Angel News
November 2008
In This Issue
National Family Caregivers Month
Visit Visiting Angels of Burlington & Mercer Counties for more information and to download our free resources.

For more ideas on ways to research and make wise choices, we recommend the following resources:

Respite Tips for Caregivers
Brochure that encourages informal caregivers to consider using respite services and offers suggestions about ways to make their respite time most effective.

WebMD's Caregiver Burnout Symptoms
Learn to recognize the symptoms of caregiver burnout through advice from WebMD.

Help Guide: Understand Respite Care
Learn more about the different types of respite care.

Celebrate National Family Caregivers Month
There are many ways to celebrate family caregivers and to take action and communicate the important messages of NFC Month. Check out these ideas and guides to help you create a successful National Family Caregivers Month in your community.

Taking Care of YOU: Self-Care for Family
An informative guide with valuable tips for keeping healthy while delivering care to others.

Achieving Emotional Distance from Overwhelming Caregiving Responsibilities
Learn a strategy to help a caregiver deal with feelings and be objective in providing daily care over the long-term to a loved one.

Workplace Programs for Family Caregivers
Provides information on workplace programs for family caregivers.

Family Caregiving Statistics
Great statistics on family caregivers and family caregiving, provided by the National Family Caregivers Association.

Tips for Surviving the Stressful Holiday Season
Here are some helpful tips from AlzOnline for surviving the stressful holiday season.

FAQ's on Caregiving
Informative FAQ's on caregiving from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Strategies for Employers to Support Working Caregivers
AARP offers information and retention strategies for employers to support working caregivers.

An Online Resource and Community for Family Caregivers
Strength for Caring is an online resource and community for family caregivers, helping them to take care of their loved ones and themselves.

An Interactive Social Networking Community for Caregivers
Revolution Health has developed an interactive social networking community for caregivers to meet others who share their interests, goals, challenges and more.
Signs & Symptoms of Alzheimer's
Problems doing simple tasks, such as getting dressed
 
Difficulty talking with others

Trouble with knowing the time, date, or place

Poor judgment, such as going out in the cold without a coat

Trouble solving problems

Losing things, such as keys, more than usual

Changes in mood and behavior

Forgetting both recent and past events
DID YOU KNOW?
According to the National Academy on Aging Society, there are 8.5 million people over age 70 in America with limitations in walking, dressing, bathing, shopping, paying bills and preparing meals.

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In 2007, according to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance, 180,000 Americans received benefit payments through long-term care insurance.

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Just 12% of the U.S. population was 65 and older in 2005, about 36.7 million people. By 2030, that number is expected to jump to nearly 20%, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. By then, more than 71 million Americans will be senior citizens.
Long Term Care Insurance Tools:
Cost of care in your area
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Greetings!
In this month of Thanksgiving, Visiting Angels of Burlington & Mercer Counties wishes to extend early holiday greetings to you and your friends, families and co-workers. Our commitment to bringing you the latest and most important news in home care, home health care and elder care news continues. We recommend that you share this newsletter with others who might also be interested, and we thank you for your continued attention.

Please enjoy these articles in the spirit of community in which this newsletter was sent.
The Key to Alzheimer's: Recognizing Symptoms and Seeking Early Detection

keyIn a new online survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the Alzheimer's Disease Screening Discussion Group (ADSDG) titled, "Alzheimer's Disease: Current Attitudes, Perceptions and Knowledge," it is reported that nearly 95% of the survey participants agreed they would encourage a loved one to seek early diagnosis if they suspected signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

However, the report goes on to state that of the 34% who previously thought a loved one had the disease, only about one-quarter prompted that person to take an AD screener test, and less than 40% encouraged initiating a conversation with his or her doctor.

Given the rise of AD as the baby boomer population ages - up to 16 million are estimated to have the disease by 2050 - these new survey results are particularly important. The ADSDG encourages everyone with a loved one age 55 and over to visit http://www.seethesigns.com if symptoms are suspected. The link has resources to learn more about the disease, its signs and symptoms, and has an online memory screener one can complete on behalf of a loved one.
Looking Out for the Elderly with Financial Abuse Training

It is estimated that over 80% of incidents affecting millions of seniors who are the victims of financial exploitation each year go unreported. Seventeen states and Washington, D.C. have passed laws that require bank personnel to report suspected cases of elder financial abuse and hold banks liable should they fail to report suspicions of elder financial abuse. Another 33 states recommend that bank personnel report those suspected cases.

The Banker's Academy is now offering training to bank personnel through a new program, Focus on Elder Financial Abuse, that teaches bank employees how to recognize the signs of elder financial abuse, in order to better protect customers.

For a full demonstration of Focus on Elder Financial Abuse contact the Banker's Academy online here or call (888)-433-2666.
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A 21st Century Common Family Scenario

Now there is help for grandparents who are the surrogate parents to their grandchildren. A new audio tape series written by Nancy Kropf, PhD, from the University of Georgia's School of Social Work is a series of 8 tapes, each containing a conversation. Some of the topics covered on the tape series are:

  • Taking care of your health
  • Being involved in relationships with family and friends
  • Addressing your legal questions and concerns like custody, guardianship, or having a will
  • Finding resources in the community for you and your grandchild(ren)
  • Making the best of your relationship with your grandchild(ren)
  • AND, taking care of yourself

View http://www.isd.uga.edu/production/letstalk.htm to order. For more information call CTL at 706-542-3456.

Gerontological Certifications Meet Demands of an Aging Society

Because the population of the United States is growing older, the increasing numbers of elderly persons will mean an increasing demand for individuals with the skills and insight gained from training in gerontology. 350 college and university programs now belong to the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, and offer a special course of study in addition to a traditional discipline resulting in a "certificate."  Visit their Web site for more information.
Women at Distinct Disadvantage in Managing Independent Living as They Age

A new Web-based tutorial from the Kaiser Family Foundation, "Health Care and Long-Term Care Policy: Concerns Facing Older Women," notes that older women are more predisposed to having limitations and needing assistance with activities of daily living as they age. This tutorial states that of the 65 and older population, women comprise the majority of home health users - 68% - and not only because they live longer on average than men. The Kaiser tutorial notes that almost one-quarter of older women have a cognitive or mental impairment.

The tutorial states that women are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to managing independent living as their health deteriorates because although there are about twice as many women over age 85 than men, women are twice as likely as men to be living alone in senior years. Due to lower average incomes during their lifetimes, significantly more older women have incomes less than $20,000 per year. Those factors make the costs of long-term care a particular burden for older women.
The free online tutorial is narrated by Alina Salganicoff, Vice President and Director of Women's Health Policy for the foundation, and available free online here.
Webcast Resource - How Technology Can Help Aging Gracefully at Home

Parks Associates, a research firm, is featured in this Webcast, which outlines the latest information on the adoption of assistive technologies such as motion-detection sensors, health vital sign monitoring and medication compliance monitoring.

Parks Associates' research shows that advanced health technologies will help senior citizens live more independently at home, perhaps more worry-free for their loved ones and with capabilities to be "always-in-the-know" for their caregivers. This Webcast features Harry Wang, Director of Health and Mobile Product Research for Parks Associates, and invited guest speakers who analyze the market needs and interest in these aging-at-home technologies, assess their market-readiness, and discuss current and future service and revenue models.

Find out more here.
Video Games Not Just For Kids!

Nintendo has infiltrated the senior activity world with Wii. The buzz about Wii is spreading rapidly as it is not just a gaming console, but the device provides a reason to get together with friends and family to play today's hottest video games. Seniors can enjoy electronic virtual sports like bowling that they can play by using subtle body movements, thus providing exercise as well as socialization. Want to get in the game? For more information visit http://www.nintendo.com/wii or ask your grandchildren.
Meet Your Robotic Caregiver, uBOT-5!

A new robotic assistant, uBOT-5, can call 911, remind people to take medications and navigate around the house to look for them by electronic command. Among other capabilities, it can carry a 2.2-pound package in its raised arms and offer a virtual visit with a grandchild via a computer screen. Doctors can conduct house calls through the uBOT-5's secure Internet connection. The robot can even apply a digital stethoscope to the patient, relaying important medical information.

However, the uBOT-5 is not yet on the market. It was developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and built to fill the specific need of acquiring, transporting, and placing objects -- otherwise known as "pick-and-place" tasks. 

Visit their Web site for more information, photos and details.
Virtual Visiting: Remote Safety Testing

Managed from a remote Web site, ConnectR can be told to navigate through a house to see if residents are safe. Other features: it allows real-time virtual visits with family and pets. A national testing program is being conducted now. For ConnectR's progress in getting the product to retail, go to www.irobot.com.

To sign up for information, click here.
Beep Beep: Let Me Help You Find Your Glasses and Slippers

My name is Loc8tor, and I am an electronic device that is handheld and can help you locate items using radio-frequency identification tags attached (at a maximum range of 600 feet).

Visit their Web site for more information.
Man's Best Friend Suffers from Aging Problems Also 

These common problems that affect aging pets are offered with solutions that might help:

  • Dementia: Most pets suffer mild to severe dementia in their geriatric years. Drugs like Anipryl (selegiline) can be effective, as can behavior modification techniques your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist can prescribe.
  • Arthritis: Weight loss for the heavy to obese among us is imperative to arthritis patients of any species. But pets won't lose weight if the pain keeps them from moving about. All arthritic pets will improve with pet-specific pain relievers, but be careful; individual tailoring of these drugs is a requirement.
  • Blindness: A large percentage of aging pets suffer cataracts. If caught in time, vision-saving cataract surgery can be done at a veterinary ophthalmologist's practice. Ask your vet for a referral. Other highly treatable conditions such as ''dry eye'' can also cause blindness. Diligent care will typically prevent vision loss in these pets.
  • Deafness: As with blindness, loss of a sense gives dementia a boost. That's why it's important to keep tabs on a pet's hearing and let your vet know if it's declining. While veterinary medicine has no good solution for most age-related hearing conditions, careful owners will help their pets adapt to this loss with a stricter routine and training solutions vets can recommend.

To learn more about keeping aging from affecting your pet's quality of life for as long as possible, visit http://www.dolittler.com/ (a blog for pet lovers).
What's Happening at Visiting Angels

We are happy to announce that, in order to accommodate the growth of our operations, as of December 1, 2008, the new address of our Mercer County office will be: 993 Lenox Drive, Suite 200, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Kindly note this change.

  • Also, we will now be able to service both our counties, Burlington and Mercer, under one new telephone number: 609-883-8188. We take this opportunity to remind you that Visiting Angels responds to all after-hours calls in 15 minutes or less!

We were very pleased to have participated at the Princeton Senior Resource Center's ("PSRC") 2008 Caregiver Conference "Caregiving with Confidence" on Oct. 18th. Visiting Angels' "one-on-one" with conference attendees, as well as our various materials on eldercare and respite care resources, were well appreciated by both visitors and the PSRC staff.  And, as you can see below, a very special winner took our "Country Angel Basket" home with delight!



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Visiting Angels was also a proud contributor to the "Annual Caregivers' Recognition Conference", given by the Home Health Services Association of New Jersey on October 23rd.  Lucy Damacela, our Office Manager and a Conference Committee Member, worked tirelessly in helping to prepare for this special event.

Thank you Lucy!!!


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We congratulate Deborah Myslinski, Aftercare Coordinator, at Saul Funeral Homes and her team for the great turnout at Saul's "4th Annual Fall Senior Fest", which was held on Oct. 21st at Angeloni's Cedar Gardens in Hamilton, NJ. Both the trade exhibits and the luncheon were very well attended. Our own Visiting Angels booth was again actively visited with many seniors showing strong interest in our homecare services programs.  Shortly after, we were proud to welcome to our office the winner of our "Car Safety Basket". See photos below:



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As part of our ongoing commitment to reach out to the community on homecare and eldercare issues, we are hard at work preparing for our upcoming participation as Platinum Sponsor of:

  • Burlington County Woman's "2nd Annual Women's Expo": Saturday, Nov. 15 from 9:00-3:00 at the Hartford Intermediate School, 397 Hartford Rd, Mount Laurel, NJ.

In addition to having a prominent presence on the trade floor, we will be presenting a seminar entitled:

Stress-Free Holidays!
The Importance of Caring for a Family Caregiver.
 
This important presentation is geared towards those who care for a loved one living at home.
 
It teaches that in order to provide solid care for another, family caregivers must first take care of themselves! The holiday season poses a specific challenge for family caregivers, who are often overwhelmed with the multitude of extra tasks piled high on their to-do lists. During this seminar we will cover:
 
  • How to cope with holiday-related stress
  • Tips for those who care for parents and their own children at the same time
  • Understanding "caregiver burnout": What caregiver burnout is and how you can avoid it!
 
In addition, we will educate on the importance of respite care and how respite care can be the key to avoiding caregiver overload and burnout.
 
Don't be overwhelmed with
stress and tension this holiday season!
Instead, let pre-planning and simple tips help you relax and feel the spirit of holiday joy.
Come join us at the Women's Expo on
November 15th in Mount Laurel, NJ!

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Pick up a copy of the November/December editions of Mercer County Woman and Burlington County Woman newspapers.  On page 4 of each, you can read Nora's latest eldercare/ homecare article: "Aging Successfully In Place - Developing a Care Plan for Staying in the Home".

This is the second in a two-part series that started with Nora's article "Is Your Loved One Safe Living Alone? A Working Assessment Guide for Families", which garnered rave reviews from its readership. As you may recall, in this earlier article Nora helped readers create their own working guide on how to assess a loved one's current living situation, behaviors and independence levels.

Copies of both articles are available on our website under "Press Room".
Visiting Angels of Burlington & Mercer Counties:
About Our Care

 Visiting Angels of Burlington & Mercer Counties is a New Jersey-licensed, non-medical home care company committed to going well beyond the "industry standard" to provide an exceptional level of security, comfort and peace of mind to our clients and their loved ones. Our "Angels", all certified home health professionals, are ready to provide compassionate and dependable assistance with the activities of everyday living to seniors, the disabled, those recovering from surgery and to those who are simply frail. Our services include such simple tasks as light housekeeping, meal preparation, errands and shopping to more personal tasks such as hygiene assistance, bathing, dressing and grooming.
 
Visiting Angels' in-home care helps make it possible for seniors and adults with special needs to continue to live at home and maintain the independence of their daily routines and familiar surroundings, for as long as they can do so safely. We truly understand how challenging and alien the entire home care selection process can be ... and we are experienced in working with families; with loved ones "resistant" to receiving care; and with third-parties payors (such as insurance companies and the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs) to help insure that the best interests of the family and their loved ones are met. Visiting Angels' services help families spend more mutually-rewarding and meaningful time with their loved ones and also helps provide comfort and peace of mind to those who face the challenge of long-distance caregiving.
 
For more information, please visit our website, www.VisitingAngels.com/Burling-Mercer; call us at 609-883-8188; or contact us by email at [email protected].