Elizabeth Kirkwood has a post about this new crime at http://larkkirkwood.wordpress.com/

Follow this link, to the official US Government site, for more info about protecting yourselffrom Medical ID theft

Elizabeth Jayne Hickle, Management Consultant, CertifiedCare

A native Clevelander Elizabeth “Betty” Hickle, received her Masters in Public Administration in 1989 from Cleveland State University with a major in healthcare.  That same year, she sat for her license exam and received her nursing home license in October 1989.  She has served as Administrator for University Hospitals of Cleveland and MetroHealth Medical Center in the following healthcare service lines:  Pediatrics, OBGYN, Dermatology, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Endocrinology and Family Medicine.  Most recently I was the Administrative Director for the Solon Medical Campus, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.  A 57,000 sq ft medical campus offering a full service Emergency Room, Radiology, Laboratory, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Medicine along with more than fifteen physician practices.

Betty Hickle has also served in the role of consultant for The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Center providing management for this 140 bed nursing home facility.  She has also worked in the field home care services for individuals who are Developmentally Disabled in Lake County and Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

CertifiedCare is please to announce that Ms. Hickle has joined their management team as a consultant for healthcare related issues are relates to family caregiver certification and personal care aide certification nationwide.  Ms. Hickle will be responsible for developing CertifiedCare business to business training programs for elder care agencies throughout the United States.  Specifically, Betty will be in charge of expanding CertifiedCare’s  in house staff training and certification programs  to new or current employees of elder care agencies nationwide.

Post written by Rachel Hannah, Customer Care Representative, CertifiedCare.org

CertifiedCare is a family caregiver and personal care aide education and certification provider with training programs available nationwide via distance learning.

by Dan Janal

CLEVELAND, Nov. 11, 2011 – Veterans who gave their souls and limbs to their country are not getting the care they need, said Cathleen Carr, president of CertifiedCare.org, the nation’s leading group that certifies caregivers.

“It is a disgrace the way our veterans are being treated when it comes to quality care. Veterans Day is the perfect day to highlight the quality of caregiving that our brave men and women need to survive day to day,” she said.

“It is very hard to find a certified caregiver who is trained to provide for the medical, nutritional and financial well being of our veterans,” she said. “Without proper training and certification, it is all too easy for a veteran to hire a caregiver who is incompetent, negligent or corrupt – or worse.”

Newspapers tell stories every day of people who are hired to be caregivers who embezzle money or steal drugs from their patients. Other people who are hired to be caregivers, or even family members, don’t have the proper training to provide medical care or nutritional help in preparing healthy meals, she said. Furthermore, if caregivers aren’t trained properly, they could suffer from burnout and deprive their patients of the quality and attention they were hired to provide.

“Our veterans are being shortchanged when they don’t get proper care. They gave their hearts and souls to defend our country. The least we can do as a society is to give them access to proper care when they come home,” she said.

She urges lawmakers in state and federal governments to set standards for caregivers so that when a veteran hires a caregiver, they know that that person is qualified to provide care.

CertifiedCare.org offers classes for caregivers that will help them on these issues:

• Avoid injury to yourself and others
• Lawsuits
• Hurting loved ones feelings
• Angering clients
• Worry and anxiety
• Burn out
• Depression
• Financial problems related to caring for the elderly, infirmed or disabled.
• Starting out as a care giver
• Senior care resources
• Mastering the everyday challenges of the elderly or infirmed
• Dealing with relatives
• Holistic care giving
• Managing medical issues
• Safety issues
• Stress reduction techniques
• Mental health issues
• Legal and financial issues
• Ethics
• How to care for Alzheimer’s and dementia sufferers
• Avoiding, detecting and dealing with abuse
• About alternative medicine and the elderly
• Spiritually connecting
• About death and dying
• Caring for the caregiver
• How to hire professional caregivers
• Care giving job options
• How to start your own care giving business
• How to get registered and receive job placement assistance through certifiedcare.org

Certifiedcare.org also provides resources at their website and on their blog.

The site also has:

-         Resources for elder care law

-         Blog on current trends for caregivers

-         Links to useful sites containing government services, elder law, retirement planning, travel services, end-of-life information and a host of other useful information sources

About CertifiedCare.org

CertifiedCare.org believes that every elderly person who wants to stay at home should be able to do so, so long as they have someone to watch over them and help them live a safe and comfortable life.

We believe that many able-bodied persons can find meaningful work for reasonable wages in the growing field of elder care.

We believe we can get millions of people educated and prepared to take care of themselves, as well as someone else who really needs them.

For information, go to http://www.CaregiverCertification.com

About Cathleen Carr

Dr. Cathleen V. Carr, JD, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized Elder Care Specialist in the areas of Wills, Trusts, Probate, Elder Law and Holistic Health and Wellness. She has been a caregiver since she was 11 years old for both family members and friends. She developed the first certification curriculum and training program for assisted living companions that incorporates alternative therapies.

The Veterans Administration estimates that 3,000 families will benefit from a new caregiver financial support program designed to help caregivers of veterans who have been wounded during service in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The Post 9/11 Family Caregiver Program provides a stipend based on the veteran’s need of assistance and location ranging from $600 to $2,500 a month, caregiver training, respite care, and mental health services and counseling. Health care insurance for those caregivers without coverage is also available, as well as travel expenses such as lodging for caregivers to accompany veterans to medical facilities.

Eligibility for these services is limited to the primary family caregivers of a veteran who has sustained a serious injury, including traumatic brain injury or psychological trauma, on or after September 11, 2001. The veterans must require personal care in order to complete the activities of daily living, and/or need supervision based on the effects of neurological impairment or injury.

The Veterans Administration (VA) Connecticut Healthcare System is now accepting applications, and your help is needed to get the word out about the Post 9/11 Family Caregiver Program

Below is a statement issued by the legislative sponsor of this timely initiative, Richard M. Blumenthal, a U.S. senator from Connecticut.

As we know all too well, many of our service members have sustained severe combat injuries, including traumatic brain injury, and many suffer from post-traumatic stress — and as a result may require intense supervision and care. Their loved ones — spouses, parents and children — must cut back on work responsibilities, or even retire completely, to care for them. These family caregivers provide crucial support, enabling severely injured veterans to receive care while remaining in their local communities.

The emotional and physical toll of providing such intensive daily care for a family member can be an extremely demanding task — and necessarily causes some caregivers to experience anxiety or depression, which can be compounded by the financial troubles associated with having quit a job or reduced work hours to become a full-time caregiver. Often they work in isolation or without the resources available at nursing home care or professional care facilities. Compounding the problem is that those caregivers most in need of support are least able to find the time to access the traditional assistance provided by the VA or veteran service organizations.

As we rightly take this time to honor our country’s veterans, I encourage everyone to make sure veterans’ friends, neighbors and family members are aware of the available benefits they have earned, including participation in the VA assistance program for family caregivers. The VA provides a wide range of services to caregivers of all veterans.

Each and every family caregiver in Connecticut deserves our sincere thanks for their service to our nation’s returning heroes; their sacrifices enable many veterans to be cared for in a comfortable, familiar environment. More information is available online at www.caregiver.va.gov; you may also contact the VA Connecticut Caregiver Support Coordinator at (1-203-932-5711 ext. 2297). Together we can reach those family caregivers who need support themselves, and enable them to continue their vital work of caring for our veterans. I look forward to joining you in these efforts.

There are only two shortcomings of this initiative: 1) is that it is not enough money and 2) it is not available for all caregivers.  Veterans from across our great nation and their devoted caregivers all deserve this type of help and support, but the amount is minimal.    Surely the colossal US military budget can find a few more dollars to help protect these men and women who help protect us…and the caregivers who care and protect them.  The united States is home to tens of millions of family caregivers, people who have had to suffer significant financial loss and career stalls in order to do the right thing by a family member.  These good souls need help, too!

On this Veterans Day we remember our debt to military men and women, and we recognize the sacrifices their loved ones on the home front make every day. One way to show thanks is by providing caregivers of veterans the support they need and deserve.

The Veterans Administration (VA) Connecticut Healthcare System is now accepting applications, and your help is needed to get the word out about the Post 9/11 Family Caregiver Program.

The program is open enrollment nationwide; however, to date, only a handful of families have enrolled.

Visit CaregiverCertification.com for a free Special Report about how to reduce elder abuse and neglect plus more information about the importance of caregiver education.

If ever there was an example of why caregivers need to be educated, trained and certified prior to being unleashed upon the sick or elderly this is one.  This caregiver , in an effort to comply with the old woman’s request to be left alone to die, did just that!  Talk about poor judgment!  This is a classic case of elder abuse and neglect, perpetrated by a family member who had no preparation for elder caregiving.  It is not as simple as it seems people!

I’m 79 healthy senior lady. My doctor recently recommended a Pap tests for me. I have no history of any problems in this area. Is this really necessary at my age?  I do not have money (or time) to waste on unnecessary tests!  From Lorna T.

Dear Lorna,

The American Cancer Society recommends that Pap test screening be discontinued at age 70 in women who have had at least three normal Pap tests in the past 10 years and are not at increased risk for cervical cancer. The United States Preventive Services Task Force says that women at average risk for cervical cancer can stop Pap test screening at age 65. And according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, women at average risk can stop screening between the ages of 65 and 70.

But all this depends on your family history. If you’ve had routine normal Pap tests up to now, you are not likely to need further screening, since your risk for cervical cancer seems low.

The organizations that set these guidelines for cervical cancer screening generally agree that the guideline do not apply if a woman has tested positive for human papillomavirus (the sexually transmitted virus associated with cervical cancer), or has been exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero, or is HIV-positive or immune-compromised or otherwise at increased risk for cervical cancer (for example, because of a past family history of the disease). In any of these circumstances, a you should work with your clinician to develop an personalized screening program.

I am not an alopathic physician (regular medical doctor), but I do hope this helps!

Dr. CC

REFERENCE: Harvard Women’s Health Watch

VIDEO CLIP/ SLIDE SHOW About caregiving over the holidays 

It usually starts with a call: A father casually informs you he’s been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Your mom’s neighbor says she’s noticed that Mom hasn’t been herself lately. A sibling tells you it’s about time you came to visit Mom or Dad.

Click the link above for a brief slide show about how to provide quality, low(er) stress caregiving for your senior over the holidays.

Pressures to extend the “working age” beyond 65 will grow more intense.You would be wise to consider a job as a caregiver…a certifiedcaregiver, of course!