In Home Care Assessments

DAMIEN: Good afternoon and welcome to Fort Wayne Senior Care Radio. My name is Damien Allen and today joining me via the telephone are Julia Anders and Brenda Tunin, RN of Comfort Keepers of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Good afternoon ladies welcome to the program.

BRENDA: Good afternoon.

JULIA: Good afternoon.

DAMIEN: Today we are going to be discussing your in home care assessments. Julia as the owner of Comfort Keepers, could you tell our listeners, please, what’s involved in an assessment?

JULIA: Well, Damien, when someone calls our office for information about our services for themselves or for a loved one or a friend, the most important thing that we do is listen. We may ask questions, but really we do a lot of listening. Everyone is unique in their needs. Every family has their own challenges and may be struggling in different areas. Since their needs vary, the type of care we provide will vary also. So we listen and get a clear picture of the situation and their needs. Once we have an idea of that, we’ll offer to come out and provide them with a free in-home assessment.

DAMIEN: What is involved with an assessment and who does them?

BRENDA: Well, Damien, I get the privilege of going out and meeting with the families for the assessment. We not only have the clients there, but we invite family members or other caregivers that are involved with them so we can have the continuity of care. We go over the first part where I do a lot of listening. I try to get to know them a little bit. I get there story. We find out a little bit about their background and who they are, because seniors love to share that with people. They love somebody to listen. So we spend quite a few minutes of our assessment of doing that listening. We talk about their health. Even though we are non-medical, I feel it’s important that the caregivers have an idea of what is going on with them. We need to know…are they diabetic? That’s important when it comes to meal planning. We need to know…do they have inconence issues, because that will help the caregiver provide better care. And then we also talk about the things, how they like things done in their home. If we’re there for just companionship and housekeeping skills, it’s important for us to portray to that family and that client that we are going to do things the way that client likes. I spend a lot of time encouraging that. I encourage the client when they do meet their caregiver to go over how they like things. Our caregivers will do those prompts of how they like maybe their linens folded, how they like their meals prepared, how they even like their floor cleaned. So we really encourage that interaction with the client and the caregivers. We also look at the home situation. Are there things in the home that maybe are a safety hazard. We look for that. We do a walk through to the home. We assess the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. That’s important in case something happens. I’ve been a nurse for a long time, and I love those emergency plans. So we talk about that. We get emergency contacts. It’s important for us as comfort keepers to be able to put into play what that family and what’s the client’s desire. What are their end of life wishes? All of those kind of concepts that we talk about, and then we also reassure them, because we are licensed by the state and we follow the HIPPA laws (the Privacy Act), it’s important that they understand that we’re going to respect that, and we aren’t going to share their information with anyone other than who they have given us permission to do that with. The whole concept of that assessment can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. It’s important that I get to know them just a little bit in that first meeting so we can match up the care givers and make a good fit with them.

JULIA: Yeah, because Brenda is also looking when she goes out, do they have pets?

BRENDA:   Right.

JULIA: Because we have care givers that are allergic to maybe cats. Are they smokers? So there are a lot of other things, personalities, their personalities. So we have a good idea of who would be a good fit for our care giver.

BRENDA: Let’s talk again about meal planning and preparation and transportation. Those are all things that those clients have the specific desires. We have some clients when it comes to transportation they will only sit in the back seat. So we need to make those matches with their care giver. A good match so they can fit in the back seat when you have so many different available automobiles and things for our clients. So we try to, again, find all the little details. We take some time with it. It takes me a long time.

JULIA: Yeah. The more you know about a client, the more knowledge we have, the better fit we can do for them. BRENDA: Sure.

DAMIEN: So by thoroughly going through the list, you make sure you’ve matched this person up with a Comfort Keepers’ work who is going to fit exactly their needs. Do you have any resources that would help people to know if in-home care is the answer for them, or if they should schedule a free assessment?

JULIA: Well actually we do have on our website if they go to - www.comfortkeepers.com/fortwayne-in   that will take you directly to our website and to the right of the page you will see: “things to know, questions to ask when considering in-home care”. It is a mini online assessment that families can take to help determine if in home care is the answer for them. Our assessment is more personalized and will be informative for the clients and families because we can offer suggestions, Brenda can, you know as a nurse with 30 years experience. She has lots of ideas and lots of things she can do to help the families and answer any questions or concerns they have right on the spot. That’s mainly for people who are wondering if their parents need help. So that’s an assessment and then when they determine that, they call our office and Brenda will actually come out. Brenda: Are there cases where you would have to do a re-assessment?

BRENDA: Frequently I do and really our main policy, any client that needs personal care, I try to visit that client once a week. Any and all of our other clients visits are at least every 6 weeks depending on the home, but we stress with our caregivers they are our eyes and ears out there on the field. They are our first line of communication. They are the ones who will see if there is a change to that client, and they will give me a call, and then I come and make another assessment. They always call me if a client falls or gets injured and sometimes I kind of have to chuckle at the clients, because they will beg the care giver, “Don’t tell Nurse Brenda that I fell, because it I was just so silly. I only tripped over this little rug.” Or something and I’ll still come, and I’ll be very considerate about that and just chatting with them, and let them know I was kind of in the neighborhood just checking up on them. We also follow through to make sure they enjoy their care giver. We check back with them after that first or second visit, because if they don’t like that care giver, we want to find a better fit for them. So those are times I do reassessments. We’ll also do reassessments if a client comes home from a hospitalization or maybe they have had some rehab or maybe they have had pneumonia or broken a bone or something, I’ll come out and do those assessments to make sure that everybody is getting the proper care they need. With all of our plans we also have an individualized care plan. That little care plan is also a tool for our care givers. They can see on that these are the things that we want to accomplish and the family wants us to do well there with our clients, but sometimes those change. And sometimes the client may be having a bit of depression. Maybe it’s the anniversary of the death of a spouse or it’s a birthday. Birthdays can be hard for seniors the older we get. It’s a little bit tougher. So there are many, many times that I’m out there and getting to go back and see the clients and it’s always good to touch base with them and reassess them and make sure we are doing what we need to be doing.

DAMIEN: So if someone feels they or a loved one needs in-home care and wants to schedule a free in-home assessment what should they do?

JULIA: Actually they just need to call our office. Our local phone number is 484-5858 or they can call our toll free number which is 877-484-5850 and we would be glad to talk to them. It’s not threatening at all.

BRENDA: Right.

JULIA: No hard sale. We would be glad to answer all of their questions and schedule their free assessment.

BRENDA: It’s very nice. I’m a very casual person. I’ve been told I’m easy to talk to so it’s non-threatening, and sometimes I end up just giving them some tips. Maybe they don’t need care right away, but they are looking. They are beginning that process of having someone come in and help mom or dad or aunt or uncle, or their loved one, and they just need some ideas. How do I begin everything? What are some things I should start looking for? I think we as comfort keepers also are a great resource tool which is built up to that assessment.

DAMIEN: Well we would like to thank you very much for joining us today ladies.

JULIA: Thank you.

Brenda: Thank you it was a pleasure.

DAMIEN:   If you are looking for more information on senior care, or if you are in need of in-home care in the greater Fort Wayne, Indiana, area, you can contact the staff at Fort Wayne Comfort Keepers at (260) 484-5858 or visit them on the worldwide web at www.comfortkeepers.com/fortwayne-in and there you’ll find Julia and Brenda and the rest of the Fort Wayne Comfort Keepers’ staff, and they will be happy to assist you with all of your in-home senior care needs and questions. Our thanks once again to Julia and Brenda for joining us today.

JULIA: Thank you.

DAMIEN: You’ve been listening to the Fort Wayne Senior Care Radio. My name is Damien Allen. Everybody have a great afternoon.

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