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Message from Patricia ...
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Patricia Grace, Founder
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Ta Da! I am thrilled to share our new website and blog with you. The folks at Hollister Creative did a wonderful job of communicating the spirit of Aging with Grace ... thank you to Kim Landry and her team.
We have been very busy this year adding new corporate clients and growing our individual membership significantly. Thank you to all who have contributed to our success!
In the spirit of the holidays, all of us wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season!
Patricia
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Brighten the holidays by giving the gift of you
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 When writing your holiday gift list keep in mind the best gift we can give our older loved ones (and ourselves) is meaningful time spent together. It only takes a moment to create a lasting memory!
All of us at Aging with Grace want you and your family to enjoy the holidays and make it a special time without feeling overwhelmed and drained. With this in mind, we are sharing tried and true suggestions for special holiday gifts for the elderly:
- Senior Fast Food Holiday Basket containing food items which are quick and easy for the senior and also fast and nutritious.
- Health and Beauty Basket with an assortment of the vitamins, Tylenol, soaps, hand creams, shampoo, etc.
- Pre-pay telephone and or cable bill for a few months. The payment will go as a credit on their bill.
- Large face clocks or telephone with oversized keys and adjustable volume (pre-programmed by a family member with all the most frequently called numbers.)
- Gift certificates for the barber, hairdresser and/or neighborhood grocery store.
- Memory Box filled with pictures and mementos of significant events in the senior's life.
- Home Safety Box with batteries for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and night lights with built-in sensors. Don't forget to include a supply of replacement bulbs.
- Videotapes or DVDs of old TV shows such as I Love Lucy, Carol Burnett, Golden Girls or Milton Berle or tapes of old movies.
- Dinner for One (or Two) Club. Prepare several dinners complete with dessert, freeze and place in their freezer for their future use. Be sure to mark what is in each container.
- Make a "Family Memory" video. This wonderful gift reminds the receiver how much they mean to the family and provides a chance to thank them for all they have contributed over the years.
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Home for the holidays
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You may have been home for Thanksgiving, and spent time with your family. But if you are like many Americans, it may have been weeks, months or even years since you have seen some of your older family members. As you and they grow older, holiday reunions grow more and more special.
For most of us, the holidays are a time to gather with friends and family, celebrate, reflect on the past and plan the future. For the elderly this festive time can trigger a mourning period for spouses, siblings and friends who are no longer here.
It is normal to feel subdued, reflective and sad in the face of these losses and changes. However, family members or friends may notice that a senior is experiencing the "blues" for a long time and that what they may have thought was simple sadness is actually a serious case of depression.
Some major factors contributing to holiday depression in the elderly are:
- Financial limitations
- Loss of independence
- Being alone or separated from loved ones
- Failing eyesight (and the resulting lessening of ability to write or read holiday correspondence)
- Loss of mobility and/or the inability to get to religious services
Depression is not a natural part of aging
Most people feel sad or blue sometimes, and the stress associated with holidays may stir feelings of loss or separation. However, a person who is sad or anxious around the holidays can in most cases, continue to carry on with regular activities. Such feelings are generally temporary and the individual eventually returns to his or her normal state of mind. However, a clinically depressed person suffers from symptoms that interfere with his or her ability to function in everyday life. These symptoms include much more than feeling blue.
When clinically depressed, the affected older person may lose the will to live. These persons begin to question the value of life and may think of suicide. There are often feelings of diminished self-esteem or excessive feelings of guilt. As these symptoms develop, the older person may take to bed or not bother getting dressed in the morning. Appetite and sleep may suffer while lethargy sets in. The person may show little interest in his or her own welfare and little interest in doing things that in the past brought pleasure.
Recognizing depression in older individuals is not always easy. It often is difficult for a depressed older person to describe how he or she is feeling. In addition, the current population of older Americans came of age at a time when depression was not recognized to be a biological illness. Those who are depressed may fear that their illness will be seen as a character weakness.
Sadness is a response to an event, and is temporary. But if a person is very sad for more than a month and starts having problems with sleep, normal activities, appetite, maintaining their weight and so forth, then they are very likely clinically depressed.
The bottom line is that families need to keep their eyes and ears open for signs of depression in older relatives, especially at the holidays when they have the opportunity to spend time together.
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ActiveRx adding locations in 2012
Fall prevention programs gaining popularity
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by Bill Woodward
The new year will bring new opportunities for aging adults in the Southwest to regain physical function, prevent falls and manage chronic pain without medication, as ActiveRx Rehabilitation opens new clinic locations in suburban Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Early in 2012, a new ActiveRx clinic will open in Torrance, the first of five LA-area ActiveRx clinics on the drawing board, and a fourth Phoenix-area clinic will open in the community of Sun Lakes. There are currently three ActiveRx clinics serving metropolitan Phoenix. The new locations will be opened by franchisees.
Doctors of physical therapy at ActiveRx specialize in working one-on-one with Medicare patients who desire to take proactive measures to function at their fullest physical potential and remain able to live independently.
The company has developed one of the most progressive and innovative fall risk assessment and fall prevention programs in the U.S., which provides benefits for both older adults and their caregivers.
Every year, thousands of people lose their independence - an average of one in three people over the age of 65 will fall. The serious injuries that are frequently the result of a fall can drastically change the lives of everyone in a family.
"We're passionate about preventing falls," says Matt Essex, MS, founder and CEO of ActiveRx. "Billions of dollars are spent annually to treat injuries that result from falls that are completely preventable. We strongly urge family members and caregivers to recommend fall prevention programs to the older adults they care about."
The ActiveRx fall prevention program addresses risk factors from vision to foot sensitivity and from inner ear issues to physical strength and flexibility. The fall risk assessment includes a look at medications being taken, footwear recommendations and home safety measures.
"Everybody wins when nobody falls," Essex says.
He adds, "People simply do not have to age the way that our parents and grandparents did. Today, you can choose how you age. You can prevent falls. And we're excited to grow the ActiveRx model into more communities in 2012 where we can show patients how to function younger, function stronger and function actively!"
For more information, visit ActiveRx.com.
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Provider Profile:
ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
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ACTS is a faith-based, not-for-profit corporation with a mission of serving the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of seniors. Residents must be age 62 or older, living independently.
The spirit of serving others was recently displayed as nearly 15,000 seniors and employees from 23 ACTS Retirement-Life Communities came together to help neighbors in need. More than 18 tons of food and used clothing was distributed to 20 different outreach sites in eight states.
In total, 36,005 pounds of food and clothing were collected over a seven-day period to help meet the needs of local shelters, which have experienced significant donation declines.
We salute all that were involved in this very worthy project!
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