All posts by Julie Boggess

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute and provides education and training to private and professional caregivers through her company Enlighten Eldercare. She lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburbs of Mount Prospect, IL.

Dementia and a New Normal Holiday Celebration

The holiday season can be overwhelming for people with dementia. Create a new normal holiday celebration so that everyone is merry and bright!

I visited a friend this week who lives in a wonderful memory support community. I arrived with a flurry- two Christmas packages in one hand, my dog on a leash in the other,  and my work bag flung over my shoulder. My friend was waiting near the front door.  As the other residents caught a glimpse of my dog, they rushed to extend their greetings. Consequently, I almost dropped the packages, my dog startled, and the commotion created an overwhelming and confusing scene, even for me.

My arrival caused my friend to become anxious. He was ready to flee and needed to separate himself from the chaos.  He wasn’t sure where to go, so we just started walking down the hallway. Eventually, we came upon a place to sit, and he told me that he was sorry, and he only had about 15 minutes until his next appointment.

He sent a loud and clear message that it was all too much. I tried to create a festive holiday experience for my friend, and I over-did it. Not to mention, I know better.

A New Normal Holiday Experience

This experience tied so perfectly into the message at church today. The holidays can make you want to look back, reminisce, and wish for the days of yore. Our hearts tug to reach back and relive the past. And, we want those we love with us, just as they were in the past. Unfortunately, life’s changes often make that impossible.

Reminiscing is normal and therapeutic. However, living in the past is unhealthy. The holidays should inspire hope and joy.  Acceptance can be difficult, but it is our best bet for having an enjoyable holiday experience.

In Kathy Dreyer’s November article, she referenced helpful holiday tips for caregivers.  In the same way, I want to offer suggestions from the perspective of a person with dementia.

Please accept that:

  • I may not be able to handle large group events
  • I might feel blue
  • activities of the past (such as cookie-baking) may be beyond my capability
  • I may not feel comfortable being away from my familiar environment for an extended period
  • I need a new normal to celebrate the holidays

In conclusion, holiday overload can be distressing for people living with dementia. Peace and blessings to all who strive to incorporate a new normal holiday.

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  In addition, she is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

World Alzheimer Report: Private Sector Response

Let’s not wait for the public sector to develop plans to address the dementia crisis. The private sector can and should play a large role.

This expert is from the Alzheimer’s Disease International website referencing the World Alzheimer Report of 2019.

“The report reveals the results of the largest attitudes to dementia survey ever undertaken, with almost 70,000 people across 155 countries and territories completing the survey. It spans four demographic groups: people living with dementia, carers, healthcare practitioners, and the general public.”

Further, the analysis of the study was carried out by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Specifically, some of the key findings of the report include:

  • Almost 80% of the general public are concerned about developing dementia at some point, and 1 in 4 people think that there is nothing we can do to prevent dementia
  • 35% of carers across the world said that they had hidden the diagnosis of dementia of a family member
  • Over 50% of carers globally say their health has suffered as a result of their caring responsibilities even while expressing positive sentiments about their role
  • Almost 62% of healthcare providers worldwide think that dementia is part of normal aging
  • 40% of the general public think doctors and nurses ignore people with dementia

Call to Action for Private Sector

In addition, the report lists several calls for action, many of which rest with local, state, and national governments and agencies thereof.  However, the private sector can do a lot to address the disheartening vital findings. People are hurting, suffering, concerned, and uneducated about dementia.

Conversations at my faith community are under-way about how to minister to persons with dementia and their caregivers. Educate citizens about dementia to demystify, normalize, and create an environment of understanding and acceptance.  This is an excellent place to start.

In conclusion, call upon local experts to help start the conversation within your circle of influence and ask questions.  Success will come with each small step.

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  In addition, she is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

Wake-up Call: Aging Services Workforce Wage Crisis

We need to examine the value of our long term care system within an ethical framework.

Aging Services providers are screaming from the mountain tops about the workforce crisis– is anyone listening? The workforce crisis is about the inability of aging services providers to fill open positions and the lack of competitive wages, primarily for certified nursing assistants.

How do we square the high level of quality care that most seem to desire for our frail elders with the lack of attention that this issue receives at the national level?

Other industries are also fighting for service workers. This Washington Post article reports that a Chick-fil-A owner in California is planning to pay $18.00 for front line workers. The problem is, nursing assistants in C.A. make, on average, $17.00/hr with the low end at $15.53, according to salary.com. 

The mean hourly wage for a C.N.A. nationally is $14.22, and working in a nursing home or assisted living drops it to $13.73. Given these points, can we, and should we do better than this?

It is simply unrealistic to expect that we can nationally build and maintain an eldercare workforce and not address wages. For this reason, this crisis is worthy of an ethical and philosophical national discussion.

The Value of Excellence in ElderCare

Healthcare reimbursement should reflect the value that our society ascribes to quality eldercare services. To that end, we need a reimbursement methodology that invests in improving wages for front line caregiving.

Chick-fil-A can raise prices to offset higher wages. However, with less than 30% of long-term care consumers paying privately, there is no way for providers to raise pricing enough to offset higher wages. Furthermore, it is not right to balance this problem on the backs of those paying privately. Therefore, with 70% of reimbursements to skilled nursing providers coming from Medicaid/Medicare, the solution largely rests with policy-makers.

We have to seriously discuss the value of quality ElderCare in the United States. Given that a majority of the U.S. Congress being of the baby boom generation, the time is right. With this in mind, the ethical and philosophical questions to examine include:

  • Does our system act in such a way to produce a greater amount of good over harm?
  • Do we maximize utility- the sum of the benefits produced minus the costs (disbenefits)?
  • Do we have a system that we all want for ourselves?
  • Fidelity- have we kept our promise, and are we forsaking the well-being of our elders?
  • Have we assigned an appropriate societal value to the work provided by personal caregivers?

Is this the right place to start?

 

 

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  In addition, she is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

The Importance of Education for Informal Caregivers

Members of the First United Methodist Church in Arlington Heights, IL attend an Eldercare Educational Program about Understanding the Continuum of Eldercare.

Today, family members and other private individuals provide the bulk of care for frail older adults. According to The National Alliance for Caregiving, approximately 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the prior 12 months.  The assigned dollar value of unpaid caregiving is a staggering $470 billion.

Informal caregivers are a critical link in the system of eldercare. The care and support that is provided delays, and may even prevent the need for institutional care. Equally, we must acknowledge the financial impact that the informal caregiving system has on our nation. Consider the increased stress on the Medicaid system without these caregivers.

The American Association of Retired Persons offers a terrific directory of resources available to family caregivers. There are many agencies, both public and private, that exist to provide resources for family caregivers. To that end, caregivers can access website links, pamphlets, resource guides, and a plethora of other informational sources.

Importance of Education for Caregivers

Yet, with all of these resources, so many family caregivers still feel lost and overwhelmed. I have observed many caregivers who don’t know what they don’t know.  In addition, it is paralyzing for them to know where to start.

Caregiver education should be a more robust component of our eldercare system.  Education that leads to increased knowledge is necessary so that people can feel empowered and access the correct resources.

Caregivers need to understand the process of aging.  As astutely stated by The Age-u-cate Training Institute, it is hard to care for someone that you don’t understand.  Consequently, when caregivers feel like they are in the dark, stress, and frustration ensues.  Therefore, helping caregivers to understand what is going on will better equip them to find the right resources and ask the right questions.  Knowledge is empowering.

To list, a sample of educational topics for caregivers:

Creating opportunities to provide knowledge will increase understanding and compassion, reduce stress, and strengthen the process of caregiving.  In addition, it will improve the relationships between caregiver and receiver.

 

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  She is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.