As adult children transition from being the kid to being an aging parent's advocate, they sometimes struggle with finding the right resources. Even understanding the terminology can be a challenge.
That's one reason Elite Care, a Portland-area assisted-living provider, is teaming up with Hope: A Dementia Support Group, a Vancouver-based nonprofit, to offer information, resources and multigenerational activities at the "There's Always Hope Carnival." The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, at Elite Care's Sylvan Park campus, 2410 N.E. 112th Ave., Vancouver.
The event is timed to National Senior Citizens Day on Friday, Aug. 21. It will also serve as a fundraiser for the dementia support organization. Making special appearances are Kraft's Oscar Mayer Weinermobile and Planters' NUTmobile.
Maria Cura, Elite Care's community relations manager, offered these tips for families:
Get connected. A support group like Hope allows families to meet others in similar situations and exchange notes on their experiences. "It's respectful to everybody," Cura said. In support groups, adult children can discuss not only what needs to happen but also their feelings of loss and turmoil.
Keep kids in the loop. Grandchildren and great-children are sometimes left out of family conversations about aging parents, Cura said. She urges families to create a culture where everyone discusses transitions to home care or senior living.
Get informed. Every community has an agency on aging and disabilities that collects information on community resources and makes it available at no cost to families, Cura said. Elite Care has a dementia resource library at its Sylvan Park campus that's open to the public seven days a week.
Learn the lingo. Terms related to long-term care for seniors can be bewildering. Cura offered quick definitions of some key terms:
- Home care: "Somebody coming into your home, wherever you live."
- Independent living: This is a form of senior care, but while seniors may get some assistance in the form of, say, nutritious meals, they don't receive one-on-one support from licensed caregivers, Cura said.
- Assisted living: Seniors receive one-on-one support from licensed care givers at any time of day, even if it's only for 15 minutes at a time. Within assisted living there are different levels, from someone who needs help only with managing medications to someone who uses a wheelchair full-time. There's also memory care, which focuses on cognitive issues.
- Skilled nursing and rehabilitation services: These are not considered long-term care, Cura said. Some skilled nursing facilities do have permanent residents, "but that's not typical."
-- Amy Wang
awang@oregonian.com
503-294-5914
@ORAmyW
Source:
http://ift.tt/1K8dqCq