can create a bond and deliver the best care possible.

 

Where do you begin to plan for the senior lifestyle?

There is a need to address the financial, legal and healthcare considerations. If you are the older adult or the adult child, there is a need to acknowledge the fact that soon enough there may be changes that will transform your life or the well-lived life of your parents.  Education is the first step to becoming an informed advocate.  It is also an integral part to make the process as seamless as possible.

Why plan now?

Given the current healthcare systems and the need for preparedness,it is essential to begin planning in advance. There is a need to plan for longer and longer periods of time as the population grows older as a whole. To transform the culture of aging it is important to focus on quality health-span versus life-span. The most important thing to do is to start with a plan. The simple process of thinking through what you will do if this or that need develops can make the unknowns feel less overwhelming.

What is the simplest way to guarantee you will implement your plan?

Build in some accountability, set deadlines and benchmarks for yourself and enlist someone to ensure you accomplish them. One of our professionals will guide you to execute your plans and meet your benchmarks.  There’s a reason why working with a personal trainer helps most people to stay with their exercise plans. A financial adviser assists you to develop and track the resources you would like to have for your future. Lawyers assist you to plan, document and protect your personal wishes and resources. The guidance of a healthcare professional will assist you to plan ahead for your own or your parents’ long-term-life service needs. This will reduce the inevitable stress experienced by family members when a time comes that physical or cognitive challenges may alter lifestyle and comfort.

The personal health advocates at PST Senior Care Advocates are a highly trained clinical resource who promote the clients health and safety while navigating the maze of healthcare services and providers.  A health advocate may be a family member, friend, trusted coworker, or a hired professional who can ask questions, write down information, and speak up for you so you can better understand your illness and receive the care and resources you need. Research shows that quality health care means taking an active role in decisions about your care. When facing a difficult medical decision, it’s a good idea to bring someone who can help you take an active role in your care when you’re not fully up to it. It is valuable to have “another set of ears and eyes” in the exam room. Having an advocate at medical appointments or during a hospital stay can ensure that you get the information you need to manage your health and make more fully informed decisions.  This is especially critical when the children live far away from their parent or loved one, or if you are aware that you will be alone in the aging process.

 

What is a senior adviser and advocate?

The senior adviser is an educated professional trained in clinical care, social work, psycho-social health needs, elder law and financial planning. A personal advocate is an educated professional chosen by you to guide, safeguard, and educate. Your advocate can research and provide evidence-based information about your health status and service needs allowing you to make better informed decisions.

Services offered include but are not limited to:

• Senior assessments and service/care planning
• Aging education to provide the tools to navigate the maze of senior care service options.
• Personal Health Advocacy
• Education to promote healthcare and aging literacy that will minimize stress, preparing you with research-based information to make informed decisions.

You will know the resources that are available, be empowered to advocate for yourself, your parents or loved ones, and you will have prepared for how to pay for it. If there are siblings it helps to discuss and prepare how each one will contribute to your parents’ care. It may be financial management, personal hands-on care, or you may wish to maintain the parent- child relationship enjoying each others company relieved of some of the stress that is accompanied with being the care giver by employing service providers to address some needs of your loved ones.

 

 Suggestions for maintaining caregiver well-being:

• Plan ahead to avoid crises.
• Become informed about your loved ones health issues and any expected changes in behavior.
• Accept the facts to allow yourself to deal with your situation the best that you can.
• Seek professional help whenever necessary.
• Share the burden of caring and care-giving with family members, other interested persons, and service providers.
• Talk about your problems with a trusted person.
• Avoid the Pride or Fear factor that prevents people from seeking help with care-giving.
• Become aware of the limits of your care-giving abilities.
• Maintain social activities and important relationships.
• Get away from the responsibilities from time to time.
• Pace yourself. You may be responsible for care-giving for many years.
• Work off anger with physical activity.
• Live one day at a time.
• Recognize the worst-case scenario, but hope for the best.
• Join a family support group.
• Keep your sense of humor.
Taken from: “Understanding and caring for the person with Alzheimer’s Disease” A practical Guide prepared by the Atlanta Area Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

 

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house they went for Grandma’s birthday.

When they arrived little Johnny said to Grandma, “Happy Birthday” and then proceeded to ask her how old she was.

Grandma immediately answered, “I’m 39 and holding.”

To that, little Johnny asked, “Okay so hold old would you be if you let go?”

• Charles Puchta

Aging America Resources Newsletter

Aging with grace and maintaining the highest level of comfort and happiness is possible when you employ the services of PST Senior Care Advocates…your partner in transforming aging!