Are you sure you want to exit? Your progress will be lost.
Who are you caring for?
Which best describes their mobility?
How well are they maintaining their hygiene?
How are they managing their medications?
Does their living environment pose any safety concerns?
Fall risks, spoiled food, or other threats to wellbeing
Are they experiencing any memory loss?
Which best describes your loved one's social life?
Acknowledgment of Disclosures and Authorization
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
✔
I acknowledge and authorize
✔
I consent to the collection of my consumer health data.*
✔
I consent to the sharing of my consumer health data with qualified home care agencies.*
*If I am consenting on behalf of someone else, I have the proper authorization to do so. By clicking Get My Results, you agree to our Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
Remember, this assessment is not a substitute for professional advice.
Share a few details and we will match you to trusted home care in your area:
You can ask your pharmacy about having the meds put in bubble packs. These have the day of the week and date and the names of the meds printed on the back of each bubble in the pack. You, or they, can push the meds out for each day. I care for my mother full time and find this way of doing it to be very convenient. I have her meds delivered once a month and all I have to do is switch out the empty bubble pack from the plastic housing and put in the new pack. I don't have to count or figure out if a day has been missed. My mother was having this done before I came to stay with her so I just kept it that way. I think many elderly folks find this way to be easier also.
I used an automated medication dispenser recommended by my Area Agency on Aging. I could fill a full month's supply of mom's medication into the machine. It announced "time for your medication" and she would press a button to get the pre-loaded cup of meds. If she didn't press the button the machine called me to report the missed dose. The best part is the machine called me when it was time to reload. This was a perfect solution for my family.
We have a pill box for each parent. We are there for the A.M. and mid day meds, and we call her to take the night meds. We leave those in a drug vial (old medicine bottle) with each of their names on them. When we call, we instruct her and she does it while we stay on the phone. She gives my dad his meds at night. Once in a while she has to do the morning meds herself. We usually know beforehand, and use the same procedure. We NEVER tell her where the boxes of meds are until we call for her to take them. We are afraid she will THINK we called and overtake her meds. Luckily, we are usually there at medication time.
My sis and I decided to put them out each day. usually one of us is there for one of the medication times, but we just put them out for when we are not and then call her when she is suppose to take them.
As an adult child, your life may become to busy to consistently set-up medications for your parents. Pill boxes/medication dispensers are a good idea only when memory problems are not present. It is important to avoid the accidental overdose. If your parent has the available funds, I suggest having a home health care aid for a.m. and p.m. care and have the aid help with the medication management. Medications can be kept in a locked box and the aid should record time medications are given and any happenings during their visit. Some Home Health companies can provide aides for as little as 2 hour blocks.
However, I do want to add, as a previous commenter said correctly, the HHA by law is not to directly dispense the medications. You may organize them for the aide or your pharmacy may blister pack the medications. The HHA is there to provide the medication reminder. When your parent has memory problems, you can count on the aide for accurate information regarding whether or not the medication was taken.
I have found the blister packs very helpful, as they can be set up once for the entire month. I did have three packs to set up; one for my father who took all his meds in the morning; one for my mother's morning meds; one for my mother's evening meds. The HHA "helps" my mother with her meds, as my mother has moderate Alzheimers and cannot be trusted to remember the day or the time of day. The monthly bubble packs come with each bubble labeled with the date of the month; I found that I could improve on that by also marking the day of the week on the paper side of the bubble using a felt-tip marker (before assembling the pack, and laying the paper layer on a hard surface to avoid poking a hole with the marker). One place where the bubble packs can be ordered via the internet is www.forgettingthepill.com Medical supply stores usually don't carry them, and if they did they would charge twice what the online store charges. Not all pharmacies will bubble-pack the meds for you, so you'd need to buy and assemble the packs yourself for your folks. One advantage to doing this yourself, is that you can usually fit up to 9 pills in each bubble, allowing you to pack the prescription pills along with over-the-counter pills, such as vitamins or baby-aspirin. If you do decide to use the bubble packs, it's a good idea to check with your doctor or pharmacist to be sure of which meds can be given together and which should be scheduled to be taken at different times of day. Also some meds can be taken with food and some must not. I found that it is easiest for HHAs to have the meds in a blister-pack or structured medicine box, so that they are less likely to make mistakes. It is also helpful for a parent who is not mentally impaired, but may have difficulty keeping track of multiple meds in multiple bottles, or for people with arthritic hands - it is much easier to pop meds out of a bubble than to open those medicine bottles.
The electronic dosage tray sounds wonderful if you can afford it. I think the most popular item is the plastic dosage tray that comes with anywhere from 7 to 28 cubes, depending on the frequency needed. Because my Uncle is visually impaired, and my Mother was in dementia, I told them both to leave the cover of each cube OPEN after taking each dose, so they would know which was the next cube to take. This is still working fine for my Uncle, but Mom is now in the NH so it's moot point for her now.
A pharmacy in Youngsville, LA (Ackal's Community Pharmacy) has a program where they package all medications by doses in sealed cups in a color coded calendar.. We have my Grandparents medication filled this way. Its a pill cup, on a calendar, by color (time of Day). We love it... Hope this helps
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
We NEVER tell her where the boxes of meds are until we call for her to take them. We are afraid she will THINK we called and overtake her meds.
Luckily, we are usually there at medication time.
for the entire month. I did have three packs to set up; one for my father
who took all his meds in the morning; one for my mother's morning meds;
one for my mother's evening meds. The HHA "helps" my mother
with her meds, as my mother has moderate Alzheimers and cannot
be trusted to remember the day or the time of day. The monthly
bubble packs come with each bubble labeled with the date of the month;
I found that I could improve on that by also marking the day of the
week on the paper side of the bubble using a felt-tip marker
(before assembling the pack, and laying the paper layer on a
hard surface to avoid poking a hole with the marker).
One place where the bubble packs can be ordered
via the internet is www.forgettingthepill.com Medical
supply stores usually don't carry them, and if they did
they would charge twice what the online store charges.
Not all pharmacies will bubble-pack the meds
for you, so you'd need to buy and assemble the packs
yourself for your folks. One advantage to doing this
yourself, is that you can usually fit up to 9 pills in
each bubble, allowing you to pack the prescription
pills along with over-the-counter pills, such as
vitamins or baby-aspirin. If you do decide to
use the bubble packs, it's a good idea to check
with your doctor or pharmacist to be sure of
which meds can be given together and which
should be scheduled to be taken at different
times of day. Also some meds can be taken
with food and some must not.
I found that it is easiest for HHAs to have
the meds in a blister-pack or structured medicine
box, so that they are less likely to make mistakes.
It is also helpful for a parent who is not mentally
impaired, but may have difficulty keeping track
of multiple meds in multiple bottles, or for
people with arthritic hands - it is much easier
to pop meds out of a bubble than to open
those medicine bottles.
See All Answers