Helping Your Senior Loved One Through the Holidays - The holiday season is a time for families to gather for joy and celebration. But senior members of the family may face challenges that impact their willingness or ability to participate. It’s important to ensure your older loved one feels included, supported and cared for during this busy time of year. Consider the following tips… Continue Reading
Hospice vs Palliative Care: What’s the Difference? - Many people are confused by the terms Hospice vs Palliative Care. We asked our Care Manager RN Sherene Brouwer to help enlighten us on the difference between Hospice and Palliative Care. Sherene worked many years as a Hospice RN and is very familiar with the field. Hospice and palliative care are types of end-of-life care… Continue Reading
Observations to Note When Visiting Loved Ones - Holidays and home visits often go hand in hand. Visiting loved ones is a great opportunity to take a detailed look at their living situation. Changes in a family member’s lifestyle or habits can vary greatly and so catching something different may be difficult if you don’t know what to look for. These are some… Continue Reading
An Alzheimer’s Fourth of July - Have you ever gone out with a group of friends or were at a party where you became overwhelmed unexpectedly? This occurs more frequently for some than others. Each individual reacts differently during this experience. Reactive outbursts become more prevalent during periods of extreme over-stimulation. Examples often resemble verbal aggression, physical aggression, socialization withdrawal, and… Continue Reading
Let’s Be SMART – a Good Way to Stop Medicare Fraud - by Karen Fletcher, CAHealthAdvocates.org Most of us either have Medicare or know and love someone who does. This means that Medicare fraud is something that affects us all. And we feel it not just through billions of lost tax payer dollars and money spent on unnecessary treatments and services, but also through identity theft,… Continue Reading
Combatting dehydration - With summer's warm weather, be on the lookout for dehydration in your loved one. The signs include confusion, fatigue, weakness, and sleepiness. Some people become dizzy and their balance is thrown off. Dry mouth, headaches, and muscle cramps are other symptoms of dehydration. It is estimated that 20%–40% of seniors are dehydrated. Getting them to… Continue Reading
Dementia and finances - If the person you care for has dementia—memory or thinking problems from a condition such as Alzheimer's, a stroke, or Parkinson's—unpaid bills or a messy checkbook may have been your first sign that something was amiss. Certainly, in the later stages of dementia, your loved one won't be able to manage their finances. But what… Continue Reading
The “Sandwich Generation” - Elderly parents are living longer. Children are often dependent for more years than expected. Add to this the ongoing responsibilities to spouse/partner and jobs, and there is little wiggle room for the millions of family caregivers who find themselves squeezed in the middle as the "Sandwich Generation." When you are pressed on both sides like… Continue Reading
Swollen legs and feet - Many older adults experience swollen legs and feet. For some, it's because of sitting a lot and leading a sedentary lifestyle. For others, it's the water retention side effect of a medication. And for others, the swelling—called "edema"—is a symptom of a chronic or even serious illness such as heart failure or liver or kidney… Continue Reading
Does brain training work? - The brain is another organ to keep fit, and regular workouts are a good thing! Our brains enable many types of thinking: Problem solving, planning, attention, and memory. They manage our emotions and help us understand the emotions of others. Our brains also control movement (balance, speed, and coordination). And it's where we process our… Continue Reading
Understanding the rhythm of a disease - Much of the strain of caring for a loved one lies in the loss of a predictable routine, a sense of "normalcy." Understanding the course of your loved one's condition—the rhythm of how it unfolds—can empower you to respond more flexibly to its challenges. Do any of these patterns ring true for your situation? Relapsing… Continue Reading
Text message scamming: “Smishing” - Your loved one may be watching for phishing scams on email, but now there are scams carried out by short message service (aka, texting). "Smishing" scams rose 58% in 2021. Nationwide they cost victims over $10 billion. Seniors are a prime target, as three out of five now own smartphones. While convenient, smartphones present new… Continue Reading
Caregiving with kids - Children generally like to feel included. But they may not know how to relate to an ill family member with limited abilities. Here are some ideas for home-based activities with elementary-age children. Finger foods are fun to prepare and eat together. Keep it simple: Chunks of cheese with crackers, peanut butter in celery, wash-and-eat fruits… Continue Reading
Living with cancer as a chronic condition - Has your loved one been diagnosed with cancer? The vast majority (67%) of people with cancer live for another five years or more. A cancer is considered "stable" or "controlled" when tumors shrink or at least temporarily stop growing. This is not the same as being cured—no tumors—but it does make cancer more of a… Continue Reading
Primary care providers - A primary care provider (PCP) is charged with monitoring and treating a person's whole body. Specialists abound and indeed are important. But we are more than the sum of our organs. Your relative's PCP helps ensure that specialists are not doing things that counteract each other. If you are looking for a new PCP, there… Continue Reading
Cooking tips for the visually impaired - Is low vision making it harder for your loved one to cook? If food preparation has been one of their pleasures, they are probably grieving not only the change in their eyesight, but also the loss of creating and serving delicious meals. Even if cooking has not been a passion, the ability to safely prepare… Continue Reading
Interrupt the stress cycle with deep breathing - We're breathing all the time. But when it comes to stress relief, not all breathing is equal. The body's stress cycle Our bodies are built to handle periodic crises. When we sense danger, our bodies release "stress hormones" that enable us to respond powerfully and fast. When the crisis is over, those hormones are no… Continue Reading
Organ donation - Those who donate organs, eyes, or tissue leave a tremendous legacy, often the gift of life itself: Allowing someone a steady heartbeat. Or the vision to see a grandchild. Or healthy skin to cover a burn or cancer site. National Healthcare Decisions Day (April 16) is when everyone is encouraged to create or update their… Continue Reading
Should Dad move in? - Combining households has many benefits: Less hassle running back and forth between two residences, less worry about Dad eating well and remembering his meds, more family social time for him, cost savings on rent and utilities, etc. But if things do not work out, disentangling could cause hurt feelings and damage your relationship. Consider these… Continue Reading
The journey of late life - Families spend three to five years caring for an aging relative. At first it may be light chores or small errands now and then. But over time, health challenges emerge and needs grow. In his book, My Mother, Your Mother, geriatrician Dennis McCullough outlines eight "stations" in the journey of late life. For each one,… Continue Reading
(909) 864-2085
Highland, CA
(909) 864-2085
Highland, CA