Take My Hand At Home

At Home Care

Is your mom or dad ready for care? A TMH client profile

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We often hear from concerned sons and daughters that their parents might be ready for some at-home assistance, but they’re not sure. Sometimes the kids are hesitant to suggest the idea to parents, and sometimes parents aren’t keen on accepting care.

It can be hard to know when is the right time to suggest care. To offer some assistance, consider this sample profile of a TMH client. Not every client will look like this, certainly, but this is one good example of the type of people who can benefit from at-home care.

Mom and dad are both in their 80s, living in a small, one-floor home in Birch Bay. They have two children, but neither lives close enough to provide regular assistance. The daughter lives in Seattle, and the son lives in Sedro-Woolley. Both of them are married with children, and their days are full and busy.

Dad still drives, which has been helpful for making the extra doctor’s appointments lately that have arisen from mom’s advancing dementia. He has gotten into a couple minor fender-benders in the last couple of months, though, and that’s beginning to be a worrisome trend. Some family members have questioned whether dad should still be driving. He already has stopped driving at night, because it can be so hard to see, and that has placed a few limitations on he and mom. For example, they don’t go out to bingo nights or dance events at the senior center any more, and those used to be beloved hobbies.

Even without going to dances, the couple is still pretty active. They try to walk every day. Dad had a fall last week, though — slipped on a stray magazine in the living room — and that left him with some painful bruises on his right hip. Nothing is broken, thankfully, but the experience reminded him that getting around isn’t as easy as it used to be.

There’s a small grocery store about four blocks from their house, but they’re not walking there as much anymore, and even less so with dad’s fall. They could probably use a few groceries to stock up the fridge and pantry.

This couple is the perfect candidate for two or three half-day shifts per week. They’re pretty active and healthy, and they’re far from needing 24-hour care. However, they would really benefit from assistance getting to the doctor’s office and help with the weekly grocery shopping. They could use someone to tidy up the house once a week and ensure that everything is in its proper place. They could also use some help communicating with doctors and ensuring that medicines are taken on time, and it would be good to have someone around to monitor mom. (Her dementia isn’t far along, but it would be good to have someone checking in on her now and again and looking at how it’s affecting dad, too.)

The 12-hour shifts would take a lot of pressure off of dad and would allow the couple to relax a bit, worrying less about the details and spending more time enjoying each other’s company.

Does any of this sound familiar? If so, perhaps your mom or dad — or someone else in your life — could benefit from having a licensed caregiver helping out on half-day shifts. Just give us a call and we can talk about your options.

Work for your health: Five things to do now for a happier future

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As caregivers, we often find ourselves in the role of helping people whose health is failing. We get called in to provide needed support to elders whose bodies and/or minds just aren’t working like they used to. It’s a fulfilling line of work, and we enjoy it.

We also enjoy offering tips and advice for seniors to maintain their good health, and for younger people who want to ensure that their minds and bodies are in top form as they grow older.

With that in mind, here are five important things to do throughout your life to ensure that you stay strong and health for as long as you can:

Eat well. The value of eating well cannot be overstated. For a great look at what different foods are good for and how various nutrients are used by the body, check out this comprehensive overview from the University of Minnesota or this brief look at how nutrients affect the body. Why do we need Vitamin A, and where do we get it? How can eating more whole grains help us reduce weight gain? What are beneficial fats? Spend some time researching the value of good nutrition, and make changes in your diet today to maximize the benefits of great food.

Learn more: Are the loved ones in your life
eating healthy? Here’s how to help.

Sleep well. You might have heard that people can go longer without food than without sleep. Good sleep is incredibly important — critical — to good health. And not only that, it’s important to be consistent. Here are some easy ways to improve your ability to sleep well: Avoid caffeine and alcohol late in the day, keep your room dark and quiet, stay off of screens just before bed, and get plenty of exercise during the day.

Learn more: Sleep is important for caregivers, too!
Here’s how to ensure you’re getting what you need.

Get moving. Simply put, staying independent almost always requires staying fit. Good regular exercise can keep your heart strong and prevent such problems as arthritis and diabetes. It’s good for your brain and can help stave off depression, and it’s good for your heart and can prevent heart disease. There is no substitute for an active lifestyle. If you love your body, make use of it and get moving! As a fun way of getting started, connect with a local walking group. You might find one on this list from the Washington Trails Association.

Make friends. All those friends you make on the trail — or at the senior center, at the park, at church, at your favorite volunteer activity — also are important to your long-term physical and mental well-being. Social isolation is a risk factor for depression, and loneliness may be a preclinical sign for Alzheimer’s disease. What can help? Friends.

Challenge your brain. Stimulating social and mental activities can help keep brains sharp, improve memory and help with daily life skills. Here are seven fun ways to ensure you’re getting plenty of great brain exercise.

If you need help with any of these tasks, please feel free to reach out to us here at Take My Hand At-Home Care. We provide non-medical companion and home care services throughout Whatcom County, in daily shifts or even 24-hour live-in assistance.

Important documents to set up with an elderly loved one

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As our loved ones advance in age or dementia, it becomes increasingly important to establish procedures that will make dealing with health or medical issues much easier in the future.

A person in a blue Oxford shirt signs a document.
There are four types of documents to consider creating for aging parents, grandparents and other loved ones: advance directives, physician orders for life-sustaining treatment, standard wills and living trusts.

In particular, there are four types of documents to consider creating for aging parents, grandparents and other loved ones: advance directives, physician orders for life-sustaining treatment, standard wills and living trusts.

Advance Directive: An advance directive is a legal document that provides guidance about what types of treatments your loved one may want to receive in the event of a medical emergency, and who they would like to make decisions on their behalf regarding medical treatment. This person is called a surrogate.

NOTE: Depending on where your loved one lives, an advance directive might instead be called a living will, health care power of attorney or something else.

Every adult should have an advance directive in place so that if something happens, the surrogate can ensure that the patient’s wishes are respected and carried out.

In Washington state, care providers like Take My Hand At-Home Care are required to ask whether patients have an advance directive.

NOTE: As with the rest of the documents on this list, it’s important to put an advance directive in a place where it can easily be found. Make sure your surrogate knows where it is, and have it added to your medical record, if possible.

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment: This is another document we’re required to ask about at Take My Hand At-Home Care. Physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) forms are specific to each individual. In the event that your loved one has a medical emergency, this form describes the specific medical treatments he or she would like to receive. While all adults should have an advance directive, a POLST form only becomes necessary upon diagnosis of a serious illness or when health begins to deteriorate near the end of life.

NOTE: While an advance directive is a legal document, a POLST is a medical order. Only an advance directive can legally designate a surrogate to make healthcare decisions on behalf of a loved one.

A will sets out instructions for how assets should be distributed in the event of death.

Standard will: A will sets out instructions for how your parents or grandparents would like their assets distributed in the event of death. The will also designates the person who will be in charge of that. It’s a good idea to establish a will as soon as possible and then to review it once a year to ensure that it’s an accurate reflection of your loved one’s wishes. When a person dies with a will in place, the person’s estate goes through probate court to, among other things, determine the will’s validity, total up the assets and distribute those assets according to the will’s instructions. Without a will in place, that process gets a lot more complicated.

Living trust: A living trust places a person’s assets into a separate entity that allows for the avoidance of probate court. It explains who will manage that entity upon your loved one’s death and who will distribute its assets — and to whom and how much. A living trust can be more expensive to prepare than a standard will, but it can save the costs associated with probate court.

If you have any questions about what documents might be necessary in your family’s case, consult an attorney who specializes in elder law. There are a number of options in Bellingham, Lynden and throughout Whatcom County for lawyers who specialize in situations regarding the elderly.

Activities to support brain health and memory in seniors

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Stimulating social and mental activities can help keep brains sharp, improve memory and help with daily life skills. They can also be an enjoyable and fun way to spend time with the beloved elders in your life.

Two older men play a game of chess at an outdoor table.The following seven activities can help support brain health and memory while providing companionship, conversation and pure simple fun:

  1. My father works in the grocery store. This is a delightful guessing game that works for two players or a group. The first person thinks of an item sold in a grocery store and says, “My father works in the grocery store and the product he sells begins with the letter P.” (This letter is the first letter of whatever the product is. In this case the answer is pomegranate.) The other player(s) ask questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no, such as: Is it in the produce section? Is it edible? Is it green? The game continues with questions leading to guesses of what the product is until someone gets the right answer. Then the winner thinks of the next item and the game begins again.
  2. Shopping list game. In this memory game one person begins with, “I went to the store and bought some fish.” The next person repeats the line and continues by adding an item, “I went to the store and bought some fish and some rice.” With each turn the list grows and the game continues until no one can remember all of the items. Everyone may experience some good laughs with this game.
  3. Name two words for each letter in your first name. A simple version is to come up with any two words, or the focus can change to qualities, or objects.
    For example: MARY
    Marvelous, merciful
    Artistic, adventurous
    You get the idea. This can be creative and loads of fun.
  4. Trivia games. Choose topics that are of special interest to your elder such as music, art, history, sports or geography. Trivia games are wonderfully stimulating to the minds of older people.
  5. Learn a new language together and practice using the newly learned words. You can keep it simple with just a few words or phrases such as “Hello,” “Good evening,” “How are you?” in French or Spanish or any language of interest. Enjoy using these words and phrases in simple conversation, then learn more as it feels comfortable and manageable.
  6. Closeup of a pile of jigsaw puzzle pieces.Jigsaw puzzles can be stimulating to the mind and also provide a calm and comforting companionship as you work on them together. This activity can help quiet the mind, which may be especially helpful for seniors with busy minds.
  7. Try the serving tray game to enhance short term memory. This game is great for visual folks. Place a selection of different objects from around the house on a tray. Let those who are playing have a look, then cover up the objects with a cloth. Then ask the seniors playing to recall what items they remember.

There are many possibilities for games to play with elders that may also have beneficial results. Some that are more familiar include bingo, chess, card games, Sudoku, logic puzzles, online interactive games, and also arts and crafts projects. Find out what your loved one enjoys and build from there.

The National Institute on Aging offers a helpful article on Cognitive Health and Older Adults. It gives tips on the following steps that help elders with day-to-day functioning and independence. These steps have been linked to cognitive health, as well.

  • Take care of your health
  • Eat healthy foods
  • Be physically active
  • Keep your mind active
  • Stay connected

Engaging companionship with someone who cares can provide many benefits for elders. To learn more about home companion services by licensed caregivers, contact Take My Hand At-Home Care, which provides elder care for senior citizens in the following communities: Lynden, Bellingham, Ferndale, Blaine, Everson, Nooksack, Sumas and Birch Bay.

Tips for managing sundown syndrome

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Late afternoon and early evening can be an especially challenging time for seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. The confusion, restlessness, and irritability that can occur at this time of day is known as sundown syndrome. It can continue into the night, making it difficult for your dad to fall asleep and stay in bed, which is hard on him and on his wife or family caregiver.

If you’ve noticed your parent or spouse is experiencing symptoms of declining memory, it’s important to be with them in the late afternoon and early evening to see if they are having sundowner symptoms, are increasingly agitated, suspicious and even pacing and yelling. They may need some additional care, someone to be with them to help during that difficult time.

Tips to help manage sundowning

During the day:

  • Provide a regular routine, with activities and appointments earlier in the day.
  • Daily exercise also can be helpful, along with time outside or by a window in bright daylight.
  • If your loved one needs a nap, make sure that it’s not too long and that it ends at least four hours before bedtime.

In the late afternoon and evenings:

  • Stay calm and reassure your dad that everything is okay. Ask if he needs anything.
  • Keep the area quiet and pleasant, with soothing music, and make sure the temperature is comfortable.
  • Try reading, playing cards or going for a walk.
  • Turn on lights and close the curtains or blinds to avoid shadows and the confusion they may cause.
  • Make sure living areas are safe, with locks on doors and windows and with dangerous items such as kitchen utensils put away.

Closing the blinds near sunset can help mitigate confusion caused by long shadows.

All of us feel better and can function more easily when we sleep well. Helping your loved one avoid caffeine and alcohol, sweets, and a large meal late in the day can help with getting a good night’s sleep.

The National Institute on Aging recommends seeking medical advice if sundowning continues to be a problem. An exam by a doctor may identify a cause contributing to sundowning, such as pain, illness, a medication side effect or a sleep disorder.

Hope for the future — finding effective treatments and searching for a cure

The Alzheimer’s Association is a valuable resource for up-to-date information. Their website confirms, “Researchers are conducting studies to find new interventions and treatments that can prevent Alzheimer’s, diagnose the disease earlier, slow its progression or stop it in its tracks.”

If you or your loved one needs information, advice and support from trained and knowledgeable staff, you can call the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline at 1-800-272-3900.

Here in Whatcom County, Take My Hand At-Home Care’s licensed caregivers provide memory care services that help seniors live in the comfort of their own homes in Lynden, Bellingham, Ferndale, Blaine, Everson, Nooksack, Sumas, and Birch Bay.

Mindfulness meditation: What it is, and how it can help the elderly

Have you ever considered meditation as a way to improve aspects of your health? There are many reasons why older adults in Bellingham, Lynden or throughout Whatcom County might want to start practicing meditation. Meditation can enhance memory, slow cognitive decline, improve digestion, boost circulation, reduce stress, lower disease risk and even decrease loneliness. At its core, meditation … [Read More...]

ABOUT US

Sue Sorensen became involved with Whatcom County eldercare and aging-in-place services in 2009. She launched Take My Hand At-Home Care in January 2012 … Read More...

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Phone: 360-543-5777
Fax: 360-255-7564
*If you need immediate assistance for a loved one please contact us by phone.