Should the eldery depend on the government?

[casper4020322]

I ask this question b/c I work for an agency that provides in-home non-medical services to the elderly of whom we are contracted to serve by a state funded agency. Our job/goal is to keep them in their homes by providing the services that they can no longer provide for themselves. We give baths and grooming, clean their residences, do their shopping and laundry. We also provide a service called respite care which relieves the caregiver (i.e., daughter, son, etc.,) so they can have time to do what they need to do. My problem is that the state funded program does not always give enough hours for the employees we send to do the work in a timely manner. For example: a 300+ lb woman who cannot wipe her behind after using the toilet smears her feces all over the bathroom. When the aide arrives to give her a bath which is only for ONE hour and sees that the bathroom needs cleaning will not get paid if she stays to clean the bathroom after the woman is given a bath. Should she leave the bathroom in the condition it was in when she arrived? Or should she stay and clean the bathroom knowing she will NOT GET PAID for the overtime she spent? The state agency says she should leave b/c they are not going to pay for the time she spent after giving the bath to clean the bathroom. So, should the elderly depend on the state government funded program to help them, do it privately which is very costly or go to a nursing home? What do you think about this?

 

[chanel]

If the woman is too disabled to clean up her own shit, maybe it's time for another placement. In home 24/7 care is far too expensive and would be subject to major abuse. Why clean your own bathroom or do your own food shopping, if the government will do it for you? Fear of a nursing home keeps many seniors active.

I think respite care is wonderful. But it should not take the place of family. It's a difficult decision to move someone out of their home, but people shouldn't be afraid to discuss it with their folks.

Instead of paying OT, maybe your agency should negotiate a couple more hours for people who truly need it?

 

[casper4020322]

If the woman is too disabled to clean up her own shit, maybe it's time for another placement. In home 24/7 care is far too expensive and would be subject to major abuse. Why clean your own bathroom or do your own food shopping, if the government will do it for you? Fear of a nursing home keeps many seniors active.

I think respite care is wonderful. But it should not take the place of family. It's a difficult decision to move someone out of their home, but people shouldn't be afraid to discuss it with their folks.

Instead of paying OT, maybe your agency should negotiate a couple more hours for people who truly need it?

Although the woman is 300+ in weight she travels wherever she wants to in her hoveround and that's the reason the state funded agency wouldn't give her more time. My problem is that the woman is not being bathed enough and is FUNKY! I believe she has some mental issues. We are supposed to give her a bath on Mon, Wed, Fri and we only get to do it once a week because she refuses to let us bathe her the other days. So, wherever she goes, she has poop stuck to her bottom and smells to high heaven. However, as long as she can prove to Adult Protective Services that she is in her right mind there is NOTHING they can do. She has done that.

 

[chanel]

Well Casper - that's what I was getting at. Too many of these folks would be abusing the good deeds your agency provides. Wear a mask and tell her she smells like shit. Maybe a little harsh truth may get her to wipe herself.

NJ had a program for adults with brain injuries. It was terribly abused. Folks were getting free cleaning and chauffer services. Some even got the agency to buy them new furniture and appliances. They finally dismantled the whole program. Shame for those who really just needed a little help.

 

[Douger]

Only if they paid "illegal" taxes and SS most of their life.

 

[casper4020322]

Well Casper - that's what I was getting at. Too many of these folks would be abusing the good deeds your agency provides. Wear a mask and tell her she smells like shit. Maybe a little harsh truth may get her to wipe herself.

NJ had a program for adults with brain injuries. It was terribly abused. Folks were getting free cleaning and chauffer services. Some even got the agency to buy them new furniture and appliances. They finally dismantled the whole program. Shame for those who really just needed a little help.

Chanel, I understand what you're saying but it is so hard to turn your back on elderly ppl who are in situations like this. This lady can't wipe her butt because she is too big. The employee who went to her told me that she just couldn't let the woman's bathroom be covered in feces and not clean it up. This lady is not the only case we have that we shouldn't be sending ppl too. We have a client who is bedbound with DOG!

 

[casper4020322]

Only if they paid "illegal" taxes and SS most of their life.

Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean!

 

[Douger]

Only if they paid "illegal" taxes and SS most of their life.

Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean!

The SS thang is Social Security........which is "technically" an insurance policy.
The tax thing ? Well. You're uh murkin so without writing a book which you may, or may not, be able to decipher would most likely be futile.
If you are one of "them" Don't bother. I renounced.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPypDaXfIV8[/ame]

 

[editec]

Seems to me that the elderly often have very little choice but to depend on the government.

Now I am perfectly aware that many here would as asoon allow them to die rather than fund their care, but that's not the society I want to live in.

 

[casper4020322]

I was just reminded that a lot of our elderly citizens have either dementia or Alzheimer's. Dementia is when an elderly person has short term memory loss...they can remember what happened twenty yrs ago but not what happened this morning or yesterday (sounds like me). When an elderly person has Alzheimer's they confuse their day and nights. They want to sleep during the day and stay up at night. They also have memory loss and will forget who their relatives are. If you know a person who has these symptons talk to their doctor and also get as much information on these subjects as you can. I realized that once upon a time when the elderly had these conditions they were thought to have gone crazy and placed in institutions. Now, there are medications that can help them. They are all over the tv.