Holiday and everyday activities to do with seniors, the elderly bake, cook, help and assist

Holiday Activity Ideas
During the holidays, seniors often experience feelings of isolation and loneliness, so it is important to keep them active and involved. Try to include your loved ones in the family holiday preparations and activities.
Cook a favorite meal together. Prepare a dish the senior loved as a child or once prepared as a holiday tradition. Involving the senior in the process, instead of making it for them, allows the senior to feel helpful and needed.
Make a family cookbook. Either organize recipes the senior has stashed away or hunt down some of their favorites from family members. This can also help you prepare dishes they will enjoy and be comforted by.
Set up a Christmas tree or Menorah. Decorations add so much to the holiday season. Help your loved one feel at home during the holidays by setting up their Christmas tree or Menorah with them. Again, having them help you put ornaments on the tree or plugging in the lights can make the senior feel helpful and involved.
Drive to see the beautiful holiday lights. Taking a senior loved one - especially a senior who can no longer drive - on a drive through town can be a delightful experience.
Watch old family movies together.
Play a favorite board game. It is important to get seniors minds engaged by playing games or doing puzzles. Interaction is important for seniors, especially during the busy holidays.
Take a walk down memory lane. Holidays bring back memories, and seniors often find great joy in having someone show interest in them and their past. Whether it’s looking through photo albums or just sharing stories, you can help the senior in your life feel loved and involved with this stroll down memory lane.
Address holiday cards. Sending holiday cards is a wonderful way to keep in touch with family and friends. Holiday cards are a simple and thoughtful gesture that can help seniors to stay in contact with people they might not otherwise keep up with.
Sing carols with friends and neighbors. During the upcoming season, encourage the senior in your life to get together with friends, family or neighbors and sing holiday carols. Carols can be enjoyed anywhere, in your neighborhood, a downtown center, or even a living room gathering.
Bake holiday treats. The holidays are filled with wonderful traditions, especially traditions that can be tasted. Most seniors have holiday favorites from when they were kids or from family reunions. Find the seniors favorite recipe and help bring some holiday cheer to their home and heart.
If you live far away from your loved one and cannot be with them for the full holiday season, try encouraging them to join a senior group in their area. Long, cold winters and holiday seasons often bring depression and isolation, so it is important that seniors feel connected and active. For more information, go to: http://www.comfortkeepers.com/

Planning ahead for future needs: education on what to look for, understanding finances and other aging needs, seniors and elderly care,long term care

Very few individuals want to think about their future needs for aging services and long-term care until it becomes a necessity, which can often lead to poor planning. Planning ahead for unexpected illness, injury, or simply the typical needs of the elderly, can eliminate quick decision making on a wide variety of aging service options.

Assisted living facilities, retirement communities and nursing homes frequently have a waiting list for admission. In-home care service providers, such as Comfort Keepers, typically do not have waiting lists and allow for the client to continue living independently in the comfort of their own home. These services generally include companionship, home cooking, light housekeeping, shopping, transportation, and errands, but may also include personal care services such as bathing, feeding, transferring or incontinence care.

The cost of long-term care services is something for which many Americans are not prepared, and costs are expected to continually rise in the future. Today in the United States, 6,000 people turn 65 every day, and one in five Americans will be older than age 65 by the year 2030 (American Association of Retired Persons, 2003). This increase of U.S. seniors translates into more people looking for assistance with daily living activities at a staggering rate.

“We have found that many of our clients are not prepared for the monumental decisions surrounding long-term care options,” shared Clark Bongaardt, owner of the Springfield and Wayne, PA, Comfort Keepers. “It is our job to help them through the process, to the best of our abilities ensuring that when the time comes the most appropriate care is delivered.”

In the planning stages, it is often beneficial to speak with a professional about how to begin this process. Lawyers, accountants, professional care coordinators or the County Office Service of Aging (COSA) can explain the options and which direction to head.

The following is a brief overview of some of the different payment options available for long-term care:

· Long-term care insurance will provide for the assistance needed for an extended period if you cannot perform the activities of daily living.
· Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is an option that falls under Medicare as well as Medicaid and offers medical and socials services to elderly individuals allowing them to continue living at home (may not be available in all states).
· Medicaid will pay for the majority of nursing home costs which covers nearly 65 percent of all residents. It is a joint state-federal program that aids individuals who fall under a certain poverty level determined by the state.
· Medicare is health insurance for people over the age of 65 as well as certain individuals who are disabled. It is an insurance program that is intended to cover the various services that focus on recovery of a medical problem.
· States may offer a variety of services to consumers under a Home and Community Based Services waiver program and the number of services that can be provided is not limited. These programs may provide a combination of both traditional medical services (i.e. dental services, skilled nursing services) as well as non-medical services (i.e. respite, homemaking, and personal care).

People often assume health insurance will cover long-term care and, unfortunately, that is often untrue. Understanding these programs will help to remove the financial burden upon you and your family.

It is easy to get confused when making a decision about home care, especially if it feels like a very distant issue. When you plan ahead for long term care, you are making decisions about your own life by choice, instead of other people making decisions for you in crisis. For many Comfort Keepers in-home care services are a care option that may be the long term solution for an individual’s care needs. However, in the event an individual’s needs go beyond what can be safely provided in the home, Comfort Keepers can be a resource and can offer research and information to help you in this process.

About Comfort Keepers
Founded in 1998 by a registered home health care nurse and her husband, the Comfort Keepers franchise system has grown to over 500 locations in 44 states, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. Comfort Keepers has ranked as one of the top three franchises in senior care Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 for the past four years. For more information about Comfort Keepers, visit www.comfortkeepers.com. Each office is independently owned and operate

Does your loved one need help in home? Things to look for, identify his or her needs

How Do I Know If A Loved One Needs Help?
We live in a very mobile society where families don’t always live in the same town or even the same state for that matter. Unlike the “old days”, entire families throughout America don’t have the opportunity to come together as often as they would like. That’s why the holiday season has become an important time to take stock of our loved one’s health and everyday living capabilities. Family gatherings with loved ones from out of town, or even the more frequent family phone calls from long distance relatives, are a perfect time to ‘check up’ on seniors living on their own.
It is not uncommon for the adult children of seniors, especially the Baby Boomer generation, to have some concerns about how their parents are doing. In fact, according to the Family Caregiver’s Alliance, families provide 80 percent of the long-term care in this country. This holiday season while you are enjoying your visits or on the phone with your aging loved ones, make good use of your time by reviewing their living status.
Using Your Five SensesMany holiday traditions tempt your five senses. These same senses can be put to use in evaluating the status of elderly family members. Below is a checklist using each of your five senses to determine if your family members are in need of additional care or assistance.
Sight – Looking at the senior’s appearance can be a sign that they are being limited either physically or mentally from completing otherwise normal daily tasks. Watch for things like clothes with stains, poor personal hygiene and a disorganized or dirty house.
Sound – Listening to what and how seniors speak can tell you a lot about their current mental status. You should not assume that “old age” is causing these problems. Do they call you by name? Are they speaking normally? Are they staying involved in outside activities?
Smell – Using your nose as an indicator to determine if your relative is bathing properly, cleaning their house or have spoiled food in their kitchen.
Taste – Tasting their food and sorting through their medications can help you determine if they are eating healthy or taking expired medications. Look at expiration dates and for fresh and stocked pantry items.
Touch – A simple hug can tell you if your family member is fragile or losing weight. Is their skin soft and the color normal? Do they have any bruising or tearing of the skin?
Review Status By PhoneDuring telephone conversations, gently probe for information about the person’s health and well-being. Below is a list of sample questions that are key indicators or warning signs to help determine if your family members are in need of additional care or assistance:
• What did you have for breakfast? If your loved one cannot remember what he/she ate for breakfast that morning, forgot to eat breakfast or the meal appears to lack nutritious value, a memory problem could be setting in.
• Did you go to the beauty salon to get your hair cut? Did you use the new shower gel I bought you? These are good ‘backdoor’ questions to finding out whether or not your loved one is remembering to take care of his/her hygiene.
• Did you make it to Bingo this week? An early sign of depression is withdrawal from social activities.
• Is your loved one speaking normally? Differences in speech patterns are warning signs for medical problems that should be looked into immediately.
Help is AvailableIf you sense a problem based on the above indictors, you and other family members should waste no time in taking the appropriate next steps. As difficult as the process might be, keep reminding yourself that by being proactive, as a result of your observations, you will not only provide safety for your family member, but will also keep them happy and healthy for years to come.
If you are concerned about a loved one and would like more information on how to help, call one of our offices for a FREE consultation.
Comfort Keepers – Delaware County -610-543-6300Comfort Keepers – Philadelphia - 1-866-436-7750.Comfort Keepers – Mainline Area – 610-520-5300Comfort Keepers Chester County – 610-358-1640Out of State? Click on our website: www.comfortkeepers.com and go to locations.
Comfort Keepers provides Assisted Living services in the privacy of the home, hospital or facility to anyone over the age of 18 who is sick, disabled or elderly.
Services include but are not limited to: assistance with bathing and grooming, light housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, transportation (to doctor, grocery store, errands). to get a free full assessment guide, go to www.comfortkeepers.com

Help protect seniors during cold weather season

When winter temperatures drop significantly below normal,staying warm and safe can become a challenge, especially forelderly. There are several factors that can put the elderly atrisk during winter storms and lengthy sub-zero periods suchas unexpected power or heating system failure.Exposure to cold temperatures, whether indoors or outdoors,can cause serious or life-threatening health problems. TheU.S. Department of Health and Human Services andComfort Keepers have provided these tips for seniors toremain safe during the cold weather season. Other dangers toconsider are icy sidewalks and cold and flu viruses.Through the proper precautions, winter doesn’t have toconfine seniors to their house. They can enjoy these monthssafely by taking additional care and caution. Follow these tipsto protect against illness, body heat loss, and other potentialwinter-related problems.• Be cautious with space heaters – Do not place a space heaterwithin three feet of anything that may catch on fire, such asdrapes, furniture, or bedding, and never cover your spaceheater. In addition to being a fire hazard, space heaters mayalso increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.• Consistently check the temperature – Older adults oftenmake less body heat because of a slower metabolism andless physical activity. When over 65 years of age, it isimportant to check home temperatures often especiallyduring severely cold weather. The thermostat should beset to 65 degrees to prevent hypothermia. This will alsoprevent freezing pipes. Often times, seniors will turn theheat down to save money on their monthly bill. Caulkingor plastic sheets can be used to protect windows and keepthe warm air inside the house and bring peace of mind toseniors worried about their energy bills.• Check smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors –CO can be a very dangerous gas emitted by fuel-burningheaters and appliances. Seniors’ bodies can’t dispose ofcarbon monoxide as quickly as younger adults. Check tomake sure all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors workwithin the home.• Eat nutritiously – Eating well-balanced meals will helpseniors stay warmer. Also, alcoholic or caffeinated beveragescan cause body temperatures to drop more rapidly(regardless of age). Even though the heat may be gone, it isstill important to drink at least six to eight glasses of watera day. This can help prevent dry skin problems as well asdehydration. A senior’s body isn’t as tough as it once was.It is more important for a 70-year-old to stay hydrated thana 30-year-old. continued on page Safety precautions – If a cane is used to assist in walking, besure to replace the rubber tip to prevent falls. When drivingin the winter be sure to get the car tuned up, keep the gastank near full and check to make sure the car has good tires.• Dress appropriately – Be sure the outer layer of clothing istightly woven, preferably wind resistant, to reduce body-heatloss caused by wind. Using wool, silk or polypropylene asthe inner layers of clothing will hold more body heat thancotton. Mittens are warmer than gloves because your fingersproduce heat when they are touching. Wear a hat to protectagainst heat loss through the head.• Take breaks during outdoor winter tasks – Many forgethow much energy it takes to shovel snow in the driveway orwalkway. The cold weather during the winter months can putadded strain on the heart. It is important to warm up thebody prior to these chores and take frequent breaks toprevent any problems or injuries.• Keep a water supply – Have an extra supply of water storedin clean containers, or purchase bottled water (up to fivegallons per person) in case water pipes freeze and rupture.By preparing a senior’s home for the winter months and takingthe necessary safety precautions, you can reduce the risk ofweather-related health problems. If you know elderly personswho are unable, for any reason, to prepare for extremecold-weather conditions, they should stay with family members or go to available shelter.Drink plenty of replenishing fluids – Alcoholic beveragesand caffeine should be avoided since they can causedehydration. Water is a great option, but does not effectivelyreplace the potassium and sodium (electrolytes) that are lostduring perspiration. Popular sports drinks such as Gatoradeand Powerade are great choices for rehydrating the body.Always be on guard for symptoms of heat exhaustion, whichinclude pale, cold or clammy skin, extreme thirst, lightheadedness,fainting, mild nausea, vomiting, and excessivesweating. Signs of heat stroke include hot, dry skin, a fast,strong pulse, confusion, and a body temperature of 104 degreesor higher. If a person exhibits signs of heat stroke, this is aserious medical emergency and 911 or your local emergencymedical team should be contacted.The good news is heat-related illnesses and injuries arepreventable. If seniors understand the signs and are aware ofthe symptoms, they can beat the heat this summer season. To read more, go to www.comfortkeepers.com

Resoures getting help for Seniors, Elderly

Getting Access to Senior Services

Countless organizations have been set up to serve the many needs of senior citizens. There are so many, in fact, that one of the biggest challenges is figuring out where to turn when assistance is needed. To help others overcome this challenge, the US government has created an invaluable website called First Gov for Seniors. It can be reached by clicking on this link, www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml.
This web site acts as a portal to many of the services seniors need. Navigating this site is simple thanks to the easy-to-understand categorization. Once on this web site’s home page, simply choose from 8 different categories of service including:
Consumer Protection
Education, Jobs and Volunteerism
Federal and State Agencies
Health and Housing
Laws and Regulation
Retirement and Money
Taxes
Travel and Leisure.
Within each category is a collection of links that will take the visitor to more detailed information on a particular sub-category. This additional information might be in the form of an actual web site, or it might be a relevant article, or it might provide contact information for a particular agency. Getting your parents access to senior services really can be as simple as clicking on the appropriate link.
In addition to the links found within the 8 basic categories, there is an entire section devoted to Featured Sites. The links found here are relevant to the topics currently making the headlines. Right now this section includes information on the Flu season, links to Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage sites, and other newsworthy subjects.
As well-intentioned as this site is, the information that is available can be a bit overwhelming, and finding the exact answers you are looking for still might be a challenge. The key here is to be patient. Visitors should also be willing to click around; you never know what you might stumble upon. You will definitely find resources that you do not need right now so be sure to bookmark this web site so it’s easy to find later on.
First Gov for Seniors is a valuable starting point when you are the person in charge of getting your aging parents access to senior services. If your parents have access to the Internet and are comfortable working on a computer, pass this link on to them so they can visit the site when it is convenient. Another resource that you may wish to consider is the US Health & Human Services website - they have many resources that you might find helpful.
Another approach that can lead to an invaluable source of information on senior services, especially those that are local, is to ask around for references. There are also a great many sites that act as a network for resources - the Aging Parents and Elder Care Site provides home health medical supplies for seniors, arthritis products, gifts for elderly, handicap aids and accessories. Friends, co-workers and other family members with aging parents probably have many of the same questions and issues as you and your parents do. If they’ve already “been there, done that” they’ll be more than happy to share what they’ve learned including the resources that have been more useful than others.
Individuals working in medical offices are another good source for getting your aging parents access to senior services. Those who work there often know how to cut through the “red tape” so listen closely to their advice.

Our Mission is to provide our clients with the highest level of quality of life that is achievable. To read more articles on senior care, go to http://www.comfortkeepers.com/