End Of Life Care In Los Angeles

Aug 072018
 

End Of Life Care In Los Angeles

 

The end of life is a topic we are all trying avoid. Children, teens and most young people believe themselves invincible. The prospect of life coming to the end is inconceivable to them. Adults feel similarly that is until the prospect of death of a loved one (usually, a parent) confronts them, directly.

 

Since we are so steadfast in our denial of the very possibility of death, when the prospect of inevitable death (our own or a loved one) confronts us, many find themselves utterly unprepared. It is very hard to comprehend that life (or the presence of a person) which we’ve always taken for granted, isn’t. The emotional impact of such news is shocking and paralyzing. We don’t know how to process such news. In the vast majority of cases, we have no idea how to proceed in terms of practical matters such as ensuring end of life care, dealing with grief and eventually, making funeral and memorial service arrangements.

 

Our own emotions of shock and grief can be overwhelming and often make rational planning and actions impossible. This is how the prospect of impending death affects us on a personal level: it is nothing but pain, fear and anticipation of loss.

 

The encounter with the end of life may well be a first time experience for many of us. But just as it is the case in other traumatic situations, you are not the only one dealing with it. Many survived it before you, others are dealing with it as we speak. You are not alone. There is help.

 

The end of life is a life’s stage and we’ll all have to pass through it, sooner or later. The person whose life is about to expire has to be acknowledged, provided with the best comfort care and supported throughout the process. The family of the dying person needs emotional and spiritual support as well.

 

The medicine we are used to deals with treating and / or curing diseases. Medicine plays an important role in the end of life stage too but it is a different type of medicine. It’s called “palliative care”.

 

According to U.S. National Library of Medicine:

 

“Palliative care is treatment of the discomfort, symptoms, and stress of serious illness. It provides relief from distressing symptoms including

 

  • Pain
  • Shortness of breath
  • Fatigue
  • Constipation
  • Nausea
  • Loss of appetite
  • Problems with sleep
  • It can also help you deal with the side effects of the medical treatments you’re receiving.

Hospice care, care at the end of life, always includes palliative care.”

 

Palliative care is medical care but with a different focus: it doesn’t aim at curing but comforting. Hospice care includes palliative care and more. It addresses also psychological, emotional and spiritual needs of the patient and the patient’s family.

 

When you or someone you love has been diagnosed with a terminal illness with a limited life expectancy, it’s time to arrange for hospice care.

 

According to Hospice Foundation Of America:

“Hospice offers medical care toward a different goal: maintaining or improving quality of life for someone whose illness, disease or condition is unlikely to be cured. Each patient’s individualized care plan is updated as needed to address the physical, emotional and spiritual pain that often accompanies terminal illness. Hospice care also offers practical support for the caregiver(s) during the illness and grief support after the death. Hospice is something more that is available to the patient and the entire family when curative measures have been exhausted and life prognosis is six months or less.”

 

While many believe that hospice is a place, in reality hospice is a service. Hospice services are available in the patient’s home, hospital, nursing home, etc.

Some of us may have heard rumors about poor quality hospice care: the staff being unreliable, nurses running late or even, outright patient neglect. It doesn’t have to be this way because YOU have several choices in this matter:

 

  • the choice of hospice care provider
  • the choice of location where hospice care is provided
  • the choice of the level of family involvement

 

By making these choices and explaining your needs and expectations in advance you can ensure that you – or a loved one – receive quality, compassionate care.

 

One of Los Angeles area reputable hospice care providers is Burbank-based Revive Hospice Care Group.

 

Revive Hospice provides hospice care at the location of your choice. You’ll get to customize the extent of care and create a schedule that suits your needs best. You’ll get to define how much your family will be involved in the process. Once the plan of hospice care is personalized, you can expect:

 

  • services of an interdisciplinary team of professionals (which may include the patient’s doctor) and trained volunteers
  • Revive Hospice care is available 24/7
  • comfort care for the patient
  • moral support for the patient’s family

 

Last but not least, hospice services are usually covered by MediCal, Medicare and other types of health insurance. Medical equipment, supplies and medications needed for the patient’s comfort care are covered by the hospice program.

 

Everyone’s life ends, eventually. It is important to know that support for end of life care is available. It is possible to ensure that you – or someone you love – receive effective and compassionate care – consisting of physical, emotional and spiritual support – during this period. You – or your loved one – can be comfortable, pain-free (to the extent possible), there may even be some quality time still left. Just as important, the family of the person facing end of life can be provided with emotional and spiritual care as well as with help in decision-making during this difficult time. You are not alone. Help is available.

 

Post Views: 3,422

 

 End Of Life Care In Los Angeles  Health And Wellness Info Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Home Care For Seniors

Mar 222018
 

Home Care For Seniors

So, did you watch the last Oscars ceremony? Great fashions and moving speeches, right? Did you notice how many of the world-class stars thanked their parents, in some cases even parents who have already passed on? It is EVERYONE’S greatest wish to validate themselves in the eyes of their parents!

But life isn’t all limelights and memorable moments. As our parents decline with age, our greatest shared experiences fade and more pressing concerns for their current safety, care and health take precedence over the fondest memories.

The aging of our parents is tough: on them and on us. Our heroes from yesterday are often reduced to today’s burden. Love, respect and admiration become tedious additional chores our already overstretched schedules can hardly bear.

It doesn’t have to be this way! Outsource the difficult and time-consuming work! It is possible to ensure good care for your parents in the comfort of their own home without sacrificing your life or your relationship!

A move into a residential facility for seniors or assisted living home can be traumatic. All seniors want to spend the final years of their life in the comfort of home, surrounded by the familiar and the people they love. If the health of your parent(s) doesn’t call for around-the-clock medical care, explore senior home care services!

Senior home care services are provided in the senior’s home! They cover a range of needs from basic house keeping and meals to personal care like bathroom help, and so on. There are also skilled nursing and therapeutic services available which may include:

  • Vital Signs and Glucose Monitoring
  • Catheter Care
  • Pain Management
  • IV therapies (Antibiotics / Hydration)
  • Administration of Injections
  • Medication Management
  • Post-Surgical Care
  • Rehabilitation
  • Wound Care

The best senior home care services’ agencies may provide also:

  • Physical Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Speech Therapy

To ensure that your loved one receives the best home care there are several important criteria to keep in mind.
The agency that supplies senior home care service providers should be reputable, licensed, bonded and insured.
You’ll be well-advised to ask beforehand whether the providers have undergone the proper screening, including criminal background check, driving record check, TB test, etc. and have the proper certifications (a valid CPR certificate is a must!) as well as work experience with seniors. (Incidentally, some of the services might be covered by health insurance and / or Medicare!)

Preserve the golden moments of the past you shared with your parents in their full glory! The fact that your youth’s invincible role model may have bladder control problems today shouldn’t cast a shadow on your relationship. Home care for seniors will help you keep the holy and the practical aspects of your relationship with your parent / parents separated as they should be.

Aging diminishes people physically, age doesn’t have to tarnish their spirit. (Keep it in mind because today is them, but tomorrow it will be us.) Treat you parents with the same love and consideration you’d expect for yourself: your kids are watching… and learning. Sooner or later, they’ll follow the example you are setting today.

Post Views: 4,079
 Home Care For Seniors  Health And Wellness Info, Los Angeles Health News Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Transportation for Seniors in Los Angeles

Apr 212015
 

Seniors are the fastest growing segment of our population. And yet, the concerns of seniors don’t seem to be well understood. A senior is a person of a certain age. Age alone however doesn’t define a person. Just because a person celebrates a particular birthday – be it 65 or 70 or 80 – doesn’t change the person’s personality, needs, or desires. Neither should the ability to drive.

Some seniors, for one reason or another, don’t drive. The currently available options for transportation for seniors in Los Angeles area in particular are quite pitiful. Our public transportation system doesn’t meet their needs and most seniors – let’s be honest – are quite afraid of taxi cabs. The other existing options are quite restrictive: one needs to accommodate other people’s schedule, be disabled, or conform to rules that allow for a trip to a doctor but forbid a trip to a hair stylist. Already Betty Davis said that “aging is not for sissies”, why add to the burden of aging by not providing adequate transportation for seniors?!

Senior or not, a human being needs to travel to a store, the dry cleaners, beauty shop, to visit family and friends, to see a movie, or go to the beach. Normal human needs of taking care of yourself, buying a gift for a loved one, getting ice cream, being social and having fun don’t seize to exist just because we age. Yes, adult children are usually too busy to chauffeur their elders but it shouldn’t put a stop to the senior’s active life. It’s a shame to say, but there are more options available for patients and the disabled than for able-bodied seniors.

On this page we’ve been asking for a while now: did YOU find transportation for seniors in Los Angeles area that truly caters to seniors needs AND wants? Are the vehicles safe and service satisfying? How are the fees: reasonable? We’ve been trying to find a company that chauffeurs seniors in Greater Los Angeles without restrictions and conditions. A company that will drive a senior any time, any place, at the senior’s convenience. With vehicles available for transportation of able-bodied seniors; vehicles that don’t have superfluous wheelchair lifts and so forth, but are clean and have all the modern conveniences you’d expect. With drivers who are courteous, speak English, are caring and punctual. A company that treats its passengers with respect, picks them up on time, and chauffeurs them in style, every time.

Your feedback didn’t pour in as expected: clearly the demand is here but the supply is meager. We’re still on a lookout for a safe, dependable and comfortable transportation for seniors in Los Angeles and vicinity:

  • transportation for seniors in Beverly Hills,
  • transportation for seniors in Studio City,
  • transportation for seniors in Sherman Oaks,
  • transportation for seniors in Woodland Hills,
  • transportation for seniors in Burbank,
  • transportation for seniors in San Fernando Valley,
  • transportation for seniors in Los Angeles area for any purpose, any time

Here is what so many are looking for:

  • transportation for able-bodied seniors
  • cars that are clean, safe, comfortable and – of course – insured
  • drivers that actually speak English; are well-groomed and polite
  • service that’s available 24 / 7
  • ride that arrives on time
  • short and long distance rides
  • on-going and one-time service
  • weekly or bi-weekly rides that can be scheduled in advance
  • last but not least, help running errands if you’re not in the mood to go out

Some of the patient transportation providers in Los Angeles provide also transportation for seniors. If you have found another  valid Transportation for Seniors in Los Angeles option, let us know!

 

 Transportation for Seniors in Los Angeles  Info For Angelenos Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

Home Health Los Angeles

Mar 182015
 

The need for home health services (or just a plain home health) arises under various circumstances. Most often, the need for home health is temporary for as long as the patient recuperates. It may be necessitated by a sudden illness. It may occur in the aftermath of an accident. It may be needed in the course of a disability. Finally, it may be required for an elderly person who’s no longer able to care for him or herself.

Whatever may have led to your interest in home health, immediate family members – and / or a spouse as it may be the case – often times feel guilty about relying on strangers for care of a loved one. The truth is – with all due respect to your feelings – not being qualified to provide medical care, not being able to provide immediate personal care to a person who is either ill, disabled or elderly; or even not having the time to tend to such a person is nothing to feel guilty or embarrassed about. Failing to ensure that the person in need of care is well taken care of by a qualified and licensed professional, now that’s shameful, not to mention neglectful. So put your apprehension aside and let’s explore the available options in Los Angeles home health and L.A. home care; yes, there is a difference.

About Los Angeles home health:

Assuming you have no prior experience, not all of home health services are equal. There are organizations that specialize in providing for personal care only which may be appropriate in a case of an older person who has trouble with grooming, getting dressed and other personal needs, including meal preparation and running errands. This would be akin to senior care.

Other L.A. home health providers are focused on providing for medical needs. Some provide for both: personal and medical needs.

The home care only services are self-explanatory, so lets focus here on home health services. Home health serves one main goal, enabling the patient to stay at home so he or she can heal better and feel better in comfortable and familiar surroundings.

Many home health service organizations provide skilled nursing and / or therapy services such as:

  • Vital Signs and Glucose Monitoring
  • Catheter Care
  • Pain Management
  • IV therapies (Antibiotics / Hydration)
  • Administration of Injections
  • Post-Surgical Care
  • Rehabilitation
  • Wound Care

Some Los Angeles home health organizations may have on their staff a licensed dietician as well as physical, speech and occupational therapists, even  medical social workers. Regardless of the spectrum of home health services provided, these are specific to a patient care.

Before exploring the waters and even attempting to hire either a home health or home care provider, you must be aware of it that in L.A. (and in California at large) there are strict regulations and licensing requirements for both. Be sure that the provider you’re considering holds the required licenses; if you don’t, you – or worse yet, the person for whom you’re seeking care! – may end in all sorts of trouble. One more thing, most of Los Angeles home health providers have a minimum hours requirement. Ask about it before making a commitment. Now you know, sometimes home health or home care are a necessity, armed with some information you’ll be able to choose the provider who meets your specific needs best.

 Home Health Los Angeles  Info For Angelenos Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Interview with L.A. Psychotherapist

Jun 182012
 

Interview with Barbara J. Brighton, M.A., M.F.C.T.

Ms. Barbara J. Brighton, M.A., M.F.C.T. is a Psychotherapist specializing in Individual and Group Psychotherapy, Adults and Adolescents as well as Psycho-Oncology. She has graduated from Cal State Northridge with a BA in Psychology and has earned her Master’s degree in Psychology from Antioch University. She is in private practice for 29 years. Barbara Brighton’s professional accomplishments have earned her ‘excellent reputation. She has achieved acclaim while working with many cancer patients and their families helping them to cope with the disease and successfully overcome it.

Barbara J. Brighton: Would you like me to start by explaining what psychotherapy is?

Editor: It would help!

Barbara J. Brighton: Psychotherapy is a place where you can talk about your most personal, private thoughts, feelings and life experiences. As the therapist I provide a safe and comfortable environment, listen without judgment, analyze and interpret the information and ultimately assist and guide you in a way that allows you to put together the pieces of the puzzle of your life.
As children, we get information from our family and environment that determines the way we look at ourselves and the world and what our expectations are. Ideally, children get positive messages about themselves, feel loved, know how to trust their environment, and all those good things. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case and the negative and distorted messages and experiences that occur stay with a person into adulthood. Through the psychotherapeutic process, we begin to look at the messages and experiences and unravel them. The client develops adult eyes to review and reconsider the way they look at themselves and the world and reevaluate their choices.  The therapy can also include learning new coping mechanisms, how to communicate effectively and how to intervene on your own behalf when negative messages come into your head that undermine the success of your life.

Editor: So if I came to therapy with you, it would help me become a more effective adult?

Barbara Brighton, L.A. Psychotherapist

Barbara Brighton, L.A. Psychotherapist

Barbara J. Brighton: I would say that I would work with you to find a healthy adult within yourself. When you open yourself in therapy, many aspects of your life are affected. I use the metaphor that as you go through life you throw things that you don’t want to deal with in a closet and shut the door. You keep throwing things in the closet and eventually it is so full that the door doesn’t want to shut so you have to lean on the door all the time to keep everything from falling out. This can cause stress, anxiety, depression and more. You expend so much energy making sure you keep that door closed that you don’t have anything left for your life. Part of what we do in therapy is to gently and slowly open up that door. We take things out and look at them and decide where they fit in your life. This can be a very painful process, but not as scary as you might think it would be. You can live through it. You find your truth and your humanity and you have the opportunity to have a relationship with yourself that is loving.

Editor: Who can benefit from therapy the most?

Barbara J. Brighton: I think most people can benefit from therapy to different degrees. The more motivated you are to improve the quality of your life, the more you’ll benefit.

Editor: How would I know that I need therapy?

Barbara J. Brighton: Sometimes people come because there is a crisis in their life. Often people come to therapy to talk about their relationships and the problems within those relationships. Although it is reasonable to address those issues, my approach is to focus equally on the relationship you have with yourself. How would you describe that relationship? Is it abusive, loving, critical? Do you honestly look at what is going on in your life? When you heal the relationship you have with yourself, you have a much better chance of having successful relationships with others. When you get to that place it might mean that you will choose to let people go who aren’t supporting your emotional health, and deepen the relationships that enrich your life.
I would also say that it is a good idea to get into therapy if you find that many of your days feel like an effort. When you find that you have no energy and most importantly, when you find that you don’t feel joy in your life and that you don’t look forward to the day.

Editor: Thank you for talking with me and sharing your insights with the visitors of Los Angeles Health Directory, Barbara.

Barbara J. Brighton, M.A., M.F.C.T.
16055 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 1010 in Encino
Phone: (818)905-4692
E-Mail: bjbjazz@earthlink.net

 Interview with L.A. Psychotherapist  Los Angeles Health Interviews Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,