HomeCare

Stroke Rehab: Intensive Home Therapy As Good As “High Tech”?

San Jose care Resource Guide:  Good news for the fans, (include us) of  Home Therapy! 

San Jose care Resource Guide: Quoting MedicalNewsToday

“…The results of this study show that the more expensive, high tech therapy was not superior to intensive home strength and balance training, but both were better than lower intensity physical therapy..”

Key word is” intensive”.  What constitutes intensive therapy is not clear. Below is a home  stroke therapy that looks interesting focusing on the arm and hand. video from StrokeSurvivor2008 at YouTube

But it is difficult to understand how a home health rehab can beat  a program for stroke survivers such as NorthwesternU see this YouTube video:

What do you think?

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Home Health Experts Systems

SJCRG: There some online expert systems for the home care community. We will list some here

Warning:

• Those Expert System have not put health providers out of  business yet! They could be used though to help you decide to go see your Doctor. Also, do not forget your own expert system: what your body and gut feel are telling you!
• SJCRG does not endorse the accuracy of the Expert Systems mentionned.

• EasyDiagnosis.   This is an easy to use, simple, system.
• EverydayHealth:  Designed by an MD, Stephen Schueler, MD, is an emergency physician, teacher, and author
• FamilyDoctor.org  

More Expert Diagnosis Systems to come….

Confirm whatever you find out with your Doctor.

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Diabetes: Foot Care Vigilance Is a Must!

SJCRG: This article from French hospitals (sciencedirect) about  diabetic foot infections is not good news:

Quoting: “..In spite of being managed at specialized centres that were, in general, following the agreed-upon published guidelines, the prognosis for diabetic foot infection remains poor, with a high rate (48%) of lower-limb amputation”

Caregivers and Care recipients must be vigilant and react quickly: Better waste a doctor’s visit than being sorry..

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Care Charge Abuse is Real : How to Protect your Loved One (Warning:Graphic Video)

San Jose Care Resource Guide:

Here is a YouTube video by wbal, a Baltimore TV station. The  video shows  a hired caregiver abusing an elderly. Warning: This might be too much for some folks.  Even though it is painful/infuriating to watch, the need for background checks and serious inquiry will be burned into your memory, so watch it and remember!

Caregiver interviewing techniques

• For  a list of must ask questions during the interview
  • click here for the hiring process described at caregiverneeded
• If nobody relative is going to be around during the caregiving activities, a background check is in order
  • The law on background checks: ca.gov
  • an info.com list of companies involved in caregiver background checks
  • an info.com list of criminal background check companies

After the your due diligence...

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Effect of Body Position on Cerebral Oxygenation in Patients With Acute Neurological Conditions (Lippingcott)

SJCRG: One can find in nursing journal information not readily avalaible in medical research papers. A good example here is this article about the effect of body position on brain oxygenation

Quoting the Lippingcott Nursing Center  :
“…Current positioning practices in neurocritical care units are largely based on studies that suggest head of bed (HOB) elevation may reduce ICP. However, there is no consensus on the degree of elevation for best practice. Although 30[degrees] of head elevation is believed to be associated with improvements in ICP (intercranial Pressure and  and CPP (cerebral perfusion Pressure)….study to examine the effects of patient positioning, including a combination of head elevation and side lying on PbtO2 ICP, CPP, and MAP after severe brain injury…..Our data suggest that there is no single optimal body position and that the lateral position should be used with caution….”

The study still shows that body position matters..so the nurses should monitor the impact of patients position. 

Here is a YouTube video showing a hightech hospital bed (Striker InTouch) that could help in find optimum positionning of patients [not endorsed] :

SJCRG: This study was for patients with major accute problems. But it begs the following question: what about long term the effect of body position on chronically ill such as quadraplegics or even  paraplegics in their chairs or beds? Any?

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When the Family Needs Mediation between the Caregiver and the Care Recipient (NYT)

CareResourceGuide:  This is an interesting article in the New York Times  on a “new” caregiving field : Elder care mediation.

CareResourceGuide:  Not an easy field as sometimes stress will heighten tensions. Sometimes changing the Home Care Aid is appropriate, but when several have come through the door, the problem ca become acute. Things are probably compounded when there is already bagage such as when the  caregiver is a spouse or a relative…

The NYT gives a plug for two such mediation organizations

•  Elder care mediatiors
• Mediate.com

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