Holiday Planning for Caregivers

The holidays can be extremely stressful for caregivers, and it can take a little bit of effort to really enjoy the spirit of the season even while caring for an elderly family member. Here are some tips for senior caregivers to make the most of the holidays!

1. Get shopping done in advance – don’t just shop for the holidays when the season is approaching, start early. Keep your shopping list in mind throughout the year, and when you find something that you think someone in your life would appreciate as a holiday gift, buy it and store it away!

2. Get into the spirit with your loved one – involve your senior in seasonal preparations. Put up decorations together, collaborate on writing cards, and even create decorations or bake

3. Reminisce about past holidays – remember happy times in the past with your senior care recipient. Even if there are members of the family no longer with you, positive memories create positive holiday experiences

4. Remember to ensure that the senior you care for is comfortable – when family is visiting, particularly a senior with Alzheimer’s might become overwhelmed. Try to keep the noise down and give them a quiet place to escape to.

5. Plan and ask for help – for any holiday celebrations, plan early and write everything down. Then, you’ll feel less overwhelmed about the process and can better ask for help

Via: Suite101

Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 602.588.7725 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

How to Tell if Your Senior is Depressed and Where to Get help

As families gather around for the holidays, concerns may arise in regards to your senior’s mental and physical health. One of the most widespread health problems for the elderly can be depression, making it vital for families to know the symptoms and where their senior can receive help.

• Loss of appetite—A change in appetite usually results in the most common sign a senior is depressed of unintentional weight loss.

• Generally disinterest—Seniors may lose interest in daily activities they once enjoyed or found pleasing.

• Sleepless nights—A depressed senior may have trouble sleeping through the night. This can also explain another sign your senior is depressed, increased fatigue.

• Increased Irritability—Some seniors’ personalities turn increasingly agitated or dispirited when feeling low or depressed.

• Unusual thoughts about death—Abnormal notions about death and dying arise in a down senior.

• Where to get a geriatric assessment—Phoenix Seniors and senior caregivers can receive help and more information on these depression signs by visiting their primary care physician or other outlets such as hospitals, senior centers, religious affiliations, Medicaid offices, or a local Area Agency on Aging.

Source: National Pace Association

Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

When is the right time for an aging adult seek a new medical physician. Here are some tips for family caregivers:

1) Your doctor doesn’t like it when you ask questions – a doctor should respect your knowledge and answer any questions you have.

2) Your doctor doesn’t listen to you – a doctor should make time to address the concerns of every patient directly

3) A doctor doesn’t speak your language – a doctor should explain your senior health issues using terms you understand

4) Going to the doctor makes you feel down, even after you’ve left the office

5) There’s a personal grievance – not everyone’s personalities click; if your doctor just doesn’t seem to like you, or you don’t like them; get a new one.

Sources:

1. Carol O’Dell Caregiver Blog

2. CNNHealth.com (Elizabeth Cohen)

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

Food Network star, Rachael Ray says cooking for Seniors and older adults should be spiced up.. not boring!

What about you Phoenix Seniors?  How do you like your food? Tell us! Please share some of your favorite recipes below in our comment section.

Rachael Ray, host of “30-Minute Meals”, teaches us that making bland food flavors for seniors’ is  unnecessary and undesirable. She tells us, “there’s no excuse for making food dull, lifeless and boring, seniors want good flavor. Cook to impress; cook to be excited, or, at the very least, cook to share.”

Ray says that while adult children often assume their senior loved ones need bland food for their digestive health, foods from these older adults’ earlier years actually can offer many important benefits.

“Food helps seniors reconnect with the past,” Ray said.  “As its nostalgia factor ties all of us to where we’re from, it can be a wonderful tool for seniors who have trouble with short-term memory loss, dementia and other illnesses that remove them from the world.”

Food also allows seniors to “travel” via no more than a trip to the grocery store.  Whether your senior is from Russia, Germany, France, Ireland - wherever - serving food native to those places can take them back to things that help make them feel good, whole, happy and excited about living.

Ray, who was raised in a multi-generational Sicilian restaurant family, said she was lucky to share food with many generations.  “There’s something really intimate about many generations sharing delicious food together,” she said.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

If you have an aging relative living in Phoenix and often wonder if they are having trouble keeping up financially with paying bills? Here are 10 things to look for during your next visit home.

The top ten list was designed by Home Instead Senior Care and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging for families to spot if the downturn in the economy is impacting your aging senior.  If you’re a family caregiver, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is your senior’s home too warm in the summer and too cold in the winter?
2. Is the lawn not getting mowed nor is the sidewalk getting cleaned in inclement weather?
3. Is your loved one complaining about not being able to afford medications?
4. Are home repairs not getting made?
5. Is there a shortage of food in the house?
6. Is your elderly loved one skipping doctor’s appointments?
7. Is your older adult staying home more and becoming isolated?
8. Is your senior cutting out entertainment?
9. Does your loved one eat out less?
10. Did your senior cancel a vacation?

Contact your local Area Agency on Aging or Home Instead Senior Care Austin, if you’re an older adult experiencing difficulties because of the economy.  Or, if you have a financial issue, contact the Garrett Planning Network.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

November is National Family Caregiver Month, a time to address the challenges that family caregivers face, lend them some support and appreciate everything that they do for the most important people in their lives.

Most family caregivers don’t just provide care to their senior parents or relatives, they also have careers, often some that come with a great deal of responsibility; and it’s not unusual for them to have families of their own with young children and a household to maintain that also add to the sometimes overwhelming responsibilities that they face on a daily basis. Yet, while being a family caregiver can be incredibly stressful, most family caregivers would never change anything for the world, because their lives are most rewarding when they’re taking care of others.

But for those who aren’t family caregivers, including seniors who are on the receiving end of care, it’s easy to under-appreciate just how much caregivers give to others, and truly recognize the efforts that they put in. National Family Caregiver month is the time to take a long hard look at the family caregivers in your life and everything they do, and remember to say thank you!

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

It’s worrisome for adult children wondering if parents are taking prescribed meds correctly or if at all!  If you are concerned about your aging parent and they live in Phoenix, please contact us.

Those worries stem from:

• Are they taking the prescribed medications?
• Are they taking them at the time prescribed and with or without food?
• Does my loved one take the right dosage?
• Are my aging parents worried about the costs of the meds?  If so, will they stop because of financial reasons?

A common question we hear is, “when visiting my elderly mom, I see bottles of medication on the kitchen counter, on the bathroom counter and nightstand. It makes me worry about how she is keeping all of her medications organized?

What to ask?

We recommend using good humor and, in this situation, assume that she is keeping them organized and straight.  We suggest taking the innocent until proven guilty approach.  Although you may have very good reasons why some of her prescribed medications are in the kitchen - she’s taking them with food, while others are on the nightstand - she’s taking them before bed.

Pointing to a bottle and asking, “how the world do you keep all these pills straight, Mom?” would be a good conversation starter. If the response includes the reasons you suspected above, then it sounds like things are under control. If she says, “I don’t know. I do my best. I’m not even sure what some of them are,” then the situation needs more attention.

So if she’s having a problem, talk to your mom about a pill organizer, which could help her keep the medications better organized: “Mom, there are organizers that can help you keep all your pills in one place and make it easier for you to keep them straight. Why don’t I check into it?” In addition, one service that Home Instead CAREGivers provide seniors is medication reminders to assist them in managing their daily medications.

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

4 Ways to Boost Senior Morale:

1) Encourage physical activity – exercise releases hormones which can help stave off depression. Instead of sitting around at home during a visit with a senior, go out for a walk or pick another activity that’s well suited to the senior’s physical capabilities.

2) Create social situations – the best way to boost senior morale and prevent loneliness is to get them involved in social situations. Invite your senior to a party or encourage them to join a social activity.

3) Help maintain a healthy diet – studies have proven that a well-balanced diet can prevent depression, so keep your senior’s fridge well stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables.

4) Offer support – if your efforts just don’t seem to boost your senior’s morale or they continue to struggle with elderly depression, make sure they know you are willing to listen to anything on their mind. If they aren’t comfortable talking with a friend or family member, encourage them to speak with a counselor or join a support group for seniors.

Sources:

1. Senior Journal:  (Kara Gavin)

2. Everyday Health

Image: istockphoto.com

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

Q – My mom was recently diagnosed with a critical form of long cancer. While her Phoenix doctors have been unable to predict exactly how long she has, it looks pretty good that this disease will take her from us. I’m trying to do everything I can to offer my support to her, but I have to admit, I’m dealing with a lot emotionally. What can I do to cope with my mom’s illness so I can be the best caregiver possible to her during these trying times for the whole family?

A – It’s perfectly normal for you to go through your own grieving process once you’ve learned that your mother has a critical illness. While it’s important that you’re there for your mom, you also need to take care of yourself, and there are 5 ways that you can try and cope with your loved one’s pending mortality:

1) Remember, it won’t be easy for anyone, and no one expects it to be

2) You will feel a variety of emotions, ranging from sadness, anger, and guilt

3) Allow yourself to run the gamut of emotions and release them in a way that helps you to cope

4) In order to cope, keep a journal about what you’re feeling, talk to a therapist or join a support group

5) Remember, everything that you feel is normal; everyone reacts differently to stressful family caregiving situations!

Sources:

1. Caregivers Library

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.

As a senior caregiver, I try to make sure that the seniors I care for have a well-balanced and colorful diet rich with fruits and vegetables. It’s a challenge to make sure seniors get 7 or 8 servings a day, but with these tips, it becomes much easier!

1. Shop at a local farmer’s market where all of seasonal fruits and vegetables are often priced less. Plus, seeing the produce in a different environment might inspire you to try something new.

2. Mix color – try to ensure that you incorporate fruits and vegetables from every color group.

3. Get creative with cooking – if the care recipient doesn’t enjoy some foods’ textures or tastes, try blending them into a soup or stew.

4. Try smoothies or juice – to increase the number of fruits and vegetables.

5. Buy frozen – blend them into a smoothie, or thaw them in the morning to add to cereal.

6. Add fruit like bananas or strawberries to cereal.

7. Maintain good habits when eating out – order at least one serving of fruits or vegetables.

8. Be open to salad – add vegetables like bell peppers, tomatoes, beets, or avocado. Drizzle ith lemon instead of fatty dressings for a vitamin C boost.

9. Go with stir fry – stir fry recipes are a great way to incorporate a wide variety of vegetables.

10. Analyze the meal – notice if the elder you are cooking for favors one food group over another, and make a point to add more of the others to your next shopping list.

Via: Body and Health

Image: buylocalfood.org

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.