Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions » (Original)

Paul and Lori Hogan co-founded Home Instead Senior Care in 1994.

The Home Instead Senior Care franchise network has grown from one franchise in Omaha to more than 800 worldwide. The company is the global leader in non-medical, in-home care for seniors. The Hogans have won awards for their franchise business model.

A USA Today BESTSELLER!

"Informative. Complete. And practical. This book will guide family caregivers through the surprisingly complex world of senior care."
—MEHMET OZ, M.D., New York Times bestselling coauthor of YOU: The Owner's Manual: The Complete All-in-One Care Guide

Choosing the best care for your aging parents and other seniors in your life is not only complex, with multiple options available, it's also highly personal and often emotional. This essential resource—written by the founders of Home Instead Senior Care, the world's largest provider of nonmedical care for seniors—guides you through a comprehensive range of things to consider, step by step, so you can make better informed decisions and be confident that the senior in your life is receiving the best care possible. Checklists and diagnostics will help you:

• Decide if at-home care is the right choice for you and your loved ones
• Evaluate the pros and cons of retirement communities, adult care centers, nonmedical caregivers, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and hospice
• Determine the costs of senior care options and find helpful support networks

"This is not just another book about caring for aging parents. It's a great reference you'll use again and again. Stages doesn't shy away from the hard questions. Rather, it shows you how to confront them."—SUZANNE MINTZ, President/CEO, National Family Caregivers Association

"Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, this salient volume compassionately addresses a full range of hard-to-discuss subjects."—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

All of the authors' profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation.

Paul and Lori Hogan founded Home Instead Senior Care in 1994. Now with 850 offices in 15 countries, Home Instead is recognized as a global leader and authority on senior care. Visit them at www.stagesofseniorcare.com.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review.

Using their experience running a successful international company providing in-home, non-medical services for seniors, husband-and-wife founders of Home Instead Senior Care offer a helpful guide for families choosing among home care-giving and other assisted-living options for aging or ailing parents. The Hogans believe in helping seniors stay in their homes as long as possible, and knowledge is their most powerful tool in securing that goal; this well-researched volume is packed with information, advice and resources aimed at managing and ameliorating the sadness, confusion, guilt and anxiety of making quality-of-life decisions for a loved one. Emphasizing the need for planning, the Hogans offer a list of signs that indicate it's time to consider additional care, as well as a thorough exploration of the options, including pros and cons, questions to ask and other factors when choosing among home care, senior centers, assisted living and nursing homes. The Hogans also consider options for children who live far away from their parents, and advice on what to do when siblings find themselves in disagreement. Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, this salient volume compassionately addresses a full range of hard-to-discuss subjects, including funeral services and bereavement.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preface vii

Acknowledgments xi

1 A Whole New World 1

That Was Yesterday 2

An Expanding World of Care Choices 5

The Evolution of Senior Care 6

Taking Advantage of the Advances in Care 10

2 You, the Caregiver 17

Take Pride in Giving 18

The 40-70 Rule 19

Making the Decisions 24

3 Plan Early and Look Beyond Today 31

Start Immediately 32

Adult Children Take Note 36

4 Aging in Place 43

Universal Design to Make Living Easier 45

Use the Latest Safety Technology 50

Aging in Village: Networks of Services 51

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities 52

5 Family Care 59

Signs That Family Care Is Needed 60

Varieties of Family Care 62

Financial Cost of Family Care 65

Nonmonetary Costs of Family Care 66

The Ultimate Gift 71

6 Senior Centers and Adult Care Centers 73

Senior Centers 74

Adult Care Centers 77

7 Nonmedical Care at Home 87

Determined to Stay Home 90

Considering a Professional Caregiver 91

Full-Time Agency Employees 100

Agency Contract Employees 104

Freelance Caregivers 105

The Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship, Ideally 106

8 Medical Care at Home 109

When At-Home Medical Care Is Best 110

Some Advice on Choosing a Medical Care Provider 115

Potential Hazards of In-Home Medical Care 118

9 Retirement and Independent Living Communities 119

Looking into the Future 120

Active 55+ Communities 123

Continuing Care Retirement Communities 127

10 Assisted Living 131

A Profile of Assisted Living in the United States 132

Is She Ready to Go? 134

Worth the Cost? 136

The Next Step 143

11 Skilled Nursing Homes 147

An Important Role 148

Finding the Appropriate Home 153

Financing a Stay 158

You've DoneYour Best 161

12 Hospice Care 165

What Is Hospice? 166

Hospice: Then and Now 171

Medicare Will Pay 173

Coming to Terms 174

Choosing a Hospice Provider 175

13 Funeral Services 183

Final Gesture 184

Picking the Funeral Home 188

Think Ahead 188

Look Back with Satisfaction 194

14 Bereavement 195

The Reality of Grief 196

Don't Go It Alone 199

Memories Soften 203

15 Complicating Ailments and Issues 205

Components of Geriatric Syndromes 206

Resources 219

16 Difficult Situations 221

Antagonisms Can Get Worse 222

Advice on Some Common Parent-Child Conflicts 223

When You and Your Siblings Can't Agree 230

17 Financing Care 233

Care Is Expensive! 234

Financing Alternatives 236

18 Don't Forget Yourself 245

Who Cares for the Caregiver? 246

Get Others to Help 249

Protect Your Body and Mind 251

19 Planning Your Own Future 257

Remarkable Senior Performances 258

Prepare Now 260

Estate Planning 261

The Future of Financing Care 264

Afterword 269

Notes 273

Index 287