While I now call the San Francisco Bay Area home, my original home was in the Midwest.  And as they say, you can take a boy from the Midwest, but you can't take the Midwest out of the boy.  My upbringing has greatly influenced my values, and the way that we approach managing our caregiver agency.

When I purchased Caring Hands Caregivers six years ago, I had the goal of providing the highest quality of care possible.  To do so, you need to make sure that every client is treated like we would treat our family.  And while issues inevitably come up, our guiding principles ensure that we react quickly to meet the changing needs of our clients.

With that in mind, we use the following set of values as guiding principles for our business, each and every day:

• Integrity-- we are 100% committed to doing the right thing for our clients, our caregivers, and our clients' families.  This acts as a guiding principle in our honest and open business practices, in how we work with our caregivers, and how we resolve everyday issues.
  
• Personal Care--as a small, local, family-owned and -operated business, we maintain a limited number of clients to allow for care that is best suited to each client's needs.
  
• Transparency--clear communication and constant access to our team means that you can know exactly how your loved one is being cared for.
• Agility--as our clients age, their situations can change very rapidly.  When issues arise, we're able to respond quickly to ensure that our quality care is uninterrupted.
• Partnership--extraordinary care requires cooperation and communication between our clients, their families, our caregivers, and us.  We facilitate that communication, through consistent contact and access to online tools.
• Efficiency--We hire career caregivers, many with 5 years or more of experience, so they get up to speed quickly.  And our management team brings many years of agency and operational business experience to keep things running smoothly and efficiently.

If someone you love is in need of a caregiver in the Bay Area, feel free to call us at 408.775.7626 to schedule a care options review.  That way, you can determine if Caring Hands Caregivers is the right partner to care for your loved one.

When you first glance at AB889  it seems like something you would want to support.  Positioned as a 'domestic workers bill of rights', it promises to provide basic workplace rights to in-home workers.  But you cannot protect workers who are hired directly by individuals, frequently underpaid, and often paid under the table.  AB889 will take the in home care industry underground, rendering domestic workers invisible, thereby more vulnerable to abuse.

If you look a little deeper, you see that AB889 makes two classes of already vulnerable citizens--seniors and domestic workers--more vulnerable to physical, financial, and emotional abuse.  The most recent changes to the legislation exempts everyone except the home care agencies.  Yet it is the home care agencies that keep seniors and caregivers the safest and most secure.  In fact, we hire caregivers out of abusive or potentially abusive situations.

AB889 is Bad for Seniors
Dedicated home care agencies protect seniors by pre-screening candidates, conducting background checks and medical screening, and taking on the employer liability.  And with day-to-day management, seniors are given better care, and have more flexibility in making sure that the caregiver that they are working with is the best person to care for them.

AB889 would force us to provide multiple caregivers per live-in client, making staying at home too cost prohibitive.  Far fewer seniors will be able to remain in their own home as they require care.  Also, imagine an older person living with Alzheimers having to have multiple shift changes every day.  That would make an already confusing situation more overwhelming.  

AB889 is Bad for Domestic Workers
Home care agencies pay a fair, dependable wage, cover workers compensation, provide training, and create a safe working environment for domestic workers.  If a caregiver is not being treated well, it is the home care agency that takes care of them.  If this bill passes, the home care industry will go underground, and domestic workers will provide care directly with no protection, no oversight, no one checking in to see how they are fairing.  Instead of preventing abuse, this creates a situation that is ripe for abuse.  

Please join us in opposing AB889.  Let your State Senators know that you want to keep seniors and domestic workers safe, secure, and well cared for.

We're honored to be chosen as a speaker for the upcoming Avenidas Caregiving Conference, on a panel with Cathy Lynch from Pathways and Sue Alvey from Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center.  The conference is happening one month from today, in Mountain View, California.  

We were delighted to participate with Avenidas and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation in the 1st annual Successful Aging Celebration.  True to the title of the event, we met a lot of seniors who are aging successfully, and had a chance to connect with potential partners that can enhance the service we provide to seniors even more.
  
The seniors we talked to were especially interested in a new service that we’re launching for Aging in Place called In Home Assisted Living.  We’ve taken the Assisted Living concept, and are helping seniors stay at home longer by providing just the help they need in as short as 30-minute increments.   If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and would like to inquire about this service, just send me an email at scott@chcgivers.com or call us at 650.943.2313.  We’ll come to your house, assess your needs, and figure out the right match for you.

Summer is time for fun in the sun; beach trips, barbecues, and ice cream.  And when you're caring for a senior, summer is also time to make sure you're keeping your loved one hydrated while they enjoy the warm weather.

Older adults tend to get dehydrated more easily and the impact of dehydration greater.  Many of our seniors are on multiple medications.  Dehydration can change the way a senior's body metabolizes medications putting them at greater risk for side effects.

For some, potential embarrassment due to incontinence keeps them from filling their lemonade glass.  Other seniors may have physical limitations like difficulty holding a glass, making them avoid an unpleasant situation.

Keeping your loved one hydrated may require small, clever ways to ensure that enough water is consumed.  Serve your senior plenty of fruits and vegetables, such as melons and jicama, with high water content.  Instead of a glass of plain water, consider getting some carbonated water, putting a slice of citrus or other fruit in to make it a little tastier and more festive.  Or, appeal to the child in them by keeping their freezers well stocked with popsicles, encouraging them to eat as many as they like.  

As with many things, the best cure is prevention.  With just a few small steps, you can ensure that your loved one is getting the fluids they need.  

Last month, the Alzheimer's Association of Northern California held it's 14th Annual Update on Dementia Conference in Foster City.  The theme of the program was Putting Research into Practice.  Since 5.2 million Americans now suffer from this horrible disease, there are many researchers working hard to find solutions to address Alzheimer’s.  While progress can never be quick enough for those afflicted, important discoveries have been made that will help diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s in the near future. 

Some interesting research is focused on early detection of Alzheimer’s disease potential in the brain.  Using  PET Scans, researchers can identify if there is Beta-Amyloid present in the brain, a known component of the plaque found in brains of Alzheimer’s patients. These scans can identify people who could potentially develop Alzheimer’s,  but currently do not exhibit any symptoms.  Once identified, treatments are being tested to try and slow the progression of the disease.  Bending the curve of onset by 3-5 years would have a significant impact on the medical costs of the disease as well as the quality of life for those afflicted.

At Caring Hands Caregivers, we have several clients who live with this disease, and have developed an expertise in caring for Alzheimer's patients.  If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and need care for a loved one with Alzheimer's, you can email me at scott@chcgivers.com.