Navigating Peace of Mind: The Advantages of Choosing a Licensed Caregiver Agency

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Blog Written By: Jen Hull, Home Care Coordinator, Premier Caregiver Services

In the realm of caregiving, the decision between hiring a licensed caregiver agency versus a private caregiver is a crucial choice that profoundly impacts the quality and reliability of care provided. At Premier Caregiver Services, we understand the significance of this decision, and our commitment to excellence sets us apart in Louisville, Kentucky.

Why Choose Premier Caregiver Services?

We recognize that peace of mind is paramount when it comes to the well-being of your loved ones. Here are the key benefits of opting for a licensed caregiver agency like ours over a private caregiver:

Comprehensive Background Checks:

As a matter of fact, our caregivers undergo a meticulous five-point background check. This included checks for TB, drug screening, criminal history, license validation, and thorough reference verification. Basically, our rigorous screening process ensures that our caregivers are not only qualified but also trustworthy and reliable.

Professional Employees:

At Premier Caregiver Services, our caregivers are not independent contractors; they are our valued employees. This distinction allows us to provide ongoing training, support, and supervision to maintain a consistently high standard of care.

Licensed and Bonded:

Most important, we are a licensed non-medical caregiver service, providing an added layer of assurance to our clients. Being licensed and bonded reflects our commitment to compliance and accountability, as well as instilling confidence in the quality of service we deliver.

Reliable and Consistent Care:

By choosing our licensed caregiver agency, clients benefit from a team of caregivers, ensuring continuity of care even in unexpected circumstances. Our commitment to reliability is a cornerstone of our service, further providing families with the assurance that their loved ones are in capable hands.

Licensed Caregiver Agency, Louisville KY

Personalized Care Plans:

In fact, Premier Caregiver Services takes a client-centric approach, tailoring care plans to individual needs. This personalized care ensures that every client receives the specific attention and assistance required for their unique situation.

Ongoing Training and Mentor Program:

Additionally, our caregivers undergo continuous training to stay updated with the latest skills and information in caregiving.  Our mentor program provides a supportive environment for caregivers to learn from experienced peers, thus fostering a culture of growth and excellence.

Explore Peace of Mind with our Comprehensive Long-Term Care Insurance Support

Finally, we not only accept most long-term care insurance policy’s but also can serve as your dedicated liaison. In doing so, we ensure a seamless experience by navigating the complexities of insurance reimbursement on your behalf. Trust Alex Anderson, our Office Manager to safeguard your future with expertise and care.

Kelly Wood, Premier Caregiver Services Agency Vice President says, “The decision to entrust the care of a loved one to a licensed caregiver agency like Premier Caregiver Services is an investment in peace of mind, reliability, and the highest standards of care. We are here to alleviate the challenges of caregiving and provide your loved ones with the attention and support they deserve.”

For more information about our licensed non-medical caregiving services, please contact Premier Caregiver Services at 502.718.8727.

Premier Caregiver Services is a uniquely passionate, in-home caregiving service. We focus on effective and reliable non-medical care of your loved ones with dementia in the Louisville, Kentucky area. Aimed at helping seniors maintain a high quality of life and independence at home, we offer a tailored experience from the first point of contact. We go above and beyond to make sure that you, your family, and your loved one have best dementia care.

Preventing Holiday Crisis Care: Your Trusted Partner, Premier Caregiver Services

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Blog written by: Jen Hull, Home Care Coordinator, Premier Caregiver Services

The holiday season is a time of joy, celebration, and togetherness. However, it can also bring about challenges, especially for those caring for loved ones with memory care issues like dementia and Alzheimer’s. At Premier Caregiver Services, we are not only dementia and Alzheimer experts but a non-medical service committed to providing companionship and assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) for individuals with memory care needs. In this article, we’ll emphasize the importance of having a support system in place during the holidays to prevent accidents and ensure a safe and enjoyable season.

Understanding Our Expertise

Premier Caregiver Services specializes in memory care, but our services extend beyond that. We are equipped to handle various levels of care, including critical care. Our caregivers are trained to provide the highest quality care and companionship, making us a versatile choice for families seeking reliable support during the holiday season. However, the goal is to prevent crisis care especially during the holidays.

Preventing Crisis Care Over the Holidays

The holiday season can be a chaotic time, and with increased gatherings and festivities, the risk of accidents or emergencies can rise. It’s crucial to have a plan in place to ensure the safety and well-being of your loved ones. Here are some essential steps:

  • Assessment-Start by conducting a thorough assessment of your loved one’s needs and capabilities. Whether it’s managing medications or providing companionship, we can assist you in identifying these requirements.
  • Companionship- Loneliness and confusion can be particularly challenging during the holidays. Our caregivers offer compassionate companionship, engaging in activities that stimulate cognitive function and create a sense of belonging.
  • Safety Measures-Ensure the home environment is safe, including removing trip hazards, securing handrails, and installing non-slip mats where needed.
  • Emergency Plan-Develop a comprehensive emergency plan that includes important contact information, medical history, and clear instructions for caregivers or family members.
  • Caregiver Support- Consider engaging our caregivers to provide dedicated support during the holiday season. Our trained professionals are available to assist with ADLs, medications, and more.
  • Check out this Guide to Navigate Refusal of Care for additional tips. 

Understanding Respite Care: A Valuable Option for Family Caregivers

Family caregivers often need a well-deserved break to recharge and take care of themselves. That’s where respite care comes in. Respite care is a temporary caregiving service provided by trained professionals, allowing family caregivers to step away while ensuring their loved ones continue to receive the care they need. Premier Caregiver Services offers respite care to provide family caregivers with the support they require during the holiday season or any other time.

At Premier Caregiver Services, we recommend a checklist to help you prepare for the holidays:

“During the holidays, having a reliable support system in place is not just a luxury; it’s a necessity. We’re here to ensure that your loved ones can enjoy the season safely and with the companionship they deserve.”, Jen Hull, Home Care Coordinator, Premier Care Coordinator.

The holidays should be a time for joy and connection. However, ensuring the safety and well-being of your loved ones, especially those with memory care issues, is paramount. Premier Caregiver Services, as Alzheimer experts and providers of non-medical care, is here to assist you in preventing crisis care during the holidays and beyond. Contact us to discuss your specific needs, including respite care, and provide your family with the gift of a safe and happy holiday season.

 

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Caregiver Help Webinar Series

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We’ve been so proud of our partnership with the Parkinson Support Center in their Caregiver Help Webinar Series. This 8 month webinar series incorporated humor and real-life caregiving stories into difficult topics such as caregiver anger, guilt, depression and grief.

 

Based on her own experience of caring for family elders, Caregiver Speaker Elaine K Sanchez, developed a passion for helping others cope with the emotional stress of caring for family elders. She frequently delivers keynotes, workshops and caregiver training sessions at caregiving and healthcare conferences, as well as to business organizations across the U.S.

Sanchez is the author of the unflinchingly honest and surprisingly funny book, “Letters from Madelyn, Chronicles of a Caregiver.” She is the co-founder of CaregiverHelp.com, a video-based caregiver support website. She writes blogs and articles for numerous magazines and online publications, including the Caregiver Blog on her website as well as the Huffington Post.

You can catch the most recent recorded webinar entitled, Ducks in a Row here: https://youtu.be/EMy1WHs1Fsw 

In this presentation, Sanchez explains how to connect with organizations that can assist you in finding resources for a loved one who needs more support than you can currently provide. She also describes the three essential end-of-life documents every person needs, and you will see how planning ahead of time can have three huge benefits.

Premier Caregiver Services is an independent and locally owned agency specializing in personal care services. We strive to offer the best in home health care by providing dependable and experienced caregivers to elderly adults across the area. We offer a wide variety of home care services, have multiple payment options available, and are happy to provide a free assessment to get you started! Contact us through our website or by calling 877-724-3678 today!

Home health care is an iportant conversation to have. Read more about these 5 tips.

5 Expert Tips on Talking to Aging Parents about Home Health Care

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Home health care is an important conversation to have. Learn more with these 5 tips.It can be extremely difficult to talk to aging parents about getting extra help at home. In a current report that discussed a survey by AARP, 9 out of 10 seniors expressed interest in staying in their homes while aging. However, it is estimated that 70% of seniors will need in-home assistance to stay safe while aging in place. So, how do you speak to your aging parents about getting outside help from a home health care agency? While it can be extremely difficult to do so, it can be done. It must be done with care and sensitivity. Otherwise, you risk the discussion turning into an argument or an immediate shutdown on the topic.

A lot of aging seniors see home health care as a surrender of freedom. While it may seem that way, hiring an in-home care provider can actually bring more freedom to a senior’s situation than anything else! Whether aging parents are resisting because they see home health care as a surrender of independence or fear they will become a burden, these 5 expert tips will help make the discussion easier.

5 Tips on Starting a Discussion about Getting an In-Home Provider

1. Don’t Discuss the Limitations, but the Advantages to Home Health Care

One of the most important things to know about talking to your parents about home health care is that you should go into it positively. Most people will get defensive when first confronted with the idea of giving up independence. However, if you discuss the advantages of home health care instead of the limitations, they are more likely to be open to the idea. One of the best advantages to discuss with aging parents is that in-home health care is better than assisted living. As we stated earlier, 90% of elderly adults want to age in their home. That is one of the biggest advantages of home health care and making clear from the very beginning often makes the discussion a lot easier.

2. Suggest Home Health Care Instead of Insisting on Assistance

Being told to do something is never easy. This is especially true when role reversal is involved and a parent is being told to do something by their child. By suggesting home health care as an option instead of insisting on assistance, elderly parents are more likely to be open to the idea. Daily Caring – an award winning caregiver resource – has great insight into how to suggest home health care. They recommend that you “talk about how they’ve [your parents] reached a point in their life where they deserve a personal assistant to make life easier and smoother”. By spinning a home health care assistant as a luxury, parents may be more open to the idea of making their life easier. 

3. Focus on Others Who Have Tried Home Health Care and Benefited

Before approaching the subject of home health care with a parent, do some research. Do they have close friends who use home health care assistants? Who do their friends use and how do they like having help around the home? By focusing on others, especially close friends, who have tried home health care and benefited from it, your parent is more likely to open up to the idea. As the common saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding”. If their friends are really happier with some in-home assistance, why wouldn’t they be? Focus on the benefits of home health care including: 

4. Include Them in the Decision Making Process

When it comes down to it, the suggestion for home health care can be yours but the decision should be your parents. Make it clear to your parent that they will be a part of the entire process of choosing a caregiver. They will be the one person spending the most time with this caregiver, so it is important they like them and feel comfortable with them. By giving your elderly parent a say in the process, it will help them feel more in control. Control is extremely important during a time in which they are losing some of their independence, so be sure to include them in each decision. 

5. Run Care Giving Trials with Different Agencies

It is always better when you can test something out before purchasing it. When it comes to home health care, most agencies will offer “trial periods” to see if in-home care is the right option. By making it clear to your parent that the first run is a trial and nothing permanent, they may be more open to giving it a shot. Homecare.com has a great tip, too, regarding trial runs. While your parent is getting to know their home health care professional, take a trip! Being out of the picture can give your parent a real chance to get to know the caregiver and what it would be like to have home health care assistance without it feeling permanent.

Home health care is a sensitive topic for parents and children alike, but these tips can help make the approach easier. By softening the idea of home health care with familiarity, inclusion, and test runs, parents often warm to the idea as time goes on. In the end, in-home care providers can help relieve the burden of aging off of parent’s shoulders as well as children’s. The benefits of home health care greatly outweigh the drawbacks. However, for some, it takes a little longer to realize that than it does others.

At Premier Caregiver Services — in Louisville, KY and Eastern, KY — is an independent and locally owned agency specializing in personal care services. We strive to offer the best in home health care by providing dependable and experienced caregivers to elderly adults across the area. We offer a wide variety of home care services, have multiple payment options available, and are happy to provide a free assessment to get you started! Contact us through our website or by calling 877-724-3678 today!

November is Caregiver Appreciation Month!

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Caregiver Appreciation Month at Premier Caregiver ServicesAt Premier Caregiver Services, we appreciate all that our caregivers do every day, but they deserve all the appreciation they can get! The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is designating November as Caregiver Awareness Month to raise awareness of the role and all the work that goes into it. More often than not, caregivers are thrust into the role suddenly and without warning unless they are trained in giving care to the elderly. In those situation, the caregivers know what to expect, but can still get overlooked. Caregiving is a role that requires selflessness and must be done out of love with the patient’s best interests at heart. This task can get overwhelming which is why it is so important to show caregivers of all sorts that we appreciate them!

If you have a caregiver in mind that you would like to show public appreciation to, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is asking you to send some information to them. They’ll take this information and share it on their public Thank You page for caregivers throughout the month of November.

All you need to do is click here and submit the full first name, last initial, and location of the caregiver you would like to publicly acknowledge along with a message of thanks that is 20-25 words long.

You will see your message added here alongside all of the other names that have already been submitted!

open house Premier Caregiver Services

We’re Having an Open House!

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Mark your calendars! Premier Caregiver Services is hosting an open house on Friday, October 21, 2016, from 12 Noon until 6 p.m. We will be celebrating our new office location in Saint Matthews, Kentucky at 121 Wiltshire Ave. Suite F, Louisville, Kentucky 40207. There is street parking available and we are located on the second floor. Come out to this event and learn more about who we are and the home care services that we offer. There will be plenty of drinks, appetizers, and door prizes! Bring your family, bring your friends, and come prepared to have a fun-filled afternoon with Premier Caregiver Services at our open house! We hope to see you there for an opportunity to have fun and educate Louisville on how home care services can benefit you!

Caregiving Services in Louisville, KY, Home Care Services for Dementia

Premier Caregiver Services Eastern Co-Sponsors Chamber Newsletter

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Premier Caregiver Services, a senior home care agency serving seniors throughout Eastern, Kentucky, and Louisville, Kentucky, is excited to serve as a co-sponsor for the May 2016 newsletter published by the Chamber of Commerce, Eastern, Laurel County, Kentucky. Check out the May 2016 Eastern Laurel Chamber of Commerce Newsletter.

The next chamber luncheon is Thursday, May 19, 2016, at 12 noon, at the Jackson Energy Community Room ($10 per person).

  • Banners, Signs & Etc.
  • Edward Jones Investments – Mike Fiechter
  • Forcht Bank
  • Hotwire Products.net
  • Jackson Energy Cooperative
  • Larkey HVAC
  • McKnight Properties

The Eastern – Laurel County Chamber of Commerce is located at 409 South Main Street in Eastern, Kentucky 40741.

For more information about the Chamber of Commerce, call  (606) 864-4789. For more information about Premier Caregiver Services Eastern, call 859-327-9476. 

Caregiving Services in Louisville, KY, Premier Caregiver Services Eastern

 

Premier Caregiver Services Sponsors Norton Healthcare Event

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Aging Gracefully: Creating a Senior Care Plan for Mom and Dad

Moderator, Jackie Hays speaks at the “Aging Gracefully” event hosted by Norton Healthcare.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016, the Norton Healthcare Employee Resource Group for Women or NWIRED, hosted an event called, “Aging Gracefully.” This free program sponsored by Premier Caregiver Services and the Norton Healthcare Foundation, discussed the details and conversations involved in creating a senior care plan for mom and dad. With this topic, a panel of speakers addressed the fact that many times it’s the eldest daughter who is responsible for making the decisions for her parent’s long term care. This conversation covered many topics related to senior caregiving and care planning including: developing a care plan, taking away the car keys, learning your parents’ medical history and understanding your parents’ preferred care preferences.

Panelists include (right to left): Mary Kate Probst, Amy Jo Condo, Merrily Orsini and Misty Clark Vantrease.

A group of four female panelists, guided by moderator Jackie Hays, helped conduct this discussion. Moderator Jackie Hays is an Emmy award-winning journalist that currently writes and produces health-related stories for Norton Healthcare. The women on the panel presented different areas of expertise and experience on senior home care planning. Merrily Orsini, an elder care professional, brought her extensive knowledge to the panel, along with pharmacist Dr. Mary Kate Probst. The panel also included Misty Clark Vantrease, an attorney with Kentucky ElderLaw PLLC, and  Amy Jo Condo, a daughter that discussed her experiences caring for her 92-year-old mother.

50 guests attended the “Aging Gracefully” event hosted by Premier Caregiver Services and the Norton Healthcare Foundation.

All of the panel participants brought their diverse experience and knowledge to the discussion to provide a 360 degree perspective on senior caregiving and creating a care plan. Mary Jo Condo is  a busy mom and business owner that spoke about the challenging and humorous experiences that coincide with caring for aging parents. These personalized stories from a person who has been through the senior caregiving experience and truly understands helped connect everyone who attended the event. The panelists were on hand to answer any types of questions and to connect participants to resources in the Louisville, Kentucky community.

While many may find the topic of creating a senior care plan for aging parents challenging, this panel showed how beneficial it is to take the time to do it. Starting the conversation isn’t always easy, but with the help of Norton Healthcare, Premier Caregiver Services and these panelists, the 50 attendees left the event with a deeper understanding and more confidence to open up the conversation with their parents and other aging loved ones.

For additional information about senior home care services in Louisville, Kentucky and Eastern, Kentucky, including how to address home accessibility and safety, meal preparation, transportation assistance and much more, give Premier Caregiver Services a call at 877-724-3678. We look forward to hearing from you.

Premier Caregiver Services partners with Norton Healthcare to host a free care workshop to create a care plan for aging parents.

Free Senior Care Workshop Helps You Create a Care Plan for Mom and Dad

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If you are the eldest daughter in your family, you are most likely going to be the one making decisions about your parent’s long-term care. Do you have a plan in place to keep your mom or dad safely at home? When–and–how do you have a conversation about taking away car keys or moving into an assisted living arrangement? Do you know your parent’s medical medical history, medications and care preferences? Where do you turn for help? These questions are important, and we encourage you to join Premier Caregiver Services for a discussion about creating a care plan before you need one with a free Senior Care Workshop.

Amy Jo Condo, a busy mom and business owner, will share her challenging and humorous experiences caring for her parents. The following experts will be on hand to answer your questions and connect you with important community resources:

  • Merrily Orsini, elder care professional
  • Kate Probst, Pharm.D., BCACP, pharmacist
  • Misty Clark Vantrease, attorney with Kentucky ElderLaw PLLC

Wednesday, March 30 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Marshall Women’s Health & Education Center
Norton Medical Plaza 3 – St. Matthews, Suite 108
4123 Dutchmans Lane
Louisville, Kentucky

Space is limited. Call (502) 629-1234 by March 28 to RSVP for this free Senior Care Workshop.

Sponsored by:

Dementia and Driving

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When to Take Away the Keys: Dementia & Driving

If you have a family member suffering from Dementia, one of the many issues that will arise is dementia and driving: letting them operate a vehicle. Early on, it may not seem like such a topic to concern yourself with. Over time, however, we become desensitized to the dementia, meaning we know they have it and we deal with it and “forget” as time goes by.

It is almost impossible to gauge the aggressiveness of dementia, as it moves at its own pace and can accelerate without any sign. There are multiple differences in dementia itself: your loved one can have long term memory loss (not remembering life-long friends) or short term memory loss (not remembering what they ate for dinner). Or even a combination of both.

Personally, I can only speak on short term memory loss. Even though my mom has short term loss, driving a car is a long term thing she has been doing for years. This is where it starts to get tricky – you have to remember you are more than likely taking away an aspect of the dementia’s patients life that is older than you are! Driving may have been their first feeling of freedom and perhaps their last bit of independence as they age.

This decision does not have to come from their doctor. You can try talking with them individually but it may end up a moot point as the person with dementia sees (or remembers) nothing wrong. No matter how well you explain it, you have to remember that tomorrow can be a whole new day in their mind!

Our first plan was to try and slip the keys out of her purse which did not go over well. We ended up giving the keys back because we could not rationalize why we did it. We then tried the doctor thing and that did not work well either. Finally, we  found something that did work; telling her the car had some problems and needed to be fixed. She agreed to have it put in the auto repair shop. It took about 2 weeks of daily reminding, then we changed the story to tell her that there was a serious engine problem that could not be fixed. She came to the conclusion that she was not going to buy a new car and agreed to sell it (we did). Most importantly, we reinforced the idea that we would still take her to wherever she wanted.

Although this is a indirect and non-confrontational way of taking away the keys, it leads my mom to believe it was her decision to give up the keys and sell the car. It still requires us to remind her every day that it was her own decision to sell the car. Our fall-back plan ended up being disabling the car by pulling the negative battery terminal. If all else fails, you may have to resort to something as simple as this to keep your mom safe and off the road.

For quality, compassionate dementia care in Louisville, KY, contact Premier Caregiver Services today!

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Premier Dementia Care in Louisville, KY by Premier Caregiver Services.

502-718-8727

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