News from Always There Home Care

In This Issue

Featured Article:...Music Boosts Memory in Alzheimer's Patients...

"Becoming "Long Term Aware

Living Well With Urinary Incontinence...Here Are Some...Tips

Kudos From Kelly

Providers We Love

To acquire knowledge,
one must study;
but to acquire wisdom,
one must observe.
~ Marilyn vos Savant

"Let us dare to be ourselves, for we do that better than anyone else can."

Shirley Briggs

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Greetings!

Here at Always There Home Care, we are grateful you are slowing down to read our newsletter full of items that relate to home care, home health care, aging and eldercare, as well as some useful tips for daily living. Please enjoy in the spirit of community and cooperation in which this newsletter was sent.

Featured Article: Music Boosts Memory in Alzheimer's Patients

By Susan Seligson

This is the third in our series on issues focused on care of folks with Alzheimer's/Dementia.

Music's power to soothe or energize is well known, and there is good science behind the use of music to arouse dormant memories even in those whose minds are failing. Now the results of a recent Boston University study suggest that music may also help people with dementia retain new information, a finding with promising implications for the 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer's.

According to researcher Brandon Ally, a School of Medicine assistant professor of neurology at BU, Alzheimer's patients who were put through a series of memory tests learned more lyrics when they were set to music rather than just spoken, while healthy elderly

people remembered just as much and just as well with or without music. The results of this study could lead to a new way of helping Alzheimer's patients remember things required for maintaining their independence. For example, a simple ditty might help patients remember which medications to take when, says Ally, whose research focuses mainly on how memory deteriorates in healthy aging as well as in elderly people with dementia.

In the study, the BU team had a group of healthy elderly people and a group with Alzheimer's view a series of simple song lyrics on a computer screen, first with the words being sung by a young woman, then with the words being spoken by the same woman, and finally with no accompanying sound at all. woman computer

To make sure subjects would have no knowledge of the songs beforehand, Ally used only children's songs written in the last few years and did a random screening to be fairly certain the songs were outside elderly people's frames of reference

"It is healthier to see the good points of others than to analyze our own bad ones." ~ Françoise Safan

Becoming "Long Term Aware" (Part 1 or 2 Part Series)

By: Kathy Ruane, CLU, CASL, CLTC Long Term Care Advisor

New Series in Long Term Care Insurance
This is part 1 of a two part series on the often bewildering area of long term care insurance. We are proud to present these articles by a known expert in the field and hope our readers find them useful.

If you are employed and become ill or have an accident, your accumulated sick leave may cover your living expenses-at least for the short term-but what about the long term? How long could you live without a steady income? And how long would it take before your savings and investments were depleted?

These are questions that many people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s probably don't spend a lot of time thinking about-much less planning for. And unless a friend or family member has required long term care, it's a subject that many people know little about.

I'm not old enough to be concerned...or am I? I have found that often people do not want to talk about the prospects of needing long term care. However, in the blink of an eye, the need for day-to-day assistance could become a major issue, and the likelihood that an individual might need long term care often increases in the Golden Years. A 2008 report from the Alzheimer's Association, "2008 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures," estimates 10 million baby boomers to develop Alzheimer's disease in their lifetime with another 4 million to develop some type of dementia.

Does that mean going into a nursing home?

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Living Well With Urinary Incontinence... Here Are Some Tips

By Katherine Lee Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

If you have urinary incontinence, worrying about leaking urine can start to limit your lifestyle. Consider these tips for bladder health

Balance Your Fluid Intake
Many people who have urinary incontinence think they should drink less water to decrease the risk of an accident. But this isn't exactly true. While drinking too much fluid can lead to bladder leakage, not drinking enough can also lead to leakage and bladder health problems. When you don't drink enough water, the urine becomes more concentrated, and that can be irritating to the bladder and increase urgency.

overactive bladder. Most people wait until their bladder feels full, but that method doesn't work for people with urinary incontinence. Emptying your bladder before leaving the house - or office or restaurant - even if you don't think you need to go is important to help prevent accidents.

Locate Bathrooms
If you have urinary incontinence, it's a good idea to know where the bathrooms are located at your destination, such as at a restaurant. If you're going to a museum or shopping center, find a directory or ask a staff person where the restrooms are when you arrive. If you're heading out to an unfamiliar public area, do some research beforehand to find public restroom locations. One very useful tool, which can be found on the National Association for Continence site, www.nafc.org/bladder-bowel-health/find-a-bathroom/ )lets you search for public bathrooms by zip code.

Keep a Bladder Diary
Successful treatment of urinary incontinence depends on identifying the type of incontinence. A bladder diary can be an excellent tool to help your doctor pinpoint which type of incontinence you have. A few days before your doctor visit, begin writing down what you drank, what time you drank it, how many times you urinated, and when you had leaking-urine episodes; include anything that may have led up to the accident, such as coughing, exercising, or a sense of urgency.

Do Pelvic Floor Exercises

Pelvic floor exercises, or Kegel exercises, can benefit both men and women who have urinary incontinence. To do a Kegel, squeeze or tighten your pelvic floor muscles - these are the same muscles you use to stop urinating - and then release. Doing these exercises
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Kudos from Kelly

Kudos From Kelly

By Kelly McNamara

Antoinette Kahia
A relative newcomer, Antoinette was headed for the list already this month, but one extraordinary day pushed her right to the top. She has been, from the start, very flexible, responding to last minute requests to accommodate our referral sources, providing relief for live in staff, always with grace and enthusiasm. But it was her (once again) accommodating a last minute case with a new facility that really demonstrated her value to our clients and families. An elderly woman needed live in care for a few weeks due to a recent injury. After settling her client for the first night, Antoinette remained alert for any concerns or problems. When the woman awoke early in the morning for her medication, Antoinette provided it, and then re- settled her. Very soon afterward, the client asked for her again, and again and again, not for meds, simply for her presence. Antoinette settled in to sit with her. The woman then quietly, peacefully, painlessly, but very unexpectedly, passed away while Antoinette held her hand and comforted her. The extraordinary maturity, compassion, caring and professionalism she showed to this client, her family and the facility staff was remarkable, and unforgettable. Many, many thanks to Antoinette!

Lola Ballesteros

Well known as a fairly consistent caregiver on this list, Lola has also shown enormous potential in her new extra role as mentor and care evaluator. Her comprehensive and thorough, yet well paced orientation and training to new caregivers has resulted in newly regained confidence among these caregivers for complicated client care. Her assessment skills in checking in on existing clients to make sure caregivers are comfortable and clients are satisfied has given her a new direction in which to develop her talents. As the company grows in clients and in complexity of care for these clients, it is wonderful to have Lola's expertise in her new additional responsibilities. Already an outstanding caregiver, she is now also able to share her experience and talents with others to improve care and service to all our clients and families. Thanks Lola!

Shartrice Ricketts
Rarely does a new and relatively young caregiver receive a Kudos honor. This month we are proud to award one to Shartrice for her amazing ability to learn all the skills required by a wonderful client with complex care needs. She not only performs her job with the confidence and competence of one much more mature and seasoned, she is already very well liked and trusted by the client, MT who usually "doesn't really like young caregivers". Shartrice won her heart by being (as MT calls her) an "old soul" with wisdom and common sense beyond her years. She is also an amazing cook and was able to prepare some of M T's favorite dishes, always a heartwarming gesture for MT who was a great cook in her day. They look forward to working their way through many of MT's favorite recipes. Welcome aboard, Shartrice and we wish you a long and successful career with us!

Special thanks to all caregivers mentioned for their extra special care. They will all receive gift cards and our sincere appreciation! And again, from Regina and myself, THANK YOU!

"Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less" ~ Rabbi Julius Gordon

Providers We Love

We are privileged to have received referrals from and be able to coordinate care with many Assisted Living facilities, rehab facilities, and Medicare Home Care and Hospice agencies. Our growth is in large part due to the trust the staff in these organizations have put in our caregivers. We are likewise impressed with them and we are committed to referring to them on a regular basis.

Arbor Rose, Assisted Living, New Britain
Long a favorite facility of ours, Arbor Rose boasts a wonderful and caring group of staff, activity folks who keep life interesting for residents and a very welcoming environment for our pet therapy program. Casey, our Golden retriever loves her afternoons with the residents of the Garden, their memory unit and her individual visits to folks in both Arbor Rose and Jerome Home. Our caregivers who are providing service for some residents at Arbor Rose have determined that Arbor Rose serves the best food of any facility in which they've worked. High praise indeed! Thanks to our colleagues at Arbor Rose for their continued support and trust in our caregivers.

Seabury Active Living Retirement Community, Bloomfield
One of Connecticut's first retirement communities, Seabury has grown impressively from its original facility. The sprawling campus now boasts several individual residences, from apartments to substantial single homes. Their memory care unit is superb. The surroundings provide lovely views in all seasons. An immense fitness facility, including a large pool promotes continued fitness of older adults. Seabury boasts an outstanding 85% of participation of its residents in the fitness facility. Seabury also has an innovative Life Care program and Seabury at Home service. Their home care program provides both Medicare as well as private duty services for the community. It is a privilege to work in co-operation with them.

Vitas Hospice, Waterbury, Fairfield, Hartford
We are always proud to refer our clients to Vitas Hospice. But now, they and we have special reason to celebrate. Vitas' beautiful inpatient hospice care unit in St Mary's hospital in Waterbury is fully staffed