The Book

All would live long, but none would be old. – Benjamin Franklin

Most of us are busy with our own lives, our families, children and jobs and as long as our aging mom or dad is relatively healthy, is keeping up with daily activities and chores, and seems to be enjoying life, we don’t worry too much. However, over time we may notice changes in our parent’s physical and/or mental status. Health and safety concerns may emerge making us reconsider if he or she can still manage to live alone. If we determine that assistance is needed, where do we start?

In my case, my mother had a catastrophic fall three weeks after her 95th birthday. She broke her pelvis. This life-altering event turned everything on its head. The time to do research on how to create and implement a health care plan had passed - I now was in the throes of having to put a plan in place. While caring for my mother, I took copious notes knowing that what I had learned along the way might help someone else some day. And thus Happiness Is Growing Old at Home was conceived. Actually, I wrote part of the manuscript while my mother was alive and she had the opportunity to read it.

My introduction into the world of in-home care was an initiation by fire. Adding to the complexities of arranging care was the fact that my mother and I lived 750 miles apart. I didn’t have a play book that could guide me and help me make decisions about who to call and which questions I needed to ask. And even if I had had one, I would not have had time to read it. In my desperate search to find in-home care, I quickly learned that even if you have the resources you may discover that finding quality care is difficult. The reality is that the recommended agencies can be booked for months, and as a result you simply may have to hire which ever agency has enough warm bodies to fill the need.

As you will see in my book, I actually had the opportunity to work with two different in-home care agencies. The first one I refer to as Agency #1, which only added stress to an already stressful situation. Agency # 2, was Debcor Homecare, based in Amherst, MA. They were truly a godsend. I analyze the differences between these two agencies and provide a list of questions that should help you make an informed decision before signing on the dotted line.

Happiness Is Growing Old at Home provides a wealth of information on a wide variety of topics:

• Innovative options provide quality and compassionate care, many at reduced costs.
• New, easy-to-use, high-tech devices facilitate independent living.
• Living a healthy lifestyle will help your parent age in place.
• Detailed questionnaires will assist you in evaluating health care agencies and rehab facilities before you sign on the dotted line.
• Sample flow charts, schedules, and logs will help keep you and your parent organized and will make sure that all caregivers are on the same page.
• An extensive, annotated list of Web sites provides volumes of information.

Research shows time and again that most elders want to age and die at home where they can live happier, more fulfilled lives. After many decades and countless broken hearts, the government is finally recognizing that it is more cost-effective and more humane to care for people in their homes than in nursing homes. Several Medicare/Medicaid-funded programs are being field tested to determine if even the frail elderly can be provided in-home care.

Copyright © 2009 Maria Tadd