Are Home Care Services Right For Your Loved One? Consider the Following Questions.

As your elderly loved one needs increasingly more assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), you’ll likely begin considering which available eldercare options are right for your family. Many elderly people are resistant to change and fear the loss of independence they associate with long-term care facilities. Home care services are an excellent alternative for these individuals. To determine if home care is right for your loved one, consider the following questions:

home care services

If your loved one needs help with chores, and basic medical care, home care may be a good option.

How much care is needed? For those who require around-the-clock care, a long-term care facility is likely a better option than home care. However, if your loved one needs assistance with some activities of daily living, help with chores, and basic medical care, home care is a good alternative.

Where does your loved one prefer to live? This might seem an obvious question to consider, but it’s often overlooked. While most elderly people prefer the familiarity of their own homes, some might desire the companionship of community life in an assisted living or supportive living facility. For those who wish to remain at home and don’t require constant access to care, home care is an excellent option.

Are you feeling stressed out by the amount of care you’re providing to your loved one? If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your caregiving duties, home care services can help alleviate some of your stress. By having someone else help with caregiving responsibilities, you can focus on spending quality time with your loved one.

Does your loved one forget to pay bills or take medications? If your loved one forgets to take medication, is late to pay bills, or neglects personal hygiene, a home caregiver can help ensure that these ADLs and other responsibilities are takencare of in a timely manner.

Is your loved one isolated socially? As getting out of the house becomes more challenging for elderly people, feeling isolated from the outside world is often the result. Home care provides the opportunity for your loved one to have regular companionship and social interaction.

These are just a few of the questions to consider when deciding if home care is right for your elderly loved one. For more information regarding home care services, please contact us anytime.

Memory Care You can Use to Connect with Your Loved One

memory care

Enjoying activities like painting, drawing, and playing music, can help strengthen memory.

When an older family member struggles with memory loss and dementia, we often lose the ability to communicate with them in a way that is satisfying to both of us. Although there is a caregiver in the home so we don’t worry about their safety or health, and we know that trained aides use memory care techniques to sustain our loved one’s cognitive abilities, we want to do something ourselves to hang onto the bond we have with our loved ones.

Trained workers use Reality Orientation, Fantasy Validation, Music and Art Therapy with other techniques to connect with elderly clients, but there are some things you can do too, using the same principles, to maintain the bond with your elderly family member. Playing music, making art and cooking together are all great ways to connect with loved ones who are limited in their communication. Besides that benefit, studies show that these therapies can reduce pain and discomfort in the elderly.

When you play songs from their youth, you stimulate memories that can foster your loved one’s ability to connect with you. They often reminisce, and you may even learn something about your past from engaging them at that level. Research also shows that the mind uses organization tasks to process the music and that can help people reinforce cognitive abilities. When you introduce rhythm and respond to it by moving or dancing with your loved one, you further tap into that organizational element.

Drawing, painting or coloring with an impaired elderly person enables connection by accessing emotions and pleasure areas that the person has trouble verbalizing. When language begins to slip away, emotions are still strong; drawing, using color and texture can activate those emotions and the memories that rise with them.

Even cooking with your loved one is a powerful tool. Food, in its preparation and in the eating of it, is so important to family life and to who we are as individuals( especially women). Simple recipes like scrambled eggs, cakes and cookies, even making a peanut butter sandwich together, can bring back those emotional memories of family that connect us to our loved ones.

For more information on how to enrich your loved one’s life, or to find out how a live-in aide can give you peace of mind,contact us. Together,as a team, we can keep your family ties stronger, longer.

Does Your Loved One’s Dementia Care Take Scientific Research into Account?

In February 2015, The American Journal of Psychiatry presented review results that in the future, may just make diabetes management a part of dementia care. The article titled, “Modifiable Predictors of Dementia in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”, highlighted an unmistakable connection between the two health problems. It also provided suggestions on what should be done about it. Currently on the researchers’ table are recommendations to adjust at-risk seniors’ diets and improve chronic disease management on all fronts. Early screening for MCI and other mental health conditions is also being suggested by some members of the medical community.

dementia care

We take ongoing dementia and Alzheimer’s research very seriously, and incorporate new findings into our practices.

At Endeavor Senior Care of Scottsdale, we take ongoing Alzheimer’s disease research seriously. Consequently, we pride ourselves on informing Arizona’s families of any advancements that may help improve the lives of their loved ones. Our caregivers are trained to utilize a proven dementia care management system known as AlzBetter® and details about the program may be found here. In addition, registered nurses and occupational therapists are essential parts of our home care team.

Our registered nurses can help dementia care patients manage their diabetes medications. They can also work with other medical professionals to ensure that patients’ comorbidities don’t unnecessarily contribute to dementia driven, cognitive decline. Nutritional care plans that address patients’ increased folate needs and provide other interventions that may enrich their quality of life can be formulated as well. Why?

We let the unique, personal needs of our dementia care patients and their families take precedence. So no matter what advancements in dementia home care come down the pike, we’re poised to help Arizona’s families live better lives. To learn more about Endeavor Senior Care’s dementia care program and what our staff can do to help families now, please contact us. Our corporate office is in Scottsdale but we serve locations throughout the Phoenix Valley. The list includes, but isn’t limited to Fountain Hills, Mesa, Phoenix, Tucson, Sun City and Paradise Valley.

Eldercare Home Care: Gardening Together

So, you have arranged for eldercare home care for your loved one, but you really want to stay involved in his daily life. He is safe and he has someone who does activities with him, but you want to be there for your loved one as well. Well, spring is nearly upon us and, if your loved one once enjoyed gardening, why not turn the soil together?

eldercare home care

If your loved one once enjoyed gardening, why not turn the soil together?

Gardening is a healthful activity but it also can let some pleasurable memories surface. You and your loved one can reminisce as you work. How do you garden with someone who has some debilities and needs extra care? Here are some ideas to make spring gardening a great pastime for both of you.

As we age, our vision changes as the eye lens thickens. Distinguishing blues and greens is harder. We may not have good depth perception either. Paint all your gardening tools in bright colors. Make sure garden paths are well-marked and free of obstructions, too.

People generally lose strength and flexibility as they age. Now, before gardening season is here, raise flower beds to sitting-height and add substantial edges where your loved one can rest while working.

Remember that older people don’t adapt to temperature changes the way younger people do. Hats are a must, as are light jackets if it is cool. Take a spritzer bottle of water outside with you if it is hot and use it frequently on necks and faces. Be sure to take breaks with your loved one and drink lots of water.

If your loved one has a chronic illness or another condition that precludes his working outdoors, bring the garden indoors. Plant container gardens you can bring inside to work.

The important thing to remember is that this is an activity for the two of you to enjoy. Be consistent in your gardening visits and allow your loved one to take ownership of the project, planning what to plant and when to plant it if possible. It is important, however, to choose plants that don’t require a lot of care. When your lettuce or peas come in, be sure to have a victory meal and enjoy them together.

For more ideas on how to remain engaged with your elderly loved one, contact us. We’re here for both of you.