Caregivers - Increase Your Earning Potential

As I stated in a recent post the demand for caregivers is rapidly growing. The link I have below from NPR states that the number of people with Alzheimer's disease and Dementia will triple by the year 2050.
Link to NPR

Report on Growth of Alzheimer's cases

NPR Report - Increase in People with Alzheimer's

As a caregiver your earning potential can substantially rise if you become certified. This is easier than you might think. I am including another link to the Alzheimer's Association website that has certification classes you can take online, some for as little as $24.99.

Alzheimer's Certification Online Courses

Alzheimer Association Certification Online Courses

 Give Careful Thought 

The Alzheimer's Association realizes just how great the need is for people to understand this disease; such an understanding of Alzheimer's allows we as caregivers to provide proper and professional care for our clients. Please take the time to look at the two links provided here and give careful consideration to educating yourself. This will benefit not only you but your clients as well.

Seriously - I Never Thought I'd Talk About THAT!

Say Whaaat?

I found myself sitting with a nice lady I befriended at the senior village where I work the other day when the conversation turned to bodily functions. Oh who am I kidding we were talking about bowel movements. Yes there I said it. I thought my mother was the only senior who went there, but turns out having a good BM is important, yes even life changing for us all. Only thing is we won't admit to it unless we are over 50 - at least not out loud and certainly not to a stranger.

Can you imagine sitting in a room full of teens, one being your daughter and saying " boy was I constipated this morning ". She would absolutely die of shame. And yet here we were, me in my 50's and she in her 70's, new friends to boot, casually conversing about what works for us. Weighing the pros and cons of laxatives, prunes v prune juice, the whole nine yards. And we have had the same conversation more than once, even rating our day on how things went ( pun intended ).

Life is funny that way, priorities change. Little - or should I say Big things - make us happy. Think about how things have changed for you.

~Why not share your bowel movement moments and stories with us.~

We'd love to hear what topic you never thought you'd be talking about.

Demand for Caregivers Set to Out Pace Available Workers

The need for good quality caregivers is rapidly growing. Every 6 minutes another babyboomer reaches the age of 65. While many are in better health than the previous generation, due to advances in medicine, those same advances mean a longer life. A some point a vast number of them will need care, whether on a short term basis or long term.

If you are a loved one caring for a spouse or family member and you wonder if it is time to ask for help, consider taking the Caregiver Stress Test below. Remember you are not in this alone. There are many people who can help.

Stress can make us Tired

 The Alzheimer's Association(R) Stress Test page
link correction

In the days to follow I will be posting links to some
ideas for funding your need for help.

A New Member

Please let me introduce my friend, Will Branning. He will be contributing to this blog now and then.

Will and I have known each other for a long time and we share many interests. He has helped me a lot with technical and computer things and has lots of thoughts and ideas on what I tell him about my days. He and I enjoy looking up information on a variety of subjects especially being a Personal Assistant for Living. Both of us have had loved ones who needed assistance and care at some time in their lives.
His Profile will be updated soon. Take a look at it when you get a chance.
Thank You.

An Event

Have done a lot of research as a Personal Assistant. General subjects and also about specific things that come up in a day. As being a PAL becomes more important of a need each day, what with the ageing of the population, it is just as important we as PAL's stay up to date on a variety of subjects.

A friend of mine, Will, looked up details about an upcoming Seminar/Expo in Michigan I had heard about and I am planing to attend. There will be presentations and of course vendors. Sometimes the vendors can provide interesting products and services. Other times you might scratch you head and wonder just why they showed up!

While I don't endorse events like these, I do make recommendations to others I know who are Personal Assistants like myself, if I think they fit. So Will said this looks like a fit and showed me how to put in a link to the event website below:

Area Agency on Aging 1-B

Solutions for Family Caregiver Expo 

The link gives the time and subjects of the presentations too.

Take Care

What is a PAL?

As we age, whether we like it or not we may start to lose some of our dignity. Perhaps we have to rely on others more than we like. Driving, bathing, dressing all may require assistance. Even little things we did with ease we can no longer do without help. If we hire someone to help us the title they have always carried is caregiver. I want to propose a change in this term, one that affords more dignity "Personal Assistant for Living" PAL for short.

Although I am a caregiver, I have taken on the designation of PAL

As A PAL

Caregiving is important, both in home and in a senior living enviroment. In our business life we may have had many personal assistants to help us make it through the day, now maybe we need only one, our PAL...

Personal Assistant for Living

If caregivers everywhere would adopt this new term for themselves, our clients may feel better about accepting help. And when meeting friends how much better it sounds to say "this is my personal assistant", rather than this is my caregiver. When your time comes what would you rather say?

I know I am bucking years of terminology, but with today's trends showing the need for more senior assistants it makes sense to be a PAL. Get on board, share my link and contact me if you would like to become a PAL too.

If  you would like to learn more about becoming a PAL, contact me and subscribe to this website