Home Care Blog

This interesting article by Mary Alward explains the healing benefits of pets for the elderly. She writes that pest can provide companionship, acceptance, a way to stay active and remain responsible, a safe home, and a social outlet. She explains that pets can be very good for senior health, especially seniors who live at home, and gives great tips for how seniors can manage pets.

-Dr.Kathy Johnson, PhD, CMC

A few days ago I was online and came across a great resource called Parentgiving.com. This site has a lot of really helpful information on caring for aging parents with hundreds of articles, experts on demand and an online store with thousands of the most demanded home care products and medical supplies. One of my favorite aspects of Parentgiving.com is the expert advice section.  The expert blog, Caregiving Issues, is especially helpful for those just beginning to care for an aging parent. This blog offers some much needed  reassurance for those who may feel lost or confused throughout this process. Another aspect of the site I found to be very helpful is the wide variety of products available for purchase, ranging from medications, to mobility devices, to bath safety goods. Parentgiving.com is an incredible resource and I recommend it to anyone who is taking on the difficult, yet rewarding task of caring for an aging parent.

-Dr.Kathy Johnson, PhD, CMC

British and Finnish researchers have recently discovered that the more education one has, the more one’s risk of developing dementia decreases. According to Hanna Keage from Cambridge University, “More education is not associated with any differences in the damage to the brain, but people with higher education can cope with that damage better.” Keage believes that this may be due to psychological strength gained through better education, which might help people think of ways around their problems raised by dementia. These findings are incredibly important for America, due to the increasing number of dementia and Alzheimer’s patients in the U.S., and the growing cost of taking care of those patients. According to Keage, if dementia could be delayed by two years for Americans over age 50, “there would be nearly two million fewer cases of dementia over the next 40 years,” which would greatly cut the cost of care for these people.

This article goes into the lives of several seniors citizens to explain how and why they decided to go digital—and are loving it! One woman, Judy Bennett, chose to conquer her fear of computers and take classes at a local senior center in order to feel more connected with her young grandchildren. She signed up on Facebook and now feels much closer with her grandchildren, who she can check in on and talk to with a few simple clicks.

Bennett is definitely not alone, according to a survey that reported a 26 percent increase in the amount of 70-75 year-olds using the Internet from 2005 to 2008. Jerry Schulz, who teaches the senior center computer classes that Bennett utilized, says that most people take these classes to connect with their grandchildren, or reconnect with old friends and classmates. She also says that it helps seniors feel connected to the world, and can somewhat eliminate feelings of isolation.

Since many seniors feel scared or resistant to the idea of computers, Schulz gives some great tips on getting elderly family members onto the computer and how to help them learn to use it!

While many of us might see a card game or a shopping trip with friends as a simple diversion, these are activities that may help preserve the physical and mental health of the elderly. New studies have found that little or no social activity may cause cognitive function and motor function, like walking abilities, to decline much quicker than the functions of those who participate in social activities. The study also showed that physical activity could protect against mental decline, because it releases a protein in the brain that keeps neural connections alive. Researchers discovered that there is a connection between social activity and exercise: many of the participants in the study who had remained socially active were also physically active. This might relate to the findings that social activity increases motor functions, researchers believe. In fact, Dr. Joe Verghese of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York says, “The idea that cognitive and physical function are connected…is one of the new horizons in health care and prevention.” While more research needs to be done on this subject, these findings may help physicians and families to better protect the elderly against physical and mental decline through simply encouraging social activity.

This article featured in AARP gives great advice on how to check in on aging parents to make sure their homes are safe and secure this summer. Elinor Ginzler from AARP suggests small things like helping loved ones clean out their refrigerators in order to make sure they are still able to get to the grocery store and keep themselves well-nourished. When helping clean the bathroom, checking the medicine cabinet for out-of-date prescriptions could be another great way to make sure elderly loved ones are maintaining their health. Other places of interest include the stairs, hallways, and security devices such as alarms and smoke detectors.

-Dr.Kathy Johnson, PhD, CMC

Researchers and doctors alike recently convened in Hawaii for the annual Alzheimer’s Association meeting. Perhaps one of the most important findings was from U.S. researchers, which explained early Alzheimer’s detection could cut the cost of care by 30 percent. To help bring early detection into action, the National Institute on Aging, along with the Alzheimer’s Association, set up new guidelines for detecting Alzheimer’s even before symptoms occur. Seven VA medical centers have already started this early screening with a two-minute memory tests for patients over 70. Those who failed the test (about 70% of participants) were then tested for dementia, and 76% of those tested were found to have dementia. These findings could not only significantly reduce the cost of care for many Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, but could also help give families more time to create a better care system for their loved ones with the disease in order to create a better quality of life for them.

-Dr.Kathy Johnson, PhD, CMC

Falls have become a devastating issue for seniors living at home. In order to increase the quality of home health, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has found that there are many ways to help seniors avoid health problems related to falls.

According to the 2007 California Health Interview Survey, which researchers used as a reference, 14.5% of Californians over the age of 65 fell at least once in that year alone. Falling can cause many severe health problems for seniors, and one fall makes an elder much more likely to fall again. Furthermore, only about half of the seniors who reported falling actually went to the doctor after their fall. Many of those who did go to the doctor did not use all the prevention techniques described by their doctor.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is giving a great push for seniors living at home to seek help and preventative strategies. The Center is also encouraging medical professionals to try to get seniors on board. This is an incredibly important issue for many seniors who wish to live at home as they grow older, because it can increase their home health and allow them to continue living in their own home for much longer.

According to a new study conducted by Northwestern Medicine, older, heavier women may have more memory issues and poorer brain function than those who are a healthy weight.

The study was conducted on 8,745 women, ages 65 to 79, and it was found that a higher BMI (Body Mass Index) had a “detrimental effect” on memory and brain function. Even further, the study discovered that women whose excess weight is carried around their hips rather than around their waists experienced even more memory loss and decreased brain function. While there are still more tests to be conducted, researchers believe that this phenomenon may have something to do with the type of fat that accumulates around the hips. Obese women have more cytokines, which are a type of hormone released from the most common kind of fat in the body.

According to Diana Kerwin, M.D., from Northwestern Medicine, “The fat may contribute to…Alzheimer’s disease or a restricted blood flow to the brain.” While researchers are still trying to gather more information on this subject, the current findings can help doctors know with whom they need to be the most aggressive about weight

-Dr.Kathy Johnson, PhD, CMC

I read this great article from Caring.com that lists 10 noticeable signs that might express the need for assistance for an elderly relative or friend. These signs were taken from a recent story in the Chicago Tribune, and any combination of these signals should be further looked into. The signs include poor hygiene, poor nutrition signaled by weight loss, decreased upkeep of one’s home, poor health signaled by fatigue, forgetting to take one’s medications, bruises that might signal falls, disorientation regarding time of day or surroundings, changes noticed by friends and neighbors, unpaid bills, and finally, being financially taken advantage of.

Even after noticing these signs, it can be hard to get an elderly parent or friend to realize they need help, because many want to maintain their independence. This is when family members can look into the many different options of elder care, such as companies like Home Care Assistance, that can help seniors maintain their independence while still getting the help they need.