Nurse Maureen‘s Health Show
Welcome to Nurse Maureen's Health Show Podcast where we dive deep into all things health, sex, menopause, relationships, parenting, communication and more! Hosted by a passionate nurse with years of frontline experience, we bring you expert interviews, real-life stories, and the latest insights on staying healthy aging. Nothing is off limits as we delve into overall health, sexual health, mental health, and sexual health. Whether we’re breaking down medical myths, discussing cutting-edge treatments, or chatting with top health professionals, this show is your go-to for practical advice and inspiring conversations.
Nurse Maureen‘s Health Show
When Is it Time To Get Home Care for Mom and Dad
How do you know when it's time to seek home healthcare for a loved one? Margot Ware, owner of Shylo Home Healthcare, www.shylohomehealthcare.ca joins us to unpack this crucial question and share her wealth of experience in the field. We break down what home healthcare services entail, from everyday support like food preparation to more intimate assistance with bathing and dressing. Margot stresses the importance of proactive conversations surrounding potential care needs before a crisis strikes, ensuring that these discussions happen with sensitivity and respect.
Transitioning to receiving help at home can be an emotional journey fraught with psychological challenges, and Margot offers valuable insights on navigating this delicate process. Personalized care plans are essential, and we delve into how they can make a significant difference in the quality of life for seniors. With practical advice and heartfelt stories, this episode serves as a comprehensive guide for anyone considering home healthcare for themselves or their loved ones. Don’t miss this enlightening conversation that promises to equip you with the knowledge needed to make informed and compassionate decisions.
This podcast is brought to you by Life360 Innovations, creators of the Contino urethral insert, a non-surgical, health Canada licensed medical device for men with stress urinary incontinence. Contino is easy to use and blocks the flow of urine without the need for adult diapers or pads. More than just a medical device, the Contino care program connects you with experienced medical professionals and creates a personalized treatment plan that provides ongoing support so you can get back to life. Go to MyContinocom to see if Contino is right for you and book your free continence assessment. Get bladder leakage control with Contino and get back to living. Remember, go to Mycontinocom. That's M-Y-C-O-N-T-I-N-Ocom.
Speaker 1:Welcome to yet another podcast episode. I'm Maureen McGrath, a registered nurse, nurse, continence advisor and sexual health educator. Thank you so much for tuning in, thank you to my sponsors and thanks to all of you who have followed me. I really appreciate it. On this podcast we talk about physical and mental and emotional health and relationships, but we also talk about times in life and you know, you may have been an independent person, a very successful person, you may have always been able to do it all, get it all done, but sometimes advancing age means people need a little bit more help, or your parents may need a little bit more help. So tonight I've invited Margo Ware she's the owner at Shiloh Home Healthcare to talk about what exactly home healthcare is and what the transition is like and basically how you can access home healthcare and what are some of the benefits. Good evening, margo. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm wonderful. Thank you so much, Maureen. It's a pleasure to join you this evening.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm delighted to have you. You know this is an important conversation, an important subject. It could be a sensitive subject, I would imagine, for people, especially people who've been independent their entire lives but are finding that they may need a little help with food prep or bathing or dressing. Tell me what exactly is home health care?
Speaker 2:Well, thanks for asking. I mean, it's exactly what it sounds like. It is support offered in the client's home. So when we say home, generally it's seniors, although we do take care of clients of any age. Generally the seniors may live in the family home they've been in for 30, 40, 50 years. They may have already downsized to a condo or apartment or they may already be in independent living, assisted living, long-term care. They may even be in an acute care hospital. Wherever the person is where they need a little extra support. That's where we go.
Speaker 1:That is fantastic, do you find I want to talk about the transition. You know, I would imagine I had somebody. I reached out to somebody basically about babysitting for my dog, and she said you know, with my advancing age I'm cutting back on dog sitting and I thought that was interesting. You know, we're all aging, everybody is advancing in age, but, you know, sometimes people get there, god willing, a little faster than other people, and so, you know, it's a time when people you know may stop working they may have stopped working for a number of years, they may stop driving and they're finding that independence, you know, is no longer attainable, or they need assistance. How difficult is it for people to realize that they need some help in the home?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, it can be challenging. There's one of two things that generally happens. One is somebody is, you know, slowly getting weaker, like you say, perhaps having mobility challenges, and family, friends, neighbors are worried about them. They may start noticing some of the more common cues. Somebody who's always prided themselves on looking spectacular and you start noticing that gosh, you know, mom's wearing the same pants she was wearing when I was here three days ago and they have stains on them. She's never somebody that would walk around knowingly in stained pants. That's a little bit of a cue that she's perhaps struggling to manage in her own home. And you know, you're right, people can get defensive when you come in and suggest gee, mom, you know you're not managing. Obviously, you know nobody likes to be told that they're not doing well.
Speaker 2:But the other option that sometimes happens is there's just a sudden accident and if people haven't had the conversations or they're not prepared I mean People haven't had the conversations or they're not prepared I mean nobody ever calls us and says gee, margo, I think I'm going to fall and break my hip in September. Can you be ready for me? You know so. We always encourage people. Think of us like an umbrella If it rains. We're here, you've got us and we'll keep you covered. Hopefully it never rains and you never need us, but it's better to be prepared. So, guys, come over, there's no cost. We'll discuss the options. We'll lay it all out for you. This is what home care looks like. This is what congregate living looks like, because not everybody wants the same thing. Some people say no, when I need help, I want to move into you know, a B or C facility. Other people say, no, it's very important for me to stay home with my husband and my, you know, two dogs and a cat.
Speaker 1:Right, exactly, and you know the other thing. I would imagine it's a. I mean, first of all, you made a very good point have the conversation. Have the conversation with your parents. You know if, if you're not um, as you know, if you're having mobility issues, or if you're not able to um, you know prepare food or or you know needing a little more help, are you, are you okay with us getting somebody to come in, uh, and help you? Because that's another thing. I imagine people have lived independently, um in their own homes, you know, by themselves, without anyone else, and sometimes people don't want others coming in their home homes. You know, by themselves, without anyone else, and sometimes people don't want others coming in their home. Do you find that as well? Like, the daughter might want some help for her parents, but the parents are absolutely opposed to it.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, it's a very common theme. You know, as we get older we're perhaps not as comfortable or as brave as we were when we're younger, and the thought of having a quote unquote stranger come into the home can be a little bit worrisome or intimidating. So what we often point out is we'll say, well, do you have a housekeeper? Oh, yes, we have so and so, and she's been with us 20 years and she's fabulous. We couldn't live without her. And we sometimes just have to point out well, 21 years ago that person was a stranger to you and that, oh, okay, and sometimes you can see the light bulb go off.
Speaker 2:So what we always try to say to people have the conversation but realize, with home care, it's your home, you're still in charge. You tell us what you'd like us to do, what you don't like us to do. Some people are very insistent we need you to come in here and do the shopping and the meal preparation and the cleaning. Other women who pride themselves on how well they've cared for their you know husband and children and their house, they'll say don't go near my kitchen. Well, absolutely, if you don't want us in your kitchen, we're not going to go near it because you're still in charge honest in your kitchen.
Speaker 1:We're not going to go near it because you're still in charge. If you enjoy the show, there's one simple way you can show your support Just hit the follow button on the app you're using to listen to the show. Right now, I'm working so hard to take everything on the show to the next level, and your follow means a lot to me. It's the only free thing I'll ever ask of you and it truly makes a big difference. Thank you sincerely for your support. I truly appreciate it. What services do home care agencies or your agency, shiloh Home Health Care? What kind of services do you provide? You mentioned a couple there.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, we are a full service home health care company because we actually, as you mentioned, I'm a registered nurse we have another registered nurse who's our nurse supervisor. So one of the RNs goes out and does the initial assessment and then, as we're caring for the clients throughout you know, whether it's for a couple of weeks or 15, 20 years, whatever it may be we go out and visit the clients on a regular basis, and not only is it a customer service visit, we're saying how's it going? Is there anything else we could be doing, all those sort of things. We're also looking at the client. You know you can never lose your nursing assessment skills. So we're looking at them and thinking do they look well? Do they look like they're gaining weight, losing weight, are they retaining fluid? Is their color off? And if we have any concerns, then we'll follow up with the client or the family or the doctor who's ever appropriate, so we can stay on top of those things. So some of our clients have us come in once a month and just do a little bit of housekeeping. That's all they need.
Speaker 2:But they feel comfortable using a home care company because they realize, as they get older, if they start needing more help. If they need somebody to be around when they're having a bath or help them with their physio, we can do that and they don't have to invite another company in and have a. You know they don't have to deal with three or four companies. We can do. We can take care of the home. We can take care of the patient with the personal care, the medications. We do the driving services. We take them to the doctor, we take them to their appointments. We basically do everything except money. We don't touch money, we don't manage money. We don't want to have anything to do with money. We leave that to the lawyers, families or public trustees.
Speaker 1:And it sounds like also in those services, you know, you'd get to know your employees, your caregivers, would get to know the family and the client and become a companion, become a friend, especially, you know, as they're working for them over a period of time.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. I mean, the social component to what we do is so very important. We, you know, when we go in a client, will give us a list of tasks and say well, I want you to do shopping and meal preparation, make sure mom takes her medications and, weather permitting, get out in the seawall and go for a walk and get some exercise doing the task. It's also a familiar face coming, whether it's, you know, once a month, once a week or every other day. I mean, some clients have us 24, seven, whatever's required, and they really on both sides.
Speaker 2:The caregivers care a great deal about their clients and the clients start to consider the caregivers like a second family, because we're the ones that are there day after day providing the support. And the great thing we often hear from the children is this is great I can just visit mom and just be her daughter. Now I don't have to be her caregiver, I don't have to get a call every time there's a problem, because I know you guys are going to take care of it, and I can just enjoy being her daughter again.
Speaker 1:Right, and that's so important because that loneliness factor is associated with elevated blood pressure, early death, depression, and so it's and also the worry, for you know, the children are often in their forties and fifties and they're busy raising kids and at the peak of their career, and you know they're in that sandwich generation, trying to take care of their parents and their own families as well, and so I would imagine that home health care, especially Shiloh Home Health Care, would be a welcome, welcome relief, especially with all of your experience and your services and being a nurse is entirely different. Some health care companies or home health care companies don't even have nurses. They have no nurses experience and your services and being a nurse is entirely different. Some healthcare companies or home healthcare companies don't even have nurses. They have no nurses. People think they have nurses but they don't at all.
Speaker 1:And those assessment skills are so important in terms of, you know, assessing the patient, especially as they age or if something changes with their mobility or their frailty level or their medications, for example. So it's awesome the services that you provide. What would you say to somebody who's thinking, gee, I think my parents or my mom or my dad could use some help in the home. What would you suggest to them?
Speaker 2:Well, what we usually say is we just ask them do you think mom or dad's ready to have this conversation? Because sometimes seniors can be reluctant. And if there is a reluctance we usually ask well, who would your mom or dad listen to? Sometimes it's the oldest son in the family. You know whatever he says goes. Sometimes it's the family doctor. Sometimes it's the old neighbor who is a lawyer. We try to get that person involved and we say listen, just tell your parents. This is just a conversation. We're not here to try to push or sell our services. There's no cost to it. We're just going to sit down and have a discussion and try to let them know. Should you ever need some support, these are your options. If you choose home care, these are the things we can do for you. If you wish to stay in your own home for the rest of your life and pass peacefully your own bed, that is a service we can offer for you.
Speaker 1:And that's a tremendous service. And, margo, just tell the listeners your website, please.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the company name Shiloh S-H-Y-L-O homehealthcareca, because we're a proud Canadian company.
Speaker 1:Yes, you are indeed, and on the North Shore of Vancouver in British Columbia, margot, thank you so much for joining the podcast this evening. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for having me, and it's been a real pleasure to talk with you.
Speaker 1:Excellent information. That was Margo Ware, the owner at Shiloh Home Healthcare and the website shilohomehealthcareca, and I'm Maureen McGrath and you've been listening to another episode of my health show podcast. Thank you so much. Thanks so much for tuning in. I'm Maureen McGrath and you have been listening to the Sunday Night Health Show podcast. If you want to hear this podcast or any other segment again, feel free to go to iTunes, spotify or Google Play or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. You can always email me, nursetalk at hotmailcom or text the show 604-765-9287. That's 604-765-9287. Or head on over to my website for more information. Maureenmcgrathcom, it's been my pleasure to spend this time with you.
Speaker 1:This podcast is brought to you by Life360 Innovations, creators of the Contino urethral insert, a non-surgical, health Canada licensed medical device for men with stress urinary incontinence. Contino is easy to use and blocks the flow and creates a personalized treatment plan that provides ongoing support so you can get back to life. Go to MyContinocom to see if Contino is right for you and book your free continence assessment. Get bladder leakage control with Contino and get back to living. Remember, go to MyContinocom. That's M-Y-C-O-N-T-I-N-O dot com.