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Music.

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Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Self-Initiative Project Podcast.

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I’m your host, Jim O’Brien. Hello, and welcome to Episode 30.

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This podcast, we’re going to be talking about safety for the elderly and the aging.

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You know, this is such a sensitive subject for people.

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I know it is for me because you don’t want to think about people you know and

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your loved ones, your parents, your grandparents getting older.

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But inevitably, it happens to all of us. So we kind of have to eventually get

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comfortable or at least prepared with the idea of having to deal with it at

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some point in time in our lives.

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And that’s just the way life goes.

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But, yeah, I thought it would be after hearing some recent stories about some

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of my friends and what they’ve had to deal with in the past and even recent

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times with their parents,

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I thought this was a podcast worthy of having talking about the safety of the elderly and the aging.

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So before we get too much further along into the stories and the safety tips

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I want to try to provide here for you today relative to those people in your

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life that may be getting up there in years,

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I want to give a big shout out and a thank you to three or four of my friends

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for helping me during I interviewed them and talked about their specific circumstances

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and things they’ve gone through or considerations they’ve given.

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And I think it was a lot of great information that I hope to share with you

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here today that I plan on sharing with you here today.

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So I want to give a big thank you to Tony, Dennis, and Sheila.

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Andy and another Dennis in the mix with us too. Yes, we have two friends, Dennis, named Dennis.

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Anyway, you know, there was one story that really inspired me to do this podcast

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talking about safety and security of those that are in our lives that are aging

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and may already be elderly and needing some care or getting close to that time.

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And my buddy, this is kind of a sad, crazy, unbelievable story.

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And truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

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But the story that inspired me to do this, and I’m going to kind of chop this

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up and cliff note it, but basically a number of weeks ago, probably two or three

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months ago now, my buddy was somewhere,

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family gathering in a public place.

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They were and his mom wound up somehow losing her balance or tripping on a couple

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of stairs that she was I think going down And wound up taking a fairly significant

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spill on her head and face scraped up her face And took a wallop on the head,

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but you know, she seemed fine They got her up and they did they elected not

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to go to the hospital or take her to the emergency room and got her home Well,

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a couple of few days later, whatever time went by,

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they noticed she was having some cognitive issues, including,

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I think, one of the things that they picked up on pretty quickly is that she couldn’t sign her name.

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So they were concerned and rightfully so. So they took her to the emergency

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room and turned out she had swelling of the brain.

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And it was very apparent that it was directly contributed to the fall that she

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had taken the spill that she had taken a few days earlier. So she was rushed

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in to have emergency brain surgery where they could relieve some of that pressure for her.

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So nasty spill, just kind of out of nowhere.

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And then as she’s been going through the recovery process, she spent quite a

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bit of time in the hospital.

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She’s actually had to have a couple of additional surgeries since that first

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one because she’s had additional swelling and other issues going on.

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And while she’s in the hospital, she was deemed, both her and his dad were deemed

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high risk, meaning high risk for falls.

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And she specifically needed to be put under 24-hour watch, 24-hour care.

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So the hospital had care providers coming in, watchers, keepers,

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care providers come into the hospital room where she was as she was doing her

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physical therapy and whatnot,

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looking after her in eight hour shifts, three eight hour shifts per day.

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One of her caregivers just up and left at the end of their shift.

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I don’t remember what time of day it was. It doesn’t really matter.

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But this caregiver, their shift came, their shift ended, and they just got up

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and left the room and left my buddy’s mom in the room alone alone.

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Whereas she should have been waiting for the next person to come in and be relieved.

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But the end of their shift came and they got up and left.

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Well, his mom, you know, she had to get up and go to the bathroom.

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So she got up out of bed and somehow slipped and fall or lost her balance,

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lost her equilibrium, whatever it was, and slipped and fell in her hospital

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room and wound up fracturing her arm.

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So, you know, two falls in a very short period of time, different places.

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Different things going on, but then it gets better.

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One of the caregivers that were looking after them wound up taking the American

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Express card out of her purse and ringing up or trying to ring up a bunch of charges on it.

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They tried to ring up their monthly rent.

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I think it was their car insurance and groceries, and they did it all in the

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same day or pretty much back to back. how they thought they could get away with that. Who knows?

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Of course, they say the common criminal isn’t all that smart.

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But anyway, American Express doing what they do, they caught on to something

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was up, didn’t seem like the normal types of charges that his mom would be making

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and flagged it in and make a

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long story short, you know, the police got involved and she was arrested.

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But imagine the hassle and the frustration you might experience,

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you know, Your mom’s fallen twice.

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They’ve had brain surgery a couple of times, and she’s hurt.

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And on top of that, to make things worse, now you’ve got one of her care providers

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basically stealing from her.

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And I can imagine for the company that’s providing those caregivers in the hospital,

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they’ve probably got some explaining to do.

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And there might be some issues there as well. So, you know, wow, overwhelming.

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You know, you just can’t think these things could happen. And truth truly is

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stranger than fiction at times.

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So that story alone kind of inspired me to set off this podcast of safety for the elderly and aging.

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So I wanted to start there, but I want to tell some other stories that my other

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buddies shared with me because they all have a theme.

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And today you’ll hear a couple of important themes.

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So one of my friends, longtime friends I’ve known since like 10th grade,

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10th grade in high school.

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His mom had been battling with RA, rheumatoid arthritis for a long time,

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number of years, even before he and I met.

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But anyway, it, you know, she was getting up in years and she was in the bathroom

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coming out of the bathroom one day and transitioning between the bathroom and the master bedroom.

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And even though she was using her walker and had her walker,

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she wound up falling and fracturing her leg.

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In her bedroom and subsequently wound up bedridden.

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She was already, you know, mobily struggling with the RA, but wound up bedridden

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and then spent the next 18 months in bed with her fractured leg.

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And then ultimately she passed and left us at the end of that 18 months,

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But she had a massive fall.

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And my other buddy, his stepfather back up in Ohio, came home from wherever he’d been.

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He’d been out driving, got out of the car, the story goes, felt lightheaded

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and wound up passing out in the driveway, falling in the driveway and I guess

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hitting himself in the head,

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lying in the driveway for approximately an hour before waking up and just going in the house.

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Well, the family knew nothing about this occurrence until long after the fact,

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like a week after the fact, his stepdad finally told him and whatever else.

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And then at one point in time, his mom had fallen in the bathroom and hit her head on the toilet.

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And wow, how fortunate she was.

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So, you know, there’s tons of stories of falls like this and more.

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It’s something that’s falls are the top.

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It may not be the top, but they’re near the top of causes of injuries in the elderly and aging.

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I think they say you should really start looking for falls and paying attention

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to things around 65, north of 65 or so.

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Two or three people I know all have similar experiences and can talk firsthand to that.

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And so, you know, and it makes sense, like the statistics we’ll talk about here

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in a minute, makes sense because the population is aging overall.

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And I don’t think it’s just here in the U.S., but worldwide,

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the population in general is aging.

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And so, you know, falls are the.

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Number one, or close to being the top cause of injuries for the aging and the

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elderly, you know, it stands to reason.

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But, you know, after hearing these stories from my friends, I went out and did

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a tiny bit of research and came across the CDC.

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I found the CDC’s information indirectly through another source.

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But I thought these stats were interesting. And you can go and look at the CDC’s

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website and see these for yourself.

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But over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury,

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and these are mostly due to head and hip, head injury or hip fracture.

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And to talk about hip fractures specifically, every year at least 300,000 older

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people are hospitalized for hip fractures.

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And generally, hip fractures occur when they fall over onto their sides,

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as you might kind of expect.

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But you can experience leg fractures like my friend’s mom did.

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Arm fractures, wrist fractures, ankle fractures, and hip fractures.

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And so hip and head are really big issues to deal with with falls.

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But I also thought that this was interesting. So the CDC says between the years

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of 2007 and 2016 that fall death rates have increased by 30%. Wow.

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Between 2007 and 2016, fall death rates in the U.S.

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Has increased by 30%.

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And again, you know, you kind of expect that if the population’s aging,

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this is what’s to come, right? This is what we’re going to be faced with.

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But anyway, they say that if the rates continue on the trend,

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which they have been for those years,

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not even a 10-year span, that that means by the year 2030, there could be seven

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fall deaths every hour in the U.S.

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Seven fall deaths every hour by the year 2030.

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And again, it kind of makes sense, but wow, those statistics are scary.

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And the one fact, supposedly fact, that I learned that I didn’t realize is they

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say that after your first fall, your chances of falling again double.

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Let me say that again. After your first fall, and again, they’re monitoring,

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you know, people 65 and above.

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After your first fall, your chances of falling double.

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So you know falling for the

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aging elderly group is a serious issue

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and is the cause of a lot of hospitalization and injury

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and so you know going

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back to what happened to my friend’s mom you know

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you can’t just depend on equipment and gear to prevent

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falls yes you would think it would be less

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likely like for example if you’re using a walker to

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get around you would think that

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that would help stabilize and support you and maybe

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more times than not it does but in her

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case she fell with a walker and still

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with a walker managed to fracture her leg so you know the point there being

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is you just can’t buy some equipment and expect that to fix things for my friend’s

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mom it happened between the bathroom and master bedroom and i i don’t know that

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i would label that as a transition space,

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but a lot of times falls do occur in what they refer to as transition spaces.

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So examples of transition space might be getting out of the shower or bathtub.

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You know, if they’re getting out of the shower or that bathtub or the floor

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can be slippery, they’ve got to get out and get to their walker or get back into their wheelchair.

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Getting on or off the toilet is a transition space.

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As I just mentioned, getting in and out of a wheelchair, considered a transition

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space, as is getting in and out of bed.

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So those are places, the shower, the wheelchair, the bed, the toilet,

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those are examples of transition spaces where we really want to do some extra

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work to reduce the opportunities for falls to occur.

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So for example, For example, a couple of my buddies wound up having to put railing

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in, and that’s fairly common, right?

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So one buddy, he put in railing in their house because he elected to take care

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of his mother in-house and in her home with her husband.

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So they wound up installing railing in the shower and around the toilet in their house.

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My other buddy installed railing, but it was in an independent care home that

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he had moved his parents into, but he knew that they needed the support to help

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hold themselves up and to help reduce the chances of falls.

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But he made a really good point that independent care,

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and we’ll talk a little bit about the different options there are,

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but independent care does not necessarily have all those safety amenities in

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place, and you may wind up having to put them in place yourself.

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So he put railing with suction cups up in the shower and around the toilet in

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the first independent care facility they lived in.

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Another thing that you want to look for is reducing.

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And look, you can go out there on search on the interwebs for things you should

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do or change in all the major rooms in the house.

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I’m just covering a few here that I think are key. but putting

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up railings one my buddy had to widen the

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doors in his home in their house for his

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mom to get through in the wheelchair so that may be a very real possibility

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now obviously you can’t cut up an independent or assisted living care homes

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doors but at home when you’re living there certainly an option and most likely

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a have to especially if you have a loved one in a wheelchair or even in a walker.

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You know, it’s hard to squeeze through standard size doors sometimes,

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especially if you’re in a wheelchair.

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The other thing my buddy did for his dad when his dad became ill and he also

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wound up staying home with him in his last days is moving things close to them.

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So, you know, it’s easier for them to reach out and get it, et cetera.

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But relative to falls, The other thing to consider, which I don’t know that

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a lot of people think about, I certainly didn’t, is shoes and socks.

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It’s really important to have proper fitting and comfortable socks and more

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important to have a good fit, comfortable, sturdy suit.

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You know, supportive pair of shoes as we get older.

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A lot of people don’t think about shoes because they’re like,

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well, I’ve already got shoes or I’ve got these really great looking,

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comfortable shoes from the 60s or something like that.

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The reality of it is, is that over time and the shoes break in and wear out,

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they lose their fit, their proper fit.

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They may be super comfortable because you’ve spent so much time in them wearing

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them around, walking or running around them.

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But the reality of it is they can wear out fit wise and

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they can lose their strength and stability support their

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support capabilities as well so shoes is

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something you definitely want to go through and look to probably buy some new

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and i won’t go into all the different shoes that are out there there’s lots

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of recommendations and reviews online if you can imagine as you can imagine

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but what i will tell you is when you’re looking at new shoes fit and comfort’s

00:16:50.085 –> 00:16:53.525
up there but so is stability and sturdiness, right?

00:16:53.645 –> 00:16:57.965
A well-built pair of shoes that support you properly because a good pair of

00:16:57.965 –> 00:17:03.805
shoes and a good pair of shoes that fits properly really can help with balance and stabilization.

00:17:04.785 –> 00:17:08.045
The other things that you want to look for is a non-skid.

00:17:09.133 –> 00:17:12.853
A non-skid sole, ideally, so you don’t slip and slide.

00:17:13.093 –> 00:17:18.353
And the last item is that you want to find a low to no-heel shoe.

00:17:18.593 –> 00:17:23.393
Obviously, the higher your heels jacked up in the air, the potential for loss

00:17:23.393 –> 00:17:25.733
of balance or loss of stability increases.

00:17:25.733 –> 00:17:31.813
So something with a low or no heel is ideal. But that fit to help with the balance

00:17:31.813 –> 00:17:37.553
and stability is really key and can help really make an impact on lessening

00:17:37.553 –> 00:17:39.793
the opportunities for falls to occur.

00:17:40.233 –> 00:17:44.453
I also want to mention, and I know I said that you could go out on the interwebs

00:17:44.453 –> 00:17:51.513
and learn all types of things you should look to do or consider doing in the main rooms in the house,

00:17:51.513 –> 00:17:56.773
but one of the things I did want to mention here is trip hazards and being sure

00:17:56.773 –> 00:18:00.753
that the floor is free of objects that might cause trips.

00:18:00.753 –> 00:18:05.693
For example, children’s toys being left around the floor is not good for anyone,

00:18:05.893 –> 00:18:10.253
especially those getting on up in age where fall is more of a concern.

00:18:10.453 –> 00:18:15.193
So keeping the floor clear of children’s toys by that same standard dog toys

00:18:15.193 –> 00:18:18.773
being out, you know, a lot of these things that are around us all the time,

00:18:18.893 –> 00:18:22.093
we don’t really think about, you know, because we don’t see them anymore.

00:18:22.093 –> 00:18:25.833
But when it comes to helping alleviate the potential for falls,

00:18:26.153 –> 00:18:29.393
you know, getting some of these trip hazards out of the way is key.

00:18:29.393 –> 00:18:34.453
And so, you know, maybe things like step stools that are left out in the floor

00:18:34.453 –> 00:18:40.333
or making sure the Ottomans push back in, whatever it is to help cut down on

00:18:40.333 –> 00:18:42.253
the chances for there to be a trip and fall.

00:18:42.433 –> 00:18:45.813
And, you know, a lot of folks probably aren’t going to like this,

00:18:45.853 –> 00:18:50.633
but you may need to consider picking up sections of carpets or rugs, too,

00:18:50.693 –> 00:18:55.113
because we all know how easy it is to get a toe caught under the edge of a rug

00:18:55.113 –> 00:18:57.553
and potentially take a stumble.

00:18:57.553 –> 00:19:02.133
So those are just some thoughts there on eliminating trip hazards.

00:19:02.453 –> 00:19:08.313
The last thing that I want to talk about, which a lot of people don’t want to do, is exercise.

00:19:08.833 –> 00:19:11.893
There’s a lot of things we can do for ourselves as we age.

00:19:12.851 –> 00:19:18.551
And one of those things is exercise. It’s no less important than a good nutrition and good sleep.

00:19:18.851 –> 00:19:23.591
Exercise is so key. And for those that are getting up there in ages or those

00:19:23.591 –> 00:19:27.391
that are elderly and not moving like they once did,

00:19:27.591 –> 00:19:32.831
it’s important we still try to have them do exercises or that they see the importance

00:19:32.831 –> 00:19:35.051
of that and take that initiative on themselves.

00:19:35.511 –> 00:19:38.531
And we can focus on balance and stability.

00:19:38.531 –> 00:19:43.091
You know, so oftentimes, even if we had a lifestyle of working out and going

00:19:43.091 –> 00:19:47.411
to the gym, you know, sometimes we haven’t spent as much time on our balance

00:19:47.411 –> 00:19:51.031
and stability muscles, stabilizing muscles as we maybe should have.

00:19:51.031 –> 00:19:56.131
You know, guys are infamous for going to the gym and being willing and capable

00:19:56.131 –> 00:20:00.171
of slinging around a lot of weight, but they neglect or skip over,

00:20:00.351 –> 00:20:04.711
ignore some of those foundational core, dare I say, core pieces,

00:20:05.131 –> 00:20:08.211
core included, that help with balance and stability.

00:20:08.211 –> 00:20:11.111
And the stronger you make those muscles when you’re younger.

00:20:11.711 –> 00:20:15.551
You’re better set up for the future and reducing those falls.

00:20:15.551 –> 00:20:21.511
So having your aging loved ones or people that you know that are hitting those

00:20:21.511 –> 00:20:26.271
times in their life do some exercises for balance is really a great idea.

00:20:26.431 –> 00:20:32.251
And so one example, and, you know, it’s great because there’s progression and regression available.

00:20:32.251 –> 00:20:35.911
So, you know, if someone’s just starting out and maybe doesn’t have a history

00:20:35.911 –> 00:20:40.031
of being healthy or isn’t super strong, you can grab a chair, perfect,

00:20:40.291 –> 00:20:45.931
obviously not one with wheels or casters, but one with four legs that the individual

00:20:45.931 –> 00:20:50.111
can grab with ideally one hand, two if they absolutely have to,

00:20:50.291 –> 00:20:53.371
but ideally one hand, and then all they do is…

00:20:54.144 –> 00:20:57.124
Alternate alternate between lifting one

00:20:57.124 –> 00:21:00.004
foot off the ground and standing there for a minute or two

00:21:00.004 –> 00:21:03.064
and then switching with the other and the idea is

00:21:03.064 –> 00:21:06.544
to start working on those stabilization muscles and

00:21:06.544 –> 00:21:11.364
get them better able to balance on their own and the only way to do that is

00:21:11.364 –> 00:21:15.224
to strengthen those muscles directly responsible for helping with stabilization

00:21:15.224 –> 00:21:19.424
and balance and then you know if you progress over time you’re doing good you

00:21:19.424 –> 00:21:23.364
got your times up with the chair stop holding on to the chair,

00:21:23.564 –> 00:21:27.884
just lift one leg up off the ground and stand there and then the other,

00:21:28.064 –> 00:21:30.904
and then increase the time you do that over time.

00:21:31.484 –> 00:21:37.744
And so that’s just one example that, again, allows for progression and regression of the exercise.

00:21:37.744 –> 00:21:42.404
But those are the sorts of things that we need to be thinking about as we get

00:21:42.404 –> 00:21:46.624
up in age and something that you need to be helping your loved ones or have

00:21:46.624 –> 00:21:48.644
the opportunity to help your loved ones with.

00:21:48.824 –> 00:21:52.984
And as a buddy of mine pointed out, you know, Exercise isn’t fun for everybody,

00:21:53.124 –> 00:21:54.504
myself included sometimes.

00:21:55.824 –> 00:22:00.944
And so getting them motivated, getting them disciplined to think about both

00:22:00.944 –> 00:22:03.704
their short-term gain and their long-term benefit,

00:22:04.544 –> 00:22:09.544
sometimes hiring a physical therapist or an occupational therapist and having

00:22:09.544 –> 00:22:15.004
them come in and, quote-unquote, forcing them to do these things that they may

00:22:15.004 –> 00:22:16.544
not otherwise do for themselves.

00:22:16.544 –> 00:22:20.624
You know, sometimes like businesses, you know, sometimes a business will pay

00:22:20.624 –> 00:22:24.464
more attention and listen to a consultant that they’ve paid to have come in

00:22:24.464 –> 00:22:28.684
versus their own employees that are paid to do what they do. Right.

00:22:28.964 –> 00:22:32.764
It’s no different with a family situation. You know, sometimes.

00:22:34.250 –> 00:22:38.390
People have a tendency to listen to someone that’s outside their normal fold

00:22:38.390 –> 00:22:41.670
better than they do people in their family or friends.

00:22:41.910 –> 00:22:47.670
I don’t know why that is, but having a paying for whatever,

00:22:47.670 –> 00:22:53.610
a physical therapist or an occupational health therapist can really help drive

00:22:53.610 –> 00:22:58.310
your parents or drive those in your life that you’re looking after to do things

00:22:58.310 –> 00:23:03.350
they wouldn’t otherwise do or do things that you yourself have encouraged or

00:23:03.350 –> 00:23:06.850
asked or begged them to do. So that’s just some food for thought.

00:23:07.410 –> 00:23:12.550
You know, one of the things we have to deal with as we get up in age is likely is medication, right?

00:23:12.890 –> 00:23:16.730
Prescriptions, a million pills a day. And, you know, when you’re taking care

00:23:16.730 –> 00:23:19.590
of someone, how do you ensure they’re taking what they’re supposed to?

00:23:19.790 –> 00:23:24.830
How do you ensure they’re taking it on time? They’re not mixing it with things they can’t.

00:23:25.050 –> 00:23:29.930
So just some tips my friends kind of gave me on the subject of prescriptions,

00:23:30.490 –> 00:23:35.570
one of my buddies actually lays out his parents’ pills in the little weekly,

00:23:36.090 –> 00:23:39.870
daily little boxes with the flip tops that’s got the letter of the day of the

00:23:39.870 –> 00:23:41.630
week on them. He lays all of that out.

00:23:41.850 –> 00:23:46.250
And then he actually uses technology to help his parents remember when to take

00:23:46.250 –> 00:23:51.430
their medication. He uses, not to name drop here, but he uses Amazon Alexa.

00:23:51.870 –> 00:23:57.890
And he’ll have Alexa come on and mention one of his parents’ names and say,

00:23:57.970 –> 00:23:59.670
hey, it’s time to take medication.

00:23:59.970 –> 00:24:04.310
And that helps remind them when they need to be taking it. Of course,

00:24:04.390 –> 00:24:07.030
they still skip and still forget from time to time.

00:24:07.190 –> 00:24:11.490
But, you know, with my buddy not being there all the time, that’s his way of

00:24:11.490 –> 00:24:17.030
trying to do his best to ensure his parents are doing what they can when it comes to medication.

00:24:17.650 –> 00:24:22.590
Another point that was made by another buddy of mine, which I thought was fantastic,

00:24:22.950 –> 00:24:26.970
is that when you have friends and family visit with your ailing partner.

00:24:27.615 –> 00:24:30.255
Person in your life or the person you’re trying to take care of.

00:24:31.035 –> 00:24:33.855
You know, one of the things you want to be sure that they don’t do when they

00:24:33.855 –> 00:24:37.855
come over to visit, whether it’s in a home or at the person’s home,

00:24:37.995 –> 00:24:41.315
is you don’t want them giving them medication,

00:24:41.675 –> 00:24:46.295
meds that seem harmless enough, but because they don’t know their prescription

00:24:46.295 –> 00:24:50.475
history and what all they’re taking and what all the interactions could possibly be.

00:24:50.675 –> 00:24:55.135
For example, let’s say they had some friends and family come to visit and the

00:24:55.135 –> 00:25:00.475
person in question indicates they have a really bad headache or something’s wrong with them, right?

00:25:00.675 –> 00:25:05.595
And the friend or family goes to offer them ibuprofen or whatever it is, right?

00:25:05.795 –> 00:25:10.995
They may not want to do that because they don’t know, we don’t know how ibuprofen

00:25:10.995 –> 00:25:16.675
interacts or could interact in a negative fashion with all the prescriptions they’re already on.

00:25:16.935 –> 00:25:20.595
So, you know, it’s important that you set those boundaries with visitors,

00:25:20.635 –> 00:25:24.935
essentially, at the end of the day. And that holds true for their dietary considerations,

00:25:25.195 –> 00:25:27.015
their nutrition considerations, too.

00:25:27.175 –> 00:25:30.615
You know, we all know it’s hard to eat what we’re supposed to,

00:25:30.775 –> 00:25:35.915
especially if you feel like you’ve been denied, you know, your sweet tooth or

00:25:35.915 –> 00:25:37.735
whatever for an extended period of time.

00:25:37.975 –> 00:25:43.255
They may ask friends and family members to sneak in something.

00:25:43.255 –> 00:25:48.195
And it’s important that you have these conversations. So you’re mitigating the,

00:25:48.235 –> 00:25:51.055
you know, the chances of something being.

00:25:51.455 –> 00:25:55.375
You know, whether it’s a bad prescription interaction, you know,

00:25:55.475 –> 00:26:01.955
a medication issue or a nutrition issue, you or whoever the caregiver is,

00:26:02.015 –> 00:26:05.815
is making sure they’re staying on top of these things as best as they can.

00:26:05.935 –> 00:26:09.895
And that means having conversations with family and friends and visitors that come in.

00:26:10.455 –> 00:26:13.375
So I want to talk about security in the home.

00:26:13.535 –> 00:26:17.635
And if you haven’t been listening to us before, we have a podcast on security

00:26:17.635 –> 00:26:21.275
in and around the house that I highly recommend you go listen to.

00:26:22.358 –> 00:26:26.378
So I’m not going to talk about all of those aspects, but if you have a family

00:26:26.378 –> 00:26:30.998
member or a loved one, whoever it is that you’re looking to take care of or

00:26:30.998 –> 00:26:33.738
have taken care of, if they’re still home,

00:26:33.938 –> 00:26:38.038
living in their original home, they need to be following some of these security

00:26:38.038 –> 00:26:41.518
pieces of advice and procedures that we have.

00:26:41.518 –> 00:26:45.098
They need to make sure their mail and newspapers are brought in.

00:26:45.238 –> 00:26:47.718
They need to have their yard cared for.

00:26:47.978 –> 00:26:52.598
So doing those things makes the house look occupied and like someone’s active

00:26:52.598 –> 00:26:58.138
and, you know, keeping up with the place. There needs to be good interior and

00:26:58.138 –> 00:27:02.218
especially exterior lighting, like we’ve talked about motion or heat sensing.

00:27:02.618 –> 00:27:06.898
Flood lamps over the driveway and garage, just as one example.

00:27:06.898 –> 00:27:10.058
Maybe a motion detection light in

00:27:10.058 –> 00:27:13.158
the carport if they have family members still living

00:27:13.158 –> 00:27:17.298
with a house with a carport you know those basic sorts of things three inch

00:27:17.298 –> 00:27:23.578
screws in the door facing a security system if they don’t have one perhaps lamps

00:27:23.578 –> 00:27:27.638
on timers in the house which you can do through smart homes that are relatively

00:27:27.638 –> 00:27:30.758
inexpensive and easy to set up these days You know,

00:27:30.918 –> 00:27:37.378
all these sorts of typical things we do for our house, we still want to ensure

00:27:37.378 –> 00:27:42.218
that these people that we’re taking care of or looking to take care of have done for themselves.

00:27:42.218 –> 00:27:46.378
And if not, we probably want to spend a little bit of time and money taking

00:27:46.378 –> 00:27:51.698
care of those things for them. And once you move into independent or assisted

00:27:51.698 –> 00:27:56.558
living or hospices, then you’re kind of at the mercy of where you live.

00:27:56.918 –> 00:28:00.118
And then it’s just important that you follow safe protocols.

00:28:00.398 –> 00:28:04.838
They follow safe protocols for themselves. So there’s likely going to be locks on the doors.

00:28:05.098 –> 00:28:10.218
There may or may not be security systems in place. There may even be call buttons

00:28:10.218 –> 00:28:14.218
to get the nurse to come in assisted living as one example. You know,

00:28:14.338 –> 00:28:18.918
typically you’ll see those near the bed or near where a bed would be in the bedroom.

00:28:19.298 –> 00:28:24.838
You know, those sorts of things are more of the physical property aspects are

00:28:24.838 –> 00:28:27.078
generally going to be addressed in a home,

00:28:27.378 –> 00:28:31.878
whether it’s being, you know, the front door being locked, except when you buzz

00:28:31.878 –> 00:28:34.498
yourself in or have a security code, those sorts of things.

00:28:34.838 –> 00:28:39.658
There are still some things that they can do for themselves to ensure their safety as best they can.

00:28:40.552 –> 00:28:45.192
Paying attention to their surroundings, making sure they know who’s at the door

00:28:45.192 –> 00:28:47.412
when they’re knocking, those sorts of things.

00:28:47.572 –> 00:28:51.292
But security is still important whether they’re at home or in a home.

00:28:51.492 –> 00:28:57.212
So just a couple of additional security safety issues that are near and dear

00:28:57.212 –> 00:29:02.412
to my heart is making sure your parents or your loved ones that are getting

00:29:02.412 –> 00:29:06.612
up in age understand the importance of keeping their doors and windows locked.

00:29:06.612 –> 00:29:10.032
It’s really a best idea to make

00:29:10.032 –> 00:29:13.312
sure they understand the importance of that and and

00:29:13.312 –> 00:29:16.112
to you know kind of go along behind them when you

00:29:16.112 –> 00:29:20.312
feel like when you’re around and when you feel like you should go around and

00:29:20.312 –> 00:29:24.692
make sure those windows locked and and remind them give them those general reminders

00:29:24.692 –> 00:29:28.552
that they need to keep their doors locked even when they’re in a home somewhere

00:29:28.552 –> 00:29:34.792
assisted living or retirement home keeping doors and windows locked is always the best policy.

00:29:35.452 –> 00:29:39.832
Another item which may or may not apply, but just wanted to point it out here,

00:29:39.992 –> 00:29:43.132
is this is a good time to consider gun ownership.

00:29:43.472 –> 00:29:47.732
And if you’ve got someone that’s really up there in age,

00:29:48.032 –> 00:29:51.172
you know, you have to make the decision possibly for them,

00:29:51.312 –> 00:29:55.252
is it really a good idea for them to have a gun around anymore,

00:29:55.252 –> 00:30:00.172
you know, or is the likelihood of them getting hurt or injuring themselves trying

00:30:00.172 –> 00:30:03.172
to, you know, protect the home or whatever,

00:30:03.452 –> 00:30:07.592
greater than the actual reality of them being able to defend themselves.

00:30:08.072 –> 00:30:12.692
So certainly, like any other time, it’s a good time to make sure that any firearms

00:30:12.692 –> 00:30:16.052
that are around are locked away and secured properly.

00:30:16.412 –> 00:30:20.172
And then, you know, you may even have to make the decision at some point whether

00:30:20.172 –> 00:30:24.692
or not you remove them from the premises, or maybe in the case of moving into

00:30:24.692 –> 00:30:30.152
a home, maybe that’s policy and you’ve got to anyway. but certainly something to consider there.

00:30:31.100 –> 00:30:35.040
So one of the things that I want to touch upon, and it’s not a pleasant topic

00:30:35.040 –> 00:30:39.400
at all, it’s nothing that any of us want to have to deal with or think about

00:30:39.400 –> 00:30:42.820
or can conceive that could happen to our elderly.

00:30:43.000 –> 00:30:46.140
You know, it’s much like infants and small children.

00:30:46.580 –> 00:30:52.360
The elderly are in a similar category in my mind, and they need our care and

00:30:52.360 –> 00:30:53.840
they need to be provided for.

00:30:53.840 –> 00:30:58.900
And just the fact that people could abuse that group of people,

00:30:59.200 –> 00:31:03.840
like I said, similar to children, is beyond me, and it’s something that I take very seriously.

00:31:04.060 –> 00:31:09.220
But, you know, when we have those that we’re looking after that are getting on up there in age,

00:31:09.440 –> 00:31:14.120
if we have to put them in a home and take them away from their home,

00:31:14.340 –> 00:31:21.020
there are some things that we’re responsible for making sure are in line and

00:31:21.020 –> 00:31:22.880
not out of order, if you know what I mean.

00:31:22.880 –> 00:31:28.140
And so, you know, there’s some unpleasant terminology that might come into play

00:31:28.140 –> 00:31:32.880
if your loved ones or the people that you’re charged with taking care of,

00:31:33.020 –> 00:31:34.640
either directly or indirectly,

00:31:35.020 –> 00:31:39.460
are moved into some sort of home, whether it’s a retirement home,

00:31:39.700 –> 00:31:41.440
assisted living, hospice, whatever.

00:31:41.440 –> 00:31:45.800
Here’s some unpleasant terms that may come about.

00:31:46.560 –> 00:31:57.180
Exploitation, abuse, neglect, infliction of pain, cruelty, threaten, or intimidation.

00:31:57.500 –> 00:32:02.080
It’s horrible to have to think about things like that. But, you know,

00:32:02.240 –> 00:32:09.280
in ensuring those that we’re looking after is safety, we need to be aware of

00:32:09.280 –> 00:32:11.340
what some of those things may look like.

00:32:11.480 –> 00:32:15.680
And, you know, it’s not necessarily the caregiver. It could be family members, too.

00:32:15.680 –> 00:32:23.360
I just read a story recently about the family caregivers were yelling and beating

00:32:23.360 –> 00:32:28.560
their father for not turning over what little bit of paycheck he gets from the

00:32:28.560 –> 00:32:30.260
government or whatever else to them.

00:32:31.217 –> 00:32:37.457
There are some, I won’t say telltale signs, but there are some things that should get your attention.

00:32:37.817 –> 00:32:42.177
It could be something as simple as untrimmed toenails or fingernails,

00:32:42.417 –> 00:32:47.537
dirty toenails or fingernails, soiled clothing where it’s apparent that either

00:32:47.537 –> 00:32:52.477
they haven’t been changed or haven’t been taken to the bathroom like they should have.

00:32:52.777 –> 00:32:59.997
It could be bed sores. bed sores are a good sign that you aren’t moving around

00:32:59.997 –> 00:33:02.297
much and haven’t been turned over much.

00:33:02.517 –> 00:33:04.697
You know, there’s some things like that. And then, like I said,

00:33:04.797 –> 00:33:10.857
there’s some, you know, non-physical circumstances and situations that may come about.

00:33:10.977 –> 00:33:16.257
Like I said, the example I read recently of the paycheck incident and,

00:33:16.417 –> 00:33:18.977
you know, finances can be a sore spot for anyone.

00:33:19.357 –> 00:33:26.097
So just know it’s the horrible side of having those that you’re looking in on

00:33:26.097 –> 00:33:31.057
taken care of and not necessarily at home or taken care of by you.

00:33:31.117 –> 00:33:35.577
And it’s just part of the rigor that you have to make sure that they’re being

00:33:35.577 –> 00:33:39.037
taken care of and that they are as safe as possible.

00:33:39.977 –> 00:33:44.037
So I wanted to touch upon that as unpleasant as it is.

00:33:44.537 –> 00:33:50.897
So if you suspect that there’s abuse of any type going on when it comes to someone that’s elderly.

00:33:51.297 –> 00:33:56.437
There’s a few places that you have to turn, and it doesn’t even necessarily

00:33:56.437 –> 00:33:58.777
have to be when they’re in a home, right?

00:33:59.117 –> 00:34:04.557
But just a few resources, and all of these are going to be at your state or local level.

00:34:04.757 –> 00:34:09.997
But as I mentioned earlier, the Adult Protective Services, Georgia has that

00:34:09.997 –> 00:34:14.597
at the state level, as well as the health care facility regulation.

00:34:14.597 –> 00:34:20.437
So if you suspect abuse, neglect, exploitation, whatever it is,

00:34:20.597 –> 00:34:25.217
any number of those nasty words we talked about earlier, you have the adult

00:34:25.217 –> 00:34:28.237
protective services and the health care facility regulation.

00:34:28.917 –> 00:34:32.757
And that’s generally, I think, at the state level. But worst comes to worst,

00:34:32.857 –> 00:34:34.717
you can also call your local police.

00:34:34.957 –> 00:34:39.697
Again, 911 should be reserved for true life-threatening emergencies.

00:34:39.697 –> 00:34:43.817
But all local police have a normal number that you can call,

00:34:43.977 –> 00:34:47.437
and you totally should. If you’re suspicious of abuse of any sort,

00:34:47.657 –> 00:34:50.997
those three resources are there for you so you’re not alone.

00:34:51.832 –> 00:34:55.812
You know, a lot of these things we’re talking about in context of perhaps still

00:34:55.812 –> 00:35:01.712
being in their home versus in a home, being moved to a home.

00:35:01.852 –> 00:35:06.792
The difference being is one’s the home that they’ve lived in for however long

00:35:06.792 –> 00:35:11.452
they have, and maybe they don’t want to go. Maybe it’s a financial issue.

00:35:11.652 –> 00:35:15.192
Maybe they’re just attached to the home and they see themselves living out their

00:35:15.192 –> 00:35:17.112
days in their home, and that’s fine.

00:35:17.112 –> 00:35:20.392
You just have to be prepared to support and take care of them there.

00:35:20.392 –> 00:35:23.252
So there’s some options around that You know, one is

00:35:23.252 –> 00:35:26.832
staying in their home And then having caregivers come

00:35:26.832 –> 00:35:30.212
as needed My buddy had social workers

00:35:30.212 –> 00:35:33.532
and nurses In and out of the house all the time When he was taking care of his

00:35:33.532 –> 00:35:40.592
mom and dad And had an in-home nurse Take care of the dialysis for his mom There

00:35:40.592 –> 00:35:44.492
towards the end So there’s going to be a lot of foot traffic In and out of there

00:35:44.492 –> 00:35:48.232
Those are the sorts of things You want to be prepared for But them staying in

00:35:48.232 –> 00:35:49.492
their own home is an option.

00:35:50.052 –> 00:35:53.132
You moving in with them at their home is an option.

00:35:53.432 –> 00:35:57.312
Having them move in with you is an option. But, you know, as one of my friends

00:35:57.312 –> 00:36:03.032
pointed out, as great as that is to be close and present and involved,

00:36:03.412 –> 00:36:05.552
you know, it’s a big stress potentially.

00:36:05.552 –> 00:36:10.212
If you still have a full-time job, you’re a working family, your house isn’t

00:36:10.212 –> 00:36:13.132
outfitted to support the disabled, for example.

00:36:13.332 –> 00:36:16.652
Your doors aren’t widened. You don’t have railing everywhere.

00:36:16.652 –> 00:36:20.932
You haven’t built any ramps out front of the stairs. There’s a lot of considerations

00:36:20.932 –> 00:36:27.272
to have and make, decisions to make if you decide to have an elderly person

00:36:27.272 –> 00:36:28.752
move in with you in your home.

00:36:28.972 –> 00:36:32.652
There’s also the independent living option or the retirement home,

00:36:32.752 –> 00:36:36.952
the typical retirement home where they’re there to live their life.

00:36:36.952 –> 00:36:41.672
They’ve just decided to downsize or be closer with people.

00:36:41.672 –> 00:36:44.712
So if something does happen, they’re right there. Of course,

00:36:44.792 –> 00:36:48.332
there’s the assisted living option, which means you’ve got people coming in

00:36:48.332 –> 00:36:51.632
of different sorts, taking care of you and looking in after you for different

00:36:51.632 –> 00:36:54.072
reasons at different times throughout the day and night.

00:36:54.759 –> 00:36:59.899
There’s hospice care, which we know is when treatment just isn’t viable anymore

00:36:59.899 –> 00:37:04.559
and it’s going to be towards the end of time for those individuals.

00:37:04.999 –> 00:37:08.279
And then there’s palliative care where treatment is still an option,

00:37:08.279 –> 00:37:14.019
but they’re needing to have pain managed or physical therapy while they’re going

00:37:14.019 –> 00:37:15.439
through the rest of their treatment.

00:37:15.439 –> 00:37:23.179
There’s all sorts of options in these situations, and your circumstances may

00:37:23.179 –> 00:37:27.339
change based on what you choose and what’s right for those you’re looking after.

00:37:27.819 –> 00:37:32.839
Let’s talk about scams and fraud. Scams and fraud does not discriminate.

00:37:33.579 –> 00:37:36.839
You know a lot of things they say the elderly

00:37:36.839 –> 00:37:40.459
need to be concerned with at the end of the day we all need to be concerned

00:37:40.459 –> 00:37:45.039
with them but potentially as we get older you know not everybody that’s older

00:37:45.039 –> 00:37:50.179
is technology savvy my parents for example have no problem getting on a computer

00:37:50.179 –> 00:37:54.319
a tablet or smartphone but a lot of a lot of folks aren’t that comfortable.

00:37:55.079 –> 00:37:59.879
And and whether they’re technology savvy you actively using technology or not

00:37:59.879 –> 00:38:04.419
they need to be aware of some scams going on out there.

00:38:04.699 –> 00:38:11.799
So anything that involves wiring of money, you need to be investigating and making sure it’s legit.

00:38:12.059 –> 00:38:16.319
Anytime they’re asked to wire money or anytime they think that wiring money

00:38:16.319 –> 00:38:18.119
is an option, they really need to be careful.

00:38:18.639 –> 00:38:20.899
And that’s IRS imposters.

00:38:21.459 –> 00:38:27.659
You could get a false story of an arrested relative that’s in jail and they

00:38:27.659 –> 00:38:30.479
need money immediately for their bail or whatever it is.

00:38:31.099 –> 00:38:35.539
Sweepstakes is another one where you’re told that you’ve won a sweepstake,

00:38:35.679 –> 00:38:41.119
but you got to pay some sort of money to get your award. That’s completely bogus.

00:38:41.259 –> 00:38:42.799
You either won money or you didn’t.

00:38:43.359 –> 00:38:47.559
And then the last one, well, it’s not last one. This is just a few of the top

00:38:47.559 –> 00:38:51.859
ones that you deal with when it comes to potentially wiring money is tech support.

00:38:52.039 –> 00:38:56.439
Let’s say you happen to be on your computer and you get some email or text saying,

00:38:56.599 –> 00:39:00.919
hey, we noticed something’s out of date on your machine or likely out of date

00:39:00.919 –> 00:39:03.499
or we’ve detected a problem with your computer.

00:39:03.819 –> 00:39:09.119
You need to send us money so we’ll fix it. Otherwise, whatever. And so anytime…

00:39:10.189 –> 00:39:14.369
People that you’re caring for have been asked to wire money or they’re thinking

00:39:14.369 –> 00:39:18.269
that wiring money is the fastest, easiest way to do it, you probably want to

00:39:18.269 –> 00:39:20.389
get involved and check them out.

00:39:20.569 –> 00:39:27.229
Some other scams to look for have to do probably more with being still being in their home.

00:39:27.629 –> 00:39:31.529
Being in a home, you typically would not have to worry about these,

00:39:31.669 –> 00:39:36.529
but there’s some groups out there looking for, you know, offering bogus car

00:39:36.529 –> 00:39:41.409
repairs out in the parking lots or whatever it is, paving, you know,

00:39:41.889 –> 00:39:45.389
doing some kind of paving deal in your driveway,

00:39:46.089 –> 00:39:48.349
tree removal and roof repair.

00:39:49.089 –> 00:39:53.169
Not saying that scams are always going on with those four areas,

00:39:53.169 –> 00:39:58.889
but there are groups, gypsy groups and like, that go around and,

00:39:59.049 –> 00:40:03.069
you know, unfortunately, the elderly is a group that is preyed upon.

00:40:03.429 –> 00:40:05.329
So these are just some things to look for.

00:40:05.869 –> 00:40:10.989
And last but not least, you know, and I’m just going to say this as a sidebar

00:40:10.989 –> 00:40:15.589
note, if you don’t have a living will or if the people that you’re looking in

00:40:15.589 –> 00:40:20.689
on and taking care of don’t have a living will or a will, I highly recommend that.

00:40:20.829 –> 00:40:25.329
It’s about peace of mind and it’s about making sure their wishes are carried

00:40:25.329 –> 00:40:29.569
out and it’s about making sure that their things that they’ve worked hard for,

00:40:29.709 –> 00:40:34.749
including their money, isn’t tied up somewhere in probate indefinitely.

00:40:35.229 –> 00:40:36.809
But the other thing that.

00:40:37.411 –> 00:40:41.331
You may have to deal with that there’s the opportunity for fraud,

00:40:41.331 –> 00:40:46.751
both from, you know, the entities that set up the power of attorney as well

00:40:46.751 –> 00:40:49.171
as even family members you can have issues with.

00:40:49.331 –> 00:40:54.111
I’m amazed over time how often I hear about family members squabbling over the

00:40:54.111 –> 00:40:58.471
final decisions made in the will or even the living will.

00:40:58.631 –> 00:41:02.191
But the power of attorney can be important for some folks.

00:41:02.191 –> 00:41:08.131
And what the power of attorney is, it’s a document that assigns either one person

00:41:08.131 –> 00:41:14.191
or a group or an entity the ability, and they call that once they get assigned,

00:41:14.471 –> 00:41:18.871
once the individual or a group is assigned, they’re called an agent.

00:41:18.871 –> 00:41:23.751
But it’s basically a document establishing who an agent is,

00:41:24.011 –> 00:41:30.751
either an individual or group, that will take care of and make decisions when

00:41:30.751 –> 00:41:35.011
the person in care is no longer capable of making those sorts of decisions.

00:41:35.231 –> 00:41:39.311
And where this really is important is finances, right?

00:41:39.571 –> 00:41:45.451
And so, as you can imagine, there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity for there

00:41:45.451 –> 00:41:47.431
to be fraud around a power of attorney.

00:41:47.431 –> 00:41:52.571
So, you know, one of the biggest pieces of advice that I’ve read about and that

00:41:52.571 –> 00:41:57.531
I could give you here is make sure you have it executed by a third party and

00:41:57.531 –> 00:42:01.091
not just do it yourself or some fly-by-night operation.

00:42:01.711 –> 00:42:05.671
And, you know, if you suspect fraud when it comes to power of attorney or anything

00:42:05.671 –> 00:42:08.311
else, of course, you can always call the police.

00:42:08.311 –> 00:42:12.051
And that’s not a 911 matter, but you can call your local police.

00:42:12.051 –> 00:42:17.831
And there’s also likely at your state level, you can look to call contact the

00:42:17.831 –> 00:42:19.711
adult protective services.

00:42:20.251 –> 00:42:24.291
So those are two options as if you suspect any kind of fraud at all.

00:42:24.491 –> 00:42:30.391
You know, going back to the scams that you might see either on email, text or phone.

00:42:31.211 –> 00:42:36.591
If I don’t know who it is or if I’m not expecting anything, I don’t answer.

00:42:36.671 –> 00:42:40.551
And that includes my front door, right? That’s just my own personal safety policy.

00:42:40.871 –> 00:42:46.071
If I get emails or texts from entities that I don’t know or I’m not expecting

00:42:46.071 –> 00:42:51.691
or that look funny to me, I don’t click on them or contact them right back or

00:42:51.691 –> 00:42:53.551
respond to them. I delete them.

00:42:54.071 –> 00:42:58.411
If it’s something that I’m questioning that I’m not 100% sure of,

00:42:58.591 –> 00:43:02.991
the best course of action is, one, ignore the original contact.

00:43:03.831 –> 00:43:09.211
And just to reach out directly to the individual or the entity that’s making the request.

00:43:09.431 –> 00:43:15.231
Don’t use the phone numbers or the links that are provided in the emails or texts, for example.

00:43:15.991 –> 00:43:22.331
Hang up, delete it, whatever, and call the entity directly yourself and ask

00:43:22.331 –> 00:43:25.511
them, hey, did you send this by chance? It kind of looked fishy,

00:43:25.511 –> 00:43:27.991
so I wasn’t sure, and I wanted to call to double-check.

00:43:28.797 –> 00:43:33.317
You can avoid a lot of trouble, and your loved ones can avoid a lot of trouble

00:43:33.317 –> 00:43:38.637
if they just impart those philosophies for themselves. You know, two stories.

00:43:38.877 –> 00:43:42.837
One of my buddies, when he was taking care of his parents, he said their mailbox

00:43:42.837 –> 00:43:45.377
just blew up with junk mail.

00:43:45.557 –> 00:43:52.097
And it was basically full of brochures and letters around durable medical equipment.

00:43:52.437 –> 00:43:55.897
And I was like, man, how did you deal with all that? How did you get through all that?

00:43:55.997 –> 00:43:58.457
How did you deal with the volume? And he’s like, well, most of it we didn’t

00:43:58.457 –> 00:44:00.677
have to deal with. We just threw it away.

00:44:00.817 –> 00:44:03.077
But I was like, well, what happens if you were looking for something?

00:44:03.237 –> 00:44:07.577
Did any of those mailings like initiate your interest? And he’s like, yeah.

00:44:08.017 –> 00:44:10.417
But he’s like, we generally went

00:44:10.417 –> 00:44:16.437
by word of mouth and asked our primary physician his opinion on things.

00:44:16.577 –> 00:44:20.797
He’s like, so, you know, it’s not like we took everything that was in the mail

00:44:20.797 –> 00:44:23.437
and acted upon what we thought we should act upon.

00:44:23.437 –> 00:44:26.797
We asked around and getting input

00:44:26.797 –> 00:44:30.177
from the primary physician was a great idea as

00:44:30.177 –> 00:44:34.017
well as any way you can talk to other family members that have had to go through

00:44:34.017 –> 00:44:38.857
similar and what their experiences were and what equipment companies or in-home

00:44:38.857 –> 00:44:43.317
care companies whatever it is that’s probably a better way of sourcing than

00:44:43.317 –> 00:44:48.737
just going through whatever junk mail or junk email that’s being sent your way.

00:44:49.517 –> 00:44:54.617
Another thing my other buddy did is that phone calls and text increased to his

00:44:54.617 –> 00:44:59.177
parents when he got them into the home, or at least they have increased since

00:44:59.177 –> 00:45:00.797
they’ve been put into a home.

00:45:01.697 –> 00:45:05.857
And he said that his stepdad will talk to these guys that call him,

00:45:05.937 –> 00:45:10.797
but the moment that he feels uncomfortable with them or they ask him a question

00:45:10.797 –> 00:45:14.217
that he doesn’t feel comfortable answering over the phone like,

00:45:14.317 –> 00:45:15.617
hey, can you send us a check?

00:45:15.617 –> 00:45:17.957
Or, hey, what’s your social security number?

00:45:18.723 –> 00:45:23.523
My buddy taught his stepdad to say when he feels uncertain to say,

00:45:23.783 –> 00:45:25.583
you’ll have to talk to my son about that.

00:45:25.703 –> 00:45:29.783
And he says that’s dropped more phone calls than he can shake a stick at.

00:45:29.943 –> 00:45:31.223
So that’s always an option.

00:45:31.483 –> 00:45:35.603
So you want to teach the people that you’re looking in on or taking care of

00:45:35.603 –> 00:45:39.823
that, you know, things that they’re not sure of, things that their intuition

00:45:39.823 –> 00:45:42.143
tells them not to get involved with.

00:45:42.283 –> 00:45:45.123
That’s basically the best approach. delete all

00:45:45.123 –> 00:45:48.043
of that stuff and anything you think you need to follow up

00:45:48.043 –> 00:45:51.343
on call those companies or those individual directions

00:45:51.343 –> 00:45:54.143
and say hey i got this through the mail or hey

00:45:54.143 –> 00:45:57.123
i got this text did you send this if not

00:45:57.123 –> 00:46:02.843
i want to let you know this is what’s going on and that’s an easy way to save

00:46:02.843 –> 00:46:07.323
yourself a lot of hassle for sure you know normally i wouldn’t have to talk

00:46:07.323 –> 00:46:11.363
about this at least it wouldn’t i wouldn’t even think for it to pop up into

00:46:11.363 –> 00:46:16.083
my mind as we talk through these things when we’re taking care of those that are aging in our life.

00:46:16.243 –> 00:46:21.423
But, you know, COVID-19 has brought about a couple of things that we wouldn’t

00:46:21.423 –> 00:46:23.583
normally have to talk about.

00:46:23.743 –> 00:46:28.303
But as we’ve heard, and I’m going to assume for the sake of this conversation,

00:46:28.563 –> 00:46:34.543
that it’s true, at least, no matter how severe you think this overall pandemic is,

00:46:34.703 –> 00:46:41.143
I think there is a genuine concern that the elderly stand a greater chance of

00:46:41.143 –> 00:46:46.563
being negatively impacted by this flu-type disease, whatever it is, right?

00:46:46.823 –> 00:46:51.023
And so I would say, just to point out a couple of safety tips here,

00:46:51.223 –> 00:46:57.423
one is do your best, especially if there’s the possibility of you or someone

00:46:57.423 –> 00:47:02.823
you know that has possibly been exposed, do your best to stay away from the

00:47:02.823 –> 00:47:04.703
elderly and the older population.

00:47:04.703 –> 00:47:11.443
They are a high-risk group, and the best thing that you can do is stay away

00:47:11.443 –> 00:47:13.543
from them when you think you’ve.

00:47:14.204 –> 00:47:19.164
Been exposed or when you think the activities that you participate in could

00:47:19.164 –> 00:47:22.504
bring a greater chance of exposure to them.

00:47:22.884 –> 00:47:28.304
And the other side of that coin is to encourage them to do the right things

00:47:28.304 –> 00:47:30.264
and say what you will about mask.

00:47:30.284 –> 00:47:34.404
I have my opinion, but you know, if that means encouraging them to wear their

00:47:34.404 –> 00:47:37.024
mask, if they’re going to leave the house, then do that.

00:47:37.184 –> 00:47:42.184
You can also, like I did with my parents, encourage them to use grocery delivery services.

00:47:42.544 –> 00:47:46.264
And there’s a couple of those out there. You know, you could have meals delivered.

00:47:46.664 –> 00:47:50.684
There’s a couple of large entities doing that, right? There’s all kinds of things

00:47:50.684 –> 00:47:52.744
that we could do with this COVID-19

00:47:52.744 –> 00:47:57.704
that we otherwise would not have to consider or take into account.

00:47:57.704 –> 00:48:03.384
But I think it’s worth mentioning, especially now and especially in the spirit

00:48:03.384 –> 00:48:05.444
of safety of the elderly and the aging, right?

00:48:06.704 –> 00:48:10.544
With that, there are some scams, evidently, that have come out,

00:48:11.424 –> 00:48:15.644
related to COVID-19, just for your edification,

00:48:15.944 –> 00:48:20.904
the FTC provides some further information on the types of scams that have been

00:48:20.904 –> 00:48:27.184
seemingly focused or come about with COVID-19 and the pandemic. You can discover that.

00:48:27.364 –> 00:48:33.124
You can read more about those at the ftc.gov, ftc.gov.

00:48:33.944 –> 00:48:37.124
But basically, it’s around being smart again.

00:48:37.364 –> 00:48:41.324
And, you know, I could argue with a couple of exceptions that most of the scams

00:48:41.324 –> 00:48:46.944
mentioned in context of COVID-19 are scams that I should be looking out for anyway.

00:48:47.224 –> 00:48:54.664
Like, should I expect just to randomly receive emails from the CDC or the World Health Organization?

00:48:55.364 –> 00:49:00.684
Likely not. And again, if I’m not sure, I can always delete that email or those

00:49:00.684 –> 00:49:05.364
texts or hang up that phone call and call, look it up.

00:49:05.744 –> 00:49:09.164
Don’t use the contact information sent in those texts and emails,

00:49:09.364 –> 00:49:13.944
but go look it up online or in the phone book, whatever they’re comfortable

00:49:13.944 –> 00:49:16.404
with, and call them and ask and see.

00:49:16.824 –> 00:49:22.624
Another big thing is donations, right? And we’ve had some scams around the stimulus checks.

00:49:23.936 –> 00:49:29.056
Some forms of donations. Like if you’re asked to donate to some causes,

00:49:29.056 –> 00:49:35.176
you want to research those causes and they shouldn’t send cash or gift cards or anything like that.

00:49:35.496 –> 00:49:39.836
And additionally, you want to avoid robocalls. If you don’t get a live person

00:49:39.836 –> 00:49:43.696
on the other side of the phone, as soon as you pick up, it’s likely a robocall

00:49:43.696 –> 00:49:44.816
and you should just hang up.

00:49:44.916 –> 00:49:51.396
It’s not legit. But most legit phone calls will not involve a robocaller.

00:49:51.596 –> 00:49:55.036
And the telltale signs are what I’ve found twofold.

00:49:55.216 –> 00:49:59.276
One, there’s generally some sort of pause at the beginning when you first answer

00:49:59.276 –> 00:50:04.516
the phone because the automated system is taking a minute to recognize the fact

00:50:04.516 –> 00:50:07.256
that the person on the other side has picked up the phone call.

00:50:07.256 –> 00:50:12.196
And then the other thing, while it may be a male or female voice,

00:50:12.396 –> 00:50:18.416
it’s sometimes it’s not robotic like a robotic voice, but you can tell it’s prerecorded.

00:50:18.756 –> 00:50:22.736
Again, if you’re not sure, don’t answer the phone in the first place,

00:50:22.736 –> 00:50:27.716
but certainly look for those couple of indications that it is a robocaller and hang up.

00:50:27.896 –> 00:50:33.336
But if you want to learn more, I highly recommend taking a trip out to FTC.gov.

00:50:33.336 –> 00:50:39.096
You know, a common topic that comes up, too, in the context of taking care of

00:50:39.096 –> 00:50:44.156
the elderly and those that are getting on up there in age is driving.

00:50:45.236 –> 00:50:49.176
And, you know, driving is wonderful because it allows us to get to where we’re

00:50:49.176 –> 00:50:50.836
going, where we want to go.

00:50:51.276 –> 00:50:57.016
And it’s a sense of independence. If nothing else, you hear it time and time

00:50:57.016 –> 00:51:00.676
again when it comes to the elderly is it’s the independence.

00:51:01.296 –> 00:51:06.456
And, you know, a question that gets asked is, when do you know it’s time to take away their keys?

00:51:07.136 –> 00:51:13.116
And I can’t answer that. That is going to be up to the individuals and the family

00:51:13.116 –> 00:51:15.356
members and whoever else to make that decision.

00:51:15.356 –> 00:51:23.516
But I can tell you whether it was my grandma, whether it was my buddy’s stepdad, whoever.

00:51:24.756 –> 00:51:27.656
Usually, there’s a couple of ways to tell.

00:51:27.916 –> 00:51:32.376
One is that they’re so physically disabled that they just cannot get in and

00:51:32.376 –> 00:51:33.636
out of the vehicle anymore.

00:51:33.636 –> 00:51:37.816
That’s a pretty good indication. But the one that comes up in a common theme

00:51:37.816 –> 00:51:40.776
is when they start having wrecks.

00:51:40.776 –> 00:51:45.896
And they start having wrecks regularly and they start having wrecks in search

00:51:45.896 –> 00:51:50.556
in circumstances, situations that most people would not have wrecks in,

00:51:50.676 –> 00:51:55.616
like they’ve had repetitive door dingers or whatever in the parking lot at the grocery store.

00:51:56.116 –> 00:52:01.316
They’ve hit the back of the kid’s school bus more than once, whatever it is.

00:52:01.456 –> 00:52:06.296
I suspect after having two or three car accidents,

00:52:06.636 –> 00:52:12.496
vehicle accidents in some somewhat short period of time, that’s going to be

00:52:12.496 –> 00:52:18.656
your indicator that taking away those keys and those car privileges is going to have to be a thing.

00:52:18.696 –> 00:52:25.916
And it’s not going to be pleasant because it is one more bit of independence

00:52:25.916 –> 00:52:27.696
that they’re having to surrender.

00:52:28.716 –> 00:52:33.956
And so, again, this is where some compassion and empathy come into play.

00:52:34.556 –> 00:52:41.196
One more thing I just want to touch upon because my buddy made a really good point when he said it.

00:52:41.336 –> 00:52:45.296
And, you know, it’s no different for any of us. But he made the point that as

00:52:45.296 –> 00:52:50.096
you get up in age, four things remain important, if not become more important.

00:52:50.876 –> 00:52:54.296
One is exercise. One is nutrition.

00:52:54.696 –> 00:53:00.276
One is sleep. And one is socialization. And I don’t want to deep dive into each

00:53:00.276 –> 00:53:03.076
of those, but hopefully you’re understanding what I’m saying.

00:53:03.076 –> 00:53:08.196
It’s really important to get proper exercise, work those balances,

00:53:08.416 –> 00:53:09.576
stabilization muscles.

00:53:10.016 –> 00:53:14.076
Nutrition is always important. Make sure they’re not eating a bunch of bonbons

00:53:14.076 –> 00:53:18.396
and junk food and more importantly, avoiding a lot of the processed food,

00:53:18.416 –> 00:53:19.896
which becomes quick and easy.

00:53:20.840 –> 00:53:25.780
You know, when you’re home alone and, you know, whatever the case may be,

00:53:26.360 –> 00:53:30.380
sleep is paramount, especially if you’re on medication or if you’ve gone through

00:53:30.380 –> 00:53:33.920
radiation or chemo treatment, you’re going to want to get extra rest.

00:53:34.240 –> 00:53:38.100
And then socialization, that goes a long ways. You know, if you make some good

00:53:38.100 –> 00:53:40.480
friends along the way, that’s great.

00:53:40.480 –> 00:53:45.980
And that can contribute to a filling of security and being safer at the end of the day.

00:53:45.980 –> 00:53:52.140
My buddy pointed out that anytime his parents meet new people and there’s new

00:53:52.140 –> 00:53:58.020
friends involved, he’s always a little suspicious at first and tries to meet

00:53:58.020 –> 00:54:00.800
them and try to figure out what kind of people they are.

00:54:00.940 –> 00:54:05.640
I would say he’s got a great point in that relative to socializing and meeting

00:54:05.640 –> 00:54:09.460
new people and that it’s no different than having new caretakers coming through

00:54:09.460 –> 00:54:10.800
the front door every day, right?

00:54:10.800 –> 00:54:15.340
You need to meet them, you need to see who they are, and you need to make sure

00:54:15.340 –> 00:54:20.700
that they don’t have nefarious intent with whoever you’re taking care of or looking in on.

00:54:22.540 –> 00:54:27.160
So there’s a lot of stuff, right? And hopefully I’ve done a pretty decent job

00:54:27.160 –> 00:54:30.880
of covering some things and making you think about stuff you may not have previously.

00:54:30.960 –> 00:54:35.760
So I want to leave you on a few points, a few thoughts to end on.

00:54:35.760 –> 00:54:42.160
So my biggest takeaway is that in order to take care of those that need need

00:54:42.160 –> 00:54:45.380
taking care of, you need to be present and involved.

00:54:45.380 –> 00:54:51.900
And, you know, even if someone winds up in a home, whether it’s independent care,

00:54:52.900 –> 00:54:58.080
assisted living, hospice, whatever, you need to stay present and involved so

00:54:58.080 –> 00:55:02.700
you know what’s going on and can get ahead of anything or be aware of anything

00:55:02.700 –> 00:55:06.800
that happens or goes on so you can respond accordingly.

00:55:06.820 –> 00:55:11.760
And that’s a really big takeaway. I remember when my buddy, I asked him what

00:55:11.760 –> 00:55:14.620
was the most critical thing, and he kept talking about being there,

00:55:14.740 –> 00:55:18.000
being there, being there. I was like, no, dude, we want to talk about security

00:55:18.000 –> 00:55:20.120
and safety, and he explained what he meant.

00:55:20.687 –> 00:55:27.027
And really, you can’t ensure your people’s safety unless you are somewhat present

00:55:27.027 –> 00:55:31.067
and somewhat involved. So if you take away anything, that’s huge.

00:55:32.067 –> 00:55:38.047
A couple of points that a couple of my friends made that I want to make here

00:55:38.047 –> 00:55:46.747
is remember to try and think about things from their perspective, from their angle.

00:55:46.747 –> 00:55:52.007
They might feel like that their independence is being taken away They may feel

00:55:52.007 –> 00:55:55.587
the pressures of coming to the end You know,

00:55:55.767 –> 00:56:03.567
whatever it might be Try to spin that lazy Susan, as I say And understand where

00:56:03.567 –> 00:56:04.707
they’re coming from And,

00:56:05.067 –> 00:56:08.087
you know, when you’re interacting with them And especially when you’re trying

00:56:08.087 –> 00:56:13.727
to make them Or trying to make decisions with them Or trying to get them to

00:56:13.727 –> 00:56:16.667
do things that they haven’t been or wouldn’t be doing otherwise,

00:56:16.667 –> 00:56:23.067
remember that empathy and remember that you may need to compromise some too.

00:56:23.507 –> 00:56:29.507
One of the things my buddy from high school’s father said towards his last days

00:56:29.507 –> 00:56:32.787
was, enjoy life while you can.

00:56:33.527 –> 00:56:37.247
And I just want to say that here. I think that’s a great lesson for anybody,

00:56:37.467 –> 00:56:41.107
including myself. Enjoy life while you can.

00:56:41.567 –> 00:56:48.187
And with that, we’ll wrap up podcast 30, Safety for the Elderly and Aging.

00:56:48.427 –> 00:56:51.647
I hope that you’ve gotten something from this.

00:56:51.807 –> 00:56:57.867
I hope that it’s made you think about current situations you may have or situations

00:56:57.867 –> 00:57:00.267
in the future that you’re going to need to deal with.

00:57:00.727 –> 00:57:04.407
It’s not a pleasant thought. It’s not a pleasant topic to deal with,

00:57:04.427 –> 00:57:07.707
but it’s one that we’ve all got to deal with at some point in time.

00:57:07.887 –> 00:57:11.407
So I hope you taking away something from this podcast.

00:57:12.727 –> 00:57:17.047
If you like what you’ve heard, I’d encourage you to go out to listen to our

00:57:17.047 –> 00:57:18.667
other podcasts we’ve got out there.

00:57:18.787 –> 00:57:21.087
I bet we’ve got something of interest for you.

00:57:21.307 –> 00:57:25.467
If nothing else, you should listen to security in and around the house.

00:57:25.947 –> 00:57:29.307
And look, if you like what you’ve heard here today, go out and listen to our

00:57:29.307 –> 00:57:32.747
other podcast and then be sure to tell your friends and family about it.

00:57:32.847 –> 00:57:33.887
We’d greatly appreciate it.

00:57:33.987 –> 00:57:38.887
And leave us that thumbs up or that five-star review when they have the opportunity

00:57:38.887 –> 00:57:41.407
and again we appreciate you listening.

00:57:42.320 –> 00:58:03.905
Music.