by Debbie Robus

Created on: December 28, 2008   Last Updated: February 19, 2009

There is no easy, cut-and-dried answer to the question of whether elderly patients should be cared for by family members or by health care professionals. In the words of Hillary Clinton, "It takes a village." While health care professionals are a vital component in the overall health and well-being of the elderly, there is something to be said for the care given by alert family members - and the senior's own common sense. My grandmother does have assistance from nurses and aides via our county's Home Health program. They help her with a bath several times a week, so that she doesn't fall in the shower. They check her blood pressure and other vital signs. A nurse administers her vitamin B-12 shots several times a month and gives her a flu shot each fall. And each person assesses her overall condition when they visit. These are mostly things that I am not trained to do. I can't administer injections. I am not trained to handle someone in the shower to avoid a fall. I can take a blood pressure reading with one of the new digital gizmos, but I don't have instant access to my grandmother's doctors, should a problem arise.

Having said all of this, and noting that I love my grandmother's nurses and aides dearly, I must add that total dependence on outside care such as this can sometimes lead to trouble. When caring for the elderly, it truly does take a concerted effort by everyone - both family members AND health care professionals. One recent week was not a good one for my grandmother. After a trip to the doctor on Monday for more sample steroid inhalers for her cough and the admonition to continue her nasal spray for the fluid on her eustachian tube, she started a routine of roller-coaster blood pressure. One day it would be 150/80, and the next day it would be 90/70-something. By Thursday when we went to the hairdresser's, she was very week and wobbly, and her BP was about 115/70-something. For probably the last three months, my grandmother's weekly grocery list had changed dramatically. One week, I might buy a cabbage and salt pork - the next, household items and a loaf of bread and some butter. I know she has food in her freezer, so I have not questioned too much - other than, "don't you need milk or eggs?" Almost every week, I buy a package of Chips Ahoy chewy chocolate chip cookies - and at least every two weeks a 6-pack of 20-ounce Cokes and a bag of Hershey's kisses. She tells me that she is trying to keep her energy level up, and those things taste good to

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