Photos in top banner: Tom and Nora (Regina's Granddaughter) play in the vet hospital; Bella, Jessica's daughter; Mishelle (Angie's daughter) by the Christmas Tree.
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Regina McNamara RN, MSN President & Kelly McNamara, Chief Operating Officer
Here at Always There Home Care, we are grateful you are slowing down to read our newsletter full of items that relate to home care, home health care, aging and eldercare, as well as some useful tips for daily living. Please enjoy in the spirit of community and cooperation in which this newsletter was sent.
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Also, see our beautiful new video,
here!!!
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Featured Article: How to Reduce Dementia's
Tragic Toll on Families.
The disease often pits siblings against each other. But it doesn't have to.
But the strain sometimes turns loving siblings into estranged and shattered combatants.
When a family member suffers from dementia, we tend to view it as an individual tragedy. But too often this wrecking ball of a disease takes a toll on the entire family.
Even under the best circumstances-with state-of-the-art care, well-intentioned caregivers, and sufficient social and financial resources-the trajectory of most forms of dementia is difficult to control. It's often a chronic disease with symptoms that will only worsen. Discontinuities in care are common in a health-care system that lacks sufficient geriatric specialists.
In the face of these challenges, the families of individuals with dementia struggle to maintain emotional equilibrium along the way. That's especially true when the spouse of the afflicted has already died, leaving decisions about care in the hands of the children. That's when this disease of one damages the well-being of many, sometimes turning close and loving siblings into estranged and shattered combatants.
The tragedy here is that it doesn't have to be this way. If families understand the perils, they can navigate them without imploding.
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KUDOS
from Kelly
By Kelly McNamara
Ellen Buchanan:
Occasionally we like to highlight in this space an outstanding "Rookie", someone who has been with us only a short time and has already distinguished herself as an outstanding caregiver. Ellen, like many of our caregivers, was referred by a friend and colleague (also a former Kudos feature) Delaine Hall. Many thanks to you Delaine. Ellen's maturity, wisdom, patience and creativity combine to make her a perfect match for her live in client RD. This lovely elderly lady is extremely bright and well read. Ellen is a perfect match in not only her caregiver skills and ability to quickly assess any changes in her beloved client but she is also quite skilled at keeping up lively conversations with her. They enjoy many activities in the senior community in which she lives. We always strive for the "perfect match"...A caregiver and client who simply mesh together beautifully. Who truly enjoy each other's company, who are well tuned into each other. Ellen and RD are such a pair. Thank you Ellen, and we hope you are with us for a very long time. And special thanks to you too, Delaine for bringing Ellen to us and to her grateful client!
All caregivers mentioned in this column will receive a gift card and our sincere appreciation! Many many thanks to all of you for once again extending yourselves to ensure that we are of course We are Always There...!! ■
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 New Service:
Always There
Brand Ambassadors
We are proud of our ability to attract and retain excellent caregivers. This is an impressive accomplishment at a time when there is a critical shortage of such high quality home care providers.
Given this important assert, we are now positioned for substantial growth in our business this year. A key component of our strategy is our new team of Brand Ambassadors.
Angie Amegashi, a former outstanding senior caregiver, now a new mother, will be making regular rounds to our referral partners to share information about our programs and services which will help these organizations achieve new levels of success by working with us. . Angie is accompanied on her rounds by her beautiful assistant Mishelle, who charms all in her sight while her mother shares information about Always There and learns about how we can best meet the needs of our referral partners. A special thanks to Angie and Mishelle, even though Mishelle occasionally sleeps on the job! ■
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We Go in Snow! 
Due to a highly committed group of caregivers and much advance planning we are proud to state the following:
- In our over 10 years in business we have never missed a shift. Not one.
- We fill all cases in snowy weather, even if we need to arrange transportation for staff.
- We assist other private duty home care agency companies in filling their shifts during storms. The Most recent storm is one example.
- We filled 6 shifts for another private duty agency with our staff, representing 30% of all cases scheduled for that agency that particular day.
Snow NEVER stops us from serving our clients, or those of our partners in need! ■
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Summing Up
By: Alan Weiss
What kind of a year has it been for you? If you look back to December of 2016, thinking about a year forward, how would you compare? Consider:
Happiness * Relationships * Business Level * Health
Financial Security * Intellectual Property Creation
Brand Power * Discretionary Time
In all honesty, if you've not created what you had hoped a year ago, why is that? Were your expectations too high, or did you not apply yourself? If you met your goals, what enabled you to do so? Could they have been more aggressive? If you surpassed your goals, were they too easy? What enabled you to do so well?
This is purely a private, self-diagnosis - So be totally honest. Because a year from now you should be doing the same thing!
Guidelines: Don't use others' metrics. You don't have to outperform others. What you do need to do is sustain the lifestyle of your choice and meet or surpass the goals that you set for yourself.
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 Falling Is Dangerous for the Elderly-and Often Preventable
By: Barbara Sadick
One of the biggest health threats facing Americans age 65 and older is also one many of them don't like to talk about: falling.
At least half of senior Americans who fall don't tell anyone, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Whether it's a spouse declining to tell a partner, or an elderly parent hiding it from the children, many seniors keep quiet because they are embarrassed and fear losing their independence.
By remaining silent, however, many of these patients become more afraid and more sedentary, medical experts say, increasing their risk for additional falls and injuries, which can lead to fatal complications. Indeed, falls are the leading cause of injuries and death from injuries in older Americans, according to the CDC.
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Providers We Love
We are privileged to have received referrals from and be able to coordinate care with many Assisted Living facilities, rehab facilities, and Medicare Home Care and Hospice agencies. Our growth is in large part due to the trust the staff in these organizations have put in our caregivers. We are likewise impressed with them and we are committed to referring to them on a regular basis
Seabury Active Living Retirement Community, and Seabury at Home, Bloomfield
One of Connecticut's first retirement communities, Seabury has grown impressively from its original facility. The sprawling campus now boasts several individual residences, from apartments to substantial single homes. Their memory care unit is superb. The surroundings provide lovely views in all seasons. An immense fitness facility, including a large pool promotes continued fitness of older adults. Seabury boasts an impressive participation of its residents in the fitness facility. operation with them.
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About Always There Home Care
Always There Home Care provides compassionate, dependable and professional one-on-one care for seniors who need assistance in the comfort of their homes or residential care communities. Services from highly qualified and trained caregivers range from companionship, meal preparation and incidental transportation to personal care, medication management and RN-directed case management. Available 7 days a week, services range from a few hours a day to 24-hour care.
Always There Home Care understands that every situation is unique and creates individualized care plans to help improve a client's quality of life.
Our Caregivers
Our caregivers are totally committed, highly qualified and carefully selected individuals who are personally and thoroughly screened, bonded and insured. Most are Certified Nurse Assistants or Home Health Aides. Most importantly our caregivers are dependable and extraordinarily caring of others. In addition to their previous experience, our caregivers receive continuous training that includes dementia, hospice care, home safety, nutrition and other topics related to seniors. These highly qualified and trained caregivers are ready to help you and your loved ones with a variety of daily activities such as:
Personal care
/
Meal planning and preparation
Transportation to doctor appointments and other errands
Caring companionship
/ Light housekeeping
Medication reminders /
Information and referral services
Our personalized, nurse- supervised services are available 7 days a week and
can range from a few hours a day to 24 hours and live in care.
For more information or service needs, call 24 hours a day at:
800.348.0485 or visit www.AlwaysThereHomeCare-CT.com.
We are Always There!
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