Protecting Your Senior from Medical Identity Theft

One of the most significant benefits of senior home care services is an increased sense of safety. When you hire a caregiver for an elderly loved one, they can safeguard your loved one’s physical well-being, helping them stay healthy and avoid injury. At the same time, a caregiver can provide peace of mind about your loved one’s tosecurity, helping them steer clear of scammers, fraudsters, and other criminals.

The rise of medical fraud has underscored the need to protect seniors from scammers. Cases of medical identity theft have increased in recent years, with seniors among the most targeted demographics. This year, scammers have been using the new style of Medicare cards as a way to trick seniors into giving up sensitive personal information.

If you’re worried that your loved one could A caregiver’s presence may thwart attempts at medical identity theft by one of these scams, senior home care services can offer peace of mind. Seniors are most vulnerable to scammers when they’re alone. A caregiver from a reputable senior homecare agency will give your loved one someone they can turn to when they get a strange call, receive a suspicious email, or find someone on their doorstep asking odd questions.

How Senior Homecare Services Help

It’s no coincidence that elderly adults who need at-home living assistance the most are also likely targets for scams. These include older adults who live alone, suffer from chronic physical disability, or are experiencing cognitive decline or dementia. All of these factors increase seniors’ risk of health and wellness problems, as well as their vulnerability for criminal targeting.

In-home care services can help seniors manage isolation, physical disability, and cognitive decline. In doing so, home care providers can increase physical and mental wellness, while also shielding seniors from different types of scams and fraud.

Attempts at medical identity theft may be thwarted by a caregiver’s presence. Right now, many of the most common medical identity theft scams involve the new Medicare cards. Some of the tactics used by scammers include:

• Claiming that seniors need to pay an activation fee in order to use the new cards.
• Claiming the card is frozen and asking seniors to unfreeze by “confirming” their social security number or Medicare number.
• They are claiming that seniors are owed a refund related to the new card and asking for private information or financial data.

Typically, these scams are conducted over the phone, though there are instances of email and door-to-door scams as well.

When seniors are targeted by these scams, having someone else present can make a huge difference, scammers will try to exploit older adults who are unfamiliar with new technologies or who are suffering from cognitive decline. If someone else is present, they are often able to recognize what’s happening and intervene.

Unfortunately, many seniors don’t have someone else around when this happens. Many of them live alone and are separated from family by long distance. Others live with or near family members but are alone during the day when family members go to work.

If you have an elderly loved one in this situation, and you’re worried about their safety and security, senior home care services could be the solution. With senior homecare services, your loved one will have a home care aide present on a full-time or part-time basis, reducing their risk of falling victim to medical identity theft. Because of their experience with other seniors, many caregivers are able to quickly identify scams, further reducing the chances of victimization.

It’s important to note, however, that medical identity theft isn’t practiced solely by hardened criminals. Often, seniors are defrauded by those close to them, including predatory family members or untrustworthy caregivers.

In light of this, it’s crucial that you hire senior homecare services from a reputable agency, like Visiting Angels Newton/Canton. Ask questions about the security measures taken by different providers and take the time to find an agency — and a caregiver — that you can trust.

About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton:

Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning local home care agency providing high caliber in-home care services to the elderly and people with disabilities. Countless families have benefited from our Alzheimer's and dementia care, companion care, respite support, transitional aid, and in-home elder care services in Dedham, Needham, Norwood, Westwood, Brookline, Watertown, Canton, Stoughton, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Chestnut Hill, Roslindale, and nearby towns.

We are honored to have been awarded Top Places to Work by the Boston Globe for five years. We have also earned the Best of Home Care – Leader in Excellence, Trusted Provider, Best of Home Care Provider, and Best of Home Care Employer by Home Care Pulse. We are proudly accredited by the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts.

To discuss your options for professional, in-home care, call Visiting Angels Newton/Canton at 617-795-2727 today!

Long-Distance Caregiving Services For Seniors

What is long-distance caregiving? Long-distance caregiving refers to the times when a family needs to find at home living assistance for a loved one who does not live in their area. For example, your mom and dad still live in your family’s home stat, while you and your siblings have moved out of state. What do you do when your parent needs help, and you can’t relocate to be there for them? Long-distance caregiving is the answer.

At Visiting Angels Newton/Canton, we recognize that not all families live close together. In today’s fast-paced world, adult children are relocated for jobs, parents move for retirement and sometimes retired adult children relocate far from where their parents have retired. No matter why you live far away from a loved one, you don’t have to worry if they need care. Our long-distance caregiving services can help.

Getting Started with Long-Distance Caregiving

When you find yourself in need of care for a loved one who lives in Newton, Canton, Needham, Wellesley, Brookline, Natick, Westwood, Dedham, Norwood, Stoughton, Roslindale, Watertown, and nearby areas, call Visiting Angels Newton/Canton at 617-795-2727 anytime. Our friendly and helpful team can help you get started with in-home care services. Over the phone, they will discuss topics that include:

• Your parent or loved one’s location
• Where you live (for reference)
• What care needs your loved one has
• How often you believe your loved one will need care
• How long these care visits should last
• If your loved one can or would like to be involved in the discussion of caregiving choices
• If your loved one has any chronic care conditions, we should be aware of (for example dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other conditions)

Once we have the basics established, we can discuss setting up a free, no-obligation one-on-one visit by one of our case managers at your loved one’s home. The case manager will meet with your loved one and go over the guidelines you have established and to see if there is anything else that may concern them.

From here it’s easy, we’ll match your family member with a carefully screened home caregiver who can meet your loved one’s needs and scheduling requirements. The home health aide will visit based on the schedule determined and provide feedback to the case manager. Our team will keep in regular contact with your family to ensure we are meeting all your needs.

Visiting Angels Newton/Canton provides a variety of non-medical elder care on an hourly, overnight, respite, and 24-hour care basis. Care plans include a range of services that attend to personal care, housekeeping, personal hygiene, meal preparation, transportation, medication reminders, and more. We also offer a cognitive health program as well as dementia & Alzheimer’s home care.

If you are concerned about the well-being of a loved one who lives far from you, long-distance caregiving can provide the solution you need. Call Visiting Angels Newton/Canton today at 617-795-2727 for a free in-home consultation!

About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton:

Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning local home care agency providing high caliber in-home care services to the elderly and people with disabilities. Countless families have benefited from our Alzheimer's care, dementia home care, companion care, senior care, respite support, transitional aid, and at home living assistance services in Westwood, Norwood, Brookline, Watertown, Needham, Dedham, Canton, Stoughton, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Chestnut Hill, Roslindale, and nearby towns.

We are honored to have been awarded Top Places to Work by the Boston Globe for five years. We have also earned the Best of Home Care – Leader in Excellence, Trusted Provider, Best of Home Care Provider, and Best of Home Care Employer by Home Care Pulse. We are proudly accredited by the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts.

What Skills Matter Most for Personal Care?

If you have a loved one who requires in-home care, you will want to determine which type of services they need. The two most common types are companion care and personal care. Companion care focuses on activities like errands, meal preparation, and light housekeeping. Personal care covers these tasks, but also includes activities that require physical assistance, such as dressing and bathing.

Both types of services require different skills from home caregivers. However, the physical aspects of personal care can be quite skill-intensive. Also, individual care recipients often suffer from chronic health conditions or a form of disability, further highlighting the importance of having experienced caregivers.

So if you’re looking for a personal caregiver to assist a loved one, here are the skills that matter most.

Skills to Look for in Personal Care Providers

Physical Assistance

Personal care or private duty care is typically distinguished from companion care by tasks involving physical assistance. These include things like dressing and grooming, bathing and toileting, mobility assistance, or helping an individual from one position to another.

Any time that a caregiver provides physical assistance, they need to ensure the client’s safety and comfort: This requires more skill than many people realize.

So if you’re hiring personal care services, it’s crucial that you find a home care provider who can keep your loved one safe and comfortable.

Cleanliness & Hygiene

Many individuals who receive personal care are at increased risk of bacterial or viral infections. 

If an infection occurs, many of them are also at increased risk of hospitalization.

Caregivers can help prevent infections in elderly adults by maintaining high standards of cleanliness and hygiene. They take care to frequently clean and sanitize their hands. They help clients maintain high standards of personal hygiene by assisting in their bathing, dressing, and laundry needs.

Personal care is only one part of preventing infections among care recipients. However, it’s vital that you choose a home care aide who understands the role of cleanliness and hygiene.

Knowledge & Awareness

If you speak with professional caregivers or care administrators, they’ll tell you how necessary experience is to care providers.

One area where this knowledge proves useful is client monitoring. As caregivers tend to their clients, they monitor for changes in behavior, cognition, coordination, strength, emotional wellness, and other areas. This way, they can detect signs of decline early and alert the client or the client’s family, and case manager promptly. Caregivers may also keep care logs upon the client’s family’s request.

Many of these changes are subtle or gradual, so they go unnoticed without a caregiver present. However, with a knowledgeable and observant personal care provider, they’re less likely to go undetected.

Well-informed caregivers also know how to respond in unusual and urgent situations. Many caregivers have the fundamental skills for day-to-day caregiving, but when the unexpected happens, you want an experienced and educated professional.

Communication & Compassion

The best caregivers have excellent interpersonal skills, and personal care providers are no exception.

Think about some of the activities that personal care entails. Few people feel comfortable dressing, bathing, or going to the bathroom with the assistance of another person. It takes an extraordinary level of respect, understanding, and care to put clients at ease during these activities. The best personal care providers possess these qualities in spades.

Skilled caregivers are also capable communicators, both with their clients and their clients’ families.

Caregivers who communicate poorly will often leave clients confused about why specific care tasks are being performed or feeling like their wishes and preferences aren’t being considered. Proper caregiver-client communication can resolve these issues, improving quality of care.

It’s also important that caregivers communicate with family members of their clients. Without adequate communication, problems can go unreported, important care tasks can go unperformed (or get performed twice), and trust between care providers and family members might erode. Active communication will ensure that everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goals.

Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has an outstanding team of caregivers who work tirelessly to provide quality care to our clients. Contact us today at 617-795-2727 for a free in-home consultation!