by Karon on August 27, 2010

Do you know that a gallon of milk or juice weighs about eight pounds? That might not seem like much when you’re in your 50s or 60s and healthy, but when your arms aren’t as strong as they used to be, it can feel like a ton. Unless you have a cool tool designed to help keep your pouring hand steady, that is.
Meet the Roll ‘n Pour, a unique, cradle-like device that holds a heavy bottle and allows the user to easily tilt it to pour a glass of juice or soda without spilling a drop. Gallon and half-gallon jugs and two-liter bottles fit snugly in the Roll ‘n Pour, which sits flat on the counter until ready to use. Position a glass in front of the Roll ‘n Pour, then simply tilt it forward to pour. If your elderly loved one suffers from arthritis or other age-related joint pain and weakness, the Roll ‘n Pour can save him or her from the discomfort of lifting a heavy container, while allowing them to retain a little of their independence.
When it comes to making life easier for your loved ones, senior helpers like the Roll ‘n Pour make a fantastic addition to any kitchen. By providing help for difficult tasks, they can increase your loved one’s confidence in herself, and help you know she’s safe.
You can purchase the Roll ‘n Pour direct from the company for $22.95 plus shipping or from Amazon.com for $15.95 plus shipping.
How A Servant's Heart Can Help You
At A Servant’s Heart Senior Care, the needs of others come first! Here, older adults and their families can navigate through the next steps in aging with expert care and advice while enjoying
The Servant's Heart Difference.
Whether it’s providing
in-home caregivers so that your loved ones can remain at home with trustworthy home care or
professional geriatric care managers to assist your family in working through difficult situations, we can help you discover new solutions, find the support that you need and provide a better tomorrow for you and your family.
Call 1-800-777-4750 TODAY to get started!
by Tim on August 23, 2010

Most people with aging parents eventually learn about what Medicare will and will not pay for. One “general rule” that “everyone” learns is that if you spend 3 nights in a hospital and then are discharged to a “SNF” (a skilled nursing facility), Medicare will pay for the cost of at least part of the stay at the SNF.
Right? Well… it depends:
- If the hospital stay was “inpatient care”, then it’s much more likely that Medicare will pay for part or all of the stay at the SNF.
- If the hospital stay was for “observation services”, then Medicare definitely won’t pay for any of the stay at the SNF.
You might then think, “Well, I’ll just make sure that my parent’s stay is classified as inpatient status.” It’s not that easy, however. In fact, in some cases hospital stays that are initially determined to be inpatient status are later retroactively assessed to be observation status!
There have been a number of complaints about this recently. One person recently wrote:
“Have you noticed the uptick of “observation” stays in hospitals in the past year or two? I’ve heard lots of clients complain they were in the hospital for weeks only to discover, sometimes after they went to a nursing home, that they had never technically been admitted as inpatients to the hospital. Of course, since they did not have the requisite 3 day inpatient stay they weren’t eligible for Medicare coverage in the nursing home….”
Another person wrote this in a different posting:
“An elder law attorney recently told me about a case here: After dc to SNF this hospital RETROACTIVELY re-classified admission (it included 3 midnites) to observation status. SNF & patient didn’t find out until 3rd week, said she would have to private pay for the rehab stay. Family hired the attorney, he tried to appeal it–Medicare intermediary said they had no jurisdiction because it was not an appeal for premature discharge or denial of benefits, that the hospital was within its rights to retroactively change the admission designation and that the nursing home had the right to bill the patient for services rendered. The best the attorney could do was to negotiate the SNF daily rate down to their long-term private pay rate of $220/day instead of $375 Medicare rate, and get the therapy re-billed under Medicare part B as outpatient services, and the rxs (luckily she wasn’t on a lot) under part D.”
For more articles about this see
As usual, the government leaves it up to families to be aware of such matters and diligently check on every last detail in order to protect their loved ones’ best interests. Be sure to ask the doctor or the hospital case manager whether your older loved one is being “admitted” on an inpatient basis, or is on “observation services” status. A professional geriatric care manager can help by knowing about these details and helping older adults and their families navigate through these potholes in the healthcare system.
How A Servant's Heart Can Help You
At A Servant’s Heart Senior Care, the needs of others come first! Here, older adults and their families can navigate through the next steps in aging with expert care and advice while enjoying
The Servant's Heart Difference.
Whether it’s providing
in-home caregivers so that your loved ones can remain at home with trustworthy home care or
professional geriatric care managers to assist your family in working through difficult situations, we can help you discover new solutions, find the support that you need and provide a better tomorrow for you and your family.
Call 1-800-777-4750 TODAY to get started!