Isn’t eldercare a challenge that every person faces or has to face? Taking care of aging parents, an elderly loved one, an elderly spouse or a close friend could mean a responsibility, and it can happen suddenly too. An aging mother has broken a bone, or a spouse has just wandered off and got lost.  Such incidents could lead you to uncertainty, and just taking care of such people would make you think of eldercare.

Often a crisis hits a family and the aging mother or father is in need of long term care.  Besides,  in the natural process of getting old, the elderly start showing signs of mishaps.   There may be illnesses, weight loss and there may be several other warning signs to indicate that they are in need of special help from you.

Professional Help

For some people eldercare comes naturally, because they are temperamentally patient and have knowledge of nursing.  But even that may not help, if the problem is serious and needs outside help like a rehab facility or a nursing home to recover.  Get help from friends and there are institutions and centers like the Elder Care Support Group or Daily Living Solutions.

Look for practical and affordable solutions.  Eldercare does not mean that you have to do everything with your own hands because you love your mother very much and want to take care of her.  Be practical and look for home medical equipment, if it is necessary or home health care products, which will make life easier for you.

There are Support Groups for eldercare, where you can meet and discuss your problems with them, because they have already solved eldercare problems. Share your experiences with them and learn from theirs, their problems could be similar to yours. In this way you can fulfill the special needs and requirements of your loved one.

Changing Society

In traditional society eldercare was the responsibility of the extended family.  Since families have become small, their living space restricted and  life expectancy of the elderly has increased, there has been a rise of homes for the elderly like seniors apartment complexes, old peoples’ homes or charitable institutions.

Eldercare not only includes  medical care but also  social care that the family and loved ones can give the elderly. It is important that there is an element of love and care in their  eldercare, and that it is not looked down just as a responsibility to be dealt with mechanically.   It can be a case of elder abuse, if there is no personal touch to eldercare.

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Senior abuse has many faces. None of them are nice.

Unfortunately, a recent study released by the National Center on Elder Abuse reveals that close to 2 million American seniors have been exploited financially by a caregiver, emotionally abused and/or physically, mentally and psychologically abused.

Those figures are disgusting and are likely just the tip of the iceberg, as these incidents don’t just take place in nursing homes or other elder care facilities. Senior abuse goes on behind the closed doors where many seniors still live at home, being perpetrated by people they know. By people they know - think about that for a minute. What does that say about the state of our nation today? Hardly a social commentary we would want to brag about.

If you suspect a loved one is being abused or exploited in their own home, or at another location, there are some warning signs to keep an eye on. Physical abuse is usually relatively easy to identify, but other forms are not that obvious. For instance, in cases of elder neglect, the individual will likely not have had decent medical care, may be malnourished, have pressure ulcers, expired medications or no medications when they need them and may be not as clean as they would want to be. Knowing what the senior is usually like compared to how you are seeing them now will help you make comparisons.

Elder emotional abuse usually rears its ugly head and manifests itself in the senior having a sudden and unexplained change in their normal behavior, changes in how alert they usually are; changes in other usual behavior patterns they have always exhibited and in some cases, a reluctance or withdrawal from their usual activities and relationships.

Abuse can also come in the form of financial exploitation. This has got to be one of the all time lows that a person can stoop to; ripping off seniors who need their mostly limited income to live on, buy drugs and pay for insurance or nursing care. Financially exploiting a senior may involve check forgery, theft of property or money, and a wide variety of seemingly never ending scams and frauds.
If the senior in your life suddenly alters their will, finds their bank account wiped out, is issuing checks for large amounts of money to some unknown person or there is a series of strange withdrawals, something is up and it’s time to check what’s going on. Other forms of altered behavior may see the senior lose their property in a scam and give excessive gifts to a caretaker.

If you suspect some form of abuse is going on, take the initiative to install security cameras that are triggered by motion or remotely. There is no better evidence than a video of abuse in action. Having an at-home security system for your senior is also a smart step, as it provides them with a sense of security and control over their lives and keeps them safe.

Domestic elder abuse is the most under-reported crime in America today. Shockingly, roughly 1 in 14 incidents are ever reported. Each generation our senior population grows, so the issue of elder abuse is everyone’s concern.

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Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento personal injury lawyer in California. To learn more, visit www.lawbarron.com.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

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