Mature Resources - Long Distance Caregiving

Food Safety For Seniors

Older people need a healthy diet. It can help them avoid sickness. A healthy diet includes a range of foods. But raw foods are risky because they can have a lot of germs in them.

Why do seniors get sick from raw foods?

When You Can't Be There

By Chloe Jon Paul

Just four years ago I couldn't have imagined where this book would lead me. The book itself came about as a result of observations I made while my parents were in a long-term care facility.

Role Reversal - When Parents Resist

By Pamela Dombrowski-Wilson

Your parents are getting older. You see things slipping. The house is not as clean as it once was, your mother is increasingly forgetful, your father has lost weight, and you are concerned about their safety when they drive. So as a responsible child you bring up the subject. How do your parents react? They are angry. They feel like you are trying to tell them what to do. Maybe they feel like you want to move them out of their home and place them in a retirement facility.

Sometimes your mother complains about the burdens of caring for your father. Other times she tells you everything is fine. You spend as much time helping as possible, however it is never enough. You talk to your parents about retaining outside help, they hedge and refuse. What do you do? What can you do?

Sometimes it takes a bit of tough love. Your parents refuse outside assistance because they still have you to depend upon. So you become unavailable. You decide that you cannot be everything to everyone. You have your own family to care for, your own children. When they call for help, you are busy and remind them about the suggestion to obtain outside assistance.

Saving Your Family from Nursing Home Neglect

By Nick Johnson

When our oldest relatives start to pass beyond their golden years and into a time when they need extensive care, sometimes the kindest thing that we think we can do for them is to put them in a situation where they will be cared for by a staff of professional nurses at all times. In some cases, however, this well intentioned act takes a deadly turn as nursing homes neglect and sometimes outright abuse patients.

Elder abuse and nursing home abuse are not isolated or rare phenomena. Like the shaking of babies when children cry for reasons that an overly stressed parent cannot fathom, the constant needs of the elderly can cause over worked nurses to snap. No one sets out to work in a nursing home just to abuse people, but stress and a difficult job can combine to set terrible acts in motion. The problem with nursing homes is that they are often understaffed, with too few nurses to care for the patients. Call buttons might be ignored for quite a while as these overworked nurses rush from patient to patient just trying to get everyone's most basic care finished with before they respond to calls.

Some nursing home patients might wait hours for just a drink of water, especially if they make frequent requests like this, and might end up with bed sores from nurses without the time to turn patients regularly.

When You Can't Be There

By Chloe Jon Paul

Just four years ago I couldn't have imagined where this book would lead me. The book itself came about as a result of observations I made while my parents were in a long-term care facility,

It was apparent that many family caregivers were uncomfortable visiting with their loved one; that they didn't know how to interact with staff and other residents; that they were unable to deal effectively with unforeseen, upsetting issues which inevitably arise.

I took a survey of family members whose loved ones resided at this facility to find out what they wanted to know and the book emerged as a result. I would like to share with you a chapter from my book, What Happens Next? Chapter 11 ... When You Can't Be There

There are bound to be periods of time when you cannot physically be there to visit with your loved one. Whether you are working, traveling, or recovering from an illness, you will not be available to visit. Of course, feelings of guilt can crop up at such a time.