Photos in top banner: Grace Dolan
Taking her mom, Mary and her
brother Luke for a pretend ride!;
Zoe and her grandmother Julie;
Ryan McNamara, future Prime
Minister of Canada.
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Regina McNamara RN, MSN President &
Kelly McNamara, Chief Operating Officer
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.
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Also, see our beautiful new video, here!!!
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Caregivers Must Lend Their Brain to a Person Living with Dementia
Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room
Introduction by: Regina McNamara ~ Bob DeMarco has become one of the leading voices in the Alzheimer's movement. His blog is a source of wonderful education and comfort for those who care for people with dementia. My mother lived with Alzheimer's for years then died in July 2012, a few months after Bob's beloved Dotty. Her birthday is March 12. We share Bob's practical wisdom with our readers in the hope that it will bring you the support that I, and so many others have appreciated.
Alzheimer's robs the memory of a person living with dementia. For this reason alone - we must lend them our brain.
You have probably heard the saying - two heads are better than one. Nothing could be truer when caring for someone living with dementia.
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KUDOS from Kelly
Pearl Mhlongo: Pearl has been the caregiver for a lovely woman MF for the past seven months. Her client's family includes her very devoted husband of many decades, Paul who cared for M on his own for five years following her diagnosis of Alzheimer's.
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Long Term Care
Insurance - Monthly
Feature What is the secret to
Getting Claims Paid on Time?
By: Beata Everett, Long Term Care
Insurance Specialist
We have all heard near horror stories of insurance companies prolonging or simply not paying benefits, which the client deserves and for which he/she has paid throughout the years.
Luckily, LTC insurance policies are generally direct and outline exactly the conditions that will qualify someone to be on claim as well as the types of services likely to be covered.
When you or a family member believe you qualify for a claim, it is important to call the insurance company to begin a claim as soon as possible. Generally, they will mail out claim forms and will schedule an assessment by a nurse. Make sure to fill out the forms completely and include any other information being requested. Be thorough. Be persistent. Follow up.
Finally, It is also important to make sure to hire services that are covered by the policy. For example, some policies allow independent privately hired caregivers while others require that care be provided by a licensed home care agency.
Coming next month: What are the most important pieces of information to be included in each claim?
Beata can be reached at:
P (203) 493-0318 | F (203) 548-9217
www.NorthStarLTCi.com
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 Alan Weiss Techniques
for Balance
- If something is bothering you for more than a day, stop and figure out what action to take. Otherwise, we create an accretion of burdens.
- To make something complicated simple for others to grasp, focus on one key point, or person, or benefit. Don't try to explain everything.
- Sinatra always gave public credit to the people who wrote the songs he sang. We can all learn from that.
- To walk around believing that fairness is the default setting in life, and that some gnostic accountant is keeping a ledger sheet for you, is the height of folly.
- No matter which of the performing arts you're viewing, the best performances always tell an engrossing story.
- When people ask me, "What's my ROI (return on investment) for attending this program?" I respond, "It depends how much you contribute to it."
- I believe all of us have the capacity and talent to improve, but some people do not want to change and you can't help people who don't want to be helped.
- Lady Gaga has a very nice voice, though her sometimes-outrageous persona often distracts attention from it. How many of us are distracting people with our own behaviors from our true talents? (She's recently abandoned her over-the-top image.
- A sentence supposedly complimenting me that begins, "I don't always agree with you, but...." I stop reading because it's already passive-aggressive
"Walking in someone else's shoes" has never made sense to me if they're walking in the wrong direction.
Alan is an international business consultant a colleague and friend. And a man of strong opinions. ■
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'Nurse intuition'
may play a role in
critical-care outcomes
"Nurse intuition" doesn't sound scientific, but it could play a key role in critical-care outcomes, according to a small study published in DovePress, New Zealand.
Nurses have incorporated the idea of basing care decisions on their intuition into nursing discipline for decades, according to the authors, but educational institutions have largely ignored the concept in recent years.
The researchers conducted a descriptive phenomenological study, interviewing 12 nurses who had at least three years of work experience in critical care units of hospitals affiliated with Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in Iran. In their analysis of the interviews, researchers identified three themes:
Patient condition:
Nurses found that their intuition came into play when they felt a patient's clinical signs did not match what their gut was telling them about the patient's actual condition. Similarly, they found their intuition triggered by changes in patient behavior. Nearly all of the nurses surveyed said that their intuition had informed some aspect of their care with regards to a patient's outcome.
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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
Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care, Middlebury CT
Founded in 1997, Seasons is the fifth largest Hospice provider in the nation. Providing high quality clinical and compassionate care to patients and families in 15 states through 20 Medicare-certified home care clinical operations and 10 Hospice Inpatient Centers. In 2012, Seasons caregivers served more than 16,000 patients of all ages totaling more than 1 million patient days
The Seasons Hospice team believes we should all be born into and leaves the world in comfort, warmth and love. The caregivers at Seasons Hospice hold steadfast to placing patients and their loved ones at the center of hospice care. A team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, music therapists and volunteers provide compassionate clinical Seasons Hospice is a community-based organization with a mission to find creative solutions that add quality to end-of-life care. It has special programs that go above and beyond traditional hospice care.
Some of their specialty programs include:
A Touch for All Seasons- Uses a person centered approach to improve quality of life through meaningful sensory activities that stimulate the senses, promotes relaxation, and offers comfort and serenity to those living with dementia and other diseases.
Leaving A Legacy- offers people the opportunity to share important stories, family traditions or messages of love via audio or video recordings
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About Always There Home Care
Always There Home Care provides compassionate, dependable and professional one-on-one care for seniors who need assistance in the comfort of their homes or residential care communities. Services from highly qualified and trained caregivers range from companionship, meal preparation and incidental transportation to personal care, medication management and RN-directed case management. Available 7 days a week, services range from a few hours a day to 24-hour care.
Always There Home Care understands that every situation is unique and creates individualized care plans to help improve a client's quality of life.
Our Caregivers
Our caregivers are totally committed, highly qualified and carefully selected individuals who are personally and thoroughly screened, bonded and insured. Most are Certified Nurse Assistants or Home Health Aides. Most importantly our caregivers are dependable and extraordinarily caring of others. In addition to their previous experience, our caregivers receive continuous training that includes dementia, hospice care, home safety, nutrition and other topics related to seniors. These highly qualified and trained caregivers are ready to help you and your loved ones with a variety of daily activities such as:
Personal care / Meal planning and preparation
Transportation to doctor appointments and other errands
Caring companionship / Light housekeeping
Medication reminders / Information and referral services Our personalized, nurse- supervised services are available 7 days a week and can range from a few hours a day to 24 hour and live in care.
For more information or service needs, call 24 hours a day at: 800.348.0485 or visit www.AlwaysThereHomeCare-CT.com.
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