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!

LTS Weekly News Roundup

Caregiving in the News: 
Science Daily: Simple, Low-Cost Yoga Program Can Enhance Coping and Quality of Life for the Caregivers
A study released by UCLA this week found that 12 minutes of yoga a day can reduce symptoms of depression in caregivers and also improve cognitive functioning.

Family Caregiver Alliance: 27 Things You May not Know about Women and Caregiving
In honor of International Women’s Day 2012, the Family Caregiver Alliance compiled 27 statistics about female caregivers and how they are impacted differently than male caregivers.

Elder Health in the News:
Chicago Tribune: Elderly sometimes keep using opioids after surgery
A recent study conducted in Canada indicated that one in ten older adults prescribed an opioid painkiller for surgery will continue to fill the prescription a year after the surgery happened.

BBC News: Poor literacy ‘increase early death risk for elderly’
According to University College London, one in three adults over 65 in England struggle with understanding health information, and as a result are more than twice as likely to die within five years.

Long-Term Care Industry News:
New York Times: Cost of Long-Term Care Insurance Keeps Rising
The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance has announced that after analyzing 10 popular long-term care policies, they have found that prices for these policies have risen by 17%.

The Wall Street Journal: Long-Term Care: What Now?
With many insurance companies halting the sale of long-term care policies or raising premiums, it’s difficult to decide how to address your long-term care needs. This article reviews four options for addressing this.

Spring Break for Caregivers

It’s spring break for most colleges, and we think caregivers deserve a break too! Wouldn’t it be great to take two weeks off, jet away to a distant island and shut the world out? Unfortunately, for caregivers that’s not always an option. For the most part, many responsibilities and obligations of caregiving are unpredictable. However, that doesn’t mean caregivers don’t get a vacation! How about a ‘staycation’? ‘Staycations’ have become a more economical alternative to a traditional vacation, but it’s also a perfect option for caregivers! You can be close to home in case an emergency comes up, but you can also get a break from the duties of caregiving.

Where you‘staycate’ can range from in-home to in-state, but it usually requires some creative thinking. It’s easy to get caught up in your daily routine, and miss the opportunities to change things up and enjoy the summer.

Here are some ideas for an in-home ‘staycation’:

Make ice cream sundaes!
Mix up some summer drinks and sit outside in the warm weather!
Have a barbeque with your friends.
Fill up a kiddie pool, and sit in the sun and soak your feet for a little while
Have a movie night in your living room, complete with popcorn and candy!
See if there are any outdoor concerts going on in your town.
Have a tourist day – pretend you are a tourist visiting your town for the first time!

Here are some ideas for an in-state ‘staycation’:

Look at a map of your state, and find one area you’ve never been able to explore before!
Contact your Parks Department to find any hiking trails or reservations you haven’t seen.
Does your state have wineries? Many states do, and it’s a fun distraction!
Visit historic sites in your state.
Go see a sports game!

If you’re looking for some more ideas, contact your state and see what activities they have!