Victorian Home Care Newsletter
January 2009
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In This Issue
Watch Out for That Bed!


 
Falls from bed are the second leading cause of fall deaths - after stairs and steps, reports the National Safety Council.
           
A bed fall occurs while transitioning from a sitting to a standing position from bed. Seniors and caregivers are both at risk. In 2006, the FDA published guidelines from the FDA Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup (HBSW). These guidelines address entrapment risks associated with bed accessories often used in the home.

Visit InvisibleCaregiver.com for more information on bed safety.
Top 10 Signs You Need a Time-Out
  1. You routinely replace the reply, 'Good. How are you?' with 'You have no idea!'
  2. You justify the pounding in your chest as a cardiovascular exercise.
  3. Annual doctor visits become monthly.
  4. Sitting in the bathroom counts as downtime.
  5. Getting drive-through while running errands equals a balanced meal.
  6. You've perfected the 'cortisol high' in lieu of an adrenaline high. 
  7. A commercial for a greeting card makes you cry.
  8. You just drove to work/store/pharmacy and don't remember driving.
  9. You set a date to have some fun, and then postpone it.
  10. Even your dog sighs when you walk by.
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Greetings!

For many, January is a time to start fresh. January offers a vibrant, enthusiastic start to a new year. At Victorian Home Care, we also think of January as a chance to reflect on the past year as well as to embrace what's yet to come. We are thankful and grateful for all that 2008 brought us - including the relationships we've been lucky to create with people like you. We hope your holiday season was an enjoyable (and stress-free!) one.

As always, Victorian Home Care is committed to sharing the latest in home care, home health care and elder care news with colleagues, clients and friends. Please enjoy these articles in the spirit of community in which this newsletter was sent.

Happy New Year - Here's to 2009!

The Team at Victorian Home Care
Senior-Friendly Appliances

The appliance market is responding to the demands of boomers who want appliances that help them cope with the aches, pains and other infirmities they confront as they grow older. Roughly 76 million baby boomers -- born between 1946 and 1964 -- control the biggest share of purchasing power for the roughly $25 billion U.S. appliance market, reports an article in the Wall Street Journal.

Some examples of the "senior-friendly" products are washing machines with pedestals that raise the height of washing machines and clothes dryers for customers with back problems. There are also washing machines with large knobs that make a louder-than-usual noise when they're set, and a model that plays musical chimes to indicate washing temperature or other features. Brighter LED lighting improves visibility inside refrigerators. Some ovens can be raised up for easier access to prevent people from stooping awkwardly, losing their balance and burning themselves.

Read all about it here.
Search the Internet and Boost Brain Power
 
A new study found that searching the Internet exercises the brains of older people by activating their neural circuitry, says UCLA's Memory & Aging Research Center.
 
Internet searches activate regions in the brain that control complex reasoning and decision-making, the Center found in a nine-month study of 24 neurologically normal volunteers with similar education levels, ages 55 to 76.
 
Noting that the brain activity was recorded in MRI results, findings with the test subjects showed richer sensory experience and heightened attention when conducting Internet searches, as opposed to reading book-like text on computers.
 
The Center's findings are to be published next month in the Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Click here for the UCLA Web site.
Send Your Brain to Boot Camp for Retraining

UCLA's Memory & Aging Research Center presents a one-day training session designed for people with age-related memory concerns who wish to improve or maintain their memory ability.  The course is not intended for people with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. 

Brain Boot Camp participants will:
  1. Measure baseline memory, stress and fitness levels to individualize healthy lifestyle programs.
  2. Learn basic techniques to respond to everyday memory challenges.
  3. Sample a healthy brain diet and learn recipes for a brain-protective nutritional plan.
  4. Master advanced memory techniques for names and faces.
  5. Practice relaxation exercises to improve mental focus.
  6. Map out a daily lifestyle plan for maintaining benefits for the long haul.
  7. Gauge progress and notice results in just one day.

To learn more or sign up for Brain Boot Camp, contact the UCLA Memory & Aging Center at (310) 825-0545 or email bcamp@mednet.ucla.edu.
About Victorian Home Care:
For nearly 30 years Victorian Home Care has been providing superior home care and geriatric care management services to seniors or people with physical and/or mental disabilities in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties. Care, compassion, integrity, and exceptional customer service are Victorian's guiding principles, employing only carefully selected caregivers who are the most dedicated and qualified and strive to ensure the same kind of care family members would provide.  Victorian Home Care services include assistance with activities of daily living, personal care, transportation, respite care and medication management. For more information visit www.victorianhomecare.com or call (831) 655-1935 in Monterey or (831) 662-3093 in Aptos.