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Victorian Home Care Newsletter
March 2009
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How Old Are You?
Chronological
age is not synonymous with "getting old".
"Old"
depends on the intricate interplay between genes and lifestyle and how quickly
your cells divide and repair breakages in DNA and die. That is how old your
body thinks it is, says Michael Roizen, chair of the Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute and coauthor
of YOU: Staying Young.
"There are about 191 things that go
into calculating your real
age," he says, "and 149 of those things are within your control to
change."
Take the free RealAge Test developed by Dr. Roizen here.
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Alzheimer's and the Bathing Battleground
Who knows why an extremely confused person
doesn't want to bathe? It could be fear of falling, feeling cold, modesty
issues, the inability to understand what is expected, the inability to sequence
and/or follow directions, or the inability to recognize the difference between
feeling hot and cold, writes Mary C. Fridley in The Capital.
She provides some tips to help:
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Prepare the bathroom in
advance: Turn up the heat and gather all supplies to within easy reach.
- Simply state that it is time
to "wash up" or "clean up" before a meal or snack.
- Keep the conversation light
and talk about anything other than bathing.
- Take it one step at a time: fill
the sink with warm water and encourage hand washing. Never leave a person
feeling exposed: each time an article of clothing comes off, replace it
with a clean item.
- If agitation occurs, back off
and try again later.
- Sometimes you have to resort
to the seven-day bath: bathing one body part per day.
- Bring a bath-in-a-basin to the
person.
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Greetings!
March is a month stuck somewhere
between winter and spring. It's the perfect time to stop and think about how
your year is going so far. Did you stick to your New Year's resolutions, going
to the gym or saving for retirement? If you feel you've strayed, why not
consider March the time to jump back on your own personal bandwagon? Every day
is a new chance to begin fresh, to make the positive changes you strive to
make. And, as always, if one of those positive changes is finding care for a
loved one, friend or family member, Victorian Home Care will be there for you.
Below you'll find the most recent
and relevant elder care, aging and home care related news. We strive to educate
our friends and contacts (and that means you!) on all the information that is
essential to know. We hope you will receive this newsletter with the community
spirit with which it was intended.
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New Genes Identified for Alzheimer's Disease
 The American Journal of Human Genetics
reports that four novel genes that may significantly increase the risk
of late-onset Alzheimer's (which accounts for about 95 percent of all
Alzheimer's cases) have been identified by researchers at Massachusetts
General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
The "Alzheimer's
Genome Project" (AGP) was established three years ago to identify the
full set of Alzheimer's disease genetic risk factors. Current
treatments only address the symptoms of the disease, and it is thought
that the findings may lead to more aggressive therapeutic interventions
to slow, stop or even reverse the effects of the disease.
Alzheimer's
disease is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly with an
estimated 5.2 million Americans currently living with the disease,
including between 200,000 and 500,000 people under the age of 65 with
young-onset Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. The Alzheimer's
Association predicts that by 2010, nearly a half million new cases of
Alzheimer's disease will occur each year; and by 2050, nearly a million
new cases will occur annually.
Read more about the study and its findings here.
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Danger: Lifting Ahead!
 The human cost
and the financial cost for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in healthcare
workers is a big burden to employers. Part of the solution lies in correct use
of patient lifting devices. Read these 10 Alarming
Facts about Healthcare Worker Injuries:
- Healthcare workers experience musculoskeletal disorders
(MSDs) at a higher rate than workers in construction, mining and
manufacturing.
- The majority of these injuries are related to manual
patient lifting.
- Manual patient lifting occurs when transferring
patients.
- Manual patient lifting occurs when repositioning
patients.
- Manual patient lifting occurs when working in awkward
positions.
- Also contributing to the rate of injuries is the
increasing weight of patients because of an epidemic of obesity.
- The number of older people who need assistance with
daily living is also on the rise as people live longer.
- Back injuries in the healthcare industry cost about $20
billion a year.
- Nursing aides and orderlies suffer the highest rate
(18.8 percent) of work-related back pain for any group of workers.
- Nursing aides and orderlies also report the most annual
cases (269,000) of work-related back pain for any female workers.
That's why the
healthcare worker safety information in Safety
Smart! Online emphasizes the safe use of lifting equipment.
Source http://www.safetysmartonline.com. Note that this is a subscription service.
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The Glass Half Full: Look at the Demographic Shift as an Opportunity
A notable social change
is that 65 is no longer regarded as the universal retirement age in the way it
used to be. This is just one change that the currently aging population is
creating for itself. And, in case you have not been keeping up with the ratio
of working-age adults to the elderly, in 2005 there were 4.9 adults between the
ages of 18 and 64 for every person 65 or older, and by 2025, the ratio will
have dropped to 3.1 to one. There is a stunning demographic shift occurring.
 One writer in Wisconsin suggests that,
"Rather than doom and gloom, governments at all levels ought to examine policy
changes that can be implemented over time to adapt to an aging population." He
also sees business opportunities in more public-private partnerships.
Read more ideas here.
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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.
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