Webconference: Hiring Home Care Workers: Avoiding Tax and Legal Risks

The National Private Duty Association is sponsoring a live interactive program that will provide advice on avoiding tax and legal risks when hiring home care providers.

The web conference topics include:

• Hiring guidelines
• Tax and legal issues
• Identifying risks
• Independent contractor issues

This is free of charge to participants.

For more information click here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

March 17^th was always a special day for my mother. She would play Irish records on the stereo (do our grandchildren even know what that is?) and they would play all day. Dinner was always Corned Beef and Cabbage and as children we always got “a little green” from the pot of gold!

Thoughts of my mother remind me how important family events were to her. Even as she aged, she wanted to be part of all those events; weddings, graduations, reunions, etc. She was fortunate to have all her adult children nearby. In the beginning, my sister and I shared caregiving responsibilities when it came to these family events: If my child was getting married, my sister assisted Mom buy a new dress, send the gift and then accompanied her to the wedding. If it was my niece getting married, it was my turn to coordinate Mom’s needs. As Mom aged, it was necessary to provide her with the assistance of caregivers to be by her side at all times when she attended events, but she continued to attend those events. In fact, the last family reunion was held only 3 months before she died.

My mother-in-law celebrated her 90^th birthday last September and still travels monthly to see children, grandchildren and great grandchildren living in 10 states (including Alaska) and Canada! She is fiercely independent; walking about 3 miles every day and still driving. However, 8 years ago she needed heart surgery and 2 grandchildren were getting married. She realized that she could not attend, but she also did not want to “be a burden” to her adult daughters who had children getting married. Our caregivers provided Nonna with personalized care and gave my sisters-in-law the “peace of mind” they needed. We were able to have Nonna give her toast via the phone and shared the video tape of the wedding with her when we returned!

As a family owned agency, we understand how very important family events can be to our clients and their families. Ideally, it would wonderful if adult children could always be there for their parents. That isn’t always the case, but Care Managers and caregivers can assist seniors in attending family events or give the adult child or caregiving spouse peace of mind when they need to leave town to attend a wedding or graduation. We have a Care Management Retainer program that provides professional back up when family members do not live nearby or need to leave town. Additionally, we have a number of caregivers that are available to travel with our clients to attend out of town events (e.g. weddings or graduations). This extra assistance allows everyone to enjoy the function knowing a caregiver can take the Grandma to the bathroom or back to a motel room when the she is ready. I want our clients and their families to enjoy all of life’s important events just the same way our family does, so if you or someone you know can benefit from these services, please give Kate a call at 847-548-1330 and she will arrange it for you.

The Ultimate Caregiving Guide

I was recently waiting in the grocery store checkout line, glancing at the magazines and noticed that the March issue of Woman’s Day had a cover story entitled “The Ultimate Caregiving Guide.” Since I am a professional geriatric care manager, I picked it up, curious to see just how “ultimate” it was. The article far exceeded my expectations. Here’s why:

• The first part “tender loving care” told the story of caring for a loved one from the perspective of three generations: the Grandmother who needed assistance; the Daughter providing the assistance; and the Granddaughter who provided the necessary emotional support to her mother. This section addressed the struggles, frustrations and joys of the caregiving experience -- and any family in the midst of caring for an elder person could relate to these women. Unfortunately, in my experience, most of my clients’ adult daughters are not able to move closer to their parents to assist them as they age. One solution to this, especially for the “sandwich generation” who are taking care of both their own children and their parents, is to hire a geriatric care manager (generally a nurse or social worker) who can provide back-up support to an adult child who lives far from their parents, or can allow the caregiving child to take a vacation. Information regarding geriatric care management and how to locate one in your area can be found on the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers Web site: www.caremanager.org.

• The second part “the finances of caregiving” by Mary Hunt did an excellent job of identifying the legal documents we should all have. Additionally, her explanation of the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, what they pay for, and how they overlap was superb. Elder law attorneys are indeed the best resources for assisting seniors and families sort through the maze of paperwork. This section also addressed long-term care insurance and the CLASS Act provision in the healthcare reform legislation. Wartime Veterans and their spouses may also qualify for money to assist with paying for care either at home or in an assisted living community or skilled nursing home. This benefit is referred to Aid and Attendance benefit. Many Elder law attorneys can assist in filing the paperwork, and the big plus is they may not charge for this service.

• The third part “care package” was written by Gail Sheehy, author of Passages in Caregiving. Gail was her husband’s caregiver for 17 years so she has “walked the talk” and has been on the front lines of the caregiving process. This article is an excellent synopsis of the caregiving journey and should only encourage a family caregiver to read Passages in Caregiving. Gail also provides three websites that provide excellent resources for family caregivers. Both in this article and her book, Gail speaks of the need for caregivers to take a break even if it requires a hiring professional caregiver. The National Private Duty Association (www.privatedutyhomecare.org) and the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (www.nahc.org) provide information on how to choose a caregiver, as well as how to locate a reputable caregiving agency in your area.

You can read the article, here, or pick up a copy. The March issue of Woman’s Day should be on newsstands through March 15.