Yes, we can. Care Mountain is Texas State licensed to provide home care services at home, in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, rehab hospitals, retirement homes, senior apartments, and hospitals. We can provide services almost anywhere a person resides in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Assisted living and other senior facilities often may not have their service offering set up to provide additional personal attention, or help with activities of daily living that are very specific to an individua’s needs. Care Mountain’s caregivers can work in the assisted living facility or any facility at the client’s discretion, providing supplemental supervision, companionship, transportation and assistance with activities of daily living.
We are also state licensed to provide services in nursing homes and rehabilitative facilities in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. While these facilities often provide a more extensive offering of services than assisted living facilities, we are often engaged by clients in nursing homes for personalized services such as companionship, supervision, participation in extra activity and to be an advocate for them during their stay in the facility. As a client advocate, we ensure the client is getting the nursing home or rehabilitative care that is expected during their stay.
Care Mountain is also Texas State licensed to provide services in DFW hospitals. Our service in hospitals is primarily catered to providing companionship, general supervision, extra personal attention needed to make the client as comfortable as possible, and to be a client advocate ensuring expected care is received. We are also State licensed to provide home care services in senior apartments and retirement communities. Often in these facilities as a person ages in place they may need more services than what the facility can provide in order to remain safely living there. In these situations, we are often making available a wide range of home care services such as assistance with dressing, bathing, personal hygiene, meals, self administration of medications, lite household chores, transportation and general supervision.
Yes, for over 12 years we have successfully provided live In and 24 hour home care for many types of care needs, including Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s and other health conditions.
Live In care provides a more affordable alternative for situations in which someone would like a care giver on premises 24 hours a day. Care Mountain will normally work a seven day a week live In schedule with two caregivers, with one doing four days and the other three days out of the week. With live in care, the clients and caregivers are matched to a daily rate which is lower than if paying for hourly care shifts. We have found that Live In care versus 24 hour shift work tends to work in 95% of the cases we encounter. Those situations that involved a temporary fragile medical situation, or when in the last few weeks of life tend to be more ideal for the 24 hour shift work versus Live In caregivers. Because the Live In care giver is there for consecutive days they are allowed/required to get an adequate period of sleep. We do work with each client on an alert system to awaken the caregiver. Even though the care giver is asleep at times, clients report sound peace of mind just knowing an experienced caregiver is near. The Live In care giver can do a wide variety of tasks such as assisting with cooking, lite household chores, dressing, bathing, personal hygiene, transportation, shopping, self administration of medications, ambulating and much, much more. In all our years in business we have never had two Live In clients whose needs were similar, so we expect each case to be a very customized and unique one. One of the reasons we have one of the best reputations for Live In care in DFW is that we have an incredible method of successfully matching each client with a very compatible care giver. When a single care giver is in a client’s home this much, compatibility has to be as close to perfection as you can get. When we care for someone with Alzheimer’s on a Live In basis the family at times is concerned that a Live In may not work out because their loved one often gets up at all hours of the night. While this can be an immediate issue with a Live In because they do need adequate sleep, we have normally found it not an issue going forward. With our many years of experience we are able to find out what is triggering the waking up at odd hours of the night, and remove or manage those triggers in a way that eliminates or minimizes this behavior, so that it is not an issue for the Live In caregiver.
Yes, it is part of our wide range of Texas State licensed home health care related services. Referring to one aspect of our service as a sitter service has been a common reference for many, but we prefer not to use this terminology as it seems to undermine our goal of being a source of independence and not dependence to elderly and seniors. While we do “sit” with some clients, our caregivers are experienced to, whenever feasible or practical, engage their client in an effort to enhance their independence (versus just sit there).
We have some clients requiring minor or no assistance that seem to benefit greatly from just having a good companion. This companionship provides encouragement and support to stay active and engaged in things the client would not otherwise do if alone. We have a program dedicated to this type of service called Pivot Care. Care givers that qualify for our Pivot Care program are specially suited at working with clients that may be a little depressed, feeling unsure of themselves, or have some other barrier to greater independence. Pivot Care caregivers have a proven track record of helping others over come these and other barriers to independence. Our home health caregivers that primarily provide companionship can get their client engaged in many independence enhancing activities such as attending a senior center, shopping, eating out, exercising, attending educational events/classes and other activities the client had enjoyed in the past. Our caregiver companion service for elderly and seniors only works because we are one of the best home health care agencies in DFW at getting a good match between an elderly person or senior citizen and a companion caregiver. We have even been a great traveling companion for clients.
Yes. Of the ten types of dementia, we have extensive experience providing home health care for the common types of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), mixed dementia, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, normal pressure hydrocephalus and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Knowing the type of dementia your loved one has is helpful in getting best results from care giving efforts. Since each type of dementia can take on a different form of progression, knowing the type allows a care giver to take a more proactive approach to care, which minimizes crisis care giving that creates harmful stress in the environment.
The most common types of dementia are Alzheimer’s and vascular in nature, and as result that is what we have had the most experience with. Yes, we have worked extensively though with many of the other types of dementia mentioned previously. Caring for someone with dementia is one of the most team intensive care giving efforts we face. And, ironically we have found many times the “significant other” of the person with dementia often needs more support than the person with dementia. A main reason for this, is that dementia can be a disease requiring the significant other to cope with it around the clock. And coping skills that are constantly being tested can have a more detrimental impact on one’s own health, which can lead to a health decline more significant than that of the loved one you are caring for with dementia. Two important things a person can do to care for their love one is to accept the reality of the dementia, and set healthy limits for themselves. This is much easier said than done. When it comes to caring for a love one, it is not easy to accept that they have a disease with a progressive or terminal outcome, so many try to explain things away or try to create a more desirable reality. Unfortunately, when the reality we are trying to create differs from true reality, we tend not to get desirable outcomes from our care giving efforts. We have seen once the reality of a love one’s dementia is accepted by the significant other(s), stress is minimized and care giving efforts are much more successful by all involved. Getting through acceptance of the reality of a loved one having dementia often depends on one’s current coping skills dealing with grief and loss, and the level of education possessed on the type of dementia at hand. Setting healthy limits for oneself while caring for a love one, means that you will not be much good to others for very long, if you are not taking good care of yourself. Setting health limits starts with the basics such as getting adequate sleep, eating right, exercising and taking quality alone time without feeling guilty about it.
Yes. The Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Dallas, Texas has awarded experienced care givers from Care Mountain for SIX recent years the competitive Outstanding Caregiver of the Year Award for recognition of high quality achievement in the care at home home for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. This award is a highly competitive and coveted in the care of Alzheimer’s disease, that very few ever get awarded in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex! Since Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia are a chronic progressive condition, we also ensure the care givers, we only work with caregivers that have extensive and specific previous experience. This ensure stress levels in the home environment remain low, which is especially important when caring for Alzheimer’s disease and other common types of dementia. One of the most common concerns families bring to us with a loved one having Alzheimer’s has to do with behavioral issues associated with the disease, such as agitation, wandering and disruptive sleep patterns. Alzheimer’s represents a progressive decline in one’s ability to cope, so in resolving behavioral issues we identify and manage triggers of the behavior the person is trying to cope with. Identifying triggers of undesirable behavior is often not easy, but one of the best ways we found to do this is by keeping a log of what the person was exposed to up to three hours before the behavior occurred. The behavioral trigger will often be a recurring notation in your log.
Our care givers often find behavioral issues can emanate from an illness or discomfort a person with Alzheimer’s disease is experiencing. Since this person’s ability to cope is diminishing, we have found the symptoms of any illness to be three times greater than for someone without Alzheimer’s disease. Some seemingly small but rather common things that can make a big difference in behavior are related to a urinary tract or bladder infection, dehydration or a medication issue. When families call about a loved one with Alzheimer’s, they share some challenging behavior issues they are dealing with, and are often concerned about being able to find and retain a good care giver under those conditions. It is not easy to find really good care givers, but we do find them through a lot of effort. We also work really hard getting the best fit with a care giver and client, and not just put a warm body in to do tasks. Getting this best fit with a client has allowed us to have one of the lowest caregiver turnovers in the Dallas Fort Worth area, and is a big reason why we have never had a single State complaint!
Yes. Working over the last 16+ years with families coping with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, we have found success in this area of care giving requires one of the most team focused efforts. As a result, we have specially trained staff equipped with a variety of helpful resources to support family members with the care of their loved one with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia.
Alzheimer’s is one of the more difficult diseases for a family to provide care for, because it is very challenging to accept as a reality in one’s life. Until the family member can accept that their love one has this disease, they will often experience unintended results from their sincere care giving efforts. We have found getting to the acceptance of this disease often depends upon one’s own coping skills in dealing with grief and loss. A key factor that helps in accepting the reality of Alzheimer’s disease is an understanding of it. Many families have gained a good understanding through self education, and by talking with others that have already lived and cared for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease. Support groups focused on caring for someone with Alzheimer’s are a great way to meet others that can give valuable information for understanding and coping with Alzheimer’s disease. Your local Alzheimer’s Association is a great place to call and locate a local Alzheimer’s support group in your area. The Alzheimer’s Association is also a great place to get educational material on Alzheimer’s disease, and even attend some very helpful classes on Alzheimer’s disease (most are free). Once you get past acceptance, then we have found the key to successful care giving for someone with Alzheimer’s disease is setting healthy limits. If you don’t take good care of yourself, then you won’t be much help to anyone else after too long. I often get asked what is the single most important thing one can do to care for their love one, and I say get a good night sleep. Taking quality time for yourself, and setting healthy limits for yourself, are key issues I see almost all admirable care givers struggle with. Family care givers that don’t cope with these issues effectively often go down the path of guilt, resentment, anger and some even reach a state of depression.
We provide a home care nurse in DFW up to the certified nursing aide (CNA) level. This will cover what you will likely need most of the time. Nursing services we don’t provide are often those that are needed on a very short term bases, and obtained through your physician. In home care we often view the levels of home nursing care as skilled, or medical home health care, and non skilled or, non-medical home health care. Medical home health care is most commonly provided by health care professionals such as a Registered Nurse (RN), Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN), Physical Therapist (PT) or Occupational Therapist (OT). Non-medical home health care is typically provided by a person such as a Certified Nursing Aide (CNA) or a licensed care giver. Care Mountain provides non-medical home health care.
We have found medical home health care is most often used in cases of episodic illness or end of life, both of which tend to be relatively short in duration of usage. On the other hand, non-medical home health care we find is often used for a much longer period of time. Care Mountain has serviced clients several times weekly for over ten years. Yes, we do work with clients through episodic illnesses and end of life, but tend to find most of our services directed toward helping clients enhance and maintain their independence and safety over a longer period of time. Many clients have also enlisted our services because they have found while they are not acutely sick or disabled, they can stay a lot more independent a lot longer with just a little extra personal assistance on a consistent bases. Hence, we have become well known as a valuable source for client independence versus dependence. For example, we often see when a new stress enters an elderly persons life they often address safety concerns by over compensating through diminished activity. The old adage, if you don’t use it you lose it has exponential application as we age. Many, many of our clients would not be doing the activity they need to do to stay active, if it wasn’t for the encouragement, enabling and sense of security our home care caregivers provide that allows clients to take the perceived risk of activity engagement.
972-266-8978