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Who are you caring for?
Which best describes their mobility?
How well are they maintaining their hygiene?
How are they managing their medications?
Does their living environment pose any safety concerns?
Fall risks, spoiled food, or other threats to wellbeing
Are they experiencing any memory loss?
Which best describes your loved one's social life?
Acknowledgment of Disclosures and Authorization
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
Remember, this assessment is not a substitute for professional advice.
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I bought a post paid envelope from my HMO's Pharmacy. I can dump all the pills in it and mail it off to where ever. I was told by the pharmacy to buy some cat litter and pour the liquids into it, seal it all up in a bag or can marked trash and place in regular trash...I had an old coffee can I used.....ran duct tape all around plastic lid and criss crossed over the top, marked it trash and threw it out!
txcamper and others...re: disposing of meds. Our Walgreen's pharmacy had for sale, kits that you dump the old pills in....all of them mixed together....and then add a cup of water. seal it and swish it around, let it sit for an hour, and whatever powder was in this bag, neutralizes all the meds and after one hour, you can just dump the whole sealed bag into the regular trash. It was around $6.00 and held all her meds....quite a bunch of them.
My husband Xeroxed his parents' tv remote control so that whenever they would call and have the tv messed up, he could consult his copy and help.
Buy a file cabinet, 2 drawer is probably big enough, some manila folders (I like the colored ones) and any necessary office supplies, and a shredder. As you go through paperwork, it is so much easier to find things if they are filed neatly.
I agree with others, that what we see as too much stuff or disorganized, may be EXACTLY the way our parents like things. Be wary of bulldozing into an organization project that will just cause them distress.
A good place to start is with the empty plastic containers in the kitchen. All mothers have them I think. Match the container to a lid and anything that is just too many or doesn't match up can be recycled. If you dump them all out onto the kitchen table, and have her sit down to do it herself, it will help her to understand that she has too many and can safely get rid of some.
Contact your city regarding proper disposal of old medicine. They don't recommend flushing them or throwing them in the trash anymore. Our city has collections 2X year for hazardous waste and medicine is included in that, plus I think the police dept. is a drop off location during the year.
Be sure when you are cleaning at your parents' houses, that you are not discarding something that has been promised to someone else. For example, my aunt placed no value on a partial set of old dishes of my grandmother's and sold them at a garage sale, but GM had promised them to me. I had part of the set already, and was to get the rest when GM moved from her house. My mother knew, but aunt didn't I guess. The sale was long before she was moved to a nursing home, and I didn't know about it ahead of time.
My mom is home alone and with some dementia. Change is VERY difficult and she demands to be in control even though she cannot make good decisions. SO...I don't feel I can just go in and say....for example....we're cleaning out this closet and I am deciding what stays and what goes..... BUT...whenever she gets interested in cleaning a cupboard or part of the house, I travel to 'help' because anything we can declutter now is something less I will have to do later on. Here is what we've done though....a BIG help....we've done a linen closet AND her medicine cupboard....which is a huge thing, for bathroom linens and meds...not those little built in metal things! I had her tell me what she used all the time, or did not use often, and put things on shelves easy to reach that she used all the time...sheets for her bed and first aid supplies, daily common meds for example. Seasonal things...Christmas decorations, winter blankets were placed high and low. As we did the big medicine cupboard, I encouraged her to find ALL her medicines so we could get them all in one place. She had them in multiple funny places....a bottle stuffed here and there...old meds, old antibiotics etc. And we got rid of everything old, and got them all in one place for her. THEN...when a project was done...THIS was an amazing idea from a daughter....I took pictures of each shelf with my cell phone! NOW...if I am here and she is there and she can't find something....I can generally look at the pictures and remember which shelf it's on or 'supposed' to be on!! I know there will be times, she moves something again or stuffs it somewhere else, but when I visit, I hope I can quietly move it back where it goes. But we've already 'found' several items that she just couldn't notice with her eyes and her dementia, when they were right in front of her on a shelf....just by looking at a picture of a shelf. I did sort of far away, to generally see what was on which shelf and then a close up of each shelf, so I could see what was behind what all the way to the back of the shelf. With dementia, the brain often does not let the eye see and recognize something, so it could be right in front, and she doesn't 'see' it...but the pictures sure do help! I hope this idea helps another here!
DeeSimp, does your Mother want to have her house organized? Depending on her age and if she has any issues such as limited eyesight, she may want everything where it now located as it is easier for her to find the items. My Mom is almost blind due to macular degeneration but she knows exactly where every is. My Mom is quite organized, but Dad has his paper messes... [sigh]
If your Mom is willing to downsize what she has in her house, have 3 large plastic bins that are easy to carry. One bin will be for items to keep.... another bin for donations.... and a third bin for items to toss out because it is beyond repair or something no one would take for free.
Throwing out things might become difficult because if your Mom grew up during the Great Depression they were taught that everything has a value and not to throw it out as someone else can use it.
One easy, fun way to get ideas is to go to Pinterestdotcom and search for organizing tips. You'll get lots of posts that you can click on about how to organize different parts of your home.
The best book I ever bought about clutter and the way it impacts our lives is Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. It's an awesome book - changed my life and the way I view "stuff". One of the only books I go back and read and reread again and again. Good luck!!
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
Buy a file cabinet, 2 drawer is probably big enough, some manila folders (I like the colored ones) and any necessary office supplies, and a shredder. As you go through paperwork, it is so much easier to find things if they are filed neatly.
I agree with others, that what we see as too much stuff or disorganized, may be EXACTLY the way our parents like things. Be wary of bulldozing into an organization project that will just cause them distress.
A good place to start is with the empty plastic containers in the kitchen. All mothers have them I think. Match the container to a lid and anything that is just too many or doesn't match up can be recycled. If you dump them all out onto the kitchen table, and have her sit down to do it herself, it will help her to understand that she has too many and can safely get rid of some.
Contact your city regarding proper disposal of old medicine. They don't recommend flushing them or throwing them in the trash anymore. Our city has collections 2X year for hazardous waste and medicine is included in that, plus I think the police dept. is a drop off location during the year.
Be sure when you are cleaning at your parents' houses, that you are not discarding something that has been promised to someone else. For example, my aunt placed no value on a partial set of old dishes of my grandmother's and sold them at a garage sale, but GM had promised them to me. I had part of the set already, and was to get the rest when GM moved from her house. My mother knew, but aunt didn't I guess. The sale was long before she was moved to a nursing home, and I didn't know about it ahead of time.
If your Mom is willing to downsize what she has in her house, have 3 large plastic bins that are easy to carry. One bin will be for items to keep.... another bin for donations.... and a third bin for items to toss out because it is beyond repair or something no one would take for free.
Throwing out things might become difficult because if your Mom grew up during the Great Depression they were taught that everything has a value and not to throw it out as someone else can use it.
The best book I ever bought about clutter and the way it impacts our lives is Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. It's an awesome book - changed my life and the way I view "stuff". One of the only books I go back and read and reread again and again. Good luck!!
STUFFologist Brenda Avadian has been dealing with clutter since age eight