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 Angel News
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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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Staying Young Even With the Years Piling Up....
The word from Dean Ornish, professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, is that a low-fat diet, regular exercise, and relaxation techniques all work in synergy to increase levels of telomerase, an enzyme thought to slow cellular aging and prevent healthy cells from turning cancerous. Tips: Switch from regular to nonfat dairy products and add two or three servings of fruits and vegetables to a diet. Also, calorie restriction is thought to extend life span, protect and repair DNA, and thus protect against potential killers like heart disease and cancer.
Read more here.
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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, Visiting Angels of Burlington and Mercer Counties 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.
Visiting Angels of Burlington & Mercer Counties
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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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A Solution to the Costs of Long Term Care Insurance
 Current statistics find nearly one out of every two persons age 65 and older are spending some time in a nursing home, which costs on average $30,000 annually across the United States and in major metropolitan areas the average escalates to $60,000 and as much as $100,000 per year. With an average nursing home stay of 19 months, seniors living in major metropolitan areas will spend $100,000 on long term care in addition to medical bills and prescriptions.
The cost of long term care insurance varies widely according to the policy and variables, but the younger and healthier people are when the policies are bought, the lower the premiums. An older, ill person could pay thousands each month, but for a 62-year-old male who is basically healthy, the premium for a standard policy can cost as low as $180 per month. A man in his mid-40s would pay about $90 per month.
Read more information on long term care insurance 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:
- 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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What's Happening at Visiting Angels
We are very pleased to be returning on March 30th to Traditions for Hamilton Crossing, a community for active adults 55 and better in Hamilton, NJ, to present a fall intervention seminar entitled
"Fall Prevention: What Can You Do?"
Did you know that falls are the 2nd leading cause of accidental death in America and, that 75% of these falls occur in the older adult population?
As a first step to help reduce older adult falls, Nora de Cárdenas and Rudy Tervooren, Directors and Co-Owners of Visiting Angels of Burlington & Mercer Counties, will identify risk factors or behaviors that put seniors at risk of falling. Then, through demonstrations and visuals, they will show the residents what they can do to significantly reduce these risks.
 Family caregivers, and those counseling families on elder care issues, will definitely want to read Nora's latest elder/homecare news column entitled "Tough Economic Times Calls for Money-Saving Caregiving Tips". With the dynamics of caring for an aging loved one being stressful in its own right, Nora provides numerous resources and tips to help ease the added personal and financial squeeze on families during these tough economic times.
All Nora's elder/homecare news columns are also available on:
 Our March theme for Visiting Angels of B&M's web-based "Expert Resources" is "Exceptional In-Home Care is an Art Form".
Just as a master painter considers the right combination of colors and shapes, an expert homecare services company considers multiple factors to help insure optimal in-home care.
Combining the right "plan of care" with the most suitable professional caregiver is best achieved by a company dedicated to maintaining the safety and quality of life of those who choose to remain at home for as long as they wish.
This is what makes Visiting Angels of Burlington & Mercer Counties a true "master" in its field...providing an exceptional level of security, comfort and peace of mind to its clients and their loved ones.
This month our Web site offers the following downloadable handouts:
- "Coordinating In-Home Care": A comprehensive checklist of services a senior may require to successfully age in place
- "Examples of High-Tech Tools Now Available to Assist One to Remain At Home Safely": From webcams to credit card-sized locating devices to "smart houses". A sample of products designed specifically to help insure seniors a safe, secure and independent lifestyle.
For this and other educational resources about in- home care, and about many age- and disease-related issues, visit our Web site at www.VisitingAngels.com/Burling-Mercer.
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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
info.VisitingAngels@comcast.net.
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