Visiting Angels: assisted living

Showing posts with label assisted living. Show all posts

Monday, February 1, 2016

Why Your Elderly Loved Ones Should Stay At Home

When a loved one begins to age, it can be tempting to shove the responsibility onto someone else. It can be tempting to put them in a nursing home. However, there are so many costs. Isn't it better for seniors to stay at home?

There are many reasons that a loved one would be put into a nursing home. They may not be able to go up and down the stairs easily anymore, or may not be able to stand for the time required to cook or clean. However, the needs of elderly people that would require modifications are not included in a nursing home's basic package.

Modifications can be made to the home they already live in, but many do not realize the added costs mentioned above. Staying at home in 2009 as an elderly person cost the family $554, versus $1065 out of pocket for a nursing home. Those out of pocket expenses jumped to $3500 in 2013. This means cooking, cleaning, and other problems that need to be addressed in their life might simply cost more in the nursing home. In addition, when an elderly person stays in their home, it is quite possible that they already own the home or are paying very low home mortgages. The options at a nursing home could instead become parts of the family's life as requirements, instead of options to be paid for.

The changes that could be made to the home include:

Making it easier to get up and down the stairs.
Keeping pots and pans within arms reach.
Getting cleaning supplies with longer handles so they don't have to bend down.

With some help from the neighbors or from family, the modifications could be easily finished within a few hours or within a weekend.

If that's not convincing enough, many elderly will already know people in the community that they currently live in. If they get into a situation where they need help, but family is unavailable, they will most likely have at least one person they know they can call in their neighborhood. If new people move in, there are more hands to help out when needed.

Even better, when your elderly loved one stays at home, they are able to enjoy much more independence. Quality of life in that age is as important as it is when they're younger, and putting them in a nursing home could only hamper the quality of their life.

Whether you need to find suitable care now, or will need it sometime in the future, Visiting Angels in Las Vegas might be one viable way to get the help you need in caring for your elderly loved one at home.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Dementia Is Not A Disease For The Old

Dementia is a prolonged or progressive syndrome that results in deterioration in cognitive function. The ability to process thought is greatly severed beyond the expected in cases of normal aging. Dementia affects language, calculation, thinking, orientation, memory, comprehension, judgment, and learning capacity. It never affects one’s consciousness. Deterioration in emotional regulation, motivation or social behavior mostly accompanies or precedes the impairment in cognitive function.

A variety of diseases and injuries cause dementia. They primarily or sometimes secondarily affect the brain, with perfect examples being the Alzheimer’s illness or stroke. It is not only those who suffer from the condition that bear the brunt of its effects but also the caregivers and families of those living with the condition. The responsibility and stress of taking care of a friend or loved one who is suffering from the dementia can be great. It has been identified as an important cause of disability and dependency especially among older people across the globe. It impacts severe physical, physiological, social and economic ramifications on those affected.

Dementia comes in different forms or causes. There is no distinct margin between the various forms of dementia and mixed forms of the problem do co-exist. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease that has been identified to contribute to 60-70% of the cases. Some other forms of dementia include several conditions that cause frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies. The Lewy bodies are strange protein aggregates that usually develop inside nerve cells.

Though dementia is commonly associated with seniors, it sometimes affects people with not so advanced ages. Though rare, several cases of people suffering from the condition while still young have been identified. Stan Mikita, a retired professional ice hockey player, has been well-known to suffer dementia with Lewy bodies. The Slovak-born Canadian is regarded as one of the best players of the game in the 1960s. His memory and cognitive function are known to have been slowly waning for years since he was relatively young. Once old age caught up with him, his cognitive function rapidly deteriorated and a few months later, his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia was made public.

It is suspected that Mikita's problems could have started way back during his playing days due to the repeated concussions the players suffer during gameplay. Science has it that repeated head trauma can result in a progressive neurodegenerative disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The neurodegeneration eventually results in dementia.

Lewy body dementia severely disrupts movement, thinking, sleep, movement, and behavior. Hallucinations and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease may accompany it. Mikita’s family has no objection to giving out his brain for a postmortem on his demise to pave the way for further scientific research on the disease. An illness that could have started way back during his playing days, yet people so often mistake it as a disease of those who are elderly.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Signs That May Suggest It's Time For Assisted Living

You elderly parents want to remain as independent as possible throughout their lives. Eventually, it becomes the responsibility of the adult child to make sure that they receive adequate care into the sunset of life. It might not be feasible to place the parent into a nursing home or retirement facility. This is where home health services can be the answer.

Silent Signals Your Parent Is In Trouble At Home

Despite their best efforts, your parents may inadvertently reveal the need for special home care services. There are a few tell tale signs you can look for, even if your parent insists he or she flourishes independently.

1. You visit your parent and find evidence of things being broken. This could be due to them falling from dizzy spells or loss of balance upon standing.

2. Unexplained bruising. Another sign of evidence of falling.

3. Exterior damage to your parent’s automobile. This might be due to driving over a curb or hitting something due to misjudgment.

4. Smoky or smell of something overcooked in the home. Serious evidence that your parent could be having problems preparing meals.

5. Prescription medications missing or dropped on the floor by mistake. Sometimes this happens and the parent is unable to bend or squat to retrieve the medicine.

6. Missing scheduled physician appointments. This might be due to hearing loss and unable to hear information over the phone clearly.

7. Depression and Despair. This is common among seniors. They become lonely without companionship and support at home. This is very serious and can lead to greater psychological problems.

8. Denial by the parent that they need help when signs show that they do.

9. Unpaid bills or a utility is cut off at the home. This can be serious. It is a priority that all senior citizens have adequate utilities to carry out their daily activities. Failure of making an insurance payment can lead to termination of the policy so it is important to stay up to date on a parent’s finances.

10. Everyday, routine cleaning shows signs that help is needed. This usually starts with excessive trash building up in the home. Unwashed dishes gathering in the kitchen and dining area. Clothes being piled up but never washed. Unmade beds and dirty bathrooms can be another source of evidence.

If you are notice any of the above signs with your aging parent, it could be time to consider hiring a home healthcare service. Visiting Angels is an assisted living service here in Las Vegas and Henderson that can provide the care your parent needs at home. Our list of home services includes meal preparation, light housekeeping and companionship among other, important services.

Give us a call today 702-562-3322 to find out more about our home services for your elderly parent.