In This Issue
FEATURE ARTICLE: My Hospice Care Experience
Kudos From Kelly
FOCUS ON SEPSIS
A few prayers, a few laughs... A Child's Perspective
Ways to Bring Positive Energy into Your Life Right Now
Providers We Love


Photos in top banner: Kim is proud recipient of Fruit of the Spirit award for Service to her church and her community!; Rosemarie and her therapy dogs Tortilla and Darcey.; Grace, age 6, (our graphic designer's daughter) won 3rd place in her FIRST ever chess tournament!  
 











 



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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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FEATURE ARTICLE:
My Hospice Care Experience   
 By Bob DeMarco |  Alzheimer's Reading Room  
 
Hospice care is designed to bring the highest quality of life to persons that are living with a serious illness, and are often close to death.

There is a common notion that Hospice helps people die. I don't see it that way.

Both of my parents, Frank and Dotty, died at home in their bedroom with the assistance of Hospice by the Sea, Boca Raton, Florida.

Hospice did not help my parents to die, they helped them live to the very end of their life with dignity and compassion.

Hospice accomplishes their mission with a coordinated team of healthcare professionals. Hospice care is designed to bring the highest quality of life to persons that are living with a serious illness, and are often, but not always, close to death.

A typical hospice team includes: a doctor, a team of nurses, a case manager, social worker, chaplain, bereavement coordinator, and often volunteers.

If you want or prefer maximum treatment, your love one will most likely be taken to a hospital. The doctors then take over.

When Hospice arrives on the scene they keep the patient comfortable, alleviate symptoms of pain, and in the case of in-home care, allow the patient to stay in a familiar setting, with familiar sounds and voices. They do not treat the existing illness.

Hospice also has short term acute  care units available. The patient, if eligible can be moved to one of those locations.

Based on my experience Hospice is not well understood.

I often get asked, when is it time to call Hospice?

 

   KUDOS from Kelly      
  By Kelly McNamara  
   
Ingrid Philips and Ruth Ann Foster: During this season of giving thanks  and counting blessings, we certainty include our caregivers among ours.  We often fill this space, a regular feature in our newsletter, with our own thoughts, impressions and yes, gratitude for the special, unique attention a caregiver, a pair or even a group of caregivers providers to a client.  We note the progress their clients have made with their enthusiastic encouragement, the comfort they provide as clients decline, the special impact they have on a client's family and friends.

But this month we honor a team of live-in caregivers whose unique set of skills, compassion, insightful care and special devotion to their beloved client was beautifully noted by the client's daughter.

 

 
FOCUS ON SEPSIS 
 
Here at Always There Home Care, we are providing educational tools to all our staff to increase their awareness of sepsis, a sudden and too frequent fatal disease that affects the very young and the elderly.
Before Angelica Hale was a finalist on America's Got Talent, when she was just four years old, she survived sepsis.
 
Now she is using her voice to help save lives.
 
It's About TIME(TM) is a national initiative to raise awareness of sepsis and the urgent need to seek treatment when symptoms are recognized.
 
Early detection is the best hope to survive and limit disabilities when sepsis is present.
 
Sepsis is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States. Early detection provides the best chance for survival and recovery. Help us spread the word about the importance of sepsis awareness and how remembering the TIME acronym can save lives.
 
Angelica Hale is a passionate young singer from Atlanta, Georgia, who rose to stardom when she competed in the 12th season of America's Got Talent, where she was the runner-up. Angelica is also a sepsis survivor. When she was 4 years old, she developed a bacterial infection in her lungs that progressed into double pneumonia, which then led to sepsis, causing organ failure. Fortunately, Angelica received the treatment she needed in time and recovered. Now, Angelica is using her passion for singing to help raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of sepsis.
 
https://www.sepsis.org/itsabouttime/  ■  

 
A few prayers, a few laughs...
A Child's Perspective
 
Our special thanks to Al Nixon, a former client, now friend and a welcome contributor to our newsletter
. . . . . . . . . .
A little boy was overheard praying: 'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it.
I'm having a real good time like I am.'
. . . . . . . . . .  
A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, 'And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?'
One bright little girl replied, 'Because people are sleeping.'
. . . . . . . . . . 
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, & Ryan 3.
The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson..
'If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'
Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, 'Ryan, you be Jesus!'
. . . . . . . . . .   
A wife invited some people to dinner.
At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, 'Would you like to say the blessing?'
'I wouldn't know what to say,' the girl replied.
'Just say what you hear Mommy say,' the wife answered.
The daughter bowed her head and said, 'Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?' ■


Ways to Bring Positive Energy into Your Life Right Now Denise Hill, Speech Writer/Senior Editor Life Hack

Staying positive can be tough. Positivity can start to wain when you are bombarded with a succession of negativity, failures, disappointment and heartbreak.
 
Positive thinking is a mental and emotional state of mind that focuses on the good and expects positive outcomes.  
 
A positive mind comes from a heart full of faith.  
  1. Enjoy nature 
  2. Perform random acts of kindness 
  3. Develop an attitude of gratitude 
  4. Take a mental break 
  5. Laugh 
  6. Hang around with positive people 
  7. Look for the silver lining immediately 
  8. Take a walk 
  9. Don't dwell on negativity 
  10. Talk it out with a friend
Excerpted from https://www.lifehack.org/569466/how-regain-your-positive-energy-when-things-are-getting-tough ■
  

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, & 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. Seabury also has an innovative Life Care program and Seabury at Home service. Their home care program provides both Medicare as well as home private duty services for the community and surrounding area...  

McLean Hospice Palliative Care & Hospice, Simsbury McLean Home Care and Hospice enjoy the coveted highest Medicare rating of Five Stars based on outstanding patient outcomes as medication compliance, improved mobility and no hospital re admissions, as well as starting care in a timely manner.
 
McLean Hospice is dedicated to improving patients' comfort and supporting their families. Their team in helps patients you live as fully and comfortably as possible so their last days or months may be spent with dignity and quality. Their goal is to provide satisfying days; fear-free nights and the richness of time with loved ones, surrounded by a supportive team. Hospice nurses are available to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year...

 

 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.

Even Longer Dotted Divider Line
 
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.

Even Longer Dotted Divider Line

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!