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New Study From Home Instead Senior Care Shows Lack of Communication Among Family Members; Expert Advises Seniors to Talk With Family About Future Care

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 October 2005, 12:00 CDT

Almost one quarter (23%) of adult Americans are presently caring for or assisting an elderly parent or relative with their activities of daily living. Surprisingly, three out of four senior relatives, however, did not reach out and ask for help from family members, according to a new eldercare survey* done by Harris Interactive(R) for Home Instead Senior Care(R) (HISC), the world's largest provider of non-medical home care and companionship for aging adults. Of those people who indicated that they will have to start providing care/companionship for an elderly relative within the next five years, 70% have not spoken about this topic with the senior family member they anticipate needing to care for to see what their wishes will be regarding their future care and 76% have not discussed caring for this elderly relative with other family members.

According to Linda Rhodes, gerontolgist and author of Should Mom Be Left Home Alone? Should Dad Be Driving? (Penguin Group USA, 2005) and member of the Home Instead Senior Care advisory board, if you want to receive the kind of care, including non-medical, that's in your best interest and save your family from conflicts over "what's best for mom or dad," then take a few pro-active steps now, including:

-- Play out "What if Scenarios" such as:

-- IF you have a stroke or break a hip, what rehab or nursing home facility would you like to go to for recuperation?

-- IF you're sick and need home health care, what agency should be called?

-- IF it's not safe for you to live alone, what assisted living facility should we visit?

-- IF you can't get around and do for yourself but can still stay at home, what kind of services do you want to help you with daily living?

-- Create a "Rainy Day Folder" that places all of your directives in one place and share a copy with family members.

-- Fill out a Living Will so everyone will know what you want regarding any end-of-life decisions

-- Make a list of all your physicians and identify the hospital of your choice in the event of an emergency

-- Choose a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney so a trusted loved one can make health care decisions when you're too sick to make them

Dr. Rhodes warns, "Plan for the unexpected and share your plans with family members, NOW. Unplanned decisions are uninformed decisions, and in the heat of a crisis, they are rarely in anyone's best interest."

For more information about the non-medical senior care services provided by Home Instead Senior Care, including running errands, assisting with housekeeping, shopping and general companionship, visit www.homeinstead.com.

Home Instead Senior Care is a private company that began franchising in 1994 to help meet the non-medical needs of the elderly. The company provides non-medical companionship and homecare services in 47 states (employing 26,000 CAREGivers). The company has an exclusive multi-phase training program for its CAREGivers, who are screened, bonded, insured and have successfully cleared criminal background checks. In addition, Home Instead Senior Care is the only non-medical company that offers select CAREGivers an advanced Alzheimer's training program, the first of its kind in the nation for non-medical caregivers, developed in collaboration with the renowned George G. Glenner Alzheimer's Family Centers in San Diego, CA.

*Source: Home Instead Senior Care Study of 2,231 adult Americans conducted by Harris Interactive, January 2004.

Note to media: To set up an informative interview with Dr. Linda Rhodes, please contact Laura Giardina at (914) 241-0086, ext. 20 or lgiardina@robinleedyassociates.com.

Source: Business Wire

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