Falls Killing as Many Seniors as Vehicular Accidents!

Fall prevention, fall prevention, fall prevention......that is something that we stress over and over with our home care aides at Right at Home. I was forwarded an article from The Boston Globe yesterday titled

Fatal falls soar among the elderly in Mass.

In 2006, there was a drastic rise in the number of deaths that the Department of Public Health saw among the elderly in Massachusetts. It has been said that almost 25% of all elders that take a fall will die as a direct result of that fall. We have had two former clients that fell (not when we were working) and died from the fall. It is heartbreaking for the families, because they really did not understand the full impact a fall could have on their loved one, outside of broken bones or a stint in rehab. It is happening in long term care facilities, at home, outside....anywhere. Because of various conditions, including mascular degeneration, Alzheimer's disease, blood pressure changes and many, many others elders are falling because they are attempting to do their normal activities, but they do not sometimes understand how limiting their physical condition can be. Please keep your elder safe. Have someone come to the house to do a safety evaluation, get rid of throw rugs, keep an elder's glasses by their bed, etc.

Having in home supportive care can help, because when an elder needs to move, an aide who is trained in ambulation assistance and fall prevention may be there for the moment that an elder feels weak. And even if an elder does fall, in long term care or at home, it is imperative that someone is there to get them up. I have heard of cases where people have been alone at home, and they couldn't get up. They were cold and suffering for hours. This is not a well repeated Lifeline commercial (I've fallen and I can't get up!). This is very serious and it is a VERY good idea for someone to have Lifeline. The only downside is that the elder needs to be aware to press the button or have the short term memory to remember.

If there is a fall, Right at Home aides are trained to call 911 to have EMT's come and help them. An aide should NEVER pick up an elder by themselves. This could lead to both of them falling.

Fall prevention is the one of the keys to elder safety.

Merrimack Valley Alzheimer's Conference

The 20th Annual Merrimack Valley Alzheimer’s Conference is slated for Saturday, April 26, at the Wyndham Andover Hotel in Andover, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The educational conference, designed for family members and professionals caring for people afflicted with Alzheimer's or dementia, is co-sponsored by Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and Merrimack Valley Azheimer's Partnership. The conference will also feature vendor displays of products and services that help and support Alzheimer's patients and caregivers. To register or for more information call 978-946-1321. (believe it or not there is no web link that I can send you to).

Please visit Lynne Nieman at the Right at Home table to learn about our Alzheimer's support services in the Merrimack Valley.

Interesting Alzheimer's Article

I was forwarded a link to a the New York Times website for an article that they did regarding Alzheimer's called Zen and the Art of Coping with Alzheimer's. It is very concise, and sometimes depressing, but what it talks about the current thinking on the attitude of the adult caregiver. It talks to the technique of being "OK" with seemingly irrational behavior and jumbled conversation. It also speaks to the technique of redirecting an Alzheimer's person when they are following a tangent that could be disagreeable or potentially dangerous.

The depressing piece was about the drug companies and how the Alzheimer's drugs have a very marginal effect on the disease, but desperate families will try anything to slow down the progression of the disease. It also noted, that the current political climate is not showing any commitment to bringing more resources to the Alzheimer's and dementia table. With the aging of the baby boomers and the continued growth in the Alzheimer's population, this is a train that the politicians will not be able to avoid for long.

My father once said that he did not want to outlive his mind after seeing the effect of the Alzheimer's on a close family member. Our bodies are more healthy than any generation of people has ever experienced. How do we keep our minds healthy? There are suggestions, but there is no silver bullet. There is no supplement or drug that can help us avoid Alzheimer's. All we can do as a society, right now, is to love the Alzheimer's people we know, and meet them where they are at- because they have lost the ability to meet us.

Alzheimer's Conferences North of Boston

Lynne Nieman and I are co-chairing the North Shore Alzheimer's Partnership Annual Conference- Caregiver Connections on November 1, 2008. We have worked on this conference for several years so we look forward to assisting the Partnership in making this a conference a success for the the caregivers in the area.

On Saturday April 26th, the Merrimack Valley Alzheimer's Conference is being held at the Wyndham Andover on Old River Rd. in Andover. It will run from 8 AM to 12:30 PM. I went to this conference for the first time last year and found it to be very good. It is put on by the MV Partnership and Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley. The registration deadline is April 22nd. If you have questions, you can call Janice Boyd at 800-892-0890 Ext 1321. Right at Home will be getting a table there so please come by and say hello!

Right at Home News- February 27th

I was waylaid in Florida because of last Fridays snowstorm, with my little kids and had to spend 3 extra days in the sunshine.....too bad for me! The Right at Home management staff and care staff did an outstanding job of manning the ship while I was away.

I always think about our local elders in these snowstorms. Our clients have Right at Home caregivers to help them get around or to do errands for them. Other elders in our community just get stuck at home, or make unsafe attempts to shovel or walk our uneven sidewalks (Marblehead, where I live can be especially treacherous for winter walking). If you have an elderly neighbor, please stop over to see if there is anything that you can do for them. Even if it is picking up milk when you are out, it can mean the difference in that person's day.

Other news at Right at Home finds Lynne Nieman, our Community Relations Liaison, being brought down temporarily with a medical condition. We miss Lynne here at the office and we hope to see her back meeting our clients and their families very soon.

Does Managing Bills for Your Loved One Drive You Crazy?

Many of our adult caregivers are managing bills for their elder relatives with or without truly having a Power of Attorney. Sometimes, an elder client must give away managing their affairs, not because of dementia or confusion, but maybe eyesight is failing or there are organizational issues. We have been recommending a local company to help our clients in this area. The company is named Commonwealth Cash Management. They offer a professional daily money management service to get those bookkeeping tasks done. Their Personal Cash Management services encompass personal bookkeeping, recordkeeping, bill paying and investment data aggregation services. Each customer is assigned a dedicated CCM Client Assistant who works with the customer/caregiver, operating within a system of institution-quality checks and balances. The Client Assistant is available to make personal visits on a schedule of the person's choosing, and the frequency of your contact with CCM is always up to the client. This company is based right here in Salem, MA and the founders KC Kommoss and Jeff Plakans have extensive experience offering financial services right here on the North Shore. Our adult caregivers always have WAY too much on their plates. When they look for local cash managers, there is not much choice up in this area. Sometimes individuals will "bill pay" for elders, but they are not real companies and they open up the elder to fraud or as the victim of horrible mistakes. Using a professional company for Daily Money Manage, only makes sense. We here at Right at Home understand that if our clients use a professional service, then they have some level of protection. Sometimes we see Geriatric Care Managers getting involved with money as conservators. These services can run upward of $100 per hour just to get the bills done and the accounts reconciled! That is crazy! My article on the 7 Questions has been featured on their partner Newsletter. Be sure to check it out! Happy Valentines Day!

Wings Cares Women's Expo

I am speaking on March 8th at the Salem Waterfront Hotel for the Wings Cares North Shore Women's Expo. Wings Cares stands for Women in Networking Giving Support. Proceeds from the event are being donated to Art for Life Foundation, here on the North Shore. This group funds programs to help children in hospitals through art.

This is the first time that this event is being held and I think it will be very interesting. The topic that I am speaking on is Caring for an Aging Parent. The attendees are businesswomen on the North Shore who are balancing careers, kids and possibly other responsibilities, like taking care of their parents. People are always so baffled when they are thrown into the process of adult caregiving. It is almost like we feel that "this will never happen to me!"

I hope that I can give them a little direction in the time that I have allotted. The other topics are financial, balance related and political topics. It should definitely be interesting and it is GREAT to have it in Salem!!