Classic Residence of Pompano Beach will be hosting a lecture by Viki Kind “Empowering Caregivers to Make the Best Decisions” on January 20, 2011, 11- 1:30

Classic Residence of Pompano Beach will be hosting a lecture by Viki Kind “Empowering Caregivers to Make the Best Decisions” on January 20, 2011, 11-1:30. RSVP to make your lunch reservation.

1371 South Ocean Beach
Pompano Beach, FL 33062
Tel: 888-494-2177
E-mail: mktgpompanobeach@viliving.com
Web site: www.viliving.com/communities/pompanobeach

For residents of Classic Residence, exceptional amenities and services are not considered extras. Whether you are savoring a freshly prepared meal prepared by our executive chef, taking a swim in the pool, dining with friends in the penthouse dining room or enjoying the music in our piano lounge, our amenities and services are included to enrich your life every day.

Just Steps from Your Door
Art studio
Auditorium
Boat dock
Club-style dining room
Computer center with high-speed Internet access
Fitness center
Heated pool, whirlpool and sundeck
Library
Ocean and beach access
Piano lounge and dance floor
Picnic area
Private dining room for entertaining family and friends
Wellness center

We Take Care of the Details
Concierge assistance
Access to health care resources at the on-site wellness center
Maintenance of home, buildings and grounds
Move-in coordination
Physician referral services
Scheduled transportation for community-sponsored trips and outings
Weekly laundering of bed linens
Weekly light housekeeping

Many additional services, such as a salon, dry cleaning pickup and drop-off, and guest accommodations/meals are available at an additional charge.

Free – Thinking Ahead Workbook and Videos available for those with Developmental Disabilities and other Cognitive Impairments

Good news. The California Coalition for Compassionate Care has created a workbook and set of videos for documenting the wishes of those with developmental delays. (It would also work well for those with other cognitive impairments.) You can get free copies of the workbook sent to you or you can download it directly. It is called “Thinking Ahead.”

Here is the website: http://www.coalitionccc.org/thinking-ahead.php

Thinking Ahead: My Life at the End – Enables people with developmental disabilities to advocate for themselves and stay in control of their lives through the very end.

Thinking Ahead: My Life at the End contains words, symbols and pictures that facilitate discussion with and decision-making by persons with developmental disabilities regarding their values, goals and treatment preferences at the end of life. The DVD serves as an instruction manual, containing vignettes that illustrate in simple, graphic format the purpose and use of the materials.

Thinking Ahead was made possible through a Wellness grant awarded to Alta California Regional Center by the California Department of Developmental Services and reflects a collaboration among Alta California, Golden Gate and Eastern Los Angeles Regional Centers, Board Resource Center and the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California.

* Thinking Ahead English
* Thinking Ahead Spanish
* Thinking Ahead Chinese

To order a free hard-copy of the Thinking Ahead workbook and DVD, send an email to
info@finalchoices.org.

Additional Resources

Providing Hospice Care to Residents of Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled – A guide to facilitate access to hospice services by persons who live in intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled.

Have a kind and respectful day.

A plea to Elder Law attorneys and others who are writing people’s Advance Directives

For the record, I am a fan of lawyers and am incredibly grateful for all the ways they take care of us and protect us.

When someone wants to document their wishes in an advance directive, living will or durable power of attorney, the person who will be signing the form must have the ability to think for themselves. This is called decisional capacity or competency. Although a person doesn’t need to use a lawyer for these forms many people do. When someone brings in a form, which was completed by a lawyer, healthcare professionals assume that the lawyer made sure that the person had the capacity to think before allowing them to sign the form.

I don’t know if other people are aware of this issue but it has been recently brought to my attention that there is an industry practice within elder law community where lawyers are writing advance directives for people without capacity. They work with the family to determine what the person would have said, then proceed to have the person, who has limited or no capacity, sign the advance directive. (Not every attorney does this, but many do. There are many fine lawyers out there who are protecting the public.)

Their justification is that it is actually protecting the family from having to go to court to establish conservatorship later on. Their intentions are good, but their practice is illegal. When I brought this to some elder law lawyer’s attention, they had no defense. And when I explained that it now brought doubt to the validity of all legally prepared advance directives, I only got blank stares.

I have asked around and this is not an isolated incident. It makes me now question if I can even believe a lawyer prepared document that the family brings in. As an ethicist and healthcare professional, I am asking those of you who work in the industry to make sure you are only having those who understand what they are signing, sign their documents. The skilled nursing home community has a legal protection in place by mandating that an outside ombudsman witness the signing of legal documents to make sure those with disabilities aren’t being taken advantage of. I would hate to see the legal community need to have a similar watchdog in place. I need all of you to do the right thing so I can then use these documents to advocate appropriately when these individuals are in my hospitals.

Have a kind and respectful day.

Drowning but can’t reach for a life vest: families, caregivers, doctors, nurses and many others helping professionals

I had such a sad experience recently. I was speaking to a group of doctors and presenting them some techniques to make their lives easier. (This was at a county hospital which deals with the most underprivileged of our community.) I was surprised by how many of the doctors in the room were so resistant to accepting help. I sensed from their comments how burnt out they were and how hopeless they had become. The system they are working under is so broken that they couldn’t imagine that anything could change or be made better. It was painful to witness their suffering.

I realized that what I was seeing was classic caregiver burnout aka compassion fatigue. Caregivers, both family and professional, get so overwhelmed, they can’t ask for help. Lifeguards see this all the time when the person becomes so fatigued that the person can’t grab hold of the life vest right in front of them. The lifeguard has to swim out to the person and literally carry them to shore.

It is so easy for those of those of those who help caregivers to just say, “Grab on and I will help you,” but it may be too late. Ideally, we should reach the person before they are that far gone, but often times, the burnout doesn’t reveal itself until it has become extreme.

I understand this. When I was caregiving for my fourth and final relative, I became so overwhelmed that I laid down on the sidewalk in front of my house, and couldn’t get up. The only reason I finally did get up was because I didn’t want someone driving by to panic and call an ambulance. (Typical caregiver behavior, I was more worried about everyone else, before myself.) I went in the house and cried for days. I was lucky because my husband was my life saver and helped me reach out for support. For so many caregivers, they are drowning and don’t know help is available or where to turn.

For healthcare professionals, there is pride in being strong and capable, and to be weak is professionally unacceptable. And because their colleagues rarely express their own suffering, these professional caregivers think they are all alone. This leads to even more isolation and inability to ask for help.

I would encourage those of you who work as a professional healer to make sure your organization develops programs and support groups for you. You deserve the same care that family caregivers are receiving in the community. I need all of you to be okay because a lot of people are depending on you. But I don’t expect you to be super-human, I understand you are very human and have the same needs as all the rest of us. Please realize you are not alone and there are people ready to help. A great organization that can help is http://www.compassionfatigue.org/.

Have a kind and respectful day.

When Living Alone is No Longer an Option

When Living Alone is No Longer an Option
Presented by the Thousand Oaks’ Council on Aging

DATE:
January 5, 2011
TIME:
Reception 12 noon
Meeting time 1:00 – 3:00p.m.
LOCATION:
City Hall
2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Reception—Oakroom
Meeting-Boardroom

Guest Speakers:
Author and Clinical Bioethicist Viki Kind,
Long Term Care Insurance Specialist Carol Knowles
Long Term Care Services of Ventura County Ombudsman Kathy Terry,
Lawyer and Estate Planning Specialist Robert Triplett
Moderator
Andrea Gallagher, Rethinking Your Future

“Meet the Speakers” Reception prior to presentations from
12-12:45 in the Oakroom (Next door to the meeting room)

RSVP for reception only or for additional info:
Council on Aging (805) 449-2743 or
e-mail: CouncilonAging@toaks.org

Live on local television and archived on website.
www.toaks.org/seniors

Viki will be on the Hearts and Homes radio show on 12/2/10 at 7am PST

Viki will be interviewed by Christine Miller on the Hearts and Homes radio show on 12/2/10 at 7am PST.

Hearts and Homes for Seniors was born from a love of Seniors and a desire to help them have the best quality of life available. As a Director of Healthcare Services for a large home care company and again as a discharge planner in the hospital, Christine watched as Seniors and their families struggled to make critical life changing decisions with minimal help.

Christine’s Radio Show is a lively discussion exploring issues that impact seniors and their families.

She will discuss timely topics. Expert guests will discuss everything from senior living options, home care options, family caregivers, long distance care giving, veterans benefits to hospice and end of life issues.

Christine chose to use her nursing experience and follow her love and compassion for Seniors. She started Hearts and Homes for Seniors. Her mission is to help Seniors live the fullest, happiest life possible while helping families feel comfortable about the decisions and the choices they are making.

Whether a client chooses to stay in the community or wants to move into a Senior apartment, Christine can guide them in making the decision. Hearts and Homes for Seniors only refers high quality companies and facilities.

Have a kind and respectful day.

Harris County Public Library presentation in Katy, TX on 11/20/10

Viki will be giving a presentation at the Harris County Public Library in Katy, TX on 11/20/10 from 2-3pm.

The Harris County Public Library system (HCPL) has an annual circulation of over 10 million items. Harris County, which encompasses Houston, Texas, is one of the largest urban counties in the U.S. The HCPL network of 26 community-focused branch libraries is committed to providing excellent customer service, strong collections, and cutting edge information technology for the 21st Century. Reference assistance is available in person, by phone, by email, and “virtually” through the HCPL eBranch.

The Library maintains a collection of over 2 million items, with traditional printed books and audiovisual resources including videos, CDs, and DVDs. Electronic resources on the the World Wide Web, eBooks, and many online databases are integrated into the traditional collection. Reflecting the multicultural nature of their City and County, foreign language materials — particularly in Spanish and Vietnamese, as well as other languages — are included in the collection development program.

With over 1,000 public computers available for access to electronic resources including the Internet, HCPL and other library catalogs, as well as numerous general and specialized databases made available through library subscriptions, information technology at HCPL is world class. All public service computers also offer the full MS Office suite making word processing (MS Word), database management (MS Access), spreadsheet (Excel), and presentation (PowerPoint) software available to all Houstonians. A growing number of branch locations offer laptop computers for check-out on a Harris County Library Card and even wireless connectivity for customers who wish to bring their own laptops to the library. Kurzweil technology is installed at strategic locations throughout the library network to enable effective use of electronic resources for customers who are visually impaired. Library staff offer ongoing training on library resources, software, and equipment resources.

Have a kind and respectful day.

Viki will be interviewed on Feel Free in the O.C. with Nancy T on 11/3/10 at 8:30am PST

Viki will be interviewed on Feel Free in the O.C. with Nancy T radio show on 11/3/10 at 8:30am PST.

Feel Free in the O.C. with Nancy T is a casual and comfortable environment for guests to share their life experiences, passions, and professions relating to all topics, with an emphasis in the health & wellness sector.

Have a kind and respectful day.

Interview with Christine Miller, “How to choose the right care community for your loved one or yourself,” on November 8th at 8AM Pacific. Blogtalkradio.com/kindethics

Interview with Christine Miller, “How to choose the right care community for your loved one or yourself,” on November 8th at 8AM Pacific. Blogtalkradio.com/kindethics

Christine Miller is an RN with over 20 years of experience. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Grandview College in Des Moines, Iowa. She served six years as an officer in the Army Nurse Corps. She recently completed a year-long training in health and life coaching from Hilton Johnston and Health Coach Training University.

Christine is the owner and founder of Hearts and Homes for Seniors. She uses her experience in home care nursing and discharge planning to help seniors and their families find the right senior living solution. If that means moving out of their current home, Christine helps the senior and their family find a compatible community where the client needs are met, but most importantly, where the client feels at home.

Hearts and Homes for Seniors is a local company providing individualized guidance and coaching in selecting Assisted Living or Alzheimer’s/ Dementia care. A Senior Relocation Advisor takes a personal interest in your satisfaction and accompanies you on tours of communities that are pre-screened to meet your criteria

Her website is: http://heartsandhomesforseniors.com

You can contact her at: 303-519-1889
HeartsandHomesRadioShow@www.blogtalkradio.com/christine-miller

Viki will be presenting with POLST Coalition in L.A. on 10/28/10

The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California is a statewide partnership of more than 95 regional and statewide organizations dedicated to the advancement of palliative medicine and end-of-life care in California. Their mission is to promote high-quality, compassionate end-of-life care for all Californians.

POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a form that states what kind of medical treatment patients want toward the end of their lives. Printed on bright pink paper, and signed by both a doctor and patient, POLST helps give seriously ill patients more control over their end-of-life care.

Membership is open to any organization or individual that wants to support high-quality, compassionate end-of-life care for all Californians.
Membership Benefits include:
* Connection to a statewide, multi-disciplinary effort to ensure quality end-of-life care
* Access to cutting-edge ideas, tools and resources
* Timely legislative updates
* Networking at the annual CCCC membership conference
* CCCC’s monthly email newsletter
* Listing as a member on the CCCC website
* Discounted registration fees for selected CCCC programs, events and materials
* Being part of a larger public policy voice to impact end-of-life issues

Have a kind and respectful day.

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