September, 2011 Newsletter
Published September 7, 2011 | 
Chronicles of a Professional Guardian
Serving as a Professional Guardian for over 20 years, we’ve decided it’s time to share some of our tips when it comes to caring for the elderly and disabled.
Clients and Pets: A Dilemma
Clients with pets have their own unique set of challenges. Can the client care for the pet themselves? Do you need to hire someone to care for the pet? What happens to the pet if the client can no longer take care of it, or if the client passes away?
While pets bring about their own challenges, these challenges are further complicated when it comes to finding appropriate residential placement for both the client and the pet.
When a pet is involved, especially in a facility setting, it is crucial to create an additional plan of care which highlights who is responsible for the care of the pet and when. Here are just a few things to think about when considering placement:
- Does the facility allow pets, but has a hands-off policy when it comes to caring for the pet?
- Will the facility provide any care to the pet? If yes, what and when? To what extent will they care for the pet? Get specific answers as to what days and times the facility will be responsible for pet care.
- Does the facility have an extra charge for pet care?
- Will you need to hire an agency caregiver to help with pet care?
- Are these plans within the client’s budget?
Some other important questions include: what happens when the care promised isn’t equal to the care received or needed? What is the back-up plan for the client and the pet when all else fails?
Imagine this scenario:
You are the Plenary Guardian of a 98+ year old elderly woman, who has a 12-year-old kitty. The woman is very attached to her cat, so much so that she swears she will not go on living without “Lovey”.
You place the client in a small, family run ALF that will allow the cat, but will not provide any pet care. A contingency plan is created which involves hiring an agency caregiver to provide pet care, including: brushing the cat, cleaning the cat box, and taking the cat to the groomer and vet as needed.
With a plan in place, the client moves into the small ALF, and all is fine for one year. Then, during a visit, you notice both the client and her room are in horrible condition.
You discover that the facility has just changed a majority of their staff. The new facility caregivers are sisters from a culture that considers cats to be agents of the devil. They are very scared of the client’s black kitty, and will not enter the client’s room if they know the cat is in there. Because of these beliefs, the client’s care, as well as the cat’s care, is suffering.
So, what do you do? Share your thoughts by commenting below. We would love to hear how you would handle this situation if this were your client.
Remember to stay tuned for the answer, which we’ll send out next week, so that you can see exactly what we did in this situation.
Tip of the Month
Effective August 15, 2011, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a nationwide reduction in its public hours by 30 minutes each day. Offices typically open until 4 pm will now close at 3:30 pm.
This is part of an overall budget strategy by the SSA to reduce worker’s overtime. Read the SSA’s press release for more information: http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/fo-close-early-pr.html
Did You Know?
That there are at least one million cases of shingles in the U.S. every year? And that the likelihood of contracting the virus increases over the age of 50?
A shingles episode can be extremely painful, particularly for our elderly population. But should you push for your clients to be vaccinated?
Dr. Ivan Castro, named Central Florida’s “Top Doctor” of Internal Medicine, addresses what shingles is, proper treatment, and the pros and cons of vaccination throughout different age groups, in his most recent article: http://privatehealthmd.com/news/?p=248
Do What You’re Great At and Love — Let Us Handle the Rest!
Guardian Care Management & Benefits Services, Inc. provides:
- Professional Guardianship Services
- Private Case Management
- Benefits Consulting & Medicaid Applications
- Full Guardianship Support Services
I would imagine the facility contract provides for care of the client and their room, as well as other responsibilities so the facility is responsible for providing that care regardless of the beliefs of their staff. Likewise, it is important that we, as guardians, rememember that we provide for our clients accoring to their beliefs, even when it goes against our own personal beliefs.
Thanks for your input, Lona. We totally agree with you about clients and care. As we always say around here, we take off our own shoes, and put on the client’s shoes. This is an important point that you made, because as Guardians we deal with people and as such we need to respect and uphold their beliefs for how they want to live their lives, regardless of our personal beliefs (as long as their wishes don’t pose any safety issues).
I think it is also important to remember that the 98+ client is paying to live at the facility. In other words the sisters are actually working for the 98+ year old client! I’m sure the ALF would not like it if the client didn’t pay her rent, because she wasn’t receiving the services that are to be provided.
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