Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

Let us help you keep mom and dad at home!

Caring and Celebrating over the Holidays

Over the holidays this year, when you get together with your loved ones to celebrate the season, be on the lookout for signs that your elder relatives may require additional assistance.  You might notice right away that something just isn’t right, based on the senior’s appearance or look of their home. Don’t let your concerns to override the joy and celebration on the holidays; but if you don’t take the opportunity to detect when care is required and make arrangements, it will become nearly impossible to coordinate from a distance once you’ve returned home.

So, while you are in the senior’s local area, begin doing some research into the resources and senior services that are available that may be valuable to the care of the older adult. If you believe that the senior may benefit for full or part-time in-home care that will allow them to continue to live with relative independence, begin contacting local agencies to determine the type of services they provide. It’s also a great opportunity to interview some prospective candidates so that a decision can be made before you leave or once you have returned home. Whether the individual will continue to live independently, or with the aid of a caregiver, it can be beneficial to have a neighbor or friend who can keep an eye on the senior. Drop by and discuss your concerns relating to the senior’s general well-being and specific needs, so they can be on the lookout for any potential issues.

If during your visit you feel like living in their own home is getting to be too much responsibility for the senior, tour nursing and assisted living homes in the area to get a feel for what each of them offers. This will give you a good starting point for current or future decisions, since you have a better grasp of what’s out there. Also consider making contact with local support groups, so you can encourage your loved one to speak to their peers about their particular struggles related to aging. Or, attending a group for caregivers may point you in the direction of additional resources that may help you through the process and give you more insight.

When you are visiting a senior’s home, take the time to assess their safety. Most older adults can benefit from the installation of safety devices for the bathroom and hallways. You can also ensure that their furniture is not obstructing ease of getting around. While present, take the opportunity to purchase and install these items so once you return home, you know their chances of accident or injury is reduced.

Resources:

Seniors Resource Guide, Texas (http://www.seniorsresourceguide.com/directories/SanAntonio/search_topics.html)

Texas Aging Network
(http://www.texasagingnetwork.com/)

USA.gov Senior Citizens Resources
(http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml)

Let us help you keep mom and dad at home!

Holiday Visiting and Staying in Touch

Every year, I take my family to visit my mom in Texas for Christmas. Since we live a long distance away in Florida, our annual visits have become a big hit with her grandchildren, and I know it makes her feel appreciated. While we have a great time over the holidays, I have never been that close to my mom and am not very good about keeping in touch; though have always known I should make more of an effort.

A few months after we returned home from our trip last year, I got a call from her part-time caregiver who helps her out since she has no family living nearby. She said that since we left, she had noticed a negative change in my mom’s temperament. She was becoming more withdrawn and appearing depressed. She said that often seniors who are busy with family activities over the holiday can feel lonely and even abandoned once their families return home and communication decreases.

Since then, I have begun to make more of an effort to let my mom know we’re thinking about her. My kids will draw pictures which we will mail, or they will ask to call their Grandma after something exciting has happened. I try to keep her more involved in our lives, by calling or writing regularly or sending pictures. I also find that giving her the opportunity to talk about things on her mind, instead of just about our family, helps her feel as though she is important to us.

I know that since our communication year round has increased, my mom is happier and her bond with our family has grown closer even though we live at a distance.

Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

Let us help you keep mom and dad at home!

Aging with Assistance

Many seniors feel like as they go through the aging process, they have to do it alone. They don’t want to burden their families with their problems, so they simply keep them to themselves. However, what seniors should realize is that their family and friends would be more than happy to offer their support and assistance, if only they would be asked. Seniors shouldn’t hesitate to discuss their care needs with their loved ones; however, there are a number of common easy ways in which families can help their aging relatives.

• Escorting them to doctor’s appointments
• Taking them shopping for groceries and household needs
• Assisting with cooking and cleaning
• Having prescriptions filled, providing reminders and managing medications
• Taking care of financial responsibilities, like bill paying
• Offering companionship and a sense of safety when going for walks
• Checking in routinely by phone, even from a distance, to make sure the senior is doing okay.
• Arranging caregiving assistance through a professional organization
• Sourcing resources and obtaining information regarding healthcare
• Offering an empathetic listening ear and emotional support

Family members, who are unable to provide full-time care assistance, needn’t feel obligated to over extend themselves when offering assistance to their senior relatives. Even assisting on occasion with basic tasks, like those outlined above, can make a senior’s life easier and lets them know they have support from the important people in their lives.

Image: jupiterimages.com

Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

Let us help you keep mom and dad at home!

Often families who visit their senior relatives in nursing homes tell us they find it difficult to make conversation and find activities to pass the time because they no longer have as much in common. We know that it’s not that their loved ones don’t appreciate them; it’s just that they may find it difficult to cope with the changes that they have seen their cherished family member experiencing. And let’s face it; we know that people of different age groups can have vastly different interests.

However, there are methods to bridge the gap between the generations this holiday season. We recommend that when you visit your aging relative in their assisted living facility, you select activities that will be enjoyed not only by the senior, but by the whole family. People of every age, from children to seniors take enjoyment from playing board games or cards; looking at and reminiscing over a family photo album; talking a walk and enjoying the outdoors; watching a movie; or playing with a family pet.

The holidays are a time to bring families together and cherish the time you have.

Source: http://searchwarp.com/swa79063.htm

Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

Let us help you keep mom and dad at home!

Holiday Care

Families who have seniors living long distances a way can find it difficult to monitor their well-being and health. There are a number of signs we recommend that loved-ones look for when visiting with their elder relatives over the holidays this year to make sure that they are managing their lifestyle sufficiently, or receiving adequate care:

• Does your senior appear tired or depressed?
• Are they isolated, would they prefer to stay at home and not socialize?
• Is the home visibility messy, as though they can’t keep?
• Are they managing their chores?
• Are the bills or mail unopened?
• Is their physical appearance unkempt?
• Do they have poor hygiene?
• Have they lost weight with no explanation?
• Are medications taken properly?
• Is their communication skills at a high level? 
• Do they appear disoriented?
• Do they have bruises, indicating possible falls or injuries?

In order to monitor how your loved-one is doing after the holidays are over, make sure a friend or family member drops in on them often; ensure a doctor is keeping an eye on their health; and phone often, both to make sure they know you love them even from afar, and to get your own perspective.

Source: http://www.caring.com/blogs/caring-currents/10-signs-a-senior-needs-assistance

Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

If you’re a family member visiting an elder living in a nursing home, consider the following ideas that could help bring joy to your elderly loved one who is living in a facility.  Remember that you are the only outside contact that many of your clients in care communities see each day.

Consider This When Visiting Nursing Homes…

1. Don’t barge into a room. Consider yourself a guest. Softly rap on the door and ask permission to enter.

2. Always knock and wait for an invitation before opening anyone’s closed door.

3. Respect closed curtains.

4. Always move slowly and speak softly at first to avoid startling the residents. If they’re hard of hearing, they’ll let you know that.

5. Try to note and remember the names of your new acquaintances.

6. Typical greetings may be… “Hello, may I come in?” or “Hello, my name is _____________.”

7. Another opener might convey your reason for being there: “I was here visiting and wondered if I could meet you?”

8. Avoid the traditional American greeting, “Hi! How are you today?” This often opens Pandora’s box!

9. Smile! Be cheerful!

10. Try to compliment them on something attractive about them or their “home”.

Source:  Home Instead Senior Care and Willow Creek Community Church at http://www.willowcreek.org/extension/PassionArea_SeniorCitizens.asp

Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

How to know if aging parents need help at home?

I’m a working mom and just found out that I am in the ‘sandwich generation’; those of us who work full time, care for children and also help elderly parents. We also manage other responsibilities for our immediate families.

It can be difficult juggling all of this and finally decided to help mom and dad get more help at home by hiring a caregiver. That decision has made them happier because now they have a companion, someone who visits with them, helps them cook, drives to their appointments, and gardens with them. They love the gardening part!

To help guide me through the process, I made of list or my parent’s requirements, and decided to list out other features that I needed from them like proper paper work.

After some research on the Internet, I found Home Instead Senior Care and discovered that they will do all the background and reference checks for me!! That saved me invaluable time! Home Instead came out to talk with us to make sure we were all on the same page. Together, we interviewed several professional CAREGivers and we selected one. 

My mom is a happy person and I know now that my parents are in good hands.

Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

Diet to Feed a Sharp Mind

It isn’t news that our lifestyle choices have an overall effect on our health, even as we age. So it may not come as a surprise that dietary choices will have an impact on your cognitive abilities, which often decline as part of the natural process of aging. In additional to physical exercise and activities that work your mind, your diet will help keep your mind sharp well into your senior year.

I am sure you’ve eaten a substance that contains processed sugars and have felt the almost immediate boost of energy that it causes. Unfortunately, processed sugar that does not derive from natural sources will result in a decline in energy, and therefore a decline in mental acuity. However, glucose, as found in many fruits and fruit juices will have the desired results which will last for a longer period of time and increase your ability to concentrate, recall and problem-solve.

The consumption of other healthy foods will help maintain optimal levels of energy, gradually release glucose from the bloodstream and keep your mind sharp during the aging process. Water and foods rich in fiber help keep your energy levels high during the day, and potassium helps release glucose from the blood stream to increase energy and mental function. Peppermint, as many people are unaware, is a natural refresher for the brain. Other natural sources to keep your mind sharp are of course exercise, and exposure to sunlight on a daily basis.

Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

Senior Walking and Exercise Benefits and Tips

For seniors, walking can be fun, relaxing, safe, convenient, and easy to access. Walking is a good option for seniors. The best feature of walking is it’s low impact activity that can control blood pressure, weight, burns calories, increases metabolism, and controls cholesterol.

Seniors can increase a longer life span, and reduce the potential risks of developing cancer and heart problems. So, ask your doctor today and see if a walking regimen will benefit you! Before beginning any exercise program, including walking, seniors should first consult their physician to review their overall health and approve their lifestyle changes.

Always consider the concept of staying safe. The benefits of exercise is to increase your good health. So, if you have diabetes or any other health problems, utilize common sense and stay within your own capabilities. But as we mentioned above, consult your doctor before implementing any physical exercise.

If you live in a milder climate and enjoy walking outdoors, you should invest in appropriate equipment and safety gear. Always pay close attention to the signs your body is sending you, while engaging in any activity. If you notice increased pain, strain, or respiratory problems - this may indicate that it’s time to slow down, or signify an underlying problem.

Source: http://www.butlerboomer.com/2008/10/walking-tips-for-seniors.html
http://www.safety-council.org/info/seniors/winter.html

Home Instead Senior Care in Southeast Houston & Bay Area, Clear Lake, Webster, Pasadena, League City, Pearland - providing the most trusted elder care and home care in America! Call us at (281) 484-0200 for quality home care.

To help prevent falls and bone fractures, HealthDay reports that the academy recommends seniors:

• Have annual physical and eye examinations and make sure any cardiac and blood pressure problems are fully evaluated
• Consume a diet with adequate dietary calcium and vitamin D for good bone health
• Do not smoke and avoid excessive use of alcohol
• Participate in an exercise program to maintain agility, strength, balance and coordination
• Maintain a clutter-free home by clearing walking paths, eliminating tripping hazards and installing grab bars, handrails and other safety devices in appropriate areas, such as bathrooms and bedrooms
• Wear properly fitting shoes with nonskid soles, and never walk about wearing only socks or stockings
• Have adequate lighting in the home by using nightlights between bedrooms and bathrooms and making sure light switches are easily accessible by doorways

These are easy tips that family members can share with aging relatives.