Saving Money Through Personal Preventive Healthcare

An interesting study on the Affordable Care Act that shows that even by extending health insurance to 30 million more Americans, health costs in the next ten years will only rise by about one-tenth of a percentage point more than without the Act.  While this is certainly an encouraging statistic, the article does not explain exactly who will be paying for the costs.  As it remains to be seen exactly what will happen with the new healthcare laws, and if Barack Obama's legislation will be effective, it stands clear that the best way to cut down on healthcare costs is preventive care.  If we take care of our minds and bodies by regularly exercising, living a healthy lifestyle, and visiting the doctor, we will avoid costly emergency treatment.  If we adopted this mindset as an entire society, healthcare costs would drop precipitously.

Video Montage With Quotes on Aging

A video montage with some funny and inspirational quotes on aging.  My personal favorite from Frank Lloyd Wright: The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes.

How Exercise Keeps the Mind Limber

We all know that exercise helps build strength, flexibility, balance, and that it reduces stress, but a new study shows how exercise impacts long-term memory.  The New York Times recently published an article about the effects of moderate exercise and how well it increases one's capacity to stave off memory loss.  The conclusion as always?  Exercise! The article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/how-exercise-can-keep-the-brain-fit/?smid=tw-nytimeshealth&seid=auto

Seven Ways to Fight Alzheimer's

A new study suggests that there are seven risk factors that one can prevent in order to avoid Alzheimer's. The study found that you could reduce proneness to Alzheimer's by quitting smoking, increasing mental and physical exercise, controlling blood pressure and diabetes, and managing blood pressure and obesity. The article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43​854005/ns/health-aging/

The Health Benefits of Yoga

The University of Missouri put together a movie about the health benefits of yoga.  Doing yoga helps increase flexibility, strength, posture, balance, concentration, and mood, and decreases stress.  So find the nearest yoga studio, bring a bottle of water, and get ready to sweat!

Advice for Selecting a Caregiver

A video we made to help in the process of selecting the right caregiver:

LTS Workers Give Back featuring Marilyn Sutcliffe

In the first of a series of interviews with LTS employees who give back to the community, I sat down with Marilyn Sutcliffe to discuss her volunteer work with caregiver support groups. The interview:

What do you do to give back to the community?

Marilyn Sutcliffe: I facilitate a support group for caregivers in my community, and that came out of a caregiving class that I started teaching a few years ago. I’ve done it in conjunction with my church but it is open to any member of the community.  At the end of the course people felt they needed more time together, so we started a support group.  As the facilitator, I try not to give too many answers to problems, but facilitate discussion amongst the caregivers.  It’s amazing how many good suggestions they come up with for each other. 

What are the best things the caregivers take away from the group?

MS: A sense of knowing that other people have the same feelings.  Caregivers often get overwhelmed and overburdened.  They have moments of real frustration and feelings of resentment.  Sometimes they resent the fact that they have no free time for themselves, and sometimes it’s resentment towards siblings who may not be helping, or who criticize the sibling who is providing the care.  It’s good for them to see that they’re not bad people because there are other people, who they view as good people, going through the same issues, often guilt.  The other thing we do is focus on the positives of things they may be doing as caregivers, and someone might say ‘That’s a really great idea – I want to try that.’  I want them to come away with a sense of ‘I am not the only one who has these negative feelings - I’m doing a lot of good things, and I’m doing them the right way.’  The group gives them confidence in what they are doing and validates the fact that they are human and will inevitably make mistakes.  One thing often echoed is that it’s not always fun taking care of mom and dad.  The group really helps with the frustrations of caregiving.

Do the members of the support groups know each other before they join?

MS: No.

Do you feel like they develop friendships through the group?

MS: Yes, and that’s exactly why at the end of the class, the members wanted to start the support group.  They had really bonded and made friendships.  Sometimes people will get together outside of the support group.  We have a very caring bunch.  Sometimes someone will send out an email about a problem and they need some advice before the next meeting, and the number and quality of responses is amazing.  It’s a very interactive group.

What is the most rewarding part of your work?

MS: The fact that people leave the room with a sense that they now have new ideas that will help them with their caregiving and the fact that I create an atmosphere of “what happens here stays here” so there is a real comfort level in that room.  The members of the group really help each other, and that is very rewarding for me, because I feel like I am the one who brings them together.  It is truly a great feeling.  Also, it feels great when a support group peters out because the members feel like they no longer need support.

Without mentioning any names, do you have any favorite success stories that you would like to share?

MS: I had one woman in the group who was, as a caregiver, doing everything, and becoming very resentful but not really realizing it.   She felt like her siblings did nothing to help her.  Through discussions in the support group, she realized she was not doing an effective job asking for help.  She did end up asking her siblings for help, and she was happy to find that they were more than willing to share the caregiving duties, and it made her life a lot easier.

What is your best advice for caregivers?

MC: Find a support group. This can be a problem because caregivers are so busy and cannot find the time to go to a support group.  Some caregivers become so involved in their own work that they feel like nobody can do a better job, they do not reach out to others and they become overwhelmed.  So yes, find a support group.  Most senior centers and hospitals know where there are support groups, and most associations for specific diseases, like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and cancer have support groups and it is important to try to connect with those.

Celebrating Aging

In our culture today, everywhere we look we see advertisements to look younger, to cure wrinkles, and to stop the aging process.  It's an unstoppable process, and the best way to deal with it is to embrace it.  In this video, Alice and Richard Matzkin discuss aging and their book, The Art of Aging: Celebrating the Authentic Self."  Through artwork, the couple learned to accept aging and enjoy it as a natural process.

The Rewards of Caregiving

In this article, the author spells out some of the great benefits of caregiving, including building close relationships with family members, personal and spiritual growth, and a connectedness with other caregivers.  A great read: http://www.extension.org/pages/9324/rewards-of-caregiving

Elder Appreciation

Today I typed "Elder Appreciation" into Google, hoping I would find some interesting articles about great things communities are doing for their elders, or a nice story on how a school has dedicated lots of time visiting an assisted living facility.  Instead, I found stories dedicated to various Elder Appreciation Days.  While celebrating elders for a day is fantastic, it raises a pertinent question: How do we treat elders on the other 364 days of the year? 

Speaking with others about this topic, I have encountered several different answers.  The best responses I hear always come from people who speak about their parents, and how taking care of them has been such a joy.  A friend of mine, who has three children, told me that every day it gives her so much joy to speak about her children with her own parents.  When her oldest got accepted into college, the first person she called was her mother, and they were both ecstatic at the news.  For me, stories like this were always among the favorites that I shared with my mother and father.  First steps, first words, and any exciting news were always quickly followed by a phone call.  While taking care of my parents often proved difficult and stressful, the joy of speaking with my parents about almost anything as they got older far outweighed the negatives.  They always gave me great wisdom, and I always enjoyed sharing new and old memories with them.

Fall Prevention

For people over the age of 65, numbers show that the leading cause of unintentional injury is falling.  Falling is a highly preventable injury, and this article in the Boston Globe gives some great tips on fall prevention, including the need for balance and coordination exercises, as well as how to make your or your loved one's home a safer environment.  http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2011/07/04/tips_to_keep_from_falling/

Happy Independence Day Weekend!

Here at LTS we want to wish everyone a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend!  What better way to celebrate than watching a little Bruce Springsteen?!  Here's one of my favorite songs.  RIP Clarence Clemons.