Home Care of La Jolla Managing Family Dynamics

What We Believe in at Home Care of La Jolla

Our agency was founded on a very simple principal: to provide an elevated level of care. To achieve this mission we take the time to get to know those we work with as individuals by learning about their joys, hobbies, medical needs, and their personal story.

No more worry and no more guilt, just relief and security in knowing that your loved one is receiving exceptional care.

Providing More than a Franchise Agency

At Home Care of La Jolla, we like to stress that we are more than just adult babysitters. We focus on enriching the lives of those we work with and improving their quality of living in very real, meaningful ways. With our services, we seek to help our clients maintain their dignity, while providing care that not only sharpens their mental ability, but also improves their physical ability, and even brings a greater sense of enjoyment to life.

We believe the following are just some of the reasons that set us apart:

• We are a physician-directed, CAHSAH-Certified Home Care Agency
• Our company is a contracted nurse staffing partner to Scripps Hospitals and Sharp Healthcare systems, meeting the stringent regulatory requirements of San Diego's largest healthcare systems
• We respond to clients' needs and requests within 12 hours
• We provide medically complex post-procedure assistance options to clients
• We provide clinically-proven non-invasive treatment and intellect therapies
• All nurses, caregivers, and aids are educated, vetted, bonded, and insured

Anti-psychotic Drug Use and Staying in Place

We were recently contacted by a former client regarding a frightening event that took place at the assisted living facility they moved their mom into("mom" is our former patient/client, whom we will refer to as Mrs. V) after determining that Mrs. V would do better in a dementia facility. 

When in our charge Mrs. V was experiencing exaggerated symptoms of dementia, including anger and confusion. Our caregiver addressed these behaviors by soothing Mrs. V and providing her with tasks, games, music and activities that focused Mrs. V's attention and brought purpose to the moment. 

 Since moving into the facility that personalized approach is no longer an option because of staffing ratios and the less talked about need for the facility to always err on the side of caution in the name of protecting their insurance premiums and licensure. 

The result was, in the case of Mrs. V, the decision to drug and restrain her when she acted out. Bear in mind that we are talking about an 82 year old woman, weighing in at 104 lbs. Drugged to a catatonic state, physically restrained, and handcuffed by the policemen that were called because the facility is "risk averse". 

 Two things happened here that are troubling. One, a frightened, dementia addled 105 lb woman was drugged and handcuffed in her new "home" (that costs $9,000/mo.). Two, the facility failed to call Mrs. V's very loving and involved children that live within a mile of the facility, before calling the police. 

Mrs. V was not armed nor capable of visiting harm to anyone but herself. Her family has said they will rush over for any reason at all when Mrs. V needs help. But in a facility, where staff turnover typically high, that sort of personalized care and attention is impossible. 

A major and impactful benefit to hiring a caregiver from a trusted home care agency is the fact that the use of psychotropic or anti-psychotic drugs is far less prevalent in the home setting as compared to nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 

We also know our clients and their families personally and strictly adhere to their requests and preferences, such as calling them when their loved-one is in need. We never call the police to deal with our clientele. We know that our clients need care, comfort, emotional support and love. There is nothing the police can solve and our clients, not our insurance bills,  are our first priority.  

In fact, at Home Care Of La Jolla we strive to reduce the use of all medications by closely managing medications and supplementing non-drug therapies, with the MD's input, wherever possible. 

Drugs are not the answer to all problems, regardless of age. We would no sooner give a drug to our elderly clientele than we would our young children. Pushing someone to a state of total drug-induced incoherence is an inhumane non-solution and a waste of money. Our medical community can and must do better.

Fair Pay Equals Better Caregivers

All California franchise home care agencies and many smaller outfits continue to pay their caregivers suppressed wages exempt from over-time pay, under the auspices of the companionship exemption within the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA was enacted to allow a family member, neighbor or friend to receive some compensation for their sacrifice as a primary caregiver while exempting the family from the associated costs and burden of an employer-employee relationship. The FLSA was never intended to act as a shield to reduce the wage expenses of a company already earning a premium on the labor they professionally provide, nor suppress the earnings of the caregivers they employ. The fact that so many home care agencies continue to use the FLSA to suppress wages has depressed the quality of care being provided by reducing our industry to one that attracts low-skilled, poorly educated, and less-trustworthy applicants. Why? Because those are the only people willing to work 18 hour days for $120. A pizza delivery job pays better but requires a car. Janitorial work is less abundant. The result is that a high net worth family invites a polished agency representative into their home and receives glossy papers, lots of promises and a nice smile. Over the course of the next two or three weeks the agency sends over their caregivers and among them are some very good and qualified representatives, but those are the ones that will move on to better paying jobs as they work to elevate their careers. So at some point in the first six months of the contract arrives someone more typical of a person willing to work for $6.50/hour (pre-tax). And you get what you pay for... Home Care Of La Jolla pays all caregivers overtime rates as per California labor laws. Our pay rates are consistently among the highest in the country. And Home Care Of La Jolla employees have an opportunity to elevate their careers within our company. The result is better service and security for our clientele.

What To Do With The Kids When Visiting Grandma & Grandad

What To Do With The Kids When Visiting Grandma & Grandad Following our recent Facebook post about Alzheimer’s risk factors and prevention I want to share an idea born of my own experience when visiting my grandfather -who suffers from severe symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Dementia- with my young boys in tow. I'm writing this post for those of you that want to bring your young children to visit an elderly loved one but find it difficult to pair their fitful energy with your loved one’s environment and mental state. My grandfather was probably the most influential person in my life, but Alzheimer’s and Dementia have reduced him to the point that he does not recognize me, nor is he able to comprehend that my three children (a 6 month-old baby girl, and my 3 and 5 year-old boys) are his great grandchildren. I understand his disease, maybe even better than most because of the type of work I do. I also know that my story is no different from millions of others in that the stress, the heartbreak, and for some, the financial pressure that come with caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or Dementia conspire to make this one of the most difficult family matters we encounter. The tug of sentimentality, the undying desire for my children to know and love my grandfather as I do, and my wish that he would be able to know and love them are ever colliding with the reality that our visits with him are, in spite of my understanding, painful for me and not at all fun for my boys. Besides the long drive (we live about two hours south of my grandparents) I have not made a great effort to visit my grandfather because there is, despite my best efforts, very little interaction between my children and my grandfather when we do visit. Going to see great-grandpa is simply a drag for them, and they are too young to understand why it's important to me. I often think about how we could make our visits with my grandfather more enjoyable for all of us but he's only getting older, with the disease outpacing our visits and his ability to recognize any of us now not even worth hoping for. I'm sharing this story with you today in hopes that as your parents or grandparents reach an age where Alzheimer’s and Dementia necessitate concern you are better prepared and have more tools at your disposal to make visits with them, kids in tow, a positive experience for all. There have been quantum leaps in our understanding of Alzheimer’s and Dementia over the last two years and among the findings are evidence that games can slow the onset of memory loss and help maintain physical coordination. Of course, kids love games and as it turns out the games that benefit the elderly in maintaining memory and coordination are the same types of games a child would play. Among them are: Word Games Alzheimer's patients often lose vocabulary and the ability to express themselves and articulate ideas. Games that require them to remember, reinforce and use some of that lost vocabulary can help them retain the ability to express themselves in some capacity for a longer period of time. Try fill-in-the-blank games that require patients to come up with the missing word from popular sayings like "A penny saved is a penny ------." You could also do simple word search or crossword puzzles, depending on how advanced the patient's illness is. Motor Skills Games Alzheimer's can affect motor skills because they are controlled by the brain. Alzheimer's patients frequently become clumsy or lose the ability to do things like brush their teeth or use silverware because the brain no longer sends the correct messages to the body. An easy game of catch with a soft foam ball or a game of basketball with a wide target, such as a laundry basket, can help improve hand-eye coordination. Ball-toss games, like a simplified bowling game using plastic bottles, also work for exercising motor skills and improving hand-eye coordination. Visual Games Games that require Alzheimer's patients to recall images may help strengthen their memory. You can play a simple game with images by collecting photographs of friends and family, famous places or people and animals. Glue them to flashcards and write the name of the image on the back of the card in large letters. Sit with patients and flip through the cards, asking them to name the images as best they can. If they forget, flip the card over so they can read the answer, or give them a clue. If I were able to turn back the clock I would have my five-year old and his great-grandfather playing these games together. Our visits would be fun for both of them, and ironically, they would benefit equally from playing these games -and I can imagine a few great photos would come of their interaction. Time and disease do eventually take their toll but I cannot impress upon you enough the value of just one great visit between a loved one and your child. I’m sure many of you can relate when I say that there are few ways to make a visit with young children a positive experience for all. Playing some of these suggested games on your next visit may just change all that, and even if only for a moment, it’s certainly worth a try.

Priorities for Adult Children of The Baby Boomer Generation

Priorities for Adult Children of The Baby Boomer Generation So what's first on our list? Retirement savings? Preparing for our children to go to college, or maybe looking into the best private schools for K-12? Career advancement? That's all very important stuff and certainly cannot be discounted as less than deserving of our immediate attention, but what about that impending, life altering topic just on the horizon? What have you done to prepare for your parents inevitable decline in health and their ability to live, commute, shop, feed and ultimately make decisions for themselves? It's coming, it will change your life, and if unprepared and uninformed, those plans you have made for your family and future will be greatly affected. No need to panic. Accommodating our parents as seniors, like adapting to having children or relocating for a new job is something we can, with some research and a plan, take on as an experience that enriches our lives. At Pacifica Medical our opinion is that the subject of caring for our aging parents is not a topic that gets the attention it deserves. Consider that each day for the next decade 10,000 Americans will become Senior Citizens. And so it follows that each day for the next decade about 22,000 of us will become adult children of senior citizens. Looking at those eye-popping statistics one would assume that managing or helping our parents, planning for the financial impact, the care they may need, the emotional aspect of getting old and how we may be better prepared to integrate those changes would be a prescient topic. So why aren't we talking about it? We get that senior care is not a "sexy" subject and of course any such discussion treads on the very sensitive topic of death, but it's time to get real, be smart and take responsibility. This is our lives we are talking about and the weight and work that comes with caring for elderly parents is very real and undeniably on it's way. Consider that if you have children under the age of ten the responsibility of being very involved in your parent's care will arrive at about the time your anticipating your kids will enter college. Convinced yet? Good. So here's what we at Pacifica Medical suggest as a starting point: 1. Understand Medicare and any supplemental insurance your parents may have. 2. If you have siblings, sit down with them and have at least a preliminary discussion about your parents care, and what duties and responsibilities will be managed by each of you. 3. Talk to your parents about their finances. Be sure to include any siblings in this discussion too. 4. Ask your parents what they want as they age and become less independent. 5. Meet your parents doctors now. Do not wait for something to go wrong before meeting those that will manage their health. 6. Know your options for the long term care of your parents, and the associated cost. If you know the tuition cost of your son's top five colleges but have no idea what it costs to hire a caregiver it's time to do your homework. If you can complete our suggested top six within a year you should be just about on track if your parents are young seniors. If your parents are over 70 it's time to get to work with the goal of taking the above outlined starting point to the next logical level. Have a financial plan in place, an advanced directive, settle sibling responsibilities, and know whats next in case there is a significant decline in the health of your parent or parents. It also may be time to meet with a geriatric or senior care specialist. If your parents are living at home and want to remain there a company like ours can provide full service in-home geriatric medical or companion care with total management of their physical and emotional care including coordinating physician visits, orders and medication. It is expensive this type of top shelf care, but of course you did your homework -so you already knew that.