We hope you are enjoying a restful Memorial Day weekend with family and friends. This week's stress relief photo was taken in the mountains near Zurich, Switzerland. Caregiverlist invites you to enjoy the photo and share it with loved ones. At Caregiverlist we know the realities of caregiver stress. Thank you caregivers and certified nursing aides for your hard work and caring for our seniors. Please refer your friends to apply for part-time and full-time job positions on Caregiverlist.com and visit our career center for additional career tools. We hope you have a great week. 

"Every mountaintop is within reach if you just keep climbing." -Barry Finlay

This week's stress relief photo was taken in a park in Chicago. It features raindrops on a spider web, glistening on the morning after a storm. Little things in nature can be so magical. Thank you caregivers and certified nursing aides for your hard work and the care you provide for our seniors. More caregivers are always needed as seniors in America are living longer. You can learn more about becoming a senior caregiver and apply for a job near you. We invite you to take a moment to relax and enjoy this week's photo and inspirational quote and share them with loved ones. We hope you have a great week. 

"Each of us is a unique strand in the intricate web of life and here to make a difference." 

-Deepak Chopra

Back pain, heartburn or sunburn might be somewhat minor on the scale of severity of health issues, but they can cause serious discomfort for caregivers or their senior clients on a regular basis. Try searching home remedies for the times when a minor issue plagues you, but it's not severe enough to need to visit the doctor using the Home Remedies app. 

When users first open the app, they must agree to a statement that the app is not intended to replace the opinion of a medical professional. Caregivers know that nothing replaces a visit to the doctor when it's necessary. This app can be used in instances of minor injury to quell pain, speed up healing or eliminate the underlying cause of a problem, 

The app design offers a clean and simple way to navigate around. The home screen shows all of the ailments with available home remedies to view. The list includes a range of problems, from bruises and dandruff to sore throat and common cold. When caregivers pick an ailment and click on it, the app brings them to a detail screen with all of the suggested home ailments. 

The number of suggested home remedies varies from one to almost 10 suggestions in some cases. For example, the sore throat home remedies list shows seven options. Most of the remedies include ingredients caregivers are likely to have lying around the house, or that are affordable and easy to pick up at the local drug store or grocery store. For the sore throat home remedies, ingredients include onion, honey, basil, cinnamon, tea or turmeric. 

When users navigate back to the home screen, they will find an icon in the top right corner that looks like a figure in a white coat. Caregivers can use this button to be taken out of the app and to the Home Remedies site where they will find the Ask a Question function. If caregivers have specific questions about a home remedy, they can use this form to send an e-mail and receive an answer back. Remember, this does not replace a doctor's opinion. If there's any indication that an ailment might be serious then you should visit a doctor or go to the emergency room, if warranted. 

The Home Remedies app is available for Apple and Android platforms. 

Senior caregivers, let us know your feedback on this app and keep us posted if you discovers additional apps that assist with caregiving duties and help relieve caregiver stress. You may also refer-a-friend to a senior caregiving job and win prizes weekly and monthly on Caregiverlist. 

-Paige Krzysko

Seniors must pay for their long-term care needs in the U.S.A. and those seniors living in Hawaii are paying more for the luxury of island living when it comes to nursing home care. Let's hope all of their rooms come with an ocean view as the average cost in the Aloha state for a shared nursing room is $350 per day. Seniors and their families can pay research their local senior care options ahead of time in order to better plan for senior care. Transamerica offers a complimentary financial consultation regarding retirement care costs as Medicare does not pay for ongoing senior care and Medicaid, for low-income seniors, has certain spend-down requirements in order to qualify.

Senior caregivers are needed to fill the need for senior care services as the senior care industry continues to grow. More than 200 senior home care agencies provide care services in the top 20 metropolitan cities in the U.S.A. Part-time and full-time job positions are available for caring individuals to be senior caregivers. 

Senior care services are regulated in each state, just like other businesses. Some states do require specific caregiver training and renewal training each year. This enables caregivers to keep up with caregiving skills and any new requirements that may have been established. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was passed in 1996 and now requires caregivers to keep any information about a senior client's medical records and personal health information private and training allows caregivers to understand what information can and cannot be shared.

How to become a professional senior caregiver to be hired by a senior care company:

1. Read the Caregiver Job Description to Understand Companion Caregiving Job Duties
2. Obtain a Professional Multi-State Background Check, to Check last 3 Counties of Residency
3. Verify Background Check Accuracy of Information
4. Organize Available Schedule to Work 
5. Learn Caregiving Skills by Reading Books and Movies
6. Consider Online Caregiver Training Courses (Training is Required in Illinois, California and Many other States)

Remember, senior caregiving involves caring for one individual senior when providing senior care services in the home. The senior will build an emotional relationship with the caregiver which is why it is very important for caregivers to commit to a consistent schedule and be reliable. Part-time caregivers are needed but just be sure you are organized with your schedule and provide only the days and times you are truly available to work.

Background checks have evolved with technology but the negative of the computerized results is that many are returning inaccurate information. Especially if you have a common name and have moved frequently, it is more likely you will have results returned that may not be accurate for your name and social security number and this is why you should run a background check on yourself each year. Each of the background check companies offer a process to follow to correct any inaccurate information. Be careful of where you buy your background check as some resellers only offer a social security number confirmation for a name, rather than pulling information from criminal courthouse records.

Take a practice caregiver training quiz to learn about caregiving skills. Online caregiver training allows you to become a certified caregiver in states with caregiver training requirements. After you become a certified caregiver, you may consider becoming a Certified Nursing Aide. C.N.A. training requirements are mandated by a federal law, but states may have additional requirements that require more C.N.A. training hours than the federal law. You can find C.N.A. schools in your area in the Caregiverlist C.N.A. School Directory.

Online caregiver training allows anyone to learn caregiving skills and take the course at their own pace. Find caregiver training requirements in your state or just take the basic caregiver training course to get started as this course meets the requirements for beginning caregivers in California, Illinois and more states. Senior care companies hire caregivers for part-time and full-time positions each week and you can be considered for a new caregiving job by submitting your job application on the industry's caregiving career center.

Family caregivers and professional caregivers can find how others navigate the caregiving journey and learn how to better deal with the aging process by watching these caregiving movies and reading these caregiving books.

The world looks so amazing and peaceful when seen from above. This week's stress relief photo was taken flying over the fjords of Norway. Please enjoy and feel free to share the photo and inspirational quote with loved ones. Thank you caregivers and certified nursing aides for your hard work and caring for our seniors. Senior care training assists caregivers to better manage a senior's care needs and manage caregiver stress. We hope you have a great week.

"When everything seems to be going against you, 

remember that an airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."

-Henry Ford

A lot can change in a lifetime, especially for senior clients who were born before the personal computer, the civil rights movement and the World Wars. For senior caregivers and their clients who enjoy discussing and learning about history, The History Channel app offers content from the cable channel as well as an archive of event specific short videos. 

The History Channel on TV covers a vast amount of human history in different areas. Likewise, the app provides content ranging across the depths of human history, covering topics from American slavery and the civil rights movement to U.S. Presidents and the history of the U.S. States. 

When users first download the app, they have the option to log in using their cable provider to unlock all of the features, or to just browse without logging in. The benefit of logging in comes in being able to watch full episodes of The History Channel original series, and being able to stream Live TV directly to the device being used. 

Users can even mark shows they'd like to watch later and sync their Continue Watching and My Queue lists from the app to their TV. For senior caregivers who might like to watch this channel with their senior clients to share a piece of history, this feature could come in handy to bookmark clips they'd like to show their senior clients later. 

Even if users don't log in with a cable provider, they still have free access to the Topics area of the app. This section breaks down app content based on the event or topic it centers around. Topics include Ancient History, holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, major wars such as the Cold War and the Vietnam War, and Women's History. 

Users can pick a topic and without leaving that page, quickly scroll through all of the videos in the category to pick one to watch. For a more in depth summary, they can click on a specific title to read a full description and find information on video length. Most of the videos range from two to four minutes long and offer similar insight from historians as the longer programs on the History Channel. 

For senior caregivers, sharing this app with their senior clients provides a unique way to learn more about their word view. For example, watching a video on the Vietnam War might prompt a senior client to share a story about a loved one who served in the military at that time. Or, watching videos on the Civil Rights Movement might cause senior clients to reflect on how society has changed within their lifetime. And, if senior clients already have particular events from history they like to learn about, this app provides an easy way to find more videos on the topic to continue further learning. 

The History Channel App is available for Apple and Android platforms. 

Senior caregivers, let us know your feedback on this app and keep us posted if you discovers additional apps that assist with caregiving duties and help relieve caregiver stress. You may also refer-a-friend to a senior caregiving job and win prizes weekly and monthly on Caregiverlist. 

-Paige Krzysko

We finally have some May flowers. For the mothers out there, we hope you had a lovely Mother's Day. For those of you who aren't, maybe you had the chance to honor and appreciate yours. This week's stress relief photo was taken on the grounds of Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. We invite you to take a moment to enjoy the photo and the inspirational quote and feel free to share them with loved ones. Caregivers provide companionship and caregiving to seniors, and must remember to "care for the caregiver." Thank you caregivers and certified nursing aides for your hard work and caring for our seniors.  Have a great week.

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous.

 It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."

-Elizabeth Stone

With low pay rates, caregiver budgets can be tight. Take that shirt you loved in the store only to bring it home and wear it twice before being doomed to the back of your closet and put it up for sale online instead of letting it gather dust. Using the letgo app, caregivers can make money off items they no longer use at home and search for gently used items at low prices. 

The letgo app functions as a neighborhood resale app. Users can list items for sale and pick up in their neighborhood, and then search listings in their area. When caregivers first download the app, they need to create an account by linking a Facebook or Google profile, or typing in their information manually.

Once caregivers create an account, they can browse through all available listings. The app breaks items for sale down into one of several categories such as: electronics; cars and motors; sports, leisure and games; home and garden; movies, books and music; fashion and accessories; baby and child; or other. 

The wide variety of items for sale offer caregivers plenty of options to purchase things they might need at a lower rate than in stores. For example, in the furniture category users can search through listings with furniture available secondhand but still in good condition. For example, this Ikea chair starts at $129 new, but caregivers could purchase it for $40 secondhand from this listing in the app. 

Caregivers can also see the zip code where the seller is located, so they can easily determine if the item would be in a place easy for them to get to and pick up. To sell an item of their own, caregivers can create a listing in a few short minutes. The app allows users to upload photos from their phones or take a new photo when creating a listing. 

Once a photo has been selected or taken, caregivers can either set a price or list it simply as negotiable. The description of the item will be pulled from the photograph you provide, and the location will match up with the location attached to your profile from the time of set up. Product listings become available within the app in 10 minutes. 

Once caregivers see something they'd like to purchase, they can chat privately within the app with the seller to arrange payment and a time to pick the item up. Caregivers can see a summary of all the items they've sold or bought under the person icon on the lower right corner of the screen. 

The letgo app is available for Apple and Android platforms. 

Senior caregivers, let us know your feedback on this app and keep us posted if you discovers additional apps that assist with caregiving duties and help relieve caregiver stress. You may also refer-a-friend to a senior caregiving job and win prizes weekly and monthly on Caregiverlist. 

-Paige Krzysko