Greetings,
On 19 December, 2013 I walked my physical therapist to the front door, having completed my last back therapy session. The next thing I knew was that I was on life support in the Wuesthoff Hospital ICU. I later learned that I had suffered a bleed on the right front side of my brain, that my wife found me lying on our bed appearing to say my prayers, realized I was unresponsive and called the 911 number. Everyone did the right thing and I am writing this article.
After leaving Wuesthoff, I did my rehab at Healthsouth Sea Pines Rehabilitation Hospital. I highly recommend hip replacement and stroke victims start the rehab process in a licensed facility because patients receive very intense treatment. But the purpose for the foregoing is to set the stage for the real purpose of this article.
At my Discharge Briefing, there were two others preparing to leave for home. One was a retired military person, who lived alone but could fend for himself, while the other was a frail lady who could not fend for herself. When the Discharge Planner asked if anyone had a question the lady said she was concerned with being able to get around so she could cook. When the subject of using the Meals on Wheels Program was raised, it was said that the program had a waiting list and meant that she could not quickly receive the nutritional meals needed to aid in her recovery or just live alone. I then brought up the subject of using a non skilled care assistance service like “Seniors Helping Seniors“.
Seniors Helping Seniors will come into your home as often as you want and do things like tidying up your home, cook meals, remind you to take medications, take you to doctor appointments and stay with you, and other things you simply need to do but cannot because you are not mobile. The service is offered in a minimum block of two hours at a cost of $32 to $36 for the two-hour period. If you had them come into your home, say three times a week, at a cost of a little over $100 a week, compare a monthly cost of up to $500 to the cost of 4 to 5 thousand dollars a month in an Assisted Living Facility.
Now this service, while available to all, is not intended to supplement a safe environment. It might not be safe for you to remain in your home, but if you can safely do so for about $500 a month then you might want to consider it. To contact Seniors Helping Seniors call 722-2999. Our program, Helping Seniors of Brevard is working to set up an information and education system to help families access these types of services. Consider a family living in New York and having a family member living locally needing such services. All they would need do is call our number, 321-473-7770, to talk to a Counselor to develop a program to help your family member. There are many ways to help but most of us do not know how to start the assistance process. This are where Helping Seniors of Brevard can help.
As we develop our program you will be able to access articles such as this to determine how you can safely help yourself, other family members and friends. The number to call is 321-473-7770.
Joe Steckler – President