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January 2012
In This Issue
- Financial Crimes Against the Elderly on the Rise
- Home Care Insight: Where to Age
- Caregiver Profile: Doris Jackson
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"Family Resource Home Care provides peace of mind, relief, respite, respect, dignity, and joy in friendship to our senior clients, their families, and their caregivers." |
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Sheila McKannay
VP - Client Care |
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Financial Crimes Against the Elderly on the Rise
The good news is that Washington state has seen a decline in the number of violent crimes against the elderly. The bad news is that at the same time, financial abuse of the elderly is on the rise.
According to a December 9, 2011 article in the Puget Sound Business Journal, “Reports of elder financial abuse in Washington state have soared by 30 percent in five years. [In 2009] a record 4,121 cases were logged by the state’s Adult Protective Services — a total exceeded [in 2010] by November.” This is particularly alarming given that research from the National Center on Elder Abuse suggests that only one in 25 cases is ever reported.
Fueling these crimes is the poor economy and a growing financial generational gap. Households headed by people 65 and older have a net worth 47 times greater than those headed by someone under 35, according to a recent national report from the Pew Research Center. That’s the greatest spread ever, and five times bigger than just six years ago.
Financial crimes against the elderly fall under two general categories: fraud committed by strangers, and financial exploitation by relatives, caregivers, and trusted friends.
Read the entire article
 Aging is a process, one that does not happen to just the senior – but rather to the whole family. It is important in this process to look realistically at the changes that are occurring, both to the senior and to their family. Some of the most important changes are those that effect where the senior will live, and age.
There are many factors to consider when a senior starts needing assistance. I run a home care agency, but am not an advocate of home care in all situations. Every family is unique, with unique needs, desires, and circumstances.
The first consideration is where the senior wants to live. For most seniors their preference is to maintain their privacy and control over their lives and stay independent, living in their own homes. Many seniors however become socially isolated and may wish a living situation where other people and activities are more easily accessible. For every senior who finds joy in the comfort of the home they have lived in for many years, there is another who does not want the burden of managing a household any longer.
Cost is usually a consideration. Home care is usually much less expensive...
Read the entire article
Caregiver Profile: Doris Jackson
 Doris Jackson has caregiving in her blood. When her children were young her family would distribute warm socks to homeless families and bake cookies to give to families at a local kitchen. Others she helped by taking them shopping or doing their laundry. She was a volunteer who gave her time to helping others.
In 2003, a friend suggested that since she was always caring for others, she try caregiving as a profession. That suggestion brought Doris to a caregiver job with the state. She valued her time with her clients but was frustrated by the lack of support from her supervisor, and by “being seen as a number, not a person” by the state.
“I decided to look for another caregiving job but this time with an agency that actually cared,” said Doris. “So I typed into my computer, ‘caregiving agency that actually cares’ and Family Resource Home Care popped up on the screen! We interviewed each other and I had a good feeling about them.” That was two years ago. “I feel blessed that I found them,” she said. “They actually do care.”
Today Doris works primarily with one client who is 97 years old, is quite frail and has dementia. “She did not want care at first,” said Doris “but she changed her mind after we spoke. I told her that I was there to honor her life and keep her safe. I told her that I was there for her and that I respected her.”
It is impossible to speak with Doris and not hear the compassion in her voice. She has experienced tremendous sadness in her life, from the suicide of her father when she was 12 years old, to the death of one of her children. “After my son was killed, I was surrounded by friends and others who supported and helped me. I know how important it is to have people around you who truly care. So this is what I want to give to my clients. When I am with them I want them to feel safe and comforted.”
Doris hopes that her client understands that she respects and honors her. “And I know that she does,” says Doris, “because sometimes when I am leaving, she will take my hand and say ‘I know I was cared for today.
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© 2011 Family Resource Home Care, all rights reserved.
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