Caregiving Tips A-Z (Alzheimers) - Softcover

Starr Calo-oy; Bob Calo-oy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0975319523 ISBN 13: 9780975319529

Publisher: Orchard Publications, 2008

Synopsis

Caregiving Tips A-Z takes the family caregiver through every hands-on procedure necessary to care for their loved one at home. This complete caregiving manual helps the family effectively communicate with all medical professionals to obtain maximum results for their loved one. It addresses every perplexing situation the family caregiver might find herself in and presents numerous ideas for which to solve them easily. It is colorfully illustrated with 27 humorous cartoons and has been done in larger print than normal for easier reading.

About this title

About the Author

Bob & Starr Calo-oy were both born and raised in San Antonio and have been joyfully married for 27 years. From 1989 to 2006, they owned and operated a personal care home specializing in the care of terminally ill patients and victims of Alzheimer s disease and other forms of dementia in their San Antonio home. They also cared for the well-minded elderly who could no longer care for themselves at home. In addition to caring for the elderly in their home, they have given in-service training for doctors, nurses, the staffs of hospices and home health agencies, sharing tips and unique ideas for caring for people with dementia. Starr also gives private consultations to individuals on how to start and operate a successful personal care home as well as helping family caregivers set up their home for care. Starr is past Vice-President of San Antonio Residential Care Homes (SARCH) and was the creator, editor and publisher of their newsletter from 1998 through 2001. She is also past Vice President, editor and publications director on the board of The Final Draft, the newsletter for the San Antonio Writers Guild. She is a columnist for SAWorship.com as well as a freelance writer for the San Antonio Express-News. In April 2004, they released their first book, The Caring Caregivers Guide to Dealing with Guilt , about their experiences over 17 years of operating their personal care home. This book is about the undeserved guilt families experience when they turn the care of their loved ones over to someone else. However, if the family desires to care for their loved one in their own home, it provides tips and directions to help them. It was written so that the medical field can benefit by empathizing while at the same time making it easy for the non-medical professional to easily understand its content. In November 2006, they released Hospice Care at Home/ A guide to caring for your dying loved one at home. This book provides the family caregiver with all the information necessary to keep their loved one in their home through death rather than sending them to a more institutional setting. It has sold over 2,000 copies over the past few months and is on its way to becoming a best seller. In November 2007, they will release 2 new books, Caregiving Tips A-Z, Alzheimer s & Other Dementias and Caregiving Tips A-Z. Starr and Bob published their own monthly, 26-page tabloid newspaper, the TELESTARR, which was circulated throughout South Texas city, county and state agencies for eight years. Presently, they counsel couples to help them to develop a more meaningful relationship and better communication skills. They have also written a series of 7 booklets to help the family caregiver, having to do with the different dilemmas that they face while caring for their loved one. In September, 2007, they started the non-profit organization, Caregivers Support Network, through which they will begin teaching free caregiving classes in February 2008 which will be open to the public. Starr and Bob speak at conventions, seminars, civic clubs, and health care facilities, do book signings at Barnes & Noble s all over Texas, and make television and radio appearances.

Review

My husband, Bob, and I cared for the well-minded elderly, terminally ill and people with dementia, such as Alzheimer s patients, in our own home from 1989 through August of 2006. We have written our books out of our own personal experiences while performing that care and comforting their families. Caregiving Tips A-Z takes the family caregiver through every hands-on procedure necessary to care for their loved one at home. This complete caregiving manual helps the family effectively communicate with all medical professionals to obtain maximum results for their loved one. It addresses every perplexing situation the family caregiver might find herself in and presents numerous ideas for which to solve them easily. If you have an elderly loved one who can no longer reside safely in his own home and you want to bring him home to live with you, this book will teach you how to provide quality care, regardless of your education level. You will find that you are not alone in dealing with seemingly overwhelming emotions and fear of the unknown such as guilt, fear, denial and anger. Caregiving Tips A-Z gives you clever tips (653 in all) and realistic suggestions (638) on all aspects of grooming, home set-up, food issues, how to get the keys away from your loved one peacefully and much more. This book will also help medical professionals, hospice and home health agencies by giving them a thorough and fresh resource to refer to their patients and families. Baby boomers , the sandwich generation - the media and American public labels this group in many ways, but the facts speaks for themselves concerning the increasing population of adult children of the elderly. Many of them are now electing to provide care in their own homes in lieu of a more institutional setting for their loved ones final days due to the growing cost of health care. If we take into consideration the fact that people are living longer (according to the Census Bureau, the average age at death in the year 2000 was 85), we can see that there are millions of Americans between the ages of 38 and 67 who out of necessity make decisions about arranging care for their elderly parents or grandparents. One of the main reasons that families do not care for their ailing loved ones at home is because they are under the misconception that they must have a degree in order to provide care for another human being. They do not feel qualified. In writing Caregiving Tips A-Z , we hope to give the everyday caregiver the confidence she lacks, dispel these myths and return to the days, not so long ago, when it was natural for people to care for their own elderly loved ones in their home. --The Overview

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Publications
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0975319523
• ISBN 13: 9780975319529
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448
• Illustrator: Dr. Charles Belfi