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  • More Helpful Hints for Kansas and Missouri Alzheimer’s Caregivers
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Caring for a friend or family member can present a variety of challenges…here are some more helpful hints that our Alzheimer’s Resource Center have found to be effective. As always, please feel free to contact us or request our free guide to caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease in Kansas and Missouri if you have any questions that aren’t answered here.

Is your loved one crying? Depressed? Wanting to be alone? Wanting to stay in bed?

We all have a right to our blue days, and at times, the person with this disease just feels deeply sad. They sense the changes in their lives, and they feel their losses. Put your arms around them and say it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to feel sad. Bit by bit, you may coax them up and about. Try old, familiar stories or old familiar prayers. If they refuse still to get up, come back in a little while and try again, or have a different person try. Music can make an extraordinary difference. Play music they once loved; it will help them to reconnect to life.

In this case, you will be involved in a lot of physical care. Use touch. Stroking and rubbing of hands and feet (unless medically not advised for some other reason) will help keep the person “in touch,” and help with circulation to prevent skin breakdown. Your loved one will also need to be turned from side to back to the other side at regular intervals to prevent skin breakdown, commonly called bedsores.

Is your loved one bedfast (i.e. unable to get out of bed at all, or only with great effort)

Even if the person cannot move on their own, they can be repositioned — such as moved to an upright chair, or a recliner if available. They can therefore be involved in the social activity going on around them and can be a part of it, too. Don’t forget pet therapy or music.

A home health nurse can give instructions on how to do exercises that are appropriate for your loved one.

Is your loved one with Alzheimer’s bored? Tense? Restless? Picking at things? Here are a few things you can try…

• Offer snacks or liquids. A person with Alzheimer’s may have missed a meal or forgotten they had one.
• Suggest that your loved one help with simple and repetitive tasks, like folding and unfolding laundry. Bring out the familiar pieces of games they once enjoyed, such as Monopoly, Parcheesi, or other board games. Also try giving them playing cards or crossword puzzles. It doesn’t matter if they do any of it well, or even at all. The object is to keep them occupied with familiar items and tasks.
• Restless and wandering patients need a safe place to wander and pace. They may just move around, or they may need a purpose, like carrying the newspaper from one part of the house to another, or going through old mail. Pet therapy can also work wonders. Be sure the animal is a calm breed, such a golden retriever. Or a smaller, lap dog may work better for others.

Is your loved one tense? Refusing to move? Irritable? Worried? Afraid?

• Always first ask or observe if your loved one is in pain. If not, remember these behaviors are often about feeling unsafe. Recall that persons with Alzheimer’s have lucid times that come and go. Try to imagine how frightening they must feel. Do comforting things. One is always to approach the person from the front. Hold their hand if they will let you, or just touch a shoulder and tell them they are in a safe place. Reduce any noises from a radio or television that may be creating confusion or anxiety for them. Try calming music from years ago. Tell them they are in a safe place. If they will allow you, hugs can do wonders!

Valley View United Methodist Church has been hosting a program for Kansas City individuals with disabilities for over 30 years. Volunteers coordinate activities and disabled persons and their loved ones are given the opportunity to spend quality time with other people who are facing challenges similar to their own. The program is available to anyone age 13 or over with a disability and meets Thursday nights between September and June. To learn more about the program or to find out how to volunteer, call 913-642-4400, ext. 22

Care Program Provides Friends and Fun - Kansas City Star

When someone is faced with the overwhelming job of finding a nursing home for a loved one in Kansas or Missouri, the question often asked is, “Where do I begin?” Although this is a job that no one wants to do, it can be done with forethought and confidence that the best decision was made for everyone involved.

When nursing home placement in Kansas City or surrounding areas is necessary, it is crucial that the family and/or potential resident decide what’s most important to them in looking for a facility. It is important that the resident’s needs and wants be included in the evaluation. Things such as location of the facility, if a special care unit is necessary and type of payer source should be considered when beginning this process.

[Continue Reading...]

Medicaid was considered a complicated program when President Lyndon B. Johnson first signed it into law at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, and it has grown even more complex during each of the thirty years since.

Although it is a national program, it is administered by each state. The rules and regulations are constantly changing and can vary widely from state to state. So, it’s no wonder there are many myths and inaccuracies surrounding the program.

Today, we are taking a look at the common misconceptions we hear frequently about Kansas and Missouri Medicaid. [Continue Reading...]

People often confuse the Medicare program with the Medicaid program. There are major differences between these separate and distinct programs.

Medicare is the federally-funded health insurance program designed to provide health care services primarily to individuals over the age of 65. Recent changes to the program have expanded benefits through Medicare managed plans. However, long-term custodial nursing home benefits have never been part of either managed care or traditional Medicare plans. [Continue Reading...]

Know the signs to watch for and the questions to ask

Placing a loved one in a long-term care facility is one of the most difficult decisions a family can make. Along with the often overwhelming sense of guilt, there are often an overwhelming number of choices. So, how do you find the best facility for your loved one? [Continue Reading...]

Rather than a place to receive medical care, hospice is an approach to medical care for patients nearing the end of life. Its goal is to enhance the quality of life for patients with terminal illness. Hospice focuses on pain management and symptom relief, while addressing the patient’s emotional, social and spiritual needs—as well as those of family members. Hospice lets patients and families share the end-of-life experience with dignity and, in most cases, in the comfort of their own homes. Each person entering a hospice program gets an individualized care plan. This plan is developed by a team of professionals and volunteers working with the patient and family members. Depending on the patient’s needs, the team may consist of the patient’s primary care physician, a hospice physician (or medical director), nurses, home health aides, social workers, clergy, trained volunteers and speech, physical and occupational therapists. [Continue Reading...]

By now, most everyone knows the basics of Medicaid starting with the fact that a single person can qualify once their assets have been spent down to $2000 in Kansas, $999 in Missouri and a married couple can qualify their spouse for benefits once they have spent down one-half of their total assets, with a maximum of $101,640. However, the rules for Medicaid qualification (which vary by state) are much more complex than most people realize. Often times nursing home residents needlessly sell property and spend down their assets in order to pay their nursing home bill, when in fact, they could have qualified for benefits without
selling anything nor spending a dime! [Continue Reading...]

A Power of Attorney is one of the most important legal documents a person can have. Without a comprehensive power of attorney, many people are unable to handle their loved ones financial matters nor make health care decisions without seeking court intervention (Guardianship and/or Conservatorship). We often have clients come into our office assuming that just because their assets are titled jointly with their spouse, parent or partner, that they are able to liquidate accounts to pay bills, hire attorneys, sell their jointly titled real estate, etc. Unfortunately, that isn’t that case. In fact, we recently had a client come into our office who had a jointly titled investment account with his wife whom had just entered a nursing home. Without going into great detail, he did not have a power of attorney for his wife and he was unable to transfer the assets into his name to do some Medicaid planning. Instead, he had to petition the court to become his wife’s Conservator and spent tens of thousands of dollars on her nursing home care when he could have, had she had a proper power of attorney, transferred the account into his name, alone, purchased an annuity for himself and qualified her for Medicaid immediately. [Continue Reading...]

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