Want to be twice as healthy as others your age?
A study out from the Scandinavian country found that people aged 80 and older that did one of two things were twice as healthy as those their age in two years.
That is a lot of twos.
But what are those two things? They were:
- Receive home visits from care workers
- Attend senior group meetings
The other positive outcome of those who participated in the group meetings was that after a year they were less likely to rate their health as having deteriorated.
The results “amazed” Gerontologist Gwen Yeo, a former director of the Stanford School of Medicine Geriatric Education Center.
As seniors attended group meetings, they learned from their peers, which boosted their self esteem – as did seeing how others were able to age gracefully.
While Yeo said she did not see American health system providing these types of meetings, starting in April, 2014, 1 Assist Care of the Valley Senior Care: Assisted Living At Home In East Idaho will partner with Phoenix Media Enterprises of Rexburg and others to provide monthly group sessions for seniors and their families to gather together. The meetings will be two fold. First, to learn from other seniors and their support network on how to age gracefully. The second will be to learn from experts on how to prepare for and to know the options available to them when aging.
Essentially, these will be the types of meetings that the Swedish study has shown to help the health of the elderly.
Seniors that are less comfortable or unable to attend group meetings also have the option of using 1 Assist Care of the Valley to receive home visits and receive the same kind of care in their home as they would in an assisted living facility. 1 Assist Care of the Valley Senior Care of Rexburg sends caregivers into the homes of seniors living in Idaho Falls, Rexburg, Ashton, Driggs and between.
Yeo pointed out that home visits are becoming more commonplace in the U.S. as hospitals are working more closely with families to reduce trips to the emergency room and to reduce readmission rates, which hospitals can be penalized for.
Swedes live on average two years longer than those living in the United States. When it comes to life expectancy, the U.S. ranks 35th in the world while Sweden ranks tenth. Sweden’s elderly also have access to meals on wheels, help cleaning and shopping, personal-care assistance, transportation and home healthcare.
To find out more about assisted living care you can receive at home or about the monthly meetings starting in April, fill out your information below. Or you can call us at 557-4215.
* This information was originally reported by the Chicago Tribune.
