Listen to Volume # 074 —Valerie Taylor & Alternative Choices – “Valerie Taylor” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Valerie Taylor
Broadcast Date: July 18, 2009

We need to have as many options as possible when we are dealing with our loved ones in nursing home placement.   Valerie cheerfully spoke about how nice it is to have a more personalized residential home setting.  This is more comfortable for those who don’t have the requirements only to be found in a nursing care facility.  There ARE options out there, and you should use them!

On page 247 in Starr and Bob’s book Caregiving Tips A-Z they covered this very subject in detail.  They even have a nursing home checklist, and Independent personal care homes.  You end up having privacy, so you can visit with your loved one in a more intimate setting.  People here in San Antonio are largely unaware that this is an option.  The privacy and individual rooms also sometimes have bathrooms too.  Valerie helps walk you through many of these options.  Sometimes a residential care home is not an option for you.

One of the first things you really need to do is make sure that you have power of attorney and advanced directives so that when the time comes you are not scrambling, trying to do something for mom and dad.  Maybe they are in hospice or in need of home health services.  These decisions need to be made before time, discussed so that they are not spur of the moment “guesses”.

Always speak to somebody, read one of Starr and Bob’s books, this information can help you know what is “coming-up”.  Discuss these things ahead of time just in case they are not in a position to let you know when the “rubber hits the road”.  You want them to have a part in making these decisions.

Excellent advice.  Thank you for the insights Valerie Taylor.  God Bless you in your endeavors.

Starr & Bob Calo-oy created CaregiversAdvice.net to help, encourage, and support caregivers. Through weekly Radio Shows on KKYX 680am San Antonio, they host special guests who cover many unique topics concerning caregiving. They also have weekly TV Segments on KENS TV 5 San Antonio where they share caregiving and marriage tips. All of these programs are archived as Radio Podcasts and TV Podcasts for your easy listening. Visit their sister site, Marriage101.net for marriage help and encouragement. Starr has written Four Books on Caregiving.