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Callup:
My
mother is 88 and lives in her apartment with her little
dog. We know she is lonely and often worries and feel insecure
living alone. Most of her friends are gone and there are
no close family or acquaintances there to check up on her
and to visit. We wish we could contact her more frequently than we do, but we have busy lives and unfortunately
there will be days between each time we call her.
We live in Massachusetts, a brother in Arizona and a sister
in southern California. Visiting our mother on a daily
or weekly basis is impossible. We have suggested to her
that she should go to a Nursing home. No way. She wants
to stay in her home as long as she can.
Our story is all too familiar to many of us with elderly
parents. We worry and feel guilty about not contacting our
elderly relatives as often as we know we should and we know
they are anxious to hear from us.
Now, help is available with SeniorCallup.com
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What do we do?
We call up your Senior every day to check on him/her on your
behalf.
When people contact a Senior, we have found that there are
three basic questions:
- Are you O.K.?
- Have you taken your medicines?
- Do you need anything?
Simple questions that encompass a lot. You may read more below or Click here to Get Started.
- Are you O.K.?
To answer: “Yes” is easy. Most Seniors give that reply even
if they
don’t feel so good. Research has shown that a stigma exists among seniors who are reluctant to acknowledge frailty or ill health, especially to family members. They don’t want to worry them.
But one should delve more into the details behind such
replies.
Studies show that about 80 % of Seniors suffer from at least
one chronic
health condition. 50 % have two or more conditions such
as arthritis,
hypertension, diabetes, heart disease or respiratory disorders.
As a result of these conditions, moderate mental disability
is common.
60 % of adult children say they talk regularly about health
matters with
their parents. However, only 32 % of parents report doing
so with their
children, according to a study by Wellpoint. Clearly Senior
parents are
reluctant to complain to their children. They don’t want
to inconvenience.
With the SeniorCallup service, a Senior will get an assigned
caller who will
call her every day. Gradually, they will become
acquainted.
We have found that sometimes it is easier to discuss issues
with a
“stranger” like our caller than with someone who is close like a family member.
- Have you taken your medicines?
This is an important question to ask a Senior on a daily
basis.
Former United States Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, often
said:
“drugs don’t work in patients who don’t take them.”
This sounds like an obvious statement, but it is not.
A study by Dr. Partridge of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
found that up to 80 % of cancer patients failed to strictly follow their
prescriptions.
Why is that?
Studies show that Seniors are particularly prone to harmful
mistakes in
taking their drugs, particularly when their medication regimen
has been
modified. Studies have found that in 42 % of cases, errors
were made after doctors had asked patients to modify their medical regimen.
Seniors taking three to four drugs are twice as likely to
make mistakes as
those on two or less. The more drugs they take, the more
errors occur.
Some patients who are prescribed an old medication at a
new dose might
keep taking the old dosage along with the new dosage. In
other instances, they fail to follow instructions.
Dementia, confusion and sensory problems are the most common
underlying causes for patient medication errors.
Please note that our designated callers are trained to detect
signs of
confusion and sensory problems and depression using the Geriatric Depression Scale: Short form in their conversations. (See Emergency).
It is important for their health maintenance that they are queried daily by
our callers about this topic. The elderly are usually not comfortable with high-tech solutions like emergency punch buttons
they cannot find or sensor based pill boxes that cannot handle incidences like those mentioned above.
They prefer the human touch that SeniorCallup provides.
- Do you need anything?
Seniors are often lonely. Their friends are gone and they
sit alone.
They wish they were contacted, and visited by their children
and/or
grand children. For practical reasons that is often not
possible.
The human touch is so important and experience has shown that they really look forward to the daily call from their designated caller at SeniorCallup.com.
It lessens their feeling of loneliness and fear of being
alone.
They become acquainted with their caller and often find
it easier to
express their needs to her than to the children.
In the reports that the SeniorCallup center submits
to the Primary
contact, we submit information about the needs that the
Senior has
mentioned. Experience shows that that works well.
A summary of our SeniorCallup service:
Our service is to call a Senior, every day,
and with the same person calling.
- We call the Senior every day at about the same time.
- A well trained caller, by first name, will
be assigned
to each Senior so that they become acquainted with
the particular issues that each Senior will have.
- In cooperation with a family member that is our Primary
contact,
a profile will be prepared to serve as a guide for our
caller.
- Initially, a three-way telephone conversation will be set up between the Premier contact, the Senior, and the designated caller so that he/she can be introduced to the Senior.
- After that, the Senior will be called up by telephone
every day
at about the same time by the same person.
- In Case of special, non-critical issues with the Senior, the Primary contact will receive an email from the caller with details.
In case of critical issues, Emergency procedures click on.
- The Senior can call us !
The Senior will receive a telephone number from us that
he/she
can call 24/7. There will always be service available
at that number.
If his/her designated caller is not available, the supervisor
will know
how to handle the call whether it is an emergency or
just a general
call.
In an emergency, we will contact the emergency service specified
by
the Primary Contact and stay on the line with the Senior
until the
Emergency service arrives.
Please go to HowItWorks and FAQ for further details.
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