Why Gardening is Great For Seniors

Written By : SeniorsList

Gardening in our retirement years can be a great experience.  Not only does it provide a place of respite and peace, but it provides a great source of exercise.  In fact, the medical community now recognizes the power for hobbies and everyday activities to provide exercise for the body.  Just think of all the movements it takes  to grow and maintain a garden.  You’re digging, carrying dirt, bending down, standing up, and moving your muscles and joints.  No wonder gardening is such a
great activity!  And that’s not to mention all the fresh air and sunshine you get as well.

To continue to receive all these benefits it’s important for you to adapt your garden to your lifestyle and physical needs.  You don’t want to create a garden that’s too big and you can’t manage the work every day or get discouraged.  Likewise, if you have difficulty crouching down or bending, perhaps hanging pots will work best.  Be sure to create your garden around your physical needs so you can enjoy the process for many years to come.

Using light warm-up exercises before working on your garden can prevent damage to your muscles and joints.  Try bending your knees a few times, rolling your wrists, and moving your neck from side to side.  Remember – don’t do anything that causes pain or overwork yourself.  Overdoing it and causing injury may keep you on the sidelines for far longer than you want.  Also, be sure to use the right tools with comfortable grips and weight.

The Benefits of Gardening

Carrying bags of soil and flats of flowers is great for cardio and muscle-toning.  

Just be sure not to carry something too heavy.  If you need to, break the work into separate shifts so you don’t overdo it.

All this work keeping up a garden is also great for your cardiovascular health.  All the things you do to maintain a garden like digging, planting, and just walking around allow you to deepen your breathing and elevate your heart rate.  Again, do what is invigorating and feels comfortable.

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For questions about care for your aging loved one, please contact the caregivers at Andelcare. We provide everything from respite care for the primary caregiver to full time senior care in Bellevue  and the surrounding communities. Call us at 888-788-3051 for more information.

9 Investigates: The Soaring Costs Of Medicaid

WFTV investigated the soaring costs of Medicaid, and government watchdogs said one simple change could save hundreds of millions of dollars.

Michael Claudio has trouble remembering basic tasks after encephalitis damaged his brain. The state could have spent $5,000 a year for in-home care, or $65,000 a year to send him to a nursing home. State Medicaid managers chose the nursing home and would have sent taxpayers the bill.

"I went on a waiting list for over two years just for some kind of assistance," said Michael Claudio.

Without help, Claudio's wife Linda kept serving as his full-time caregiver for as long as she could.

"My house is in foreclosure now, but I made a choice. He mattered more," said Linda Claudio.

The same situation happened to Carmen Martinez, who wanted a home health care aide to help with laundry and meals for her elderly father. Medicaid wouldn't pay for the help, but it would have payed up to 13 times more to send Martinez's father to an institution.

"The help I need, I don't have it," said Martinez.

An AARP survey showed that 84 percent of seniors prefer home care over a nursing home, and the group Florida Taxwatch said the state could save up to $397 million a year by switching more patients to in-home care.

The nursing home industry lobbied against it.

"I believe that some industries have a stronger voice when it comes to policy-making than maybe the average family has," said Mary Ellen Grant of Share The Care nursing home.

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For more information about home care for your loved one, contact the caregivers at Andelcare. We help many elderly, disabled and veteran loved ones with quality and affordable home care in Seattle and the surrounding communities. Call 888-788-3051.

Natural Chemical Found in Grapes May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease

ScienceDaily (July 15, 2011) — Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that grape seed polyphenols — a natural antioxidant — may help prevent the development or delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

The research, led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, The Saunder Family Professor in Neurology, and Professor of Psychiatry and Geriatrics and Adult Development at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, was published online in the current issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

This is the first study to evaluate the ability of grape-derived polyphenols to prevent the generation of a specific form of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, a substance in the brain long known to cause the neurotoxicity associated with Alzheimer disease. In partnership with a team at the University of Minnesota led by Karen Hsiao Ashe, MD, PhD, Dr. Pasinetti and his collaborators administered grape seed polyphenolic extracts to mice genetically determined to develop memory deficits and Aβ neurotoxins similar to those found in Alzheimer's disease. They found that the brain content of the Aβ*56, a specific form of Aβ previously implicated in the promotion of Alzheimer's disease memory loss, was substantially reduced after treatment.

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At Andelcare, we recognize that there are many reasons why a loved one may need home care. From seniors with Alzheimer's Disease, to patients with disabilities, to caregivers needing respite care, we are here to provide quality and affordable home care in Seattle and the surrounding communities. Call us for information 888-788-3051!

Bearing Through It: How Caregivers of Mentally Ill Loved One Can Cope

ScienceDaily  — Caring for a family member with a mental illness can be a taxing experience marked by personal sacrifices and psychological problems.

A new study from Concordia University, AMI-Québec and the University of British Columbia has found family caregivers can experience high levels of stress, self-blame, substance abuse and depressive symptoms — unless they refocus their priorities and lighten their load.

"Being the principal caregiver to a mentally ill family member is a stressor that often creates high levels of burden and contributes to depressive symptoms," says lead author Carsten Wrosch, a professor in the Concordia University Department of Psychology and a member of the Centre for Research in Human Development.

"Caring for a relative with a mental illness can be strenuous — such caregivers can even be more burdened than caregivers of dementia patients," Wrosch continues. "That said, even in this situation, caregivers can experience high levels of wellbeing if they adjust their goals and use effective coping strategies."

Published in the May issue of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the investigation followed family caregivers over a 17-month period and found those who reset priorities fared better. The research team expected that caregivers who are capable of adjusting important life goals (e.g., career, vacation, etc.) would cope better with caregiving stress and that this resilient process would protect their emotional wellbeing.

"We found participants who had an easier time abandoning goals blamed themselves less frequently for problems associated with caregiving and used alcohol or drugs less frequently to regulate their emotions," says co-author Ella Amir, a Concordia graduate and executive director at AMI-Québec, a grassroots organization committed to helping families manage the effects of mental illness.

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Quality home care is so important for our aging loved ones. That is why the caregivers at Andelcare take pride in providing quality and affordable home care in Bellevue and the surrounding areas. Call us at 888-788-3051 for all of your live in home care needs.

Andelcare honored as fast-growing company

Innovation, outstanding employees, and dedication to customer care fuel the company’s growth

Newcastle, Wash. – On Thursday, July 21^st, at a ceremony held at the Golf Club at Newcastle, the Puget Sound Business Journal honored the Eastside Fastest-Growing Private Companies.  Of the 50 honored, Andelcare was number 25 on the list of fastest-growing companies.  Andelcare, based in Bellevue, Washington, is a provider of in-home care for the elderly, the disabled, and people recovering from surgery and hospitalization.  Services include companionship, homemaking, personal care, and nursing care advocacy and management.

Andelcare was additionally honored when its founder and CEO, Marla Beck, was asked to be a member of a four-person guest panel.  The panel responded to questions from Gordon Prouty, publisher of the PSBJ, and PSBJ reporter and columnist Patti Payne.  Speaking to the sold-out event, Beck shared insights about growing her business during economically challenging times.  Beck attributed her company’s growth to outstanding employees, continual innovation, and dedication to customer service and care.

The Puget Sound Region’s Eastside is the home to a dozen or so cities and is fertile ground for a variety of growing businesses ranging from high-technology and medical innovations to in-home care and business consultancies.  Collectively, the 50 honored companies had $1.4 billion in revenue and employ more than 6000.

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Planning Ahead: Caregivers Need Encouragement
By JANET M. COLLITON

Sometimes people are doing better than they think and need to be reminded.

I considered this recently when meeting with a man who felt he was without options in providing caregiving for his mother.

The rest of the family was engaged elsewhere and ignoring the problems. His mother with her physical and mental conditions needed help. He was supposed to keep her for a short stay and it extended well beyond what he expected. There were other physical issues with people who depended on him.

In describing what happened, he paused, I think, not knowing where to go with this line of thought.

Leaning across the table, I said words something like this:

“You have been faced with difficult choices in an imperfect situation. You have made the best decisions you could for the time. You stepped up and took responsibility. The fact that you could not make it perfect does not take away from what you did. Everything you did was the best that you could do for the time.”

Then it was time to look at what we could do now recognizing realistically that he was unlikely to receive help from expected sources.

Since then, looking back over the many adult children and husbands and wives who are caregivers for parents and spouses in difficult circumstances, I cannot help but wonder whether they ever receive anything like the recognition they deserve or if they ever even recognize it themselves.

One family described how it took two people to help their parent up the stairs at home and that took 45 minutes. Some time ago, a woman described her scare when her mother-in-law briefly leaned from the front porch. A woman injured herself while lifting her husband. Children sometimes give up jobs, employment opportunities or advancement to care for parents. In some cases wives or husbands cannot sleep while their spouse gets up repeatedly through the night, a result of dementia.

These are not unusual occurrences and are not resolved easily, not even with money and not even with paid companions. They can be made easier with advice and with more people helping. Professional help should be sought when needed.

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If you or someone you know needs help with home care in Seattle or the surrounding area, contact the caregivers at Andelcare. We provide quality and affordable in-home care for many disabled and elderly loved ones in our community. Call us at 888-788-3051 for more information.

Falls Could Signal Early Alzheimer's Disease
Staywell Custom Communications

(HealthDay News) — Compared with older people with no signs of Alzheimer's, those whose brains show early signs of the disease are twice as likely to experience a fall, researchers have found.

In the new study, investigators looked at brain scans of 125 older adults who were participating in a study of memory and aging. The seniors were also asked to keep track of how many times they fell over the course of eight months.

An increased risk of falls was noted among individuals whose scans showed early signs of Alzheimer's. The study authors suggested that falls could indicate the need for an evaluation for the memory-robbing disease.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify a risk of increased falls related to a diagnosis of preclinical Alzheimer's disease," study author Susan Stark, an assistant professor of occupational therapy and neurology at Washington University in St. Louis, said in a news release from the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.

"This finding is consistent with previous studies of mobility problems among persons with very early symptomatic Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment. It suggests that higher rates of falls can occur very early in the disease process," Stark added.

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For more information about how the caregivers at Andelcare can help your family with your home care needs, call 888-788-3051. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable live in home care in Seattle WA and the surrounding communities.

Living with Alzheimer's : When memory slips away, caregivers are challenged
Written by Mary Beth Hislop – Staff Writer/marybethh@latc.com  

Roger Strom didn’t think much about his wife’s forgetfulness – the times she forgot morning conversations about evening plans, the errands she didn’t remember during the day. But in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jane had her hands full raising three young boys in Los Altos. Of course, it would be easy to forget a dinner party or to pick up the dry cleaning.

And then there were times Jane would struggle to find words and speak clearly. But the subtle changes in her behavior were so minute, Strom just got used to them.

“I didn’t question her short-term memory issues because she was perfectly healthy and young,” he said. “She was vitally involved in our life together making a home for our family. She was an awesome full-time mom.”

In 2006, Jane became trapped inside a locked stairwell while visiting the grand opening of Los Altos’ Whole Foods Market – but, not really.

“Eventually, a store employee helped her, but the stairwell wasn’t actually locked,” Strom said.

The following year, he noticed that Jane was increasingly withdrawn in social situations. A doctor’s visit and subsequent memory test elicited a diagnosis of depression with perhaps sleep apnea. A summer 2008 visit to Jane’s family in Wisconsin triggered worry among her sisters.

“‘What is going on with her?’” Strom said they asked. “They were intensely concerned. They strongly disbelieved the depression diagnosis.”

When Jane was more than an hour late after a designated time to meet him outside a shop in Boston in September, Strom became truly alarmed.

“My Jane came walking around the corner with the most scared look on her face. She had lost track of the time and (had) become disoriented,” he said. “I knew something was very wrong.”

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Alzheimer’s caregivers at Andelcare are available to talk with you and your family about care needs for your loved one, including, how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care. Andelcare is a home care agency providing Alzheimer’s Home Care in Seattle WA  and the surrounding communities.

High-Tech Solutions to Aging-in-Place Dilemmas
By Nell Bernstein, Caring.com senior editor

Quick summary

Ninety-five percent of people 75 and older say they want to stay in their homes indefinitely. This desire for independence is perfectly natural, but for their children, it's also a recipe for worry — that they'll fall, forget to take their meds, or just need assistance. You can make your parents' home far safer and more comfortable by investing in some of the new devices aimed at elders who have made the choice to "age in place."

Solutions for safety worries

"Seniors can really get in trouble because they feel like they're losing their grip on independence," says Susan Ayers Walker of SmartSilvers Alliance. Ayers monitors technological advances aimed at helping seniors hold on to their independence as they age. These technologies also help the children of aging parents, who worry that Mom is going to fall down the stairs, leave the stove on, or forget to take her medication if no one is around to notice.

Here's a worry-by-worry guide to some innovations — several tested and recommended by Walker — that can make all the difference if you're concerned about your live-alone parents' safety or just their day-to-day ease of living.

1. YOUR WORRY: My parents won't be able to reach me in an emergency.

TECH SOLUTION: Big-button cell phone. According to the Pew Research Center, many seniors won't use a cell phone even in an emergency. They find them too complex, can't manage the tiny buttons, or can't read the screens. A big-button phone like the Jitterbug ($147), designed specifically for seniors, could give you and your parents peace of mind. It's an easy-open clamshell with extra-loud speakers, big backlit buttons, a bright screen with easy-to-read numbers, and a straightforward service contract (at an additional cost). The Jitterbug One-Touch takes simplicity a step further, with just three big, impossible-to-miss buttons — one for 911; one for the operator, who will connect your parent to anyone she wants to reach; and one preprogrammed to connect your parents to you or another family member. Such phones cost $10 to $80 per month for the service plan in addition to the cost of the phone.

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If you or someone you know needs help with homecare in Seattle, contact the caregivers at Andelcare. We provide quality and affordable in-home care for many disabled and elderly loved ones in our community. Call us at 888-788-3051 for more information.

Tips for Weathering Summer Sun, Heat

Staywell Custom Communications

SATURDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) — You may love the summer heat that makes it easy to swim, picnic and just laze around outside, but don't overdo it:

Overexposure to the sun and heat can be dangerous, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns.

On average, heat waves kill more people each year in the United States than any other natural disaster. And one American dies every hour from skin cancer, the most common type of cancer in the United States, according to the EPA.

To help combat the double-whammy of heat waves and the sun, the EPA suggests planting trees, shrubs and vines near buildings to provide cooling shade and protection from ultraviolet rays.

The agency also offers the following summer safety tips:

•    Stay hydrated and wear lightweight, light-colored, and loose-fitting clothing to protect your skin from harmful UV radiation. Also, wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
•    Apply sunscreen with an SPF 15 or higher about 30 minutes before you go outside and reapply every two hours. Check the sun's UV index before you go outside.
•     If you're outside during the sun's peak hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., try to stay in shade.
•     Remind others, particularly the elderly, to be safe in the sun and heat. Monitor them for signs of heat illness, which can include hot and dry skin, confusion, hallucinations and aggression.
•    Check the air quality. High ozone levels on hot summer days can make the air unhealthy to breathe.

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The caregivers at Andelcare are available to talk with you and your family about all of your live-in home care needs. Andelcare is a home care agency providing quality, affordable home care in Seattle and the surrounding areas. Call 888-788-3051 for more information.