Elder Health Update: Celiac Awareness Month

Did you know that October is Celiac Awareness month? More importantly, did you know that Celiac Disease can be a serious problem in older adults?  In a study published by Annals of Medicine researchers found that there was a change in gluten tolerance with age. They found that people in their 60s and 70s were being diagnosed with Celiac Disease, even though they had been consuming gluten without any complications their entire life.

For the elderly, Celiac Disease can pose a serious problem. When an individual with Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity consumes gluten, a protein found in wheat barley and rye, their body has an autoimmune response to the protein. This autoimmune response causes a wide variety of symptoms, some of which include gastrointestinal distress. For the elderly, this can be especially troubling because some of the symptoms such as joint pain can be misdiagnosed.

Fortunately, a gluten free diet will help to alleviate the symptoms brought on by Celiac Disease. You can read more about the study by clicking here.

Happy Thanksgiving, from Long Term Solutions

With Thanksgiving just a day away, we would like to take some time to express our gratitude and appreciation for all of the incredible healthcare professionals that we work with, our amazing administrative and clinical staff, and all of the families and caregivers who we are able help through their eldercare process. At Long Term Solutions, we’re passionate about elder care, and we’re thankful that we have been able to help so many families in the process of graceful aging.

Furthermore, we would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the 65.7 million caregivers who care for ailing or aging loved ones. Sadly, caregiving is usually a silent issue, so many of these caregivers don’t receive the praise and recognition that they deserve. It’s incredibly difficult to care for someone who is continuing to get worse and worse, but these caregivers continue to selflessly provide care and support through all of these emotional ups and downs. Caregivers are amazing and deserve thanks and praise for the amazing care they continue to provide. This year, remember to express your thanks and appreciation to any caregivers that you know.

With that said, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Rising Cost of Nursing Homes

This year, Genworth Financial released their 9^th annual Cost of Care Survey. The results serve as a perfect microscope to examine the cost of care state by state, and to understand emerging trends in the cost of care. One of the most striking figures is the cost of a nursing home and their expected increase in price.

In the study, the facilities are broken down into three categories: assisted living facility, nursing home(semi-private room) and nursing home (private room). For this article, we are just focusing on nursing home stays in a semi-private room. Nationwide, the average nursing home costs $200 a day. This figure has increased 3.63% in 2011, and over the next five years it is expected to grow 4.5%.

 Across the United States, it looks like this trend stays true for each state, with some regions being more expensive than others:

•  The North East has some of the most expensive care. In Massachusetts a nursing home stay costs $322 a day, and $117,530 a year. 
•  The cost of care in the West Coast is cheaper than the North East, but is still above the national average. In California a nursing home stay costs $224 a day, and $81,760 a year. 
• Nursing homes in the South are slightly above the national average. 
• In Florida, a nursing home stay costs $215 a day, and $78,475 a year
• The Midwest also is slightly below the national average, with a nursing home in Indiana costing $187 a day, and $68,255 a year.
• The most expensive nursing homes can be found in Alaska, with a nursing home costing $273,750 a year.
• The cheapest nursing homes can be found in Texas with nursing homes costing $47,450 a year.

What does this mean for caregivers? Already, more and more family members are fulfilling the role of caregiver due to the cost of healthcare. With the costs of facility focused care expected to increase at an average of $15,300 a year, more and more family members will become caregivers because facility based care is just too unaffordable.

You can compare costs in your state and others at Genworth’s website, here

Caring for the Elderly: Fall Risk: Part 1

Here in New England, fall is in full swing. We have beautiful fall foliage, chilly mornings and nights, and the days are getting shorter and shorter. While all of these are welcome parts of fall, the falling leaves, the changes in temperature, and the dwindling daylight can pose some safety hazards for the elderly.

Slippery Leaves 
The mild fall weather is a great opportunity to be outside, and many elderly take advantage of this by going on walks. However, the leaves on the ground can pose a serious fall risk. These dry leaves can absorb an incredibly large amount of water, and this makes them extremely slippery.

Please advise any of your elderly loved ones to practice caution while walking on a leaf covered sidewalk:

• Walk slowly over leaf covered areas 
• Always wear sneakers while walking to increase traction 
• If you are walking with an elderly loved one, support them by the arm while walking across any leaf covered areas 

Frost
The cold mornings and evenings create a second hazard: frost. The warm afternoon temperatures can quickly drop, and any condensation or moisture that is on the ground will turn into frost. This can be somewhat unexpected in months like September and October, but that is exactly why it is so dangerous. The elderly can avoid falls by taking several precautions:

• Walk slowly on the sidewalk 
• Avoid shaded areas as these are more likely to have frost 
• Try walking later in the day, as most of the frost is melted by noon 

Shorter days

Lastly, the shorter days can be a hazard to the elderly who may have difficulty seeing at night. Remember to remind your elderly loved ones about the time change. In addition to that, you can encourage them to alter their daily schedule by an hour or two, and advise them to plan all of their errands and appointments for the afternoon. That way, they can avoid being on the road after dark.

For the elderly, falls are incredibly dangerous. The elderly are at a much higher risk for suffering a broken bone or serious injury as the result of a fall. Furthermore, hospital stays can lead to an increased risk of pneumonia, cognitive decline, and other diseases. This season, please be sure to keep your elderly loved one safe from harm.

Caregivers at LTS: Brenda

“What I really love about working on the administrative side of Long Term Solutions is that at the end of the day I know the work we do is helping someone,” explained Brenda. “At the other end of the phone or on the other end of the assessment is someone who we’re helping. There’s a person behind every claim number.”

Caregiving is something Brenda has been doing full-time since 2000, and, because of this, she is really able to relate to the adult caregivers she talks to on the phone every day.

“Caregiving is very hard, but I’ve found that one line really helps the adult caregivers: 'it’s not easy raising a parent,'” said Brenda laughing.

This lighthearted humor is a part of her family, and she’s incorporated this into her caregiving duties. In 2001, when Brenda was just 36, her mother was diagnosed with sarcoidosis of the lungs, and eventually became wheelchair bound and required constant oxygen. Her father’s vision started failing and he was legally blind by 2001. Between 2001 and 2004, Brenda primarily looked after her mother because her mother continued to help with her father’s care, despite her worsening condition.

“They really complimented each other and that’s why their marriage was so successful. They were best friends. As they aged, their joke was that my mother was my father’s eyes, and my father was my mother’s legs, so together they would be a complete person,” said Brenda smiling.

Unfortunately, Brenda’s mother’s condition worsened in 2004 and she became very ill. Before she passed away, Brenda promised to watch after her mother’s husband and best friend. 

“I said ‘you can go and be at peace, I will always take care of dad. I want you to know that,’” explained Brenda. “I feel like it is an honor to do, as much as it can sometimes be frustrating.”

That is a promise that Brenda has fulfilled two-fold, and in 2004 she became the full-time caregiver for her father. Prior to her mother’s passing, she had moved in with her parents to provide better care for them. They lived in a home in Connecticut, and then together in a ranch house in Florida. After Brenda’s mother passed away, it was very painful for her father to live in the house he had shared with his wife. Brenda decided that they should move back to New England. They moved to Massachusetts in December 2006.

“Now we’re in a condo, and in a condo, you don’t have a lot of personal space,” said Brenda laughing. “It’s difficult at times. For example, if you don’t want to listen to the music my dad is listening to you don’t really have a choice. I’ve listened to a lot of Eva Cassidy.”

With her father’s diagnosis, it can be difficult for him to leave the house. He gave up driving about six months after he realized his vision was failing. Brenda has a difficult time encouraging him to leave the house because he has a natural tendency to be somewhat reclusive.

“He isolates himself at home, so, in a lot of ways, I’m his only social outlet in addition to being his full-time caretaker. I don’t get upset, but sometimes it gets to you.”

Instead of finding activities at the local senior center, he opts to spend most of his time with their miniature schnauzer, Maddie. She is 12-years-old, and also lost her vision this past year. The pair spends their day together, and they’ve worked out quite a schedule. The two go outside walking, and her father will take his seated walker and watch Maddie as she walks around. The two then make their way down the road to the gas station to buy scratch tickets, and then to Dunkin Donuts for lunch. In addition to their outside activities, they spend some of their day watching Home Shopping Network and researching their family tree with a computer that has been adapted to compensate for his reduced vision.

“I never realized that, until my mom passed away, my mom kept my father really in control and grounded. Without her, if left to his own devices, he will really do some silly, silly things,” joked Brenda. 

However, Brenda has worked incredibly hard to help her father maintain a sense of independence.

“That’s one of the things I always think about. How can I provide him with some independence? I always give him options for dinner, for example. I like him to have some control. It’s very hard to feel like you’re losing your independence, especially for men.”

From ensuring that the carpeting in their condo was flush with the walls and level with the hardwood floors so that her father wouldn’t trip, to hunting down a specialized stove to allow her father to cook, Brenda has actively pushed to provide her father with this independence. Brenda is now preparing to remodel their bathroom to make the shower more accessible.

“Well, the most rewarding thing about caregiving is knowing that my dad is happy where he is, and knowing that the quality of life that I’m able to give him is appreciated,” explained Brenda.

It’s this perspective and appreciation that has helped Brenda while working with other adult caregivers.

“My experience with my dad has really helped me. When the caregivers are stressed out, I know it helps just to have someone listening to them and telling them that we are there for them. I always say how lucky their parents are to have them as an advocate, and how wonderful it is that they take the time to be involved in their parent’s care,” explained Brenda. “It’s not easy for them. But, it can help if you put it into perspective – how much your parents did for you, and how much you can give back.”

Caregiving and the Importance of Balanced Eating

Caregivers, you need to take care of yourself! One of the first steps towards doing this is maintaining a nutritionally balanced diet. Unfortunately, eating can be one of the first thing affected by caregiving. Eating an imbalanced diet can lead to malnutrition, erratic blood sugar levels, fat storage, fatigue and more. There are a couple of pitfalls that can impact how and when you eat. Be sure to know how to recognize these and avoid them.

First, most caregivers are guilty of skipping meals. A jam packed schedule and a never-ending to do list can quickly push meal time to last priority. The demands of the feeding schedule of the person you are taking care of can also impact how you support your own eating. When preparing meals and shopping constantly for someone else, it’s easy to forget your own nutritional needs. Try not to fall into the habit of forgetting yourself. It may not be easy, but do try preparing your meals ahead of time. If you can cook several meals for yourself on the weekend, you’ll be stocked and prepared to have well-balanced meals during the course of the upcoming week.

Secondly, eating and emotions are very closely linked. Light stress can induce extra eating, while extreme stress can cause one to avoid eating all together or eating too much. It’s safe to say that caregiving can include varying levels of stress. As a caregiver, you need to learn how to identify when these emotions are impacting your diet. Once you’re able to do so, you can avoid the emotional eating trap.

Remember, you have to take care of yourself in order to fully provide care for the one you love. This is not selfish, it is prudent. By taking care of yourself, you’re able to provide the best care for the one you love.

Work-Life Balance and Doctor's Appointments

There has been a lot of discussion about work-life balance for mothers, but does work-life balance exist for all caregivers?

One responsibility that caregivers regularly assume is bringing loved ones young and old to medical appointments. For caregivers caring for an aging or ailing loved one, these medical appointments can happen extremely frequently. This can cut into work hours, and the commute can sometimes be the least distracting part of the trip. Caregivers have to figure out how to transport their aging or ailing loved one, how to get them ready for the medical appointment, how to assemble all of their medical information,  think of questions to ask the medical staff, determine how to navigate any inaccessible buildings, and more. Caregivers have to juggle all of these concerns in addition to working full-time. What can be done to help? 

•  Keeping an open line of communication between the caregiver employee and their manager

• Flexible hours

• The option to work from home

• An eldercare support program 

• Supporting them with access to resources and support

Here at Long Term Solutions, we understand that even with these options, caregivers are still stressed. We help working caregivers achieve this balance. Through our signature program, WeCare+, we will work with families to assess their situation, develop a plan of care and guide them to resources that will support their needs.

Do you know anyone struggling with work-life balance as a caregiver? What kind of support and advice can you offer to them?

Useful Caregiver Tips: Finding Help

As a caregiver, one of the most important things to remember is to ask for help. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day duties of caregiving, and you can easily find yourself incredibly overwhelmed.It’s not first nature to seek out and accept help, but it can be a lifesaver in some situations. Here are some tips for doing that:

Talk to your friends. Keep them updated on your day to day caregiving activities, even when you’re not looking for an extra hand. If they know what’s going on they’ll be able to jump in and take over a few tasks for you.

Remember your other family members. Most of the time, one person assumes most of the caregiving duties. However, look to see if you can use your other family members for chores around the house or other errands that need to be done. Could you pay your son $5 to do the grocery shopping for the week? How about asking your daughter to fold the laundry? These tasks become so much more difficult when caregiving for an adult.

Start making lists. Detailing everything you do will help you identify which chores can be passed on to others.

WeCare+. Our WeCare+ program is designed to support caregivers in multiple ways. We provide guidance and direction regarding what type of assistance your loved one needs, and where to find elder care resources.

Caregivers and Social Media

This week, there has been a lot of discussion about the benefit of social media for caregivers. If you’re a caregiver, social media is a great way create a support group made up of caregivers, and to reconnect with friends and family.

There are many amazing websites that are created specifically to support caregivers, and one of the best features of these websites is the opportunity to vent. Talking to your friends and family can be incredibly helpful, and is a lifesaver on many days, but there is something extremely helpful in venting to a virtual group of caregivers. If you don’t feel like writing about your personal experience, you can read the experience of other caregivers and understand that you’re not alone in your feelings.

Social media is also a perfect way to stay connected with your friends and family. You can stay up to date on everything in their lives, and you can keep them posted on your caregiving duties. The best part about social media is that you don’t have to dedicate your entire day to catching up.

Here is a great piece from HealthyMagination.com with online resources for caregivers: http://www.healthymagination.com/blog/social-media-can-help-reduce-caregiver-stress/

Caregiving and the Importance of Laughter

“Laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.” – Lord Byron

As a caregiver, you can experience emotions such as depression, anxiety, sadness and hopelessness on a daily basis and it's easy to become bogged down. How can you avoid being swept up in all of this emotion and lift your spirits? Laughter! Laughter and caregiving is something that we have touched upon in past posts, but we want to reiterate for a couple of reasons.

It’s important for you to have a sense of humor while caregiving. Full-time caregiving can be a rollercoaster of emotion, and, that being said, you experience very emotionally charged and intense situations. However, throughout the day, there will always be an opportunity for laughter and joy. We don't mean laughing at the expense of your loved one, but being able to recognize the comedy in a situation can be a great opportunity to diffuse some of the stresses involved with caregiving. Something that creates stress in your life now could be a good opportunity for laughter.

If you find that you aren’t finding any opportunities to laugh during the day, find a way to create laughter during your day. You can put on your favorite t.v. show, search on to YouTube, browse social media sites for something funny, or call up a funny friend. Why? It’s incredibly important and good for your health.

Laughter can do all of this and more:

   Reduce stress hormones

   Lower Blood Pressure

   Increase blood flow

   Increase infection-fighting antibodies

   Relieve pain

Put laughing every day on your list of things to do, and you’ll feel the emotional and physical benefits.

LTS Weekly News Roundup

Caregiving in the News:
NPR: One Roof, Three Generations, Many Decisions
In the first of a series of broadcasts, NPR has begun examining how the recent recession has forced many into multi-generational homes. As a result, they will discuss issues of elder care, the costs of caregiving, and the costs of long-term care insurance.

McKnight’s:Caregivers for Medicaid recipients often live in poverty, study finds
UCLA released a study this past week revealing that caregivers providing services to adults using Medi-Cal earn less than $11 an hour and have monthly incomes of $1,970. This is 200% below the federal poverty level.

Elder Health News:
The New York Times: Too Many Pills for Aging Patients
With more than 40% of people over age 65 taking five or more medications, there has been an increasing trend of over medicating seniors which leads to hospitalizations.

TIME: No Regrets! Successful Aging Means Letting Go of ‘What Ifs?’
Research from Science has indicated that adopting a‘no regrets’ philosophy will lead to emotional health later in life. Through a series of chance games, researchers determined that the elderly who readily blamed themselves for circumstances beyond their control were more likely to be depressed.

LA Times: You’re never too old to reduce Alzheimer’s risk with exercise
A recent study tracked 716 elderly people, and the results indicated that the participants who spent the least amount of time partaking in physical activity were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease.

Long-Term Care Industry News:
US News & World Report: Long-Term Care Needs Demand Your Attention Now
A combination of shrinking financial resources and fewer health-care workers is creating an unprecedented health care crisis.

LTS Weekly News Roundup

Caregiving in the News:
New York Times: Reconnecting Through Art
The Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan has been hosting “Mindful Connections” once a month, which is an opportunity for caregivers caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s or dementia to bring them to a 90-minute art discussion. This is part of a larger trend to use art as a way to stimulate conversation and communication in people with Alzheimer’s or dementia related illnesses.

CNN: Caregiving for loved ones the ‘new normal’ for boomers
43.5 million Americans care for someone older than 50, and with more and more baby boomers retiring, this number is expected to grow exponentially.

Elder Health in the News:
World Health Organization: Dementia cases set to triple by 2050 but still largely ignored 
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the World Health Organization has indicated that by 2050 70% of the population will be living with dementia. This number roughly translates to 115.4 million people, which is three times the current number.

Genworth Financial: Cost of Care Across the United States
Genworth has released their 9th annual Cost of Care survey. The cost of facility based care has increased steadily, and it is expected to continue to grow by an average of $15,300 yearly. Rates for home care providers have seen almost no increase over the past five years.

Long-Term Care Industry News:
InAudit: Long-Term Care Insurance and Three Ways of Buying It!
This article discusses the different LTCI policies and encourages readers to view LTC policies in the same context as home insurance.

Caregiver Ideas: Music Therapy Playlist 1957

In past posts, we have discussed incorporating items from the past to help soothe people with Alzheimer’s. Here at LTS, we’re always trying to find innovative ways to provide some relief to caregivers and to their loved ones, so we thought that incorporating music from the past would be a great tool for caregivers to use while caregiving. Like items, and possibly even more so, music can bring up memories of the past. It can open up opportunities to talk to your loved ones about their past, and also free up some down time for you!

We put together a playlist of the top Billboard hits of 1957:

1. “Singing the Blues” – Guy Mitchell

2. “Don’t Forbid Me” – Pat Boone

3. “Young Love” – Tab Hunter

4.“Butterfly” – Andy Williams

5.“All Shook Up” – Elvis Presley

6.“Love Letters in the Sand” – Pat Boone

7.“Teddy Bear” – Elvis Presley

8.“Tammy” – Debbie Reynolds

9.“Honeycomb” – Jimmie Rodgers

10.“Wake Up Little Susie” – Everly Brothers

11.“Jailhouse Rock” – Elvis Presley

12."You Send Me” – Sam Cooke

13.“April Love” – Pat Boone

Caregivers at LTS: Karen

“The greatest joy is watching him smile, when he smiles,” said Karen about her father-in-law. “I tell my husband – I just live for that.”

Laughter is one thing about caregiving that brings joy to Karen. Another is taking her father-in-law out to eat fried clams at Red Wing Diner just down the street from her house. The third is having conversations with him.

“He loves having conversation. He has a great sense of humor. If I can just banter back and forth, that makes him laugh. It makes it all worth it for me,” she explained.

Karen’s father-in-law lives with her and her husband in their split level home. They live in the top level and he lives in the bottom level. He has a family room, a living area, a bathroom and a small dinette in his make shift home.

“He’s got everything he needs down there,” explained Karen.

Karen and her husband are the two primary caregivers for her father-in-law, Harvey. He moved in after being diagnosed with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and it took a lot to get her father to this point.

Harvey had been successfully living independently in his home since his wife’s death 13 years ago. He had been able to maintain his independence at home for so many years with the help of his eldest daughter. She did his grocery shopping, prepared his meals, did his laundry and helped him with housecleaning. However, his family started to notice a decline. He had memory lapses and frequently repeated the same story. He stopped changing his clothes and caring for his personal hygiene. Things he had been using for years, like the TV remote, became too complicated. The pedals in the car were too close together. He fell frequently and couldn’t help himself up without assistance. The warning signs were all there, and the family knew that he was no longer safe to live alone.

“There were so many indicators that something really needed to change, but that’s such a complicated thing,” she explained. “We knew it was going to end up taking an event to get him out of his home because he was so unwilling to do anything else.”

That event came in October 2011, when Harvey’s daughter found him on the floor of his home. He had suffered a stroke which put Harvey into a Boston area hospital for a week and into rehab for two more months. It was there he finally received an official diagnosis. A CT scan and an MRI revealed the tell-tale amyloid deposits that indicated Alzheimer’s disease, and he was given an additional diagnosis of vascular dementia.

Her spouse assumed the role of Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy, and they began to transition her father-in-law into their home, despite objections from people who advocated for an assisted living facility or a nursing home. For Karen and her husband, it had been an easy decision. Before the dementia and Alzheimer’s disease had set in, the family had agreed to take her father-in-law into their home if he ever lost his ability to live independently. This was a conversation that her father-in-law had actively agreed too.

“Years ago my husband and I had offered to have Harvey come and live with us if the time ever came that he was no longer able to live alone. It became very evident to all of us that he could not go home by himself, and that he needed to come live with us,” she said.

Eventually, with help from the rehab employees and her family members, Harvey agreed to move in with them That’s where her work experience at Long Term Solutions became incredibly useful. Karen is a nurse care coordinator at LTS, so she works all day long helping families address the care needs of their loved ones.

“My experience at LTS helped me in so many ways,” she explained. “I knew exactly what needed to be done in order to have Harvey come live with us. I knew what equipment we needed, what adaptations would need to be made to provide safety in bathing and toileting, and I knew the questions to ask and where to find resources.”

She credits her colleagues at LTS with helping her find lists of local agencies to provide her with home health aides to help care for her father. They provided her with contact information and email addresses to multiple aides in the area.

“I was even able to find a geriatric nurse practitioner who would come to the house… the employees at LTS were so helpful,” she said.

Her husband went to work measuring assistive equipment, putting up grab bars, and making the downstairs as accessible as possible for her father-in-law. They had almost everything in place, when were told that Harvey didn’t have the appropriate diagnosis for insurance to cover a hospital bed.

“The care coordinators in rehab, a lot of times, they don’t know all of the answers. For instance, I was led to believe if the physical therapists ordered the hospital bed, it would be covered. I found out about a week before he was discharged that he didn’t have the diagnosis for that,” she said.

Another physical therapist suggested looking on Craigslist.

“Our daughter who I lovingly refer to as the ‘Craigslist Queen’ was able to locate a used hospital bed for us within 15 minutes,” she said laughing.

With the hospital bed in place, they were ready to bring Harvey home.

“That first day arriving at our house, Harvey was all smiles, and he was so glad to be with us. That lasted about 48 hours. He slept all night the first night. He was so pleased with his caregivers, the food, our dog, and he even liked our cat! I remember coming to work that first day after Harvey moved in saying how smooth the transition had been.It was amazing! However the next day I came to work singing ‘the party’s over’.”

Harvey was no longer so pleased. While experiencing sun-downing, he gets angry and lashes out at Karen’s husband. He can say many hurtful things about being kept a prisoner in his home. Harvey has moments of confusion and agitation, and he can feel lonely and fearful. He needs help with almost everything, toileting, changing his Depends, showering, and walking. His left foot was affected by his stroke, and the dementia and Alzheimer’s make it difficult for him to remember how to walk. Harvey rarely sleeps through the entire night, and Karen and her husband monitor him with a baby monitor. However, there are things he can do himself, and Karen is working hard to allow him the dignity of doing what he can do on his own.

Karen and her husband have two caregivers for 12 hours during the morning, and they manage caring for him at night. To avoid stress, Karen and her husband go on a date once a week. They make sure they have an aide for every Friday night. They take vacation when they need to. They just took a two week vacation in January, but it’s difficult for her husband to take time off.

There is still an amazing amount of stress involved, even with these breaks. It’s a combination of financial stress, selling her father-in-law’s house, family dynamics, and other things.

“These past three months since Harvey came to live with us have been filled with adjustments for him and for us. Harvey no longer talks about going home to his house, he feels safe with us. He seems to be more settled being in our home. My husband and I have learned so much. This journey, traveling deeper into the world of Alzheimer’s is full of the unknown, it’s dynamic. Just when we think we understand it, it changes. It’s full of fearful moments and joy-filled moments. Whatever it is, we are traveling the road together, supporting and loving one another. To provide care for him is a privilege we would never want to miss. My payment you may ask? It’s Harvey’s smile! ” she concluded.

LTS Weekly News Roundup

Caregiving in the News: 
USA Today: Caring for elderly parents catches many unprepared 
More than 42 million Americans are providing care for an adult, and it’s becoming clear that they are incredibly unprepared to do so.

ChicagoNow: Caregiver Stress: Ten Ways Our Thinking Gets the Better of Us
This blogger writes about ten cognitive distortions that caregivers can experience, and how caregivers can readjust their mindset to avoid stress.

Elder Health in the News: 
InformationWeek: Elderly Patients Want Docs to Explain Technology 
A Linkage Technology Survey just revealed that 4 out of 10 elderly Americans would prefer to have a doctor teach them how to use a medical monitoring device

PsychCentral.com: Bilingual Skill May Protect from Dementia
Bilingualism increases mental health, and this in turn slows the onset of dementia.

Long-Term Care Industry News: 
Bloomberg: Genworth Bets on Long-Term Care as Insurers Flee Market 
Genworth, unlike many other long-term care insurance companies, is not going to leave the long-term care industry anytime soon.

Chicago Sun-Times: Long-term care benefits come most easily if you know your policy
This article encourages claimants to contact their agency to understand their policy and the filing process, as confusion over this can lead to denied claims.

Ideas for Caregiving: Incorporating Items from the Past

Recently, The Sun reported that the Bristol Royal Infirmary has created a ‘reminiscence’ room to treat patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. This really got us thinking! This idea is a great way to address some of the anxieties that people with Alzheimer’s experience. Many of these anxieties arise from disparities between the environment they are currently in and the environment they last remember being in. A lot of the time, people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias lose more recent memories first, so they remember their youth more easily as the disease progresses.

Incorporating items from the past into the room doesn’t just soothe anxieties; it offers an opportunity for people with Alzheimer’s to talk about memories associated with those items. It can create an environment conducive to conversation, and let you learn a little bit more about your loved one.

We understand that it might be challenging to remodel a whole room or other living space, but if you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, please do try to bring an item or two into a designated space or room to make this concept workable. At the worst, it will be ignored, and at the best, it could let you know more about your loved one and provide some relief from anxiety.

You can read The Sun article by clicking here.

LTS Weekly News Roundup

Caregiving in the News:

ChicagoNow: A Caregiver’s Guide to the Brain and Behavior

Often, it’s difficult for caregivers caring for people with cognitive impairments to understand why they are behaving differently. This author breaks down the different brain processes that are affected in that situation, and how understanding this is beneficial to caregivers.

 ABC News: Compassion Fatigue Strikes Family, Even Animal Caregivers

This article discusses compassion fatigue resulting from caregiving, and they use Reggie Gooch as an example. He is 98 years old, and was a full-time caregiver for his wife, Millie, who recently passed away at the age of 102. The two years he dedicated to caregiving left him mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted.

Elder Health in the News:

US News: Obesity Linked to Poorer Mental Skills in Seniors

A recent study indicates that a high BMI is associated with an increased risk of poor cognitive performance in seniors ages 60-70.

Reuter: Studies find an aspirin a day can keep cancer at bay

Three studies released this past week have indicated that taking aspirin daily can help prevent cancer in addition to reducing the risk of clot formation.

Long-Term Care Industry News:

Reuters: Six keys to long-term care coverage

With monthly premiums on existing policies increasing by an average of 40%, policy holders are trying to determine ways to keep their policies.

Forbes: Reopening the Debate Over How to Pay for Long-Term Care Services

The author discusses several options for creating a sustainable system to address the current and upcoming needs of seniors.

Ideas for Outdoor Activities with the Elderly

We’ve been having amazing weather in Massachusetts. So, we can't stop thinking about excuses to get outside. If you’re a caregiver for an aging parent or elderly loved one, it can be difficult to find activities that will engage your senior loved one and get them out into the sun. Here are some ideas:

Walking 

Walking is a great way to get outside and fit a little exercise into your day.

Photography

Buy a disposable camera for your elderly loved one, and get outside. It’s a fun way to talk about your surroundings and find interesting things to photograph. After, you can put a scrapbook together with the photographs.

Reading

This is a good option if your elderly loved one has mobility issues. If they have vision impairments, you can read to them, or bring an eReader or glare resistant tablet with adjustable font sizes. Find some comfortable lawn chairs and start reading.

Picnicking 

Bring a light snack, and head out to a nearby park. You can call ahead of time to see how accessible the park and picnicking area is.

Yard Games 

Horseshoes, croquet, and beanbag tossing games are all good options if you’re looking to create some entertainment in your backyard.

 Do you have any other additions to this list?

Vacationing with an Elderly Loved One

Many times, caregivers caring for senior citizens avoid travel because of some of the hurdles involved with vacationing. Planning a vacation is overwhelming, let alone taking mobility, medications, and other aspects of caregiving for the elderly into consideration. Here at LTS, we think that with a little extra planning, it’s entirely possible to travel with elderly loved ones!


Plan, plan and plan some more:

Extensively research multiple destinations to determine which one will be the most accessible for your elderly loved one. Once you’ve established a destination, figure out the easiest way to travel there. Take time and accessibility into consideration. Would it be easier to take the train? Trains can be more comfortable and less hectic than an airplane, but the travel time may be a little bit longer. Would driving be the best option? Take all of this into consideration, and take your time to research as much as possible. Lastly, contact the transportation company to see if they have senior discounts and accommodations for senior travelers.


Preparation:

Travelers regularly underestimate the amount of paperwork that is necessary when traveling. Make a list of all of the documents you’ll need before you leave, and cross-reference your list a couple of times on your travel day. You need to take all of these documents into consideration:

Passport
License
Medicare Card
Health Insurance Card
Bank Cards
Credit Cards
Checkbook
Tickets
Vacation Itinerary
Medication List
Doctor’s notes

While packing, create a list of all of the items you want to bring. Once that is complete, look through the list again and classify each item as ‘definitely need,’ ‘maybe need’ and ‘don’t need.’ Re-evaluate your list, and try to eliminate as many superfluous items as possible. Remember, the goal is to pack light and pack only what you need.

Travel Day:

The temperature in trains and planes can be unpredictable, so dress your elderly loved one in layers. Wear comfortable, easy to remove shoes. If traveling by airplane, bring extra plastic bags for your items to expedite the security checkpoint process. Go over your necessary documents list, grab the luggage, take a camera, and have fun!

Caregiver Stress Relief Idea: Gardening

Spring is right around the corner! Being in Massachusetts, we are looking forward to warm weather and we are even more excited about the increased opportunities for more caregiver stress relief activities. There are a lot of activities from taking a walk to going to the beach that allow caregivers to take some time for themselves and soak up the sun.

Gardening is one of these great summer activities, and it can be extremely beneficial for caregivers. A large part of gardening is related to having patience, which is also a crucial aspect of caregiving. Gardeners trust that all of their work will help their garden grow and blossom, even though they can’t immediately see the results. This delayed gratification is something that caregivers experience on a daily basis. Caregivers dedicate time, energy and money to their ailing loved ones, and frequently don’t immediately see the positive impact they are having. Gardening can help caregivers know that while they can’t see it, they are constantly positively impacting and bettering the lives of their loved ones.

Aside from teaching patience, gardening has been proven to reduce stress by decreasing cortisol. Furthermore, a 2007 study in Neuroscience found a bacteria in soil associated with increased serotonin production in the brain. Gardening decreases stress, increases happiness, and gives you an excuse to spend some time alone outside.

So, get outside and don’t be afraid to get some dirt on your hands!