Dave Weiman, founder of Care Compass, will write a series of columns for people navigating through the difficult and emotional process of caring for an elder spouse, family member or friend. The columns will be posted on our website. (See his October column below.)
Weiman retired in 2000 after a career in human resources. He became a volunteer ombudsman for people 65 and older, a program through the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Weiman is the founder of Care Compass, a free online site to assist elders and their families to find care in the Peoria area.
His initial interest in this area evolved from a visit to a nursing home with his church. While at the nursing home, he saw an elderly woman in a wheelchair who was crying as an aide yelled at her.
“This is an area where consumers need education. It can be a confusing and short term period” Weiman said.
He will write several columns in the upcoming months on other aspects of elder care.

Elder Care Concerns
BY DAVE WEIMAN
One of the most common concerns by elders and their families is not knowing what to look for or ask about when searching for a care provider – be it for home care, assisted living or skilled nursing. The concern could be lessened if there were time to investigate and analyze the choices, but so often that time is not available. Decisions are needed to be made quickly at the end of a hospitalization or the beginning of a sudden illness.

Take the time to visit a few assisted living and/or skilled nursing homes
well before you might need to move into one.

There are a half dozen or so questions that one could ask that would not only provide some important information about the care provider, but also give the consumer an opportunity to break into the provider’s promotion talk and start a two-way dialogue. Here are three:

1. Ask if the provider staff are employees, contractors, or a mix. And if a mix, what services are provided by each. This isn’t attempting to cast either employees or contractors in a positive or negative light. Both can give quality care. The information is helpful in knowing that there is a more immediate route of accountability with employees. There isn’t a third party to deal with for questions and concerns, as would be the case with contractors.

2. A companion question is to determine the level of certification and licenses of the staff. This isn’t a way to rank the provider, but rather an indication of the commitment to quality care represented by having a staff with recognized qualifications. Certainly, wonderful care can be delivered from people who are not certified or licensed, but they are generally the elder’s family and/or close friends. The loving relationship that kind of care provides can’t be replicated to the same degree with an outside provider. But, it can be compensated for with licenses and certification that denote a high level of education and training, proficiency and experience.

3. While answers to the previous two questions will reveal a provider’s commitment to quality care, a question specifically about their care practices would be: ‘Will the elder, whether in their own home, an assisted living home, or a skilled nursing home, have the same staff members assigned as care givers?’ The practice is called “consistent staffing”, and it is a major component of the approved guidelines developed by numerous educational and advocacy groups. The opposite to consistent staffing is staff rotation, which moves the staff to different areas and home assignments based on administrative programs rather than an elder’s well-being. Consistent staffing allows the relationship to flourish between the giver and receiver of care. And, like so much in life, regardless of place, time, or age, it is all about relationships.

Go to www.carecompasspeoria.org
for more suggestions and guidance for finding quality elder care.

Dave Weiman is the founder of Care Compass, a free online site to assist elders and their families find Elder Care in the Peoria area. Dave has been engaged for over 10 years in improving the quality of care, so elders can enjoy a life of quality.