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ElderCare at Home brings you this newsletter in the spirit of cooperation and education. We hope you find this information useful and informative.
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Summer Safety Tips
Keeping You and Your Loved One Safe
Summertime and Safety Tips for the Elderly and for Caregivers
Summer is approaching. And although being in the sun is fun, there are some safety tips that you and your aging loved one should keep in mind to stay healthy in the sun.
Conditions in summer can be potentially life threatening. And we need to be aware that our bodies react differently to hotter environments, especially for aging seniors. Taking precautions reduces your risk of injury or experiencing health problems.
Consider these tips
:
1)
Drink lots of water:
Keeping yourself hydrated is very important in hot environments. This is especially the case for seniors because they may retain less water in old age. To stay hydrated, be sure to drink water often. And family caregivers should monitor their loved one's fluid intake. Drinks that contain minerals, like athletic sport drinks, are beneficial because they contain necessary electrolytes to keep your body hydrated.
2)
Try to stay in cool places:
There are many indoor environments that are not only conducive to doing activities, but also allow you to stay out of the heat. One obvious place is your own home, granted that you have fans and/or AC. Other places can be inside cafés, restaurants, spas & resorts, and movie theatres. If you have any hobbies that can be pursued safely indoors, then try to find these activities.
3)
Wear sunscreen
:
If you do decide to go outside, it is very important to wear sunblock. Try to find a sunscreen that feels right on your body and make sure to apply it BEFORE going outdoors to give the sunblock a chance to absorb properly. Try to find sunblock that is SPF 30 or higher for maximum protection. Remember: You should still wear sunscreen even if it is cloudy, UV rays can travel through clouds and still give you sunburn.
4)
Exercise when it's cooler:
If you like to go for walks, jogs, or perform other outdoor activities, then do so in the morning or in the late afternoon. Try to avoid exercising outside when it is noontime, i.e. when the sun is directly overhead.
5)
Wear sunglasses:
It is important to protect your vision, especially if you or a loved one is elderly. When driving or outdoors, put on a comfortable pair of sunglasses if you have them.
6)
Cool shower:
Taking a cool shower is a great way to cool down, especially if you do not have air conditioning in your home.
7)
Find out your emergency contacts:
You should have a list of emergency contacts at hand and stored in an easily accessible place in case something should happen. If an emergency does occur, it is useful for a caregiver or a nearby individual to contact the appropriate person and resource.
8)
Communicate:
If you or a loved one know that you are going to be outdoors or doing outdoor activities, then just let some family members know. This is especially important if you are at risk for hyperthermia, which is when your body temperature is extremely high and can result in a heat stroke. You would be considered "at risk" if you fall under any of the following categories:
- If you have heart, lung, and/or kidney diseases
- If you have been drinking alcohol
- Are on certain medications
- Being overweight or underweight
June is Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month
The Alzheimer's Association wants you to be involved in whatever way possible. Ways of participation can include donating, going or hosting fundraisers, and use social media to help make others aware. If you want to learn more about Alzheimer's and ways to get involved, then visit ElderCare at Home's
website and the Alzheimer's Association
page.
If you have any questions or want to learn more
about how ElderCare can help,
then please call 800-285-0093 or visit our
website.
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Specialty Care for your Loved One
F i n d t h e R i g h t T y p e o f C a r e
Find Specialty Care for Your Loved One This Summer
If you are feeling that you will need some extra help this summer with your aging loved one, then
ElderCare at Home
can help! We proudly offer programs tailored to your needs. This is called our
Specialty Care Program
which matches licensed caregivers to your families that meet your specific circumstances. What this means is that we actively search for caregivers who have the necessary experience, background, and qualifications so that they can care for your loved one as best as possible. For example, we offer these programs:
- Alzheimer's and Memory Care
- Parkinson's Care
- Pre-Operation and Post-Operation Care
- Orthopedic Home Care
- Transitional Care
- Cardiac Care
- Cancer & Oncology Care
- End-of-Live Home Care
All our caregivers have the required schooling and licenses needed to provide you and your loved one valuable care. Most importantly, our programs make it possible for your loved one to stay home if that is where they want to be. Our mission is to help improve the quality of life for both families and their loved ones who are receiving care.
If you have questions about how ElderCare can help, please call us at
888-285-0093 or visit our website
.
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We're More Than Just Private Duty Home Care
Specialty Home Care Programs
In addition to our Alzheimer's/dementia specific private duty referral services, ElderCare at Home, a licensed nurse registry, has referred caregivers who have provided exceptional care to thousands of patients through a number of specialty home care programs and our vast network of referred, independent contractors.
Each referral program allows the patient to recuperate in the place they most want to be... their own home! Most patients experience positive outcomes and are able to enjoy an improved quality of life.
ElderCare at Home is always here for you!
To learn more, reach out to us at anytime (561)585-0400.
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Communicating with Someone who has Alzheimer's
A Video for Family Caregivers
Communicating with a loved one who is afflicted with a degenerative neurological disease can pose some unique challenges. Managing these situations is difficult, but knowing some communication techniques will help you diffuse them.
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Click on the Image to Watch the Video |
Subscribe to ElderCare at Home's
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Alzheimer's and Music Therapy
Powerful Tools to Help Your Loved One
Alzheimer's and Music Therapy
Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative neurological disorder that causes declines in cognitive functioning. There are currently many studies being done to determine nonpharmacological therapies to help those with Alzheimer's and related dementias. Music therapy is one such approach.
Playing music is a great way to stimulate the minds of Alzheimer's patients and those with related neurological disorders. Researchers at the Iran University of Medial Sciences may have found that music therapy contributes to a reduction in agitation, a common symptom of Alzheimer's.
[1] Other studies have also noticed the benefits of playing music for Alzheimer's patients because many affected individuals retain the capacity to process music and rhythm even during late stages of the disease. This is because listening to music does not necessarily require a complex cognitive response to recognize it and to cue emotions.
[2]
[3] Since people can process music with less cognitive effort than other tasks, it has become a useful therapeutic technique to stimulate the brain.
The Benefits of Music
Music plays a large role in relaxation, the production of memories, and evoking bodily responses. Think of how you feel when you hear a song that you love. How does it affect your body? You might start unknowingly to tap your foot, hum along, bob your head, and close your eyes. In fact, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once stated, "We listen to music with our muscles."
[4] A song, if poignant or powerful enough, may send shivers throughout your whole body. You might even remember a time in your life when this song was very meaningful to you. And this song may get stuck in your head all day. Yet much of this happens without concentrated effort and energy. It is a passive process that incites numerous responses throughout our whole body. These facts make the use of music in therapy for those with neurological disorders an effective way to stimulate mental and bodily activity.
Research is still being conducted on the ways music therapy helps Alzheimer's patients. Even though music's complex effects may still be somewhat mysterious to us, its therapeutic efficacy has been seen in experiments when familiar songs were played to participants. Music therapy may not only reduce agitation in those with Alzheimer's, it may also reduce anxiety and enhance the retrieval of certain memories like autobiographical memory (i.e. awareness of someone's personal history in relation to their personal identity).
[5]
[6] Although more research does need to be done on the various effects of music therapy and degenerative neurological disorders, one could safely suggest that music therapy may be a harmless alternative or supplement to other forms of Alzheimer's care.
[1] Zare, Maryam, Azizeh Afkham Ebrahimi, and Behrooz Birashk, " The effects of music therapy on reducing agitation in patients with Alzheimer's disease, a pre-post study," International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 25 (2010): 1309-1310.
[3] Alzheimer's Foundation of America:
[4] Quoted in: Sacks, Oliver, "The power of music," Brain 129 (2006): 2528-2532.
[5] Vink, A.C., et al., "The effect of music therapy compared with general recreational activities in reducing agitation in people with dementia: a randomized controlled trial," International Journal of Geriatric Psychology 28 (2013): 1031-1038.
[6] Arroyo-Anolló, Eva M., Juan Poveda Díaz, and Roger Gil, "Familiar Music as an Enhancer of Self-Consciousness in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease," BioMed Research International (2013): 1-10.
If you are interested in ElderCare at Home
and learning more about what we can do to help,
call 800-285-0093 or visit our
website.
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Client Referral Program
A Promotional Offer From ElderCare at Home
ElderCare at Home would like to thank you!
As you know, our mission is to help seniors live confidently and age gracefully at home for as long as possible. We are continually working to educate the community about the services that we provide. However, it is often difficult to get this information to everyone.
ElderCare at Home would like to ask for your help in this endeavor. If you know of anyone who could benefit from our services, simply give them one of our Client Referral Program flyers with your name written on it and prompt them to schedule a FREE assessment. If they retain our services, we will give each of you 15% off a week's worth of services*!
Thank you so much for your help! We really appreciate it.
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Reducing Anxiety in Alzheimer's Patients
An Ar
ticle from the ElderCare at Home Blog
Common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are anxiety and agitation. This may result in part from any medications your loved one is taking or because of the negative impacts the disease causes in the brain. Nevertheless, as a family caregiver, it is important to know ways to alleviate stress in your loved one.
First it is important to understand situations that may lead to feelings of stress and agitation in your loved one. These situations can include:
- Moving to an unfamiliar place, like an assisted living facility.
- Changes in routine
- Changes in environment
- Traveling
- Confusion as a result of memory loss
For more information regarding Alzheimer's
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"Caregiver Ten Commandments"
Photos from the ElderCare at Home's Facebook Page
For more great posts like this, follow
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Caregiver Support Groups
Open Support Groups for Family Caregivers
Caring for someone that has Alzheimer's disease, dementia or other cognitive impairment is hard. These support groups are attended by caregivers who are struggling with all kinds of different challenges and emotions.
ElderCare at Home in cooperation with the Alzheimer's Care Resource Center, facilitates more than 17 Caregiver Support Groups throughout the Palm Beach County area (Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Lake Worth, Delray Beach and Boca Raton)
Our Alzheimer's caregiver support groups are different! Our caregivers are able to come together and share in a warm, relaxed and nurturing environment.
We also offer a monthly telephone support group for all Alzheimer's caregivers who are either unable to attend in person, or live out of state.
Call (561) 588-4545 to RSVP
for any of the support groups listed.
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Career Opportunities
Accepting New CNA and HHA Registrations
We are currently recruiting independent contractors who not
only enjoy working with the memory impaired, but who have an interest in making a difference in the lives of the patients and families they serve.
Do you have these qualities?
- Experience
- Compassion
- Loyalty
- Commitment
- Kindness
- Professionalism
Referral opportunities are available throughout South Florida.We've been helping
caregivers like you
find employment for over 17 years. As an Independent Contractor, you tell us exactly where you want to
work; how many hours you can devote to your clients; and the type of caregiving situations you are looking for!
Call us Today (561) 585-0400 or Apply Online
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The Best Compliment
Refer Your Friends and Family
The best compliment you can give us is the referral of your friends and family! We always appreciate referrals from our satisfied clients to friends and family members or professional resources. To send us a referral, simply call (561) 585-0400. Thank you! We welcome the opportunity to serve the people you care about. |
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