{"id":1312903,"date":"2019-07-28T20:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T02:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/haims-column-how-to-be-a-successful-advocate\/"},"modified":"2019-07-28T20:28:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-29T02:28:00","slug":"haims-column-how-to-be-a-successful-advocate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/haims-column-how-to-be-a-successful-advocate\/","title":{"rendered":"Haims column: How to be a successful advocate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is the second of two articles discussing advocating.<\/p>\n

Many adult children may take it for granted that their parents and\/or elder loved ones are currently living well and independently. However, it can come a quite a surprise and be rather shocking when the time comes that their plan is not working so well.<\/p>\n

How each person and family deals with these circumstances is personal \u2014 but not unique. Some families may choose to bring elder loved ones into the adult child\u2019s home or purchase\/rent a nearby home. Other families may choose to have a sibling, or family member move into the parent\u2019s\/loved one\u2019s home in effort to assist \u2014 and some families may consider having a home care agency assist while other families may consider options of assisted living.<\/p>\n

For families that choose to have elders live within their home, nearby, or even move into the elders home, the role and complexities of becoming a caregiver and advocate often can be both physically and emotionally taxing.<\/p>\n

If you are one of the nearly 30% of the U.S. population that is currently caring for an elderly loved one, you may be all too aware that the learning process can be daunting and sometimes like \u201cdrinking from a firehose.\u201d If you are not already within this 30%, you soon might be and may want to choose a slower and more methodical process. I definitely recommend the one step at a time approach.<\/p>\n

Below are some suggestions of how to begin and organize a plan to help an aging loved one:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Develop a plan before a crisis presents itself.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Include the loved one in the conversation, if possible.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Define the needs of the parent\/loved one: What do they want?<\/p>\n

\u2022 Develop a plan to meet the needs of the loved one with the consult of family, friends and\/or outside help. This includes establishing realistic expectations and consideration of time for all persons involved.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If money could become a divisive and contentious issue, hire a financial adviser or elder law attorney (sooner the better)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Encourage the communication of feelings.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Convey appreciation and respect to everyone helping.<\/p>\n

It is easy to feel lost in the system while trying to help a loved one navigate health and medical needs, financial constraints and socialization.<\/p>\n

Within our mountain communities, resources are limited. Here are some resources available:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Senior centers: Garfield County Senior Programs (970-328-8896). Pitkin County Senior Services (970-920-5432). If you need help outside of our community, most counties have a senior center.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Area Agency on Aging: Locally, Erin Fisher (970-468-0295, ext. 107). Erin is a great resource within many of our mountain communities. In other areas, go to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging website (www.n4a.org).<\/p>\n

\u2022 AARP: http:\/\/www.aarp.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 The Consumer Consortium on Assisted Living (CCAL): http:\/\/www.ccal.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Priorities<\/p>\n

Your success in assisting your loved ones will greatly depend upon your ability to \u201cgather the troops.\u201d I know all too well that getting the time and attention needed from medical providers, nurses and therapists can be challenging. However, it is imperative that you are tenacious.<\/p>\n

You will also find it of great importance to validate your loved one\u2019s symptoms and find a method of collaboration and cooperation that fosters positive results instead of provoking stress and hard feelings.<\/p>\n

Find medical providers who are sensitive to both your needs and the needs of your loved one. If the current medical provider is not responsive and does not collaborate with care after an office visit (continuum of care), find a more responsive provider. Providers should show a high level of concern.<\/p>\n

There is no one way to successfully advocate. You can be, and will be, a successful advocate if you develop a way to:<\/p>\n

Educate yourself<\/p>\n

\u2022 Identify knowledge gaps in what you already know<\/p>\n

\u2022 Prepare for appointments ahead of time<\/p>\n

\u2022 Take notes<\/p>\n

\u2022 Find a sustainable solution<\/p>\n

\u2022 Make sure everyone is on the same page<\/p>\n

\u2022 Develop a \u201cteam\u201d with all medical providers<\/p>\n

\u2022 Inspire and encourage<\/p>\n

\u2022 Overcome burnout<\/p>\n

Advocating for a loved one provides many intangible rewards. It will provide you the opportunity to make a real difference in someone\u2019s life. However, it requires good research, preparation and communication skills along with the ability to problem solve and locate resources.<\/p>\n

Judson Haims is the owner of Visiting Angels Home Care in Glenwood Springs, Basalt, Aspen and the surrounding areas. He is an advocate for our elderly and is available to answer questions. His contact information is, http:\/\/www.visitingangels.com\/comtns<\/a>, 970-328-5526.<\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the second of two articles discussing advocating. Many adult children may take it for granted that their parents and\/or elder loved ones are currently living well and independently. However, it can come a quite a surprise and be rather shocking when the time comes that their plan is not working so well. How […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1312903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 11:06:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1312903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312903\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1312903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1312903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1312903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}