There are factors, however, like taking prescription drugs, existing medical conditions, reduced reaction time and overall physical decline that increase the risk of being involved in a collision, particularly after the age of 75.  Fatalities increase to some slight degree after the age of 65 and considerably after 75.  The rate boost is predominantly due to the increased failure to survive physical trauma that commonly occurs with age.

There are some guidelines that can help older drivers drive more safely.  They need to know the side effects of any medications that they are taking and if they might reduce their ability to react when behind the wheel.  Nighttime driving should be reduced, especially because of the glare presented by headlights on approaching vehicles.  A helpful tip is to not look directly at the oncoming headlights but rather look down the road and to the right side of the lane that is being driven in.  Vision should be checked regularly to make sure that vision loss does not impair driving safely.  Cataracts, a common occurrence of aging, should be carefully monitored.  To minimize the impact of visual limitations, it is best for elder drivers to drive in familiar locations and to avoid night driving, particularly in inclement weather.

Even though it is a difficult choice, most seniors decide for themselves when it is time to stop driving.  If this is not the case and you are a caregiver for an elder, then you may have to step in and make an assessment of your elder’s driving ability.  If you make the decision that it is time for them to stop driving, the downside may be that your responsibilities to your elder increase substantially.  You may become the proverbial “taxi,” and find that your already demanding schedule becomes busier yet.  This is when Barton Home Care may be able to help you.  Let us take your elder to appointments, to shop for groceries and other necessities, or out to visit friends and relatives.

Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager
Barton Home Care

Elder abuse may involve financial exploitation involving sudden changes in the elder’s accounts or items and cash missing from the household or just basic neglect by family caregivers. They may suffer abuse at the hands of the healthcare industry by professional-level people. Things like overcharging, double-billing, over or under medicating and Medicare fraud may be involved.

Obvious signs of neglect by caregivers or self-neglect could be unusual weight loss, unsanitary or unsafe living conditions, or inappropriate clothing for the weather conditions. The demands of caregiving and the needs of elders can contribute to situations in which abuse is more likely to occur. Nonprofessional caregivers, like spouses, adult children, and friends may succumb to the stress of elder care. Risk factors include the inability to cope with the stress and the perception of elder care as being burdensome, endless and without reward.

To report elder abuse you need to approach friends, family or physicians whom you can trust. There is no federal standard on who is required to report suspected elder abuse. In most states medical personnel, nursing home workers, public officials, social workers, counselors and clergy are considered mandatory reporters. Financial institutions and other agencies that work with seniors are often held responsible for mandatory reporting too. The National Center on Elder Abuse will help you find your state’s elder abuse helpline.

Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager
Barton Home Care

Click on this link for the checklist … Need for Elder Services.

Tom Barton

Owner, Barton Home Care

Falls have many undesirable outcomes. Approximately one-fourth of those who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries which include head trauma, fractures of the spine, hip, leg, hand and other body parts. Often people who fall, even if not injured, develop a fear of falling. This can lead to diminished activities which in turn can lead to reduced mobility and physical strength. Inadvertently, this may cause the opposite desired result and actually increase the risk of falling.

Some facts pertaining to elderly individuals falling include:

Women are more likely to suffer nonfatal fall injuries while men are more likely to die from falls. Fall-related fractures among the elderly are more than twice as high for women as for men.

Individuals 75 and older who fall are much more likely to be admitted to a long-term care facility for a year or longer.

Little difference is noted in fatal fall rates between blacks and whites in the age group of 65 to 74 but these rates change after 75. After reaching that age, white men suffer the highest fatality rates from falls, followed by white women, black men and black women.

Additional Info for Caregivers (Littleton, Castle Rock and surrounding Denver metro area)

For more related information for caregivers – Littleton, Castle Rock and surrounding areas -  click on this link: senior safety and keeping senior citizens safe. We have also compiled additional senior care Colorado resources for your information.

Gerri Tyber

Operations Manager, Barton Home Care

We know that Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease. People with this ailment have memory, behavior and thinking problems. Alzheimer’s, insidious by its very nature, has been found even it its earliest stages to affect financial decision making and the capacity to resist fraudulent schemes.

A recent study conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham compared healthy elderly adults with elderly adults diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s. Both groups were given a number of financial planning-type tasks. These tasks ranged from simple financial concepts like identifying coins and their values to more complex ones like describing investment options and returns. Conclusions of the study determined that financial capacity is significantly impaired in patients diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s. This impairment grows exponentially in just a one-year period. Decline in the ability to perform both simple and complex tasks is significant.

If you suspect or know that a family member is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, there is an immediate need to see that financial supervision and planning is available for them.

Eldercare can be involved … this should be a priority for family members.

Gerri Tyber
Operations Manager, Barton Home Care

An interesting concept that is getting a lot of attention by our aging population is the conversion of their homes into safer environments. It’s just part of a larger movement to help people age in place. This is a more desirable choice for most aging Americans versus moving to assisted living facilities or in with other family members. Staying in one’s own home offers a sense of security and control. Most people are hesitant to give up those things.

There are many renovations and products available for safety conversions. Examples include raised dishwashers and lowered cupboards, curbless showers, slip resistant floor tile, combining full and half baths to create one large bath with easier access, or possibly turning an unused bedroom into a bath and laundry combination. There are accessibility specialists to give advice on design and equipment needed to make these changes and maintain independent living.

Certainly, there will be costs associated with these improvements, as there would be for any significant change in one’s home. Financing them may not be as difficult as might be imagined. One option could be a reverse mortgage, which enables homeowners over 62 to convert a portion of their home equity into tax-free cash. This cash can be used for streamlining one’s home for safety without requiring a monthly payment. The loan does not become due and payable until the borrower permanently moves out of the home.

For more information on reverse mortgages in the Denver area, check with Karen Barton, a reverse mortgage consultant with Wells Fargo.

Gerri Tyber
Operations Manager, Barton Home Care

The American Association of Retired Persons, AARP, estimates that anyone over 60 is on at least one “sucker” list, and a woman over 75 is guaranteed to be on such a list. These women are often widows who are lonely, home during the afternoon, and therefore available and willing to take calls from phony telemarketers. This is unfortunately a huge growth industry in our country, women being primary targets.

The prevalence of scams on the elderly has necessitated the formation of organizations such as Senior Sleuths. Seniors are vulnerable for a variety of reasons. Most have monthly money from Social Security in addition to pensions and possibly proceeds from the death of a spouse. Con artists pay close attention to the obituaries to find new widows. These individuals may be easy prey for phony investment schemes because they are afraid they may outlive their savings and become a burden on their families. Plans to invest their money with large profits guaranteed are enticing. Once entrapped in these schemes, escaping from them often looks impossible.

Prevalent senior swindles include lottery scams, internet get-rich-quick schemes and bogus charitable solicitations often run by telemarketers offering phony prizes or cash awards. These telemarketers are savvy enough to call people out of their own state because prosecution is more difficult. It is hard to prosecute these crimes because the elderly victims often die or become incapacitated and cannot testify if a case makes it to trial.

These insidious scams on the elderly is not only theft of finances but theft of dignity. Organizations like AARP Elderwatch, a group based in Colorado, coordinates services for elderly victims of scammers. Legislation in the form of the Elder Justice Act was introduced on March 29, 2007 in both the Senate and House. It will take the concerted efforts of legislation, organizations and individuals to stop or at the very least decrease the scamming of the elderly.

Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager

Barton Home Care

Once while visiting, I noticed a large stack of what she thought were bills, but in actuality were solicitations from just about every organization known to man. She was contributing to all of these organizations guilty of scamming the elderly. She thought that she had to pay them—they were financial obligations and her upbringing taught her to take care of any such obligations. Sadly, several months had passed before I became aware of this predicament. In the interim, she had given away a large sum of money, much more than her financial status allowed. She was exploited on a local level by companies preying on seniors and  scamming elderly people. She was considerably overcharged for routine household maintenance that she occasionally needed and for the upkeep of her small yard. One can only wonder how many people took advantage of her.

In retrospect, there were lifestyle changes that I should have questioned. I should have asked to see her bank statements, but I didn’t want to intrude on her privacy. I noticed she had become more withdrawn and rarely left her home, but I attributed this to the dementia, which undoubtedly played a role, but may not have been the sole factor. My aunt was always fiercely independent, and by withdrawing from people she didn’t have to answer any questions about her finances or anything else or to possibly show her vulnerability or inability to handle routine things.

NCEA, National Center on Elder Abuse, is a nonprofit organization that investigates cases of scamming the elderly and estimates over 5 million cases of elder financial exploitation occur yearly, most of them going unreported by seniors. They are either unaware that they are being exploited or too embarrassed to acknowledge it.

Before dementia took over my aunt’s life, pride kept her from admitting that she needed help. Our checklist may help you decide whether an elder in your family needs in-home elder care services.

Gerri Tyber

Operations Manager, Barton Home Care

Have you heard on the radio the commercials for OnSTAR? This is a jazzy new technology that GM is providing in many of its high end automobiles. In the event of a vehicle breakdown or any type of emergency–with simply the touch of a button–the driver can contact a live OnSTAR operator who can call authorities and send the appropriate help.

The function of the medical alert systems is exactly the same except it works in a person’s home. If a senior has a fall or other injury, or is ill and unable to use the telephone, with just the push of a button a live operator will be on-line within 60–90 seconds to offer assistance. The most significant and obvious benefit of this technology is the potential of saving a life, or preventing tremendous personal suffering. But in addition these systems provide the senior with a welcome sense of protection and safety in their homes. Also the family members experience greater peace of mind knowing that Mom or Dad can get needed help quickly if an accident occurs.

Of course the safest solution for seniors living independently is to have a family member or professional in home companion care provider present with them to ensure their safety, but often this is simply not possible 24 hrs a day. For those occasions when our senior family members may be alone at home–a medical alert system is an affordable and intelligent next best step.

Bob Parks
GOLD EAGLE SYSTEMS
http://www.goldeaglesystems.com/
303-770-2227
b.parks@goldeaglesystems.com