Latest news with #eldercare
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Globe and Mail
At Home Nursing Care Brings Top-Tier In-Home Caregivers to San Diego, CA
At Home Nursing Care proudly delivers top-tier in-home caregivers in San Diego, CA, offering families compassionate, personalized support tailored to their loved ones' unique needs. Led by founder Lauren Reynolds, the agency upholds the highest standards in caregiver vetting, training, and care delivery—ensuring dignity, independence, and peace of mind for every client. Learn more at San Diego, CA - At Home Nursing, a leading provider of home care services, today reaffirmed its ongoing mission to supply the most qualified and compassionate in-home caregivers in the San Diego area. Under the guidance of Lauren Reynolds, the agency continues to set the standard for excellence, ensuring that families have a trusted partner for the well-being of their loved ones. This sustained focus addresses the growing need for dependable and professional care that allows individuals to thrive in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes. As the population ages and more families seek alternatives to institutional care, the demand for high-quality home care has never been greater. Navigating this landscape can be overwhelming, with families often facing the challenge of finding caregivers who are not only skilled but also genuinely compassionate and reliable. At Home Nursing directly confronts this challenge by dedicating its resources to recruiting, training, and retaining the very best care professionals, thereby providing a solution that families can count on. One of the primary benefits of partnering with At Home Nursing is the delivery of highly personalized care plans. The agency recognizes that every individual has unique needs and preferences. Therefore, they work closely with clients and their families to develop a customized regimen of care, whether it involves assistance with daily activities, medication management, or more specialized support. This tailored approach ensures that each client receives the precise level of care required to maintain their independence and enhance their quality of life. Furthermore, the agency provides an unparalleled level of trust and security. Families seeking an in-home caregiver in San Diego can rest assured knowing that every professional from At Home Nursing has undergone a rigorous vetting process, including comprehensive background checks, credential verification, and in-depth interviews. This commitment to hiring only the most qualified individuals means that clients are cared for by professionals who are not only skilled but also dedicated to providing respectful, dignified, and empathetic support. "Our goal has always been more than just providing a service; it's about becoming a trusted extension of the family," says Lauren Reynolds, founder of At Home Nursing Care. "We understand the immense trust placed in us when we are invited into a home. That's why we are unwavering in our mission to supply the most compassionate and skilled caregivers, ensuring every client receives the dignified and respectful care they deserve." As At Home Nursing moves forward, its core mission remains the essential driver of its operations. By focusing on the quality of its caregivers and the specific needs of each client, the agency solidifies its reputation as the premier source for home care in San Diego, CA. Families in need of dedicated and professional care are encouraged to contact the agency to learn more about its comprehensive services. For more information about At Home Nursing Care and their in-home caregivers in San Diego, CA, please visit their website at About At Home Nursing Care: Founded on the belief that everyone deserves dignified, high-quality care at home, At Home Nursing has become a trusted name in home care in San Diego, CA. The company rigorously screens and trains its caregivers, emphasizing empathy, reliability, and skill. Services range from personal care and meal preparation to specialized medical support, all designed to enhance clients' quality of life. Media Contact Company Name: At Home Nursing Care Contact Person: Lauren Reynolds Email: Send Email Phone: +1 760 634 8000 Address: 531 Encinitas Blvd #120 City: Encinitas State: CA Country: United States Website:
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Union sounds alarm over 'critical situation' at care home for seniors in Laval, Que.
A group of health-care workers providing at-home support for seniors are sounding the alarm over what they say is a "critical situation" at Le Dufresne, an intermediate care residence in Laval, Que. The union representing the workers – the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS) – says the government needs to act now, after some members reported seeing instances of mistreatment and inadequate care at the home. "There are people who suffer from heat, suffer from dehydration, who do not eat enough, who are washed with pillowcases," said APTS president Robert Comeau in French. "For us that is unacceptable." Comeau described situations where residents are brought trays of food, but go hungry because they are unable to feed themselves. In other cases, they develop fungal infections on their feet due to a lack of basic hygiene services. Sanjay Pentiah said his 87-year-old mother has been living there for almost three years. As he visited with her on Friday, he spoke to CBC and also expressed dissatisfaction with the facility's sanitation. "There's a lot to do, her room needs to be cleaned more often," Pentiah said, adding the bathroom is especially problematic. Comeau, for his part, said that despite having signalled these issues to the appropriate health authorities at the end of May, little has been done to address them. Le Dufresne, is a private residence that provides care to people experiencing a loss of autonomy and operates in partnership with Quebec's public health network. Comeau explained that APTS members are social workers, technicians and psycho-educators who, through the regional health authority, the CISSS de Laval, are assigned to the home. "They are not employees of the residence but external suppliers," he said. WATCH | CHSLD reflects on lessons learned 5 years after pandemic: In a statement written in French, the office for Lionel Carmant, the minister responsible for social services, confirmed the APTS had sent him a letter regarding observed shortcomings in the provision of care. "We immediately contacted Santé Québec to obtain more information regarding the allegations raised," the statement reads. "The information received is reassuring regarding the quality of care provided." It continues by stating that several actions have been taken to remedy the situation as quickly as possible and that an investigation is underway by Santé Québec's national inspector. Meanwhile, in a email sent to residents and family caregivers, the CISSS de Laval reiterated that it is collaborating with the Dufresne residence to ensure the quality and safe delivery of care and services. To that end, the residence has made several adjustments in recent months and significant investments were made to improve infrastructure, the CISSS said, without elaborating on what changes were made. The CISSS also said it is continually looking to identify areas for improvement and adopt new approaches and says it will welcome any recommendations stemming from Santé Québec's investigation, whose report is due in the fall. Change should come sooner rather than later, says union Comeau, was critical of the investigation saying it keeps getting pushed back and needs to be done now. "There are some people who are suffering," he said. He also wondered why the workers who first reported issues had yet to be interviewed and said that despite reassurances to the contrary, they had not seen any tangible improvements. He clarified that the complaints weren't directed at Le Dufresne employees, but rather the institution for failing to provide adequate services. "We are not ready to throw a stone at the people who work there," Comeau said, adding there might be staffing issues or workers might not have the right training. Monique Pratt, a nurse who visits the residence maybe once a week, said she doesn't spend enough time there to be able to say if services are adequate. She did, however, say that she feels there isn't enough personnel — a problem across several intermediate care residences, she said. Patrick Martin Ménard, a medical liability lawyer, said Santé Québec's primary responsibility is to protect users and says transparency is key. "When we receive this type of call for help, it's important that we intervene decisively and demonstrate all possible transparency to shed light on the situation and also try to understand what led to it," he said.
CBC
5 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Union sounds alarm over 'critical situation' at care home for seniors in Laval, Que.
A group of health-care workers providing at-home support for seniors are sounding the alarm over what they say is a "critical situation" at Le Dufresne, an intermediate care residence in Laval, Que. The union representing the workers – the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS) – says the government needs to act now, after some members reported seeing instances of mistreatment and inadequate care at the home. "There are people who suffer from heat, suffer from dehydration, who do not eat enough, who are washed with pillowcases," said APTS president Robert Comeau in French. "For us that is unacceptable." Comeau described situations where residents are brought trays of food, but go hungry because they are unable to feed themselves. In other cases, they develop fungal infections on their feet due to a lack of basic hygiene services. Sanjay Pentiah said his 87-year-old mother has been living there for almost three years. As he visited with her on Friday, he spoke to CBC and also expressed dissatisfaction with the facility's sanitation. "There's a lot to do, her room needs to be cleaned more often," Pentiah said, adding the bathroom is especially problematic. Comeau, for his part, said that despite having signalled these issues to the appropriate health authorities at the end of May, little has been done to address them. Le Dufresne, is a private residence that provides care to people experiencing a loss of autonomy and operates in partnership with Quebec's public health network. Comeau explained that APTS members are social workers, technicians and psycho-educators who, through the regional health authority, the CISSS de Laval, are assigned to the home. "They are not employees of the residence but external suppliers," he said. WATCH | CHSLD reflects on lessons learned 5 years after pandemic: 4 months ago The COVID-19 pandemic's first wave tore through Quebec's long-term care homes, killing more than 5,000 seniors between March 2020 and March 2021. A coroner's report revealed that there was a lack of protective equipment, staff and training in the facilities. Five years later, the province says CHSLDs are doing better. In a statement written in French, the office for Lionel Carmant, the minister responsible for social services, confirmed the APTS had sent him a letter regarding observed shortcomings in the provision of care. "We immediately contacted Santé Québec to obtain more information regarding the allegations raised," the statement reads. "The information received is reassuring regarding the quality of care provided." It continues by stating that several actions have been taken to remedy the situation as quickly as possible and that an investigation is underway by Santé Québec's national inspector. Meanwhile, in a email sent to residents and family caregivers, the CISSS de Laval reiterated that it is collaborating with the Dufresne residence to ensure the quality and safe delivery of care and services. To that end, the residence has made several adjustments in recent months and significant investments were made to improve infrastructure, the CISSS said, without elaborating on what changes were made. The CISSS also said it is continually looking to identify areas for improvement and adopt new approaches and says it will welcome any recommendations stemming from Santé Québec's investigation, whose report is due in the fall. Change should come sooner rather than later, says union Comeau, was critical of the investigation saying it keeps getting pushed back and needs to be done now. "There are some people who are suffering," he said. He also wondered why the workers who first reported issues had yet to be interviewed and said that despite reassurances to the contrary, they had not seen any tangible improvements. He clarified that the complaints weren't directed at Le Dufresne employees, but rather the institution for failing to provide adequate services. "We are not ready to throw a stone at the people who work there," Comeau said, adding there might be staffing issues or workers might not have the right training. Monique Pratt, a nurse who visits the residence maybe once a week, said she doesn't spend enough time there to be able to say if services are adequate. She did, however, say that she feels there isn't enough personnel — a problem across several intermediate care residences, she said. Patrick Martin Ménard, a medical liability lawyer, said Santé Québec's primary responsibility is to protect users and says transparency is key. "When we receive this type of call for help, it's important that we intervene decisively and demonstrate all possible transparency to shed light on the situation and also try to understand what led to it," he said.
Forbes
17-07-2025
- General
- Forbes
Embattled Adult Kids Are Stressing Their Aging Parents-Can It Stop?
Two sisters with parents in their 80s bitterly accuse one another of wrongdoing. Older sister (OS) originally had full charge of both parents, quitting her job to care for Dad when he got sick. Younger sister (YS) is sure OS took money she should not have taken, as she drew a small regular amount from the parents' funds to help support herself. OS is sure YS took money out of the parents' savings and hid her actions. Then the power over funds was switched to YS and finally revoked by the parents. No one is clear about Verbal strikes by sisters stress older parents who is right. The fight goes on. The conflict seems to be driven by an underlying fear that the parents will run out of money while they still need full time care. It is a legitimate fear. The parents' income is good from their retirement plans as public employees for decades, but it is not enough to pay for a full time caregiver who helps both of them. Mom cannot do much for herself now. She is in a wheelchair and needs assistance with her basic activities such as bathing, dressing and getting to the bathroom. Dad is less impaired but has early dementia. He's in a wheelchair too. The Dire Financial Picture Most of us believe that if we have solid careers and a retirement plan or pension that we'll be okay in retirement. For many, the rude awakening comes when one must pay for help at home. Medicare does not cover this except for a short time after a hospitalization. Normal health insurance does not cover it either. So, it has to come out of savings or selling assets. In this family's case, the only significant asset left is the parents' home, which has a loan on it. That loan is paying for the home care workers. When it comes due, the elders will have to sell their home. That creates a taxable event and will not leave a huge amount of sale proceeds to pay for care elsewhere. No one in this family has a plan for what happens after the home must be sold. Neither OS nor YS make enough money working to support their parents. Failure To Plan The parents, like many retired elders, never imagined running out of money. After all, that good pension should be enough to live on rather well, right? Neither parent ever contemplated becoming impaired and needing around the clock help. That is a failure on their part to even consider the potential need for long term care, now causing nasty fighting between their adult children. The mutual accusations between the sisters will never solve the running-out-of-money issue. What the aging parents might have done at an earlier stage in life could have included investing in a way that increased their income, downsizing their home to generate cash, buying long term care insurance when they were younger, making a plan to move to a less expensive place to live and get care, and other possible options. As they live on, the parents face the prospect of becoming impoverished and having to accept the lowest level of care available with public benefits, which at this moment are all in danger, given the current political climate. Possible Solutions No one is going to give these elders an easy way out of their situation. There is no public program that will allow them to stay at home indefinitely, keep the home, repay the loan, and have full time care there. No magic solution exits. There are some things that can lessen the load of stress the elders have to deal with now, particularly over the daughters' battle. They make accusations about who took what money from the parents and how it was spent. Facts can clear up the misconceptions if there are any. 1. A neutral outside professional, such as a licensed fiduciary, bookkeeper or Daily Money Manger can do an accounting of all income and expenses from the time the Dad fell ill up to the present. Money leaves a trail. A neutral person can show in black and white the figures both sisters and the parents need to see to reduce the vitriol that is unnecessarily stressing out the parents. If anyone needs to make things right, the same evidence will be before all family members. If not, they can drop the fighting and focus on their parents' future. 2. Either OS or YS or any other competent person can start the research now on alternative living arrangements where care can be provided for both parents full time. The elders live in a very expensive area of their state where property values are high. Even with repayment of the loan on the home, and the tax consequence of selling it, they are going to receive some cash after it's said and done. That cash can help pay for care in a far less expensive location than the parents' current home with their agency provided caregivers. 3. Both parents need to be prepared to accept that they can't stay at home after the home loan comes due. They also need to accept that their living situation must change. They expressed the desire to remain where they are 'as long as possible.' That is a common refrain we hear at where we advise families, including this one. These folks are reaching the limit of 'as long as possible' at home soon. Possible means one must be able to pay for the privilege. That has an expiration date in this case. There are no other assets to tap to enable them to stay in place. The Takeaways It seems clear to us as advisors in this matter that the real force behind the sibling fighting over who did what is that neither wants their parents to end up with nowhere to go and no way to pay for care. The daughters themselves cannot provide the needed care. We suggested to them to do these things: 1. Get a full accounting of finances from an outside neutral person and accept the results. It is too late to undo any money moving that may have happened in the past. Unless there is clear proof of financial abuse from the accounting, it is not worth anyone's time to continue the battle. Get over your own conflicts and concentrate on planning for your impaired parents' safety for the future. They are very stressed by your fighting. 2. Plan for alternative locations where your parents can live and receive care at a lower price than they are now paying in their very expensive county. Lower cost options do exist, outside their city and in different parts of their state. Spend your time and efforts in finding a good place for them, analyze the timeline and plan for it. 3. Get tax advice, medical opinions and projections from their healthcare providers, and care planning advice from the appropriate available experts. Those kinds of advice are valuable in helping to protect vulnerable elders from being forced into a sub standard nursing home, their worst nightmare. Family fights are not an uncommon matter in the world of aging parents who need care. It is possible to get them resolved if the family members are willing to change focus from accusations against one another to protecting their parents. Family meetings conducted by facilitators or mediators who are well versed in the legal and medical issues at hand can reduce stress for all.
Washington Post
16-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Deadly Massachusetts fire highlights the minimal regulations that govern assisted-living facilities
The Massachusetts assisted-living facility where a fatal fire killed nine people was caring for dozens of aging residents reliant on wheelchairs and oxygen tanks, but it lacked the safety measures and most of the staffing requirements that are commonplace in nursing homes. As an assisted-living center, Gabriel House in Fall River , about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Boston, offered a type of housing for older residents that has expanded nationally in recent decades. But advocates argue that the absence of any federal regulations and spotty state rules mean the sector is largely left to police itself. 'The real issue is that assisted livings operate in an environment like the Wild West,' said Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for improved care in nursing and assisted-living facilities. 'They can pretty much do what they want with impunity, and that results in a lot of, I would say, mini-catastrophes every day, frankly.' The fire that tore through the three-story structure late Sunday raised a host of questions about conditions at the dilapidated facility and put the spotlight on the growing number of assisted-living centers in the state and nationwide. Created in the 1980s, assisted living has been marketed as an option for older adults who need some assistance but not as much help as a nursing home. Advocates argue that regulations for the facilities have not kept up as more locations have opened. Nursing homes, for example, are governed by federal regulations because they receive Medicare and Medicaid while there are no federal regulations for assisted-living facilities. Nursing homes must have a minimum number of staffers and trained medical professionals such as doctors and nurses, but assisted-living facilities have no such requirements. 'The regulations are minimal,' said Liane Zeitz, an attorney who is also a member of the state Assisted Living Residences Commission, a body created to make recommendations about the sector. She has advocated for more regulations for assisted-living facilities. The facilities were lightly regulated because initially they were regarded as residential, with lower levels of care and less oversight, she said. But now those facilities are caring for a population 'that is much frailer, and the population is growing.' Not only are the regulations weaker for assisted-living facilities, but advocates argue that the enforcement of the existing rules is often lax. Paul Lanzikos, a former Massachusetts secretary of elder affairs and co-founder of the advocacy group Dignity Alliance, described a 'patchwork' of regulations across the country, with different agencies involved depending on the state. 'Some of the states are much more regulated. Some are regulated as a health care entity. Others, as we do here in Massachusetts, are considered a residential housing model,' he said. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has been advocating for increased oversight for years, particularly after the release of reports about health and safety problems in 2018. 'These are serious problems that have been going on for years,' she said at a hearing last year. 'But we hear so much less about what's going in assisted-living facilities than we do in other facilities, like nursing homes.' At that hearing, Mollot noted that scandals in the nursing home industry pushed Congress to act in the 1970s and 1980s, and that such a reckoning could be coming soon for assisted living. He described two major risks: increasingly sick and vulnerable assisted living residents and financial exploitation by owner investors. Speaking Wednesday after learning about the Gabriel House fire, Mollot said the problems that plagued that facility are not unique to Massachusetts. 'Unlike nursing homes, assisted living has no federal state requirements, no requirement for staffing, no requirements for staff training, no requirements for safety protocols, no requirements for inspections,' he said. 'That falls to the states, and the states have overall very weak rules.' ___ Associated Press writers Holly Ramer and Matt O'Brien contributed to this report.
