TLC Companion Care

Top Ten Fall Prevention Tips

admin — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:01:52 +0000

“Each year, one in every three adults age 65 and older falls. Falls can lead to moderate to severe injuries, such as hip fractures and head traumas, and are the leading cause of injury death among senior citizens 65 and older. In 2007, 18,334 adults age 65 and older died from fall-related injuries—four times as many as all other age groups.”
~ National Safety Council

Fall injuries continue to be a leading reason of hospital admissions and readmissions for elder patients. Throughout the natural aging process, injuries suffered from falls can become more serious in nature. Listed below for your convenience is a list of Top Ten Fall Prevention Tips:

1. Exercise regularly
2. Eat a balanced diet
3. Wear sensible shoes
4. Take time for friends
5. Do home safety checks
6. Remove clutter
7. Have vision and hearing checks
8. Be aware of your medications
9. Use mobility aids
10. Ask why your fall happened

Below is a “5 Step Fall Prevention Plan” to reduce the likelihood of an aging loved one having an accident.

1. Ask elder if they have had a fall over the past year
2. Assess elder’s risk of falling (health, functional and environmental factors)
3. Design fall prevention strategies (base on identified risk factors)
4. Discuss strategies with elder and their caregiver (if available)
5. If elder falls, reassess risk and redesign strategies

What preventive tips can you share on how to reduce the number of elder falls?

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We have moved!

admin — Mon, 27 May 2013 19:30:59 +0000

For those of you desiring to come and chat with us at our office, we have moved to (hopefully) make it easier for you to come see us. We are now located at 2511 9th St. N in St. Petersburg, down the street from Rollin’ Oats. Our hours are currently by appointment only, so please give us a call at 727-388-9712. We look forward to meeting with you in our new location!

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It’s All In One’s Perspective

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:30:00 +0000

As a caregiver you often execute your responsibilities from your own perspective. The logistics and the services you provide are implemented, in part, in relation to your other everyday tasks and duties. It is important early in your relationship to look at your responsibilities from the perspective of the care receiver. Often they have spent a great deal of their adult life making decisions and taking care of their own needs. Now they have come to a point in their life where they must accept the reality that they can’t do everything for themselves and they need assistance. This transition from independence to dependence has both psychological and emotional implications and is a pivotal point in an individual’s life. You need to be sensitive to this change and frame your assistance to help the individual adapt and accept their new role. Part of this new role for the care receiver is adjusting to a partnership and the give and take compromises that it requires. After being independent for so long and having the ability to make decisions unilaterally it is often difficult to surrender this control. It is helpful during this period for the caregiver and care receiver to plan and make decisions together. In that way both parties feel they are involved in the solutions and plans that are made. Also each get to see the other’s point of view.

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Tips for Communicating with Seniors

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:37:53 +0000

1. Speak Clearly and Distinctly: Almost 30% of persons older than 65 have some sort of hearing loss so be sure to speak a little louder, a little slower, but not too much of either because then you may come off as condescending. Use a gentle and calm voice and keep sentences short and simple.

2. Be Mindful of your Environment: Watch for background noise from a tv or radio. When in conversation, try to be face to face and at a similar level. This is because peripheral vision is more limited so they may have trouble understanding if that can’t see you. Being at their same level, such as sitting if they are in a wheelchair, will also be less threatening and gives the nonverbal cue that you are engaged and interested in what they have to say.

3. Use Humor: Laughter is great medicine and helps to build rapport and diffuses a lot of uncomfortable situations. So go ahead, use your best knock knock joke.

4. Be a Good Listener: Try not to interrupt or fill in silence because they may be thinking about what was just said or may be thinking of a response. Also, if you are working with someone who has some cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, you may notice they tell you the same story on multiple occasions. While this may be “boring”, this is an indication that this memory has some significance for them. So let them tell you again and just listen as if it’s the first time.

5. Reminiscence Therapy: Reminiscing helps the elderly recall memories from the past and promotes a sense of belonging and feeling valued. It also helps maintain communication skills and imparts wisdom, skills and information to their partner in conversation. So while they may not remember who the current president is, they will most likely remember things from their distant past. Some easy ways to trigger this might be to look at their old photos together or just simply ask them where they grew up, or what kind of jobs they held.

6. The simplest conversation starter? A warm smile and sincere Hello!

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Why Home Care? Lower Costs, Higher Efficiency

admin — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:22:47 +0000

If you’ve been exploring options for new means of care for your loved one, you’ve probably realized that institutional care comes with a hefty price tag. According to recent data provided by John Hancock Financial, the average annual cost of care in the United States for a private room in a nursing home is $85,775. A semi-private room will cost $75,555. To compare, a full 40-hour week of care provided by a home health care company averages $37,440 annually. (However, it is rare that an average home care client would require that many hours of care in one week.) In fact, eight hours or less per day of home care will ultimately be less expensive than care in a facility. Part-time, non-medical home care costs roughly one-third of that paid for nursing home care.

Because home care is personalized to fit each individual’s needs, it is more efficient than other means of elder care.

As more adult children live far away from their aging parents, technology has made remote caregiving possible, enabling over 6 million Americans to care for loved ones from afar. Advances in technology have brought us gadgets such as automatic sensors, smart pillboxes, and remote monitoring systems that share health data with family or a medical professional. In rural areas, home care is the only form of healthcare available to older adults.

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Companionship for the Elderly

admin — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:29:54 +0000

In home care for companionship can be used to supplement existing senior care services, or it can be used as a compassionate way to help maintain the mental and emotional health of an elderly person who has few companions. This is a critical need, as numerous studies and anecdotal evidence point to the idea that with loneliness and isolation comes a hastened state of mental and physical decline. Therefore, in home care services for your elder loved one can help to enhance both the longevity and quality of their life – and yours.

Activities & Events

A professional in home care services worker can accompany – and transport if necessary – your elderly loved one to events and outings, clothes or gift shopping, etc. In addition to providing company and conversation, an in-home care worker can also assist your senior family member into and out of the car and buildings, and can help with small tasks while out and about.

Many seniors stop going out and exercising their brains and bodies because they either don’t have anyone to go with, outings are too difficult unassisted, or both. This serious problem and lowered quality of life can be quickly resolved by calling TLC Companion Care.

Appointments

As we age we tend to have more medical needs, and often it can be hard to understand everything that happens during a doctor or dentist appointment. Additionally, many people prefer the company of someone they trust during medical appointments, and this is especially true of seniors.

An in home care specialist can help your loved one remember appointment dates and times, provide transportation to the appointment, assist with walking and moving around, and help keep track of the instructions issued by health care providers. This is especially important if your elderly family member is suffering from any stage of dementia.

Help Around the House

It can be exceedingly boring to sit around the house all day by yourself – regardless of your age. But when you’re older this sort of thing can go on for years, causing seniors to lose their motivation and slip into a state of decline. It can also be difficult to remember and complete all of the tasks that need to be done each day in order to maintain an organized, sanitary household.

In home care for companionship means that your loved one will have someone to sit and talk with who can also help to keep the home tidy and safe, as well as provide medication reminders, appointment reminders as mentioned above, help with pet care, laundry, etc.

Just Hanging Out

Ultimately, just hanging out is one of the best things that an in home care worker can do for your elderly family member. From sitting and talking over coffee to going for walks to playing games and even singing songs together, the right senior care worker can be a blessing just to have around. And because this can have a substantial impact on the mental, emotional and physical health of the senior in question, arranging for in home care services for companionship could be one of the best things that you do for your loved one.

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Caregiver Respite: It Is Not a Luxury, But As Research Shows a Necessity

admin — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:07:57 +0000

An important, sometimes overlooked service provided by our homemaker and
companion services agency is caregiver respite. Just how important is respite
care? Far more than you may imagine. In fact, research indicates for those who
are caregivers, hiring a qualified home companion care agency like ours (or a
home health agency if your loved one needs daily, hands-on medical care) is not
a luxury you can afford to go without, but a necessity.

As experts point out no one can regularly, day-after-day expend considerable
time and energy to giving a loved one the care he or she deserves, without a
temporary “break” from this ongoing, demanding routine. At some point, burnout
is almost certain if you try to maintain this lifestyle without a reprieve. And, this is
exactly what respite care provides – a short, but necessary means of relief for
primary caregivers continuously faced with the demands of caring for someone
with special needs. Through respite care, the caregiver has the opportunity to
relax, recharge and remember that there is more to life than caregiving 24/7.
Respite care is about caregiving for you so you can continue to provide your
loved one with the best possible care so they may experience the highest quality
of life on a daily basis.

Several years ago, the National Family Caregivers Association conducted a
Caregiver Member Survey. Data from the survey indicated that while caregivers
found an “inner strength” which helped them greatly in caregiving that they never
realized they had, a majority of those in the study reported suffering from sleep
deprivation and/or depression. Perhaps an even more startling statistic, the
Journal of American Medical Association reported from another study that in the
case of elderly caregivers, those who were stressed proved to have a 63%
higher mortality rate than non-stressed caregivers.

Furthermore, medical experts say that even if you as a caregiver do not manifest
a serious physical or mental condition through the stresses common with
caregiving, you still are very likely to be in a depressed state. That’s because
caregivers are often saddened by the loss of their previous lifestyle. They miss
the things they can no longer do and enjoy, as they previously did for so many
years.

The Good News: Respite Helps

According to data by the National Respite Coalition, respite improves family
functioning, enhances satisfaction with life, improves the capacity to cope with
stress, and provides more positive attitudes toward a disabled family member.
(Cohen and Warren, 1985). In a national survey conducted in 1989 of families of
a child with a disability, 74% reported that respite care caused a significant
difference in their ability to provide care at home. Furthermore, 35% of the
respite users stated that without respite services they would have considered out
of the home placement for their family member (Knoll, James, Human Services
Research Institute, 1989).

It probably goes without saying that the respite care of choice is someone who is
qualified to come into a home, making it possible for the caregiver to leave for a
few hours on a regular basis, or for a few days, to truly “getaway” from the
stresses of around-the-clock caregiving. This has proven to be the least costly
and most convenient form of respite care. Equally important, it provides the
opportunity for caregivers to receive one of the essential components to good
caregiving — a temporary break from their responsibilities that is by no means a
luxury, but a true necessity to be their best as a caregiver.

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Preventing Falls In The Home

admin — Sat, 28 May 2011 05:46:36 +0000

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), persons over the age of 65 have
the highest mortality rate from injuries. In fact, among older adults, injuries cause
more deaths than either pneumonia or diabetes. In terms of deadly injuries,
surprising as it may seem, falls account for about half of all deaths due to injury
by the elderly.
Several epidemiological studies, as pointed out by the NSC, have examined in
detail falls among the elderly with some astounding outcome figures, such as:
• Among 65 year-old women, nearly one-third will fall. After age 85, over half of
women will suffer a fall.
• With men, the number who fall increases from 13 percent in the 65 to 69 age
range to 31 percent for those 80 to 84 years of age. Ironically, for those over age
85, there is actually a slight decrease.
• Among the elderly living at home one-third to one-half tend to fall. And,
interestingly, those who are more aged, female, single, divorced or widowed are
more prone to falling.

Older people are likely to fall for a number of different reasons.

One of the most prevalent causes is a less-than-truly-safe living environment. Measures that can
be taken to enhance safety in the home, as recommended by the National
Center for Injury Prevention and Control, for an elderly person include:
• Improve outside lighting, so when an older person living in the home goes out
he or she can clearly see where they are walking.
• Remove things which could cause you or an older person to easily trip (as
examples, papers, books, clothes and shoes). Especially clear such items from
stairs and places where you walk.
• Get rid of small throw rugs or use double-sided tape to keep the rugs from
slipping.
• Keep items you often use in cabinets you can reach easily without the use of a
step stool.
• Put non-slip mats in the bathtub and on shower floors.
• Improve lighting inside the home. As you get older, you need brighter lights to
see well; therefore, it is a good idea to increase bulb wattage on lamps and other
areas of lighting to enhance brightness of rooms.
• Have handrails and lights installed on all staircases. Coming up and down
stairs is one of the main areas in the home for falls.
• Wear shoes that give good support and have thin non-slip soles. Also avoid
wearing slippers and athletic shoes with deep treads.
• Keep phone cords and electrical cords out of the way of any areas where you
walk. Falling over cords in the home is quite common.
Two Other Recommended Measures
• Have your doctor or pharmacist review all of your medications (including overthe-
counter, non-prescription ones), to ensure that any medicines you are taking
do not increase your chances of falling. As you get older, the way some
medicines work in your body can change. Some medicines or combinations of
medicines can make you drowsy or light-headed.
• Have your vision checked by an eye doctor. You may need new glasses or
have a condition such as glaucoma or cataracts that limit your vision. Obviously,
poor vision increases your chance of falling. Whatever the cost for an eye
examination and a new pair of glasses, the investment will be worth it. It sure
beats increasing the risk of a fall, which can mean serious injury or even death

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