In an article on Forbes USA, Ashlea Ebeling states that moving into a continuing care retirement community requires a big investment and a lot of research. She invites us to ask the right questions “…Are you (or your aging parent) the kind of person who likes to plan for all contingencies? Then you might want to consider a continuing care retirement community–a development that usually includes independent apartments or town homes for spry seniors; assisted living units for those who need some help; plus a nursing home…”
Posts Tagged ‘senior wellness’
Before You Leave Your Home: Eight Questions To Ask Before Buying Into A Senior Community
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010Frustration When it Comes to Avoid Abuse in Residential Facilities
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Alarming is the word we can use to define the findings of the U.S. Department of Justice-funded study by Hawes and Kimbell that examined state processes for detecting, investigating, resolving and preventing elder abuse in Residential Care Facilities.
This study focused on detection, investigation, and resolution of elder abuse and neglect complaints in what are known as residential care facilities (RCFs). These facilities are the most rapidly growing form of senior housing. This growth is a result both of the preferences of the elderly and their families and of public policy aimed at reducing nursing home use. RCFs are referred to by a variety of names across the states, including assisted living facilities, personal care homes, domiciliary care homes, adult congregate living facilities, adult care homes, and shelter care homes. The best estimate is that some 50,000 facilities nationwide house a mainly older population in between 900,000 and one million beds. In addition, an unknown number of unlicensed homes house a mixed population of poor older persons and individuals with mental illness. By contrast, there are about 17,000 nursing homes with 1.6 million residents.
The researchers found a lack of adequate resources in all states and all agencies, as well as deeply flawed processes. The report highlights smart practices by Ombudsmen and identifies policy suggestions, training needs, and research recommendations.
Download the U.S. Department of Justice-funded study by Hawes and Kimbell.
Caetano Veloso on aging: at the age of 67, I feel at the “infancy of old age.”
Monday, July 5th, 2010
For those, who like me, grew up listening to Caetano Veloso, seeing him getting older is just a reflection of our own aging and the multiple challenges and possibilities to unfold wellness, live well, and have a creative life into old age
Baby Boomers know well these challenges and also know well this poet of the Brazilian music. Caetano Veloso has been called the Bob Dylan of Brazil — a popular musician who has made staggering artistic and intellectual contributions to his country. The New York Times recently dubbed him “Brazil’s unofficial poet laureate”.
Veloso is consistently one of the most literate and beguiling forces in music. To see him in person is to see a sinuous, warm and joyous show in which Veloso’s vocals are backed by a young and edgy band. Seeing him aging so gracefully and maintaining his core values is refreshing. For Veloso family is everything and he is very close to another DIVA of Brazilian music, his sister Maria Bethania, both always look for young band players who bring new styles to old rhythms reminding us constantly that old and young play together an important role for a rich community.
Caetano and Maria Bethania, are very close to their mother and they say their love for music comes from her with whom, they love to sing. They do not shy away from politics or for family values. A great way to follow!
See them on a video with their mother
Veloso says, about his own aging: “I’m beginning to be an old man,” Veloso says. “It’s something that can excite you, because you get curious to see how changes go. You lose a lot, but you can gain a lot, too.”
Six Questions to Protect Elderly Patients
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Living Well provides medical advocacy to help patients who are hospitalized
On the Wellness section of the New York Times, Pam Belluck compile the advice of three experts on the questions family members can ask to lower a patient’s risk for delirium during a hospital stay.
Pam says “…Many readers have asked me what family members can do to help lower an elderly patient’s risk. To find out, I turned to three experts – Dr. Margaret Pisani at the Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Wes Ely at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Dr. Sharon Inouye at Harvard Medical School. Based on their advice, here are six questions family members should ask to lower an elderly patient’s risk for hospital delirium…”
Wandering Seniors at Risk of Getting Lost and Even Dying.
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Smart technology: GPS shoes for wandering seniors!
Some of the common symptoms of Alzheimer’s and any other type of dementia are lack of memory, confusion, and wandering. These symptoms usually lead to loosing track of familiar surroundings and thus getting lost. Understanding the symptoms of dementia might help safeguard elderly people who are at risk for getting lost. While infections, tumors, and head injuries can all cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease is most commonly behind the phenomenon of wandering. For patients who hallucinate, their risk for wandering might depend on how well they trust their caregiver. If they hallucinate, they may be at low risk or high risk, depending on their trust for the caregiver. If they are suspicious, they might try to get out.
In 2008, Texas Legislature enacted a statewide communication system to help find mentally impaired senior citizens. “I think they are a really good idea,” said Hester, a Lubbock Police sergeant. “(A Silver Alert) could have helped those people. I mean, nobody knew where they were.” But Silver Alerts alone can’t keep seniors safe. On Monday, police officials were preparing an alert for 70-year-old Lubbock resident Jim Hardy Clary, who left home for a doctor’s appointment he didn’t keep. He was found dead before a statewide alarm was raised. Read More about this article
In Virginia, law enforcement officers are learning how to search for missing persons who may not know they are lost. A 4-minute video produced by Kassie Bracken for The New York Times tells us the lessons they have learned.
How to Be Safe at Home and Prevent Falls?
Sunday, June 27th, 2010
One of the most common reasons why seniors are forced to leave their homes and move into an institution is the occurrence of a fall or the existence of a high fall risk. Adult children and friends are scared of finding their loved one, who has fallen, a little too late. Time is important when a senior falls and help an immediate response is needed.
Despite of the widely use of the “emergency response buttons”, we realized that most of the times these devices are not being used at the moment of the fall. The risk of falling increases with age and falling is the number one cause of injury in adults over 65. These numbers are cause for great concern, but awareness and prevention can help decrease the likelihood of falls in the senior citizen years.
Living Well Assisted Living at Home has researched thoroughly different alternatives to bring safety at home and enable seniors to live independently while keeping seniors safe at home and providing real time report and request for assistance. We partner with Grand Care System, Halo Monitoring, and Universal Design to tailor made the house to the senior’s needs and bring peace of mind to the family members and friends.
ABC News recently featured a video about how preventing dangerous falls.
Watch ABC News Video on Preventing Falls
Trisha Kellog supports independent living with some assistance and in a recent blog entry, Trisha stresses the need for systems that supports safety. She states that “…With age comes the risk of falls and falls can lead to serious injury or death. Improving health and being aware of potential hazards will help ease the mind of you or your loved-one…” Read the article
When to Tell Your Parents: They Cannot Drive Any Longer!
Sunday, June 27th, 2010
Some of the baby boomers who also are “adult children” taking care of an aging parent face many challenges when taking care of this task. bringing awareness to our parents can be a challenging situation full of old and new family dynamics.
In an article for Forbes magazine, Living Well Assisted Living at Home mediator, Carolyn Rosenblat, Esq. calle it a new burden for boomers and states “…Denial is a very common reaction to the early warning signs of an older driver who is becoming dangerous. This denial can occur both among the elderly, who may get frantic at the idea of this privilege being taken from them, and among their adult children, who don’t want to have to deal with the consequences of Mom or Dad becoming a burden when it comes to transportation.
So make sure you start the driving conversation with your parent before he or she is 85–and preferably, when the parent is still safe to drive. My own mother-in-law is 87 and still drives…” Read the article
