Answering the Call

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Senior Medication Management Issues

The questions can seem endless: What medications are you on? Do you have allergies? Is there a living will? Who has power of attorney? Any time your mom or dad winds up in the emergency room, doctor's office or hospital, there's much those professionals need to know about your parents. So do you, especially if your parents can't speak for themselves.Lack of information can certainly be trouble for you when the time comes to assist your aging loved ones. For Mom and Dad, though, the wrong information can be deadly.That's why family caregivers like you should be ready to be a supporter of your parents, helping them when it's time to provide those important details. The following resources could be a life-saver.

• How to Help your Senior Manage Medications - Family Caregiver Recorded Webinar
• Answering the Call®
• Keeping Seniors Safe at Home
• One Family's Tragedy
• The Warning Signs
• Give and Take
• Drug Ads May Confuse Seniors

Caring for Your Parents: Senior Emergency Kit

The Home Instead Senior Care® network's Senior Emergency Kit^SM can help ensure that family caregivers like you have fast and easy access to important information about loved ones in case of an emergency call.

• Senior Emergency Kit Worksheets and Checklists
• Make Your Senior's Health Information Handy
• Know Your Senior's Coverage Plan
• Additional Resources

Senior Health Tracking Tools

As part of the Answering the Call^SM program, Home Instead has developed this list of tools to track all aspects of your senior loved ones' care. Each tool offers different capabilities and features that are designed to help you coordinate and manage your caregiving. Give them a try, then add comments and rank them to help others as they navigate through the senior care maze. If you would like to suggest another tool, please email our social media advocate, Cat Koehler, at [email protected].

• Solution offers secure syncing between web and iPhone
• Prevent medication errors with helpful reminders
• Effectively manage health care information and share with other healthcare providers
• Information at caregiver's fingertips help respond to medical emergencies
• Navigate elder care situations with less stress
• Connect and organize to manage complex health conditions
• Geo tracking technology keeps dementia sufferers safe and independent
• Automated reminders reduce missed medications
• Chart family medical history to assess potential health risks
• Keep crucial medical information handy in case of emergency

Emergency Preparedness: How to Deal with a Traumatic Midnight Call

Dr. Amy D'Aprix discusses being prepared with your senior loved one's medical information should a medical emergency arise. Details include tips on being prepared using Home Instead's Senior Emergency Kit, dealing with your emotions in a medical crisis, and preparing for your loved one's return home following a medical event.

Watch Video

One Family's Tragedy - Video

Pharmacist Rob Albers tells the story of his 89-year-old dad, whose medication accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Seniors at Risk with Too Many Doctors

Older adults often find themselves with more than one doctor managing their care. Research shows that seniors can put themselves at risk with multiple medications from several doctors. Check out the practical advice below along with the Home Instead Senior Care network's Senior Emergency Kit^SM at www.senioremergencykit.com

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• Whether accompanying your loved one to a doctor's appointment or in response to a medical crisis, it's critical to have your loved one's medical information easily and quickly accessible. Home Instead Senior Care network created the Caring for Your Parents: Senior Emergency Kit^SM, an information management tool and website. This toolkit and other resources are part of the Answering the Call^® program to help you be prepared for these situations.

• Related Content:

• • Emergency Preparedness: How to Deal with a Traumatic Midnight Call