Dad losing interest in his hobbies? What might really be happening

Posted on April 19, 2014February 25, 2015 by admin

As your mother and father continue to age, are you finding that one of them is starting to lose interest in hobbies they always loved?

Grandpa losing interest in activities he once loved? Do not jump to conclusions – there might be more going on that you realize.

Apathy might not be the problem. And do not be so quick to blame the temperament of someone with old age.

A recent study out of in the journal Neurology suggests that something else might be afoot.

According to the study’s author, apathy in the elderly may actually be a sign of dementia. How so? The loss of interest may be a sign of shrinking amounts of grey and white matter in the brain.

Does that mean that all apathy in seniors is a sure sign of Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia? Definitely not. The key to look for? Ask yourself this one question. Does your loved one suffer from depression? According to research, seniors who experienced apathy WITHOUT depression is an indicator that the individual may be suffering from some sort of dementia.

There is still more research to conduct, but if you find your loved one lacking emotion, it might be time to schedule some time to visit with their doctor.

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Alzheimer’s: The Toll On Women

Posted on March 19, 2014February 25, 2015 by admin

Pink is a great color. We run marathons wearing it. College and professional athletes wear it. It serves to remind us well the toll that breast cancer impacts women.

Did you know there is a disease that inflicts twice as many women as breast cancer? According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2014 Facts and Figures report, women over 60 have a 1 in 6 chance of developing Alzheimer’s. Men have a 1 in 11 chance.

Maybe it is time to start wearing purple along with pink.

There are five million people in the United States afflicted with Alzheimer’s with half a million people dying each year due to the disease.

The impact on women puts them at the epicenter. Consider these facts:

Two-thirds of those living with the disease are women
Women are 2.5 times more likely than men to provide intensive “on-duty” care 24 hours a day for someone with Alzheimer’s
Over 60 percent of Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers are women
20% of women (compared with 3% of men) switch from full-time to part-time work in order to assume responsibilities as caregivers
Women caregivers report feeling more isolated and depressed than men
Women are more likely to take a leave of absence from work or stop working altogether

While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, awareness of the disease is a great first step.

1 Assist Care of the Valley: Assisted Living at Home is partnering with the Alzheimer’s Association to bring Alzheimer’s support groups to Rexburg to serve caregivers and those in the early stages of the disease from Rigby to Driggs and everywhere in between. To stay informed about the support groups and to stay informed about Alzheimer’s Disease, fill out your information below.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook, follow us on Pinterest, and subscribe to this blog (scroll to the top of the page and look to the right of the post)

For more information on Alzheimer’s in Idaho, click the link below.

Alzheimer’s Disease: Idaho Facts and Figures

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Husband’s Health Crucial to Happy Marriages for Seniors

Posted on March 18, 2014February 25, 2015 by admin

Health, it does a marriage good.

Well, a husband’s health. And if the couple has been married for at least 39 years.

According to a study out in the Journal of Marriage and Family, researchers found that the healthier and more positive the husband was, the less likely there was to be marital contention. In the study, it was the wives who reported higher levels of conflict.

The report was not focused on violence or fighting, but rather the amount that one spouse criticizes the other, makes too many demands on the other, or gets on one another’s nerves in general.

On the other hand, the health of a wife does not impact an elderly couple’s relationship for good or for bad.

So what to do?

There are a number of things seniors can do to feel healthier. As discussed in a previous posts, that can be as simple as standing, attending peer discussion groups, or receiving home care. Those that did the latter two actually felt twice as healthy as those who did not after a period of two years.

1 Assist Care of the Valley: Assisted Living at Home will be offering support groups in Rexburg much like groups currently being offered in Idaho Falls. Additionally, 1 Assist Care of the Valley offers care at home to seniors so they do not need to go to nursing homes.

To find out more about assisted living care you can receive at home or about the monthly support meetings, fill out your information below. Or you can call us at 557-4215.

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Cemeteries and Funeral Homes: Two Quick Phone Calls That Could Change The Game on Finding Information on an Ancestor

Posted on March 17, 2014February 25, 2015 by admin

Yesterday, the Scottish Genealogy group on Facebook posted a great nugget concerning two phone calls you can make to find out additional information concerning a deceased ancestor.

When you are looking for your ancestor, don’t stop at the obituary or the gravestone inscription. Call or write to the cemetery and ask:

Who purchased the plot
What address was given for the person who purchased the plot
Whether any other family members are buried in the same plot

The cemetery office may also tell you the names of any other people with the same surname who are buried at the cemetery.

While you are at it, contact the funeral home listed in the obituary. Funeral homes keep detailed records about the individuals that they care for. This can be a valuable resource.

The funeral home will have:

A copy of the program or the card given to those who attend the service,
A copy of the death record they issued for the family and information on the next of kin.

If an autopsy was performed, the funeral home may supply you with the information for the name and address of the coroner as well, which will allow you to contact that resource for detailed information on the cause of death and the details surrounding the death.

It will not hurt to ask the funeral home if they will provide you with:

The name of the deceased’s family physician
The name of the insurance company
The name of the clergy that performed the service.
They might even be able to provide you with information about where to find a will for the deceased.

In Idaho Falls and Ammon, there are four funeral homes you can reach out to. Rexburg and Rigby each have one, while St. Anthony has two.

1 Assist Care of the Valley Senior Care: Assisted Living At Home is a home care company located in Rexburg, Idaho. We provide provide weekly family history tips on our blog to help others with their family history work and genealogy.

We also provide assisted living services in the home to seniors in Idaho Falls, Rexburg, Driggs, Ashton, and everywhere in between. For some of our elderly clients, that includes doing family history with them.

To find out more about how we can help keep your elderly loved one home and safe rather than putting them into a nursing home, call us at 208-557-4215.

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Alzheimer’s in East Idaho: A Slight Breakthrough?

Posted on March 12, 2014February 25, 2015 by admin

With Alzheimer’s Disease being the sixth leading cause of death (1) in the United States – with the statistics only getting worse, any signs of a breakthrough are a great thing.

This week, a team from Georgetown University may have done just that.

The team have found a blood test that just might help with detecting Alzheimer’s disease up to three years before the onset of symptoms.

While, there is still no cure for the disease, this may help individuals and families prepare to cope with the disease and may help with research. Also, the test is only 90% accurate in its current form – meaning that up to one in ten people could be wrongly diagnosed. But more tests are coming.

There is Help
Alzheimer’s does not just impact the individual diagnosed. In Idaho alone, there are 76,000 family members (2) caring for someone afflicted with the disease. The emotional toll is difficult. One in three residents in assisted living in Idaho are suffering from Alzheimer’s (3).

The Alzheimer’s Association offers support groups to families and friends providing care to those inflicted with the disease as well as support groups for those at the early stages of the disease.

The toll is also economic in nature. These are unpaid caregivers, whose care is 87 million hours of care (4). When monetized, that equals $1 billion a year (5). That is a B. And that is just in Idaho alone. Those are also hours that are not spent at work. No wonder scholars are calling this an economic crisis.

The numbers should be sobering, but with the knowledge, researchers can continue to work towards a cure.

The Numbers May Be Worse
On the other side of knowing is denial or misinformation.

A reports has also just come out in the journal Neurology that suggests that Alzheimer’s is often under-reported as a cause of death. It may even contribute to nearly as many deaths as heart disease or cancer. According to the study author, there were “approximately 503,400 deaths from Alzheimer’s in the U.S. in people over the age of 75 in 2010 (6). This is five to six times higher than the 83,494 number reported by the CDC based on death certificates.”

Why the error? Because death certificates often do not list multiple reasons for death.

Remember, There is Help
If you are afflicted with or care for someone afflicted with Alzheimer’s, there is support. The Alzheimer’s Association was in Idaho Falls last week training elderly specialists and working hard to start support groups to help people in Idaho Falls, Rexburg, Rigby, Ashton, Driggs and beyond.

These are support groups for both those suffering from the disease or those caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.

If you are interested in a support group or are needing help caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, fill out your information below.

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Find a Caregiver Today

Posted on March 10, 2014October 14, 2020 by admin

Ready to provide your loved one or yourself with the best care possible while staying home?

We will work with you to find a fantastic match from our trained and screened team members to provide that care.

Tell us a little about your situation so we can start the process.

Or you can simply call us at 208-557-4215 and start the process that way.

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Chocolate: Increasing brain speed in seniors never tasted so good

Posted on March 5, 2014February 25, 2015 by admin

This was too fun not to share. Well, these two things.

First, turns out that eating dark chocolate may actually help seniors increase how quickly their brain processes things. Mind you, the study was sponsored by Mars, the company responsible for giving us M&M’s and Snickers bars. Nevertheless, it worked.

<a href=”http://www.valleyhelpathome.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Senior-Drinking-Hot-Cocoa.jpg”><img class=”size-full wp-image-491″ alt=”Elderly Hot Chocolate Improve Health” src=”http://www.valleyhelpathome.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Senior-Drinking-Hot-Cocoa.jpg” width=”198″ height=”296″ /></a> A little bit of chocolate may make your brain go a long way.

The study, published in August 2012’s American Heart Association’s journal, Hypertension, followed 90 seniors with mild cognitive impairment broken into three groups. Each group was given a certain amount of hot cocoa to drink. The group that drank the most hot cocoa actually saw “significantly higher overall cognitive scores.”

Now the only question left is, which chocolate to choose?

Fortunately, last November, Cook’s Illustrated published which chocolate they recommend to use when cooking.

And that can be found by clicking here: <a href=”http://bit.ly/1ic7zzz” target=”_blank”>Cook’s Illustrated Dark Chocolate Taste</a>

1 Assist Care of the Valley Senior Care: Assisted Living At Home provides assisted living services to seniors living in East Idaho from Idaho Falls to Rexburg to Driggs and everywhere in between. Part of our services include preparing meals, which can include dark chocolate recipes.

To find out more about our assisted living services that allow seniors to stay in their own home, give us a call at 208-557-4215.

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When Exercise Isn’t Enough – The One Thing That Will Increase Elderly Health By 50%

Posted on March 1, 2014February 25, 2015 by admin

<a href=”http://www.valleyhelpathome.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Sitting-Senior.jpg”><img class=”alignleft wp-image-480″ alt=”Helping Seniors To Walk In East Idaho” src=”http://www.valleyhelpathome.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Sitting-Senior.jpg” width=”379″ height=”216″ /></a>So it turns out that exercise is just not enough. Not that the solution is terribly difficult, but in this case, knowing is way more than half of the battle.

<a href=”http://www.news-medical.net/news/20140220/Sedentary-behavior-may-be-a-risk-factor-for-disability-once-we-reach-our-60s.aspx” target=”_blank”>A recent study</a> published in Journal of Physical Activity and Health found that the more time a senior spent sitting, even if they spent time exercising, the more likely the senior’s health would lead to disability.

The likelihood is pretty dramatic – to the tune of 50% more per extra hour sitting.

Take this example. If two 70 year old men had similar health and exercise profiles, but one sat for 12 hours a day while the other sat for 13, the second man is 50% more likely to be disabled.

Does that mean sitting is dangerous? What it means is that it is important to get up and move around. If you want to watch TV, work on the computer, or play games, try to doing so while spending more time standing. It might seem silly, but it is the difference between health and disability.

Looking for someone to help get you moving in one of Idaho Falls parks? Wanting to find someone to go walking with your mother around the block in Rexburg? Hoping you could just get someone to walk with your father in his house in Driggs? Worried your loved one might be sitting too much at their cabin in Island Park? Wanting to give your wife a little extra walking time in the Ashton Living Center? 1 Assist Care of the Valley: Assisted Living in the Home’s care team members are more than happy to walk with our elderly clients. Focusing on the emotional, social, and physical well-being of our clients, 1 Assist Care of the Valley’s team members follow care plans generated to help with that well-being while receiving assisted living care in their home. That could mean a few hours a day or a few hours a week.

Give us a call at 208-557-4215 or fill out the information below to learn more or to schedule a free home visit. We will then work with you to create a care plan to get moving and to help with your other objectives for your well being, or the well being of your loved one.

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How To Talk To A Parent About Assisted Living

Posted on February 25, 2014February 25, 2015 by admin

Life is full of stages. From birth to college to marriage to children to empty nesting.

Often these are the stages we look forward to.

There comes a time in most of our lives when we are going to enter another stage of life – that of needing long term care. There is nothing to be ashamed of – 70% of people will need long term care in their life. That would be most of us. But for some, the discussion can be a difficult one. Whether it is difficult as a child of an elderly parent to bring up the topic, or it is difficult as a parent to hear your children or others ask the question.

However, if you simply postpone having the discussion until an emergency occurs, then your choices are often far less as you have less time to make them. The best time to have these discussions is today, no matter the health of your loved one or the age.

Here are a list of items to consider when planning the discussion.

The facts
Your parent is not alone in receiving assisted living care in their home. And receiving care can be a great boost to their health. Consider the following:

Seniors who receive home visits are twice as healthy after two years as those who do not
According to research by a Brown University professor, elders who receive care services such as meals are less likely to later be admitted to a nursing home
Over 1.5 million seniors receive assisted living care in the home
70% of people will need long term care in their life
Over 90% of seniors want to live in their home for the rest of their lives. And they can.
Elderly care has changed dramatically over the past two decades – There are many more technologies than “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” and there are many more choices than simply being put into a nursing home.
As long as they are able, they will have a significant say in the care that they receive in their home

Multiple conversations are often better than one
This does not have to be “The Talk.” If you can make it a series of conversations, it can be less traumatic. And some of those conversations can be brief. Questions like “Dad, how is it living at home since Mom died?” allow him to explain how he feels about his surroundings and living alone. Other questions include:

I hear Mrs. Smith is getting help with her housework. How does she like that?
When you told me you fell last moth, I was really scared for a week. Is there anything we can do to help when I live so far away?

The more you talk with your loved one, the more you will understand their desires and will be able to craft the best “assisted living in the home” plan for them.

Make no assumptions
Your loved one just might agree with you but was unsure how to ask for help. Or they might not see a problem in the way that seems so obvious to others – this is not necessarily denial.

Focus on their quality of life and independence
You all want her independence. It is a great place to remember you have common ground.

Go somewhere that they are comfortable – with as many family members as possible
When coming to a point when final decisions are being made and final discussions are being had, be somewhere that your loved one feels at home. In their home is best. If there are family members cannot be there in person, schedule a conference call. Skype and Google Hangouts allow for video conferences for free.

Go in with a listening ear rather than a knowledgeable mouth
Often Seniors have insight that we may not have. And most of us struggle when we feel that someone thinks they know more about our situation than we do. Listening changes hearts. When they express their feelings or thoughts, do not be afraid to follow up with, “I want to make sure I understand” and then restate what they said. Then affirm it.

Put yourself in their shoes
Talk to them in the same loving, respectful manner that you would want your children to talk to you. Understand that this might be hard for them.

Own your feelings rather than your loved one’s “problems”
Use phrases like, “I get so worried” or “I am so concerned when I see….” Those types of phrases tend to be much more effective than “You need to” or “We have decided that it best that….”

Give them information and options
The more they feel that they are part of finding the solution, the more likely they are to welcome it.

Do not express to your loved one that what you are doing compares to what they did for you when you were a child
Your loved one does not want to be viewed in that manner. And it does not indicate independence, your common ground. As an adult who has lived a full life, they would hope to be respected and honored.

Keep calm – even if they do not
If you fail to remain calm, the conversation could have very negative effects on relationships – and potentially the health of the one you are trying to help – for a long time.

A Defensive Loved One
Sometimes no matter how hard we try, the conversation goes in the wrong direction. It is important at that point to bring the conversation back to your feelings, both your own feelings and the feelings you have for your loved one.

A fantastic question to ask is, “Mom, if you knew I needed help, but refused to take it, how would that make you feel?” Then follow up with “How would you feel if I let you send someone to take care of me?” Using this kind of a question shifts the conversation from a battle of the wills to one focused more on the care and tender feelings that you have for one another. Generally, she will say something along the lines of

She just might say “I would be supportive.” Affirm that by saying “Oh Mom, you are wonderful. You have been so supportive in our life.” Then clarify further with two questions:

“That is what you would do, is to be supportive, but how would you feel deep inside?”
“As you think about our lives, what has brought you the greatest joy? When you have supported us in decisions that have made our lives easier or those that made life more difficult?”

A Defensive Loved One – Part 2
If the conversation still continues down a different direction than you would like, invite them to join other seniors from Idaho Falls to Driggs at a monthly meeting hosted by 1 Assist Care of the Valley where seniors have the chance to discuss ways they have been able to age with grace and dignity.

When you are ready to take the next step of finding the right person to come into your loved one’s life, give us a call at 208-557-4215 and we will work with you to create an atmosphere where your loved one will be able to enjoy the independence you all desire with the assisted living care services in the home that you all love.

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Two Simple Secrets Seniors Can Do To Be Twice As Healthy

Posted on February 24, 2014February 25, 2015 by admin

Want to be twice as healthy as others your age?

Sweden has your answer*.

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.

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