TRIB TOTAL MEDIA SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2018 · 9
RESPITE CARE
However, if a loved one is becoming in-creasingly
homebound because of mobility
issues or is moving toward the need for
more specialized care, for instance, in-home
care might be the best choice.
“Maybe dementia or Alzheimer’s is pre-venting
them from wanting to leave the
house, so maybe adult day care may not be
the best option for them,” said Lisa Evans,
director of service coordination with Fami-lyLinks.
“So bringing someone into the
home to care for them is probably the best
option to give them some socialization as
well as care when the caregiver is absent or
needs a break.”
Either way, Evans suggested getting a care
manager who can help a caregiver navigate
through all the options.
“They know the aging services and what’s
available,” she said. “They’ll assess them
and help determine what they need and
will help them go through the list and iden-tify
what providers will meet their needs.
Individuals and families do not have to
navigate these decisions alone.”
The UPMC Aging Institute has a help-and-
referral line where a social worker on
staff can answer questions, suggest options
and get caregivers pointed in the right direc-tion.
That number is (866) 430-8742.
The Area Agency on Aging also has a
senior line that seniors or caregivers can call
to find out more about in-home, day care
and other respite options at (412) 350-
5460 or (800) 344-4319 in Pittsburgh.
In order to bring up the topic of start-ing
some sort of adult day care or in-home
program with loved ones, DiTommaso
suggested asking questions about how the
person is doing or feeling and looking for
opportunities to raise the issue based on
the person’s response — for example, if a
loved one mentions getting lonely during
the day.
“You could propose just a visit and say,
‘I’ll go with you,’” he said.
“Going with the person is essential. Tell
them you’ll go for a day and you’ll both see
what it’s like.”
If going the day care route, there are a
number of things to look for in finding the
best fit. The National Day Services Associa-tion
has a printable list of questions and a
checklist of things to look for on its website
at nadsa.org, including how long the facil-ity
has been open and its licensing status;
the staff-to-patient ratio; how families are
involved; and what services are offered in
terms of personal care, activities, medica-tion,
meals, etc.
DiTommaso said that caregivers can look
online and find license inspection results
for different facilities to see if any problems,
such as infection control, medication ad-ministration
or safety have been noted.
“But you also have to go there in person
and meet with the staff and talk to them,”
he said.
“Everyone has their own sense of what
they’re comfortable with. Whenever I go to
any kind of care facility, I look at the faces
of the seniors that are there and if you see
eye contact between them and the staff and
engagement between them and the staff
and people look content, it’s a pretty good
indicator that they’re getting stimulation
and being treated with love and kindness.
If you look at the faces of the people being
served and see that engagement and con-tentment,
that says a lot.”
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