Veteran Aid and Attendance Benefits
We have stated using a new company to handle our veteran client’s needs.
VetBA, (Veterans Benefits Advocates, VetBA, L.L.C.), is a nationally licensed company that focuses on helping veterans preserve and protect their financial needs. Our goal is to help veterans, and their families, better understand the benefits that they may be eligible for under the Veterans Administration Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit program, as well as provide important information about annuities and asset preservation.
What They Provide:
* A complete review and assessment of your current financial situation.
* Guidance to help you better understand the veterans benefits that might be available to you.
* Resources that may benefit you and your family, when it comes to better understanding your options for government assistance.
* Information that may be vital to you if you and/or your loved one are currently, or plan to be, in an assisted living community.
* A personal Concierge that will assist you throughout the entire process.
Whether you may now or in the future need assistance either in an assisted living community, a nursing home setting or in your own home (using a home care company like Champion Home Care), Veterans Benefits Advocates can help you find the right path to secure your heritage. We are here to help families, and their loved ones, better understand their eligibility, as well as provide important information concerning benefits made available to veterans and their spouses.
The A&A Pension Benefit can pay more than $1900 per month.
See if you Qualify for Aid and Attendance Benefits Here!
* We take the time to pre-qualify persons who may be eligible for the Veterans Administration Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit by verifying their current needs, circumstances and past military experience.
* Our highly trained staff is dedicated to helping veterans and the families of veterans, take advantage of the benefits and rights that they richly deserve.
* We provide a step-by-step process that will enable each client the opportunity to discover what benefits that they may qualify for, as well as a comprehensive program which provides all the needed, assisted living community research and various other services that affect veterans and their families.
* We specialize in helping families of veterans protect their life savings that could be potentially wiped out by medical and/or long term care expenses.
* We know how to defuse the “Medicaid Time Bomb”… which means that we know how to make Medicaid work for you, and not the other way around.
Their service is FREE to you!
Qualify for Veteran’s Aid and Attendance Now!
Senior Service Match Officially Launches Full Version of Site
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Mark Brett
Press Relations
Phone: 888.611.2021
Fax: 281.716.4142
markb@seniorservicematch.com
seniorservicematch.com
Senior Service Match Officially Launches Full Version of Site
Houston, TX – May 19, 2009 – Senior Service Match announced today that they have officially ended the beta testing phase of their site and have gone “live” with their services. The five month beta testing stage began in January of this year and ended on May 15th when Senior Service Match launched the finalized version of their site (www.seniorservicematch.com).
Paul Cook, president and owner of Senior Service Match, said that he was pleased with the information gathered during their beta testing period. “After reviewing the results [of the beta test] we felt that we were more than ready to release the full version of the site to the general public.”
Cook went on to add, “Because we are located here [Houston, TX] we started in the Houston market during our testing; however, we are already in talks with national senior living companies who feel like we can be a valuable resource to them.” As of this week, Senior Service Representatives have begun to contact providers in the Dallas area, with plans to follow up with a major push in the larger cities of Florida, followed by California and New York.
According to Cook, the current company goal is to have a significant presence in the top fifty markets of the United States by the end of 2009. “Realistically, we think it’s more than possible to be a huge player in the senior living placement industry by January of next year,” said Cook.
For more information on “Senior Service Match Officially Launches Full Version of Site” contact the Press Relations Department at 888.611.2021 or visit www.seniorservicematch.com.
About Senior Service Match – Senior Service Match is a free service that provides information about living choices for seniors, as well as as a placement company for “assisted living” facilities. Based in Houston, TX, Senior Service Match began operation in January of 2009. S. Paul Cook serves as President and CEO of the company. Marcus D. Cook serves as Vice President of Marketing and COO.
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Assisted Living in Houston
Assisted living facilities in Houston or independent living facilities with full services can be the ideal solution to caring for seniors. An assisted living in Houston is in place to bridge the gap between an independent living facility without full services and a nursing home or skilled nursing facility. These communities offer medical, educational, emotional, and physical support for seniors who still have some independence but may need assistance of some sort.
When a senior becomes a resident of an assisted living facility, a plan of service is written. This service plan is based upon the resident’s individual needs and desires. These individual plans are implemented by a staff of qualified and caring nurses, certified nursing assistants, and aides. Services that are available are ADLs, or activities of daily living, which include bathing, grooming, housekeeping, toileting, and medication assistance. Laundry service, three meals a day plus snacks, educational classes for the resident and their families, and activities both on premises and off are also available. Assisted living in Houston such as Silverado Senior Living and Brookdale Senior Living also offer hospice care and Alzheimer’s and dementia care.
Some assisted living facilities in Houston such as Cantex Senior Communities offer short-term stays, long-term stays, and in-patient and out-patient rehabilitation. Private and semi-private rooms are also available in most communities. Beautiful, home-like settings in these assisted living facilities in Houston are the ideal place for seniors to live, make friendships, and enjoy life with planned activities, chef-prepared foods, and a caring staff to ensure quality of life to each individual.
In-Home Care Companies
In-home care is not anything new, however, companies specializing in this industry have certainly grown. Probably since time began, families have always taken care of each other. Helping a new mom or someone with a chronic illness to do daily chores, run errands, cook meals, or even give companionship are some things families and friends have done and are still doing. This kind of care has become a viable business with the world seeing the huge population growth and the generation of baby boomers getting older.
In-home care companies are non-medical but still offer a variety of services for seniors who need help but wish to stay home. Services offered from most agencies are:
light house cleaning
cook meals
bathing
toileting
hygiene/grooming
ambulating
transportation
errands
Costs for personal in-home care vary from agency to agency, but average cost in Texas is around $18.50 per hour. Hours provided by a company generally start at 1 or 4 hrs to 24 hr care. When choosing a home care agency, remember that all agencies are unique and operate differently.
Deciding on an in-home care company can be exhausting but knowing what to look for can help narrow the choices. Here are some ideas to consider:
- Location – if possible, choose an agency within a reasonable driving distance to your home, especially if there is an emergency
- Costs – costs vary and some agencies take medicare, medicaid, and long-term insurance
- Service Contract – some agencies have a time contract and some have a contract which allows you to quit services at any time
- Caregivers – find out the criteria the agency uses to hire caregivers or certified nursing assistants and if a back-up caregiver is available if needed
- Licensing – the agency should be licensed, bonded, and insured in the state it is operating
- Procedures – procedures include client emergencies, employees, after-hours emergencies, natural disaster preparedness, and many more
- Hours – ask if hours are flexible and available for your specific needs
Using an in-home care company can be the best way to care for an elderly person who is happy staying home and still trying to live the life that he or she is used to living. Home care and caregiving has been around for a long time and will still be here for years to come to service the senior community.
Nursing Homes
Nursing homes,or skilled nursing facilities, offer such services as senior care, rehabilitation, and Alzheimer’s care, much like elderly home care. Mom’s medical condition has gradually gotten worse over the past couple of years. The hours of care are getting longer and longer. She’s probably going to start needing twenty-four hour care pretty soon. Her ability to do things on her own has certainly declined. I don’t feel like I can take care of her anymore. What should I do? Can we stay here at home or do we find a place that can take care of her?
Home care can be an option, but your mother’s medical condition should be considered. A nursing home is another option. Nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities are not like they used to be. The quality and education of the staff has certainly increased to become more specialized. This facility houses patients short-term or long-term. Nursing homes are generally for seniors who have a complicated medical history, need extensive assistance with daily living skills such as bathing, toileting, and grooming, or need rehabilitation for any length of time.
Nursing homes have a licensed nurse on staff twenty-four hours a day and have specialized care for such needs as dementia, medications, wound care, hospice, and IV’s. So, these facilities are well equipped and trained to work with seniors who need minimal care to extensive care around the clock. Along with fulfilling medical needs, social needs are considered. Most nursing homes have a daily activity schedule and also scheduled outings to various places. When looking at a nursing home, consider in your search how happy the residents look and if they seem happy where they are.
Happy residents of a skilled care facility are usually the result of a happy staff. The staff should be smiling and have an understanding attitude when working with the residents. One way to really tell if a facility has caring staff and a happy, working attitude is if they greet and welcome you into their home when you come to them for a tour of the place. Nurses, aides, and caregivers should all be working diligently to care for the elderly. Do the residents look clean? Smell clean? This is another way to tell if a facility has a caring staff. How about the dining room? Does the food look appetizing? Is there a variety of foods to choose from? Are snacks available for residents? These are just a few more questions you might think about when looking for a nursing home for your loved one.
Really, when it comes down to it, finding a place to take care of your mom is going to be a tough decision. Not just any place will do. Make a list of nursing homes in the area you are looking in, narrow down choices to which ones accept insurance, medicare, or medicaid, write down a list of questions, and start touring some facilities. You and your mom should feel safe and comfortable wherever you choose to stay. Happy and cared for elderly should be what all nursing homes attain for. So happy hunting!
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
Knowing the difference between the normal age-related forgetfulness and the signs of Alzheimer’s disease is needed to determine the treatment or care that the senior may need. There is help for the elderly when it comes to having Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia, through home health services, assisted living facilities, residential care homes, and also nursing homes. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, he discovered some brain abnormalities of a woman who had died of a mental disease. She had exhibited memory loss, personality change, and language problems. Dr. Alzheimer had discovered some plaques and tangles of protein in the spaces and nerves of her brain. Although, no one knows for sure what causes Alzheimer’s or how to cure it, scientists have discovered a genetic link in families with Alzheimer’s. Age is also a factor. So, knowing what the signs and symptoms of it can help you and your family members prepare for it.The Alzheimer’s disease destroys the brain’s ability to remember and to reason. Also, language and personality changes occur and eventually the ability to carry out simple everyday living skills is gone. Symptoms can start as early as age thirty, but usually don’t begin until we’re much older, after age sixty. The older a person is, along with other factors, the more likely he is to develop this disease.
Some symptoms of Alzheimer’s are:
1. Alzheimer’s usually can not be detected in the beginning stage. Forgetfulness can be just a normal part of aging, like losing keys or a wallet. But, forgetting something that happened an hour ago, our short-term memory, may be an indicator of Alzheimer’s.
2. From there, memory lapses with family members names and time and place begin to occur.
3. The next stage may be forgetting how to do simple everyday tasks such as brushing teeth or using a telephone.
4. Language difficulty is a symptom of Alzheimer’s. Difficulties include forgetting names of simple everyday things or replacing names of things with another word or phrase.
5. Changes in mood, behavior, and personality usually come in the latter stages. Someone with Alzheimer’s may become irritable, confused, and fearful of surroundings that used to be familiar to him, which may cause him to start wandering.
6. Lastly, he may begin showing symptoms of being passive, just sitting and not wanting to do anything.
Right now, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. However, there are medications that are able to ease the symptoms. Be sure to see a doctor as soon as you suspect something, especially if Alzheimer’s is in the family history. The doctor will ask questions and help determine if the symptoms are actually the beginning of Alzheimer’s. The sooner you know what your dealing with, the sooner plans can be put in place to care for yourself or your loved one.
Living Assisted
Assisted living facilities offer senior home care for the elderly who are primarily independent but may need some help from a caregiver or home health service. As a baby and young child, we are taken care of and get the assistance of mom and dad while learning new things. Then we live life and finally come to the time when we need help again. As we become seniors, things that we could do before might not be as easy to do, so we need to have some living assistance. Could the assistance we need mean that we need to move to an assisted living facility or can we still live at home? The answer definitely depends on health related issues and what kind of health care we will need. Living assisted is a wonderful option for elderly care. An offering of a whole new lifestyle can be very appealing. Read More…
Home Care
Senior home care services can provide aid from daily living skills, to Alzheimer’s care, to hospice care, while still living in the comfort and familiarity of the senior’s own home. As the generation of the baby boomers comes to maturity, thoughts of how and where to spend retirement years begin to turn in their minds. Should we plan on nursing homes, retirement homes, assisted living, or stay in our own home? Baby boomers seem to do more research in the decision making process when it comes to home health care. There are many factors to consider when choosing help for themselves. Is there a chronic condition, such as Alzhiemer’s or dementia, or someone with limited mobility? If so, do we need skilled nursing or a caregiver? Can we still live at home or do we need a facility or adult day care? More and more popular is the decision to stay in their home, a familiar and safe environment. Read More…
Home for the Elderly
Deciding on an assisted living facility or senior care at home for your loved ones can be a difficult decision, but medical needs should be considered before making the choice. Your uncle’s home that used to be so comfortable for him suddenly becomes too noisy. Your parents’ apartment, where your mother has lived for many years without complaint, is not accessible to your mother’s nurses at certain times of the year. Your home, which used to meet all the requirements of your spouse, is now unsuitable due to her constant state of forgetfulness. Do you feel exasperated with these conditions lately? If you are faced with this situation, you are not the only one concerned. Many Americans are going through the same situation. Read More…
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America offers information on dementia and Alzheimer’s to families, caregivers, and health care professionals who work with people suffering from the symptoms of this terrible disease. Founded in February 2002, the mission of Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is “to provide optimal care and services to individuals confronting dementia, and to their caregivers and families—through member organizations dedicated to improving quality of life.” Read More…
