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Greetings!
ElderCare at Home brings you this newsletter in the spirit of cooperation and education. We hope you find this information useful and informative. Please give us a call or email us if there is anything we can do for you! |
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Veteran's Day: Honoring all Veterans | | |
 In the United States of America, Veterans Day annually falls on November 11th. This day is the anniversary of the armistice signing which marked the end of World War I between the Allied Nation and Germany in 1918. Veterans are honored, remembered and thanked for their services to the United States on Veteran's Day.
History of Veterans Day
Veterans Day, formerly known as "Armistice Day", was originally set as a United States legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In a legislation that passed in 1938, November 11th was "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day.
In 1954, after having been through WWII and the Korean War, the 83rd United States Congress amended the Act of 1938 by striking the word "Armistice" and inserting the word "Veterans". With the approval of the legislation, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
In 1968, the "Uniforms Holiday Bill" ensured three-day weekends for federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day. Under this bill, Veterans Day was moved to the last monday of October. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holiday on it's original date. The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed, with much confusion, on October 25th, 1971.
Finally on September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to it's original date of November 11th, beginning in 1978. Since then, the Veterans Day holiday has been observed every November 11th!
Please join us for the upcoming webinar, Wednesday, November 9th, at 3:00 EST, to learn about Veterans Day & Eligibility of Benefits: How and Why we Honor our Former and Current Service Men. Click here to register.
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Veterans Benefits | | |
 A typical veteran's social security benefit may be $1,200 per month and a spouse's $600 per month. If you are a veteran, you may not be aware of your eligibility for benefits. Most do not know that non-service connected disabilities are compensable.
Suppose a veteran, age 84, and his wife, age 81, own and live in their Florida homestead and have accumulated investments and savings of about $125,00.
Now suppose that the veteran has early stage dementia but is still competent to understand and execute certain documents. The wife cares for the veteran at home and would like to continue keeping him at home as long as possible.
Since Medicaid benefits and Veterans Administration benefits are not mutually exclusive, it is possible with government help to provide an affordable good life for this couple.
Using some of the same techniques to convert the couple's countable assets to non-countable assets, as is done for Medicaid eligibility, the Veterans Administration's asset limitation can be met.
Veterans who meet the following added qualifications may qualify:
- Be disabled or over the age of 65
- Not have a dishonorable discharge
- Have served at least 90 days in the service, one day of which was during wartime. It is not necessary that the veterans actually had been engaged in combat.
- Have less assets then the maximum allowed by the Veterans Administration. (This can be accomplished by the use of Medicaid asset participation strategies)
This extra money can make a difference, allowing the veteran to stay at home with his wife, enjoy the benefits of an Adult Daycare Center, and be assured that the respite provided to his wife by his attendance at the Adult Daycare Center, keeps her from caregiver burnout. This allows this couple to remain together at home until the Veteran's dementia progresses to the point where an Assisted Living Facility or Nursing Home Care is the only safe and quality care option.
Please join us for the upcoming webinar, Wednesday, November 9th, at 3:00 EST, to learn about Veterans Day & Eligibility of Benefits: How and Why we Honor our Former and Current Service Men. Click here to register.
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The Difference between Veterans Day & Memorial Day | | |
Memorial Day honors service members who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle. Deceased veterans are also remembered on Veterans Day but the day is set aside to thank and honor living veterans who served honorably in the military- in wartime or time of peace. |
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Alzheimer's disease & Thanksgiving | | |
 The Thanksgiving holiday is a time of gratitude that is celebrated with family and friends. Individuals who live with a dementia such as Alzheimer's disease require a little planning to truly make their holiday meaningful.
Family members may be unaware of how to approach someone with Alzheimer's. Some people may not know how to deal with repeated conversations, the forgetting of family members names and confusion. ElderCare at Home believes that both adults and child can equip themselves with ways to engage people with memory disorders to ensure a better holiday season.
- Members of the family must educate themselves about Alzheimer's disease. Learning as much as you can about the disease will help family members to understand the importance of keeping their loved one closely surrounded by supportive people.
- Engage people with Alzheimer's disease in conversations and activities. Conversations should be at the level of the loved one and it is ideal for them to lead the conversation. Challenging someone with Alzheimer's can lead to anxiety, confusion and/or irritability.
- Try to ask questions that rely on "older knowledge" and encourage reminiscing about past holidays. Generally, people with memory disorders have the best memory when it comes to distant events. For example, it may be easier for them to recall holidays as a child rather than the holidays from last year.
- Parents should prepare their children for conversations. Alzheimer's can be very difficult for a child to comprehend. Parents should make their children aware of possible outcomes when speaking with someone with Alzheimer's disease. For example, a mother may warn her child that her grandfather with Alzheimer's may not remember her name or repeat himself many times.
For additional Alzheimer's disease training, check out ElderCare at Home's training programs by clicking here. |
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Caregiver Matters: Technology Offers New Options for Support | |
 Family caregivers who join support groups have less stress than those who do not belong to one. It's a fact that has been proven over and over, from studies dating back into the 1990's (For example, the 1996 August/November volume of Family Science Review, in the study titled "Alzheimer's Caregivers: Enhancing Support Group Effectiveness"). The challenge for busy caregivers today, however, is how to schedule in a support group, how to manage the logistics of care while they're gone, and a host of other practical challenges. At the end of the day, only a very small percentage of family caregivers actually attend support groups, leaving a vast population of caregivers without the benefit of support.
Technology has bridged this gap for many caregivers in the virtual support community called Caregiver Village ( www.caregivervillage.com). Members share their stories through journaling, connecting with others in groups called "book clubs" on the site, and finding a community of support, encouragement and helpful information and resources- open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
"Caregiver Village is a community that could have served me well when my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1993. What I learned in the 11 years while my mother was ill, I could have learned in a short period of time had Caregiver Village been a choice," says Barbara Pursley, author of the book "Embracing the Moment: an Alzheimer's Memoir" and a member of the team in the Caregiver Village community.
Caregiver Village is not just for caregivers of elders, either. A large community of caregivers for children, teens and young adults with autism has also found virtual support important. Liane Kupferberg Carter, Caregiver Village host, author and frequent journalist on the Huffington Post, NY Times and other publications, comments, "Caregiver Village is the community I wish I had when my son was initially diagnosed with autism. No one else really gets it the way another parent does. We're each other's best resources".
Finding and joining a support group- or virtual support community- has become much easier, thanks to technology and to forward-thinking organizations like Caregiver Village. Caregiver stress just might become more manageable as the result.
Author: Sharon K. Brothers, Executive Vice President of Caregiver Village. She has worked in the field of senior care for the past three decades, leading support groups in person for many of those years. You can contact her at sharon.brothers@caregivervillage.com.
To check out this amazing website or for more information about Caregiver Village, please click here! |
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Preventing Medication Errors in the Home | |
 Medication errors have become a national issue. At least 1.5 million people are harmed annually with a containment cost of 3.5 billion dollars spent to treat drug related injuries. Dementia patients living at home must be recognized as being particularly more vulnerable to medication errors.
In the care environment of a patient's home, there are a multitude of unique variables that may contribute to the challenge of assuring medication errors do not occur. Challenges present themselves for our visually impaired patients, patient who live alone, patients with multiple medications and the lack of an individual caregiver who can assume the role for medication administration in order to ensure complete adherence to the prescribed regimen.
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| End of Life Home Care Services | | |
 Did you know we offer "End of Life Home Care"? End of Life Home Care Services by ElderCare at Home® are utilized by those who are starting to decline into their final phase of life, as well as for their families and caregivers. Our End of Life Home Care Services provide comfort, care and support to families in their own home, for both physical and emotional needs.
Some of our services include:
- Reach Out For Respite©
- Assistance with Activities of Daily Living
- Palliative Care
- Bath Visits
- Wound Care
- Catheter Care
- Care Management
- Errands & Transportation
- Affordable, temporary, part-time or full time
To read more about ElderCare at Home's End of Life Home Care Services, click here now. |
| Podcasts | |
 Are you a busy person, crunched for time or always on the move? ElderCare at Home understands that we are all busy individuals with many tasks to complete in the day. Some people may not have the time to sit down and do something for themselves.
We know that it can be difficult to block out a certain amount of time to attend one of our webinars, or even, to go on YouTube and watch the entire presentation. Well, ElderCare has come up with a solution!
What is a podcast you ask? A podcast (or non-streamed webcast) is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released in episodes and can be downloaded through web syndication.
This means you can quickly and easily download our podcasts to your cell phone, mp3, laptop or Ipod and take it with you anywhere! Take it to work to listen to on your free time, take it in the car and listen while running errands, download it and go. It's really that simple.
ElderCare at Home has converted our webinar audio into podcasts so that you may get the information you need at any location.
To listen to our first podcast, click here. Don't forget to follow us, that way you'll be notified when ElderCare has a new podcast for you. |
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ElderCare at Home CNA Spotlight | | |
Brenda Smith
Brenda Smith has been a Certified Nurses Assistant (CNA) at ElderCare at Home since May 2011. Although Brenda has only worked for a few months at ElderCare, she has already proven herself as an important role in the ElderCare team.
In the few short months she's been with ElderCare, Brenda has helped her patient tremendously and has received outstanding reviews from the family members of her client. She is truly loved by her patient and the patient's family.
Here's what they have to say about Brenda!
"Thank you so much for sending Brenda Smith to our home. Brenda makes my job of caring for my 92 year-old mother, who is wheel chair bound and has dementia, so much easier. Brenda is especially loving and caring towards my mom, reads and listens to her, accompanies us to the library, Walmart and Publix. She prepares mom's lunches and helps her eat, she even encourages her to feed herself to become more independent. Brenda helps mom exercise as she walks with a walker and takes her on strolls around the neighborhood. They play volleyballoon and blow bubbles together. On Brenda's own initiative, she checks my mother's dirty hamper, even her washer and dryer for laundry that needs washing, drying or folding. She also wet mops the floor and spills; washes, dries and puts away sparkling clean dishes. This woman sets the bar very high for all other caregivers. Everything Brenda does, she does with a smile and cheerful disposition that lights up our home and our hearts."
ElderCare at Home is very proud to have her on our team! |
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Ask the Expert: Expert Advice & Answers | | |
Do you have a question about caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease?
If you would like to receive confidential advice and answers to any questions you may have, then simply sign into either website shown below. Then simply click on the "live chat" button (located near the top of the page) to ask your Alzheimer's or cognitive impairment related questions. Advice and answers will be presented by the President and CEO of ElderCare at Home, Elayne Forgie. Don't hesitate, ask your questions today!
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Testimonials | | |
ElderCare at Home has an impeccable reputation caring for patients with an Alzheimer's/dementia diagnosis and helping their families each step of the way. We pride ourselves on our incredible ElderCare Specialists and work diligently to recommend just the right person to meet our elder client's needs.
Here's what they have to say about ElderCare at Home:
November 2011
Isn't it funny how life comes full circle? Your parents raise you with great hopes and dreams, watch you become a successful adult, raise your own family, etc. Then suddenly you find yourself having to deal with a parent being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, watching them deteriorate and regress to an unimaginable state of childhood where you are now having to care for them the way they once lovingly cared for you. Your life and your family gets turned upside-down trying to care for someone you love so dearly, while still trying to keep up with everything else going on in your life.
But there is hope for everyone involved with ElderCare at Home. From the moment we contacted them for information regarding their services, our entire family has been uplifted by the advice and quality planning and care we have received from the staff and caregivers that have worked with us. They have showed sensitivity and compassion from day one, as we started out slowly introducing hourly care into our Mother's life, and seamlessly transitioning into 24-hour live-in care. Now the time that we all spend with Mom is quality family time. It's all professionally handled by our outstanding caregiver, Maria, who is now a part of our family as well. Mom has adapted with ease to having Maria there to help, keeping her busy, entertained and very well cared for. ElderCare at Home has given us all back an exceptional quality of life!
To see a list of our testimonials, click here! |
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Tips for Caregivers of People with Alzheimer's Disease | | |
Communication
 Alzheimer's disease and related dementias can gradually diminish a person's ability to communicate. Not only do people with Alzheimer's have more difficulty expressing thoughts and emotions, they also have more trouble understanding others. The ability to exchange out ideas, wishes and feelings is a basic need.
Here are some tips for trying to communicate with a person who has Alzheimer's disease- both understanding and being understood:
Choose simple words and short sentences and use a gentle, calm tone of voice.
Avoid talking to the patient like a baby or talking as though he/she were not present.
Minimize distractions and noise-such as TV or radio-to help the patient focus on what you are saying.
Call the patient by name, making sure you have his/her attention before speaking.
Allow time for response. Be careful not to interrupt.
If the patient is struggling to find a word or communicate a thought, gently try to provide the word he/she is attempting to say.
Frame questions and instructions in a positive way.
Do not overwhelm the patient with too much information or anything that is not immediately relevant.
For more information or additional training please visit ElderCare at Home's Alzheimer's Training website.
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National Memory Screening Day 2011 | | |
Have you been concerned about memory problems?
Tuesday, November 15th, is National Memory Screening Day. Free, confidential memory screening available.
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Early detection is very important for everyone. We urge you to take action now to get answers today!
Hosted by: ElderCare at Home
Where: ElderCare at Home's Lake Worth Office
When: Tuesday, November 15, 2011
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Memory Screenings will be done by appointment only so please call to to schedule your free screening.
For information, call: 561-585-0400
Toll Free: 800-209-4342
To see all of ElderCare at Home's upcoming events, click here. |
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Word Search: Stimulate the Mind | | |
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