Monday – a call comes in from a son who lives locally who sees that his mother will need more help/care than his father can provide. She will discharge from Rehab next week following a broken pelvis.  We had met last year but the father wasn’t ready to give up control as his wife was beginning to show signs of dementia.  This year, he is almost demanding help- 6 days a week in fact and wants to be able to continue with his card game.  – A caregiver will start next week.

Tuesday – Three children have flown in to visit their parents in Boca. The father has moderate to severe cognitive deficits and their mother is undergoing bi-weekly blood transfusions for a gastro problem which is yet to be accurately diagnosed.  They want round the clock care and to alleviate the stress of caregiving from two local siblings.  The father was a WWII hero and one of the first soldiers to liberate Dachau Concentration Camp.  He proudly shows me a medal pinned to his collar.

Wednesday – You can’t make this up—I walk into the home of a Holocaust survivor. She was in a Polish camp. She now needs an operation on her hand. She lives alone and the family is out of state and unable to come down for the outpatient surgery—and she wouldn’t let them anyhow! With family pressure and the anxiety of having a pump in her arm for a few days and therefore being incapacitated, she agrees to a live in for a few days and then to reevaluate her situation.

Thursday – A woman calls in, she got our number from a friend who used our sister Medicare certified agency. She fell, luckily nothing was bruised or broken but it set off a light bulb, she is exhausted and overwhelmed from taking care of her beloved husband of 64 years.  He has severe dementia and is combative to strangers but she knows she needs help. After postponing the appointment time, she agrees to a visit.  She brings her husband out and he is charming and responsive in his limited way. She feels hopeful as I give her contact information for Caregiver support groups and Day Care centers in her area.  A caregiver begins the next day.

Friday – A man calls from seeing our website.  His wife is coming out of Rehab next week. She has dementia and Heart disease. Money is running out but she can’t put him “away” just yet.  He learns about some options, facilities in the area to consider for the future, and have their daughter begin looking into.  He is relieved to learn about Medicare home health for his wife. He didn’t know it was covered 100% by Medicare.  He isn’t sure yet about private duty care because he has been using 2 twelve hour shifts and can’t continue this. He is surprised to learn that there are options in the near term to hire a live-in with a few hours at night because his wife gets up throughout the night. He also didn’t know that he could have help for less than a twelve hour shift.  Some referral s is made and he will decide what type of schedule will be most productive.

This is a sampling of the situations we come across in South Florida.  There is a huge senior population whose family live out of state. There is a confusing maze of information and half truths out there. That is why Boca Home Care Services works from a Social Work model.  Staffing is usually the easy part. It is getting a handle on the family situation, finances and choices to be made that a complimentary in home consultation has proven to be most helpful to the person in need of private care, or Medicare home services (Boca Home Care) or their primary caregiver.  This is what makes working with a senior interesting- their life story and rewarding by putting a care plan into place to help make a difficult situation, more manageable.