A Better Choice" Homecare and Palliative care

05/05/2024

02/27/2023

Joshua first train trip to reno a long 8 hours from Martinez CA but he loved it.

02/27/2023

GOOD READS
This is a riveting and redemptive family memoir. Donna Thomson's vivid descriptions of her own experience in treading delicately through daily care, medical emergencies and the medical bureaucracy as she and her family cope with her son Nicholas' cerebral palsy is both inspirational and instructive. From the first tentative diagnosis to Nicholas' celebration of his 21st birthday last summer, Thomson examines how she and her family have tried, with various degrees of success, to cope with Nicholas' needs, while at the same time ensuring that their lives (as well as Nicholas') have value and dignity. Donna Thomson's own experience with adversity takes on new meaning when viewed through the lens of Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen and other philosophers' roadmaps of how to realize a good life against all odds. This lens includes not only people with disability, but also the enormous generation of post-WWII Baby Boomers who are beginning to sense the health care crisis that is looming as they deal with their own aging and increasingly infirm parents. Donna Thomson's brilliantly written family memoir provides a strong, original message that touches on the lives of anyone caring for the needs of another.

Buy a cheap copy of The Four Walls of My Freedom book by Donna Thomson. This is a riveting and redemptive family memoir. Donna Thomson's vivid descriptions of her own experience in treading delicately through daily care, medical... Free Shipping on all orders over $15.

02/27/2023

for those interested in the grassroots program of community living for adults with disabilities here is the coastal haven program story

Tucked against Pogonip Creek, a cluster of nine colorful bungalows forms Coastal Haven — a “pocket community” for 11 families who have adult children with disabilities. The hope, its founders Heidi Cartan and Philippe Habib say, is that this will be the children's homes for a lifetime.

02/27/2023

So far, we have posted about (ALR) and (NF) the next group I would like to address is Group Homes. Group Homes or Board and Care Homes can be a tricky topic, being many of these Group Homes are managed by the States vendors or agencies that take funding from the medi-care, etc (billions) and pay it down to a large state agency that managed care for those with disabilities, these agencies have different names in each State, and each is running under its own rules and regulations.
Many parents are very unhappy with this situation, the care that many are receiving is less than basic needs and sometimes the caregivers are from other countries and don't even speak English. Therefore, things like verbal stimulation are lacking and that can be a larger problem for those who need communication to be a part of their daily social needs. Then there are other issues that make it difficult to find housing for those with disabilities. First, you must decide if you will be the caregiver for your disabled adult meaning you will provide housing and care and you will only get their Social Security pay which is likely no more than 1200.00 but if the State finds placement in a Group Home for them the State will pay on a scale of 1200.00 to 10,000 a month.
My son is in a level I4 group home in California and they pay up to 8000.00. but if I was to bring him home because of the lack of care that the group homes are providing I would only get his 900.00 a month to pay for all his needs and as a single parent it's not doable therefore I am limited to offering him dignity and respect because I can't bring him home.
For a parent this is heart-wrenching we try to give all that we can but we know it takes a community and unfortunately, we don't have too many options. I did find a grass root program in Santa Cruz, California called Coastal Haven. It was a small community of 11 families that had adult children with disabilities. A husband and wife with their son that had a disability took a 6-acre farm and built 10 homes on it for other families to purchase and live with their adult children with disabilities.
When I heard of it, I jumped on the bandwagon and drove to Santa Cruz and introduced myself, it was my lifelong dream to belong to a small community and have a home in which I could live with Joshua and be his caregiver, and the Biggest of our Dilemmas would be addressed. "What happens if I die and who will take care of my son if I remove him from state care to live with me.
The answer is in the model that Coastal Haven set up the community forms a board that would then get a caregiver to move into the home you purchased. However, it's a little trickier than that, I learned there is a buy-in price to purchase the home, a big fat 500,000 and it's more like a stock you're buying than the house plus there are additional fees you still have to pay rent.
Yes, the model may work for some very fortunate people but the majority don't have that type of cash laying around.
Therefore I searched for other models that would fit Joshua's needs I did come up with another winner in Harris, New York called the Center of Discovery but another catch-22 was that to get into the program you must be a resident of New York for 1 year.
I will share the story with you of how I approached this and the outcome in my next post but so far, we have seen some of the options of housing for adult children with disabilities and what their parents are facing to bring them home and if we don't bring them home how do we cope with not being enough. How we can leave them behind and say we are a great nation. Therefore, what are the options available? How affordable is it? and long term who will take care of them when I die. These are some tough questions and I will do my best to address what I have learned. For now, I'm going to give you a link to an investigation video that took place in California, Regional Centers, and DDS. The investigation addresses the abuses that took place in these group homes and how the system is set up not to correct the errors. it's a five-part series so you may have to find the other links

The Bui family moved to California thinking their younger brother Martin, who has autism, would be better served under California's laws for disabilities. Th...

02/27/2023

When I started my journey as a Licensed CNA I was lucky I got my first job at one of the most prestigious places in Pensacola, Florida It was called The Blake. The Blake offered the Creme de le Creme it was an ALF-Assisted living facility that had 72 assisted living apartments and 47 special care units for memory care. The pricing was reasonable I learned after seeing what Nursing homes were charging and offering none of the amenities that The Blake offered. This brings us to the Topic What is the difference between an ALF and Acute Care Nursing Facility? An ALR provides housing, personal care, supportive services, health care, and activities in a home-like setting. These home-like settings are apartments and the building is usually in a community that serves the retired generation where an NF nursing facility provides healthcare and nursing care for residents who have severe health problems or need rehabilitation from their exit of a hospital. Now that we know the difference between ALR and NF most of us are hoping to have our parents look into an Assisted Living Community and the cost is reasonable compared to what I call the Last resort (NF).
I will share my horror story on those later but for now, the butter on the bread is the (ALR) and they are a respectable and dignifying choice for those who may have lost their partner and are of age and have limited family members that can't be with them because of then either living out of the area or other commitments. Last i remembered The Blake opened up 10 other locations in other States so it is worth it to give them a call to see if they are in your area here is their link

The Blake at Pensacola provides compassionate senior living solutions in Pensacola, FL. Visit our website to learn more.

02/27/2023

Welcome to my page, I hope that this page will address the issues that surround homecare for those that are elderly and also those with disabilities. My name is Debra. I have 30 years as a CNA /Hospice and Acute Care. I am also a parent of a 38-year-old man name Joshua Coe who was born with Cerebral Palsy and is a paraplegic. Therefore, I have a wealth of information I would like to share in the hope that we can address some very important issues we are facing now. The big issue we face is who is going to care for my family if I can't? Therefore, I would like to share some of the places I've worked and compare them to other alternatives. Therefore, I like us to address the difference between Nursing Homes or Nursing Facilities, Acute Care, ALR-Assisted Living Centers, Board and Care Homes (Group Homes), or Palliative Care at Home in which Private Home Caregivers are usually from an agency or privately hired. I hope this information will lead to more conversation and sharing from you and me as we both address our needs. Today I would like to share a post about a nursing home that was visited outside of the USA. I want to open our dialog to all Families, everywhere and hear the problems or concerns that they face hopefully with sharing maybe we can come up with better solutions. So here is my share for today https://whatkatewore.com/2023/02/21/a-mix-of-old-and-new-styles-for-the-princess-at-a-nursing-home-engagement/?fbclid=IwAR0mxRopt8AprjPL8eyNb95bDMapL6QI7j7bZUkIqmeC6soa1Ahi8XD2qrI

The Princess of Wales mixed new and old styles for a nursing home engagement today.  She visited the Oxford House Nursing and Care Home in Slough, about twenty minutes from Windsor.  More from Berkshire Live's coverage.  She visited Oxford House Nursing Home... to see how the family-run business ...