Assisting Hands of St. Pete Adds Memory Home Care
Wellness Resolutions for 2015
Three great lifestyle choices for seniors and family caregivers Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to all our friends and families! This is a great time to take stock of our plans for 2015. Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? There is no shortage of research on aging and caregiving—findings that can provide motivation for making lifestyle…
Seniors Want to Age in Place – Are We Ready for the Challenge?
90 percent of older adults have expressed a preference for receiving care at home. As we saw in the previous issue of Hand in Hand, U.S. Census figures show that fewer older adults are choosing to receive care in a nursing home. Yet the projections also shows major growth in the number of seniors who are living with chronic…
June is Men’s Health Month
June is Men’s Health Month, and leading up to Father’s Day we celebrate Men’s Health Week (which is June 9 – 15 this year). This is a special awareness period first recognized by Congress in 1994 and celebrated around the world. The goal is to educate men, boys, and their families and friends about preventable health problems and to encourage…
Family Caregivers May Neglect Their Own Physical Activity Routine
Family caregivers are busy people! Many are providing many hours of care per week for their loved one, while juggling a full work schedule, other family responsibilities, even caring for children of their own. It’s easy to see why exercise falls to the bottom of their “to do” list. But recent studies show that providing care for an elderly…
Paying for Home Improvements
If you are concerned that paying for senior safety improvements is beyond your means, remember that help is available through… Community Assistance Programs—Most communities and all states have programs to assist older persons with home maintenance, seasonal weatherization, and needed repairs. Some programs are free of charge, except for the cost of materials, while others charge on a sliding scale,…
When a Senior Loved One Hoards
Do you own your possessions, or do your possessions own you? As we grow older, many of us must make decisions about what to do with a lifetime of belongings. In more extreme cases, families find themselves dealing with hoarding, a disorder which becomes more common as people grow older. Collecting or Hoarding? What’s the Difference? Hoarding has…
When a Loved One Is Living with Chronic Illness, Home Care Can Help
Carl worries about his mother, 82, who was recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Mom’s condition is complicated by diabetes and osteoporosis. She doesn’t always remember which medications to take, or when to take them. And she says it’s more trouble than it’s worth to prepare a nutritious meal. Mom just doesn’t seem to be taking care of herself…
January is Glaucoma Awareness Month
At his routine eye exam, Alberto was startled when the ophthalmologist told him that he had developed glaucoma. “I didn’t have any symptoms at all!” Alberto said. His doctor prescribed medication to prevent vision loss. Without treatment, Alberto might have experienced a gradual loss of eyesight before he realized anything was happening. Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable…