A howl can mean many things, from happiness to sad.
He howls when alone and hurt or overall just mad.
You scold him when he acts this way, tells him that he’s bad.
But when you look deep in his eyes, you see that he’s just glad.

When you’re around, he can’t hold back, filled with so much joy.
You finally realize, he’s more than just a toy.
Cradled in your swaying arms, a tear falls to his nose.
You realize, right then and there, you’re the one he chose.

So think next time you scold your dog for all his calls and cries.
You’ll long to hear him once again, in time for last good-byes.

“Romeo Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?”

Our little dog, Romeo is at Country Home Assisted Living in Parker and the above poem by Alice Bennet describes our white little furry lover. All the residents and staff could not imagine life without our little Romeo. Although very small (only twelve pounds,) he presents himself as everyone’s protector and guardian. Nap time is very special each day because he is always there to cuddle with each resident giving them tons of kisses. He is a very energetic three year old which keeps us on our toes. New tricks and new games are always on the agenda — whether it’s riding on the seat of someone’s walker or dancing for a piece of cheese, he’s always acting like a clown. A white puff ball running down the hall, tail wagging as if it had a motor! His button black eyes look deep into each wrinkled face … you know the love is there and you realize he chose all of us.

Never underestimate the power and impact Man’s Best Friend can have on those who dwell in the Autumn of their life.

Linda Melbardis

Owner, Country Home Assisted Living in Parker, Colorado

Phone: 303.840.1986

One of the most difficult tasks facing people today is decision-making about their own healthcare or that of a family member. While the current trends in health care toward patient empowerment, personal health records, patient advocacy, internet research and resources, electronic medical records, and other such tools have brought about much needed change in health care, these concepts also bring about much confusion.

When enough understandable information is made available, people can usually see their way very clearly toward a course of action. This process eliminates the anxiety, fear, and turmoil around complicated problems and complicated decisions.

The process we use at Lynxcare to assist people with their medical decision-making most often begins with a gathering of the person’s entire historical medical record. This is easily accomplished by a signed Medical Release of Information and can be collected by the person themselves, or by Lynx.

The records are then reviewed by the Lynx physician consultant on the case, and are then sent to a registered nurse trained in records abstraction. This Review-By-Two method assures that, as much as possible, errors, inconsistencies, omissions, dangling tasks and unanswered questions are recognized and resolved in the process of creating a very comprehensive, detailed, yet brief and efficient Health Record Summary.

The beauty of this process is that is allows for an ongoing “virtual” case management process to begin that is inclusive of the patient, all their practitioners, the Lynxcare medical consultants, and any other specialists, practitioners, or subspecialists whose expertise may be necessary, but whose time is too short to allow a thorough review of the original records.

Using this method of medical advocacy, Lynx has enabled participants to:
•access the wisdom of renowned medical experts to clarify questions about diagnoses
•qualify for specialized treatment previously considered inappropriate due to sufficient historical information
•have more effective and well-understood communication with their doctors, practitioners, and specialists
•successfully appeal health insurance denials
•move through complex health conditions and difficult times with clarity and peace of mind

As a personalized medical advocacy service, Lynx uses our solid foundations of medical practice, health care systems management, and personal experience to help fill the gaps in individuals’ health care experiences.

Sharon Feder
President, CEO, and Founder of Lynxcare

www.lynxcare.net

I often suggest to people that if they could do as much planning for their retirement and old age as they do for a wedding or a vacation…they could have a much better quality of life! Look at it as an adventure and explore your options. Anything is possible today. One of the statistics that gets everyone’s attention is to mention that you could spend more time caring for your aging parents than you do raising your kids! Approximately 19.5 years will be devoted to helping your aging parents and 18.3 years to raising your kids. That is if they graduate and leave home and never have to move back in. Begin to wrap your arms around the amount of time that could be spent dealing with the many options in services, products, professionals and long term care facilities that exist in our community. As we learn from helping our parents, we can get inspired for helping ourselves. Boomers will age, and the sooner you get excited and embrace it the better your life can be. We are living on the average twenty years longer due to better health habits and medical technology. I’m here to help you by giving you the right questions to ask and providing you options so that you and your family can make educated decisions.

We have a term called “aging in place” that refers to where we want to be to do our aging and that can accommodate our needs as we do so. Most people want to “age” at home. Because of wonderful in home care provider companies, retail products and adaptive equipment that helps us upgrade our homes to the safest environments possible, we can keep people in their homes three to five years longer today provided they have the resources to pay for these services.

One of the important things that you should consider is developing a relationship with your home care agency. You want to make sure that you get the right match in caregivers and that service is flexible, trustworthy and reliable. Ultimately, you could be working with the home care agency you choose for a long time. Everyone has misgivings about having strangers come into their homes. Be sure you spend time making a list of all the questions and concerns you have.

• Do your research on home care services and find those who are in business for the right reasons.
• Have a conversation with them; communication is critical.
• Ask what motivated them to get into this business.
• Find out how long the home care agency has been in business.
• Be sure that they have a pristine track record and can provide good references.
• Establish the value the home care services company places on providing good customer service.
• Try to determine if they deliver what they say they will with consistency.
• Is their pricing competitive?
• Who is the home care agency affiliated with? Have they earned the merit of belonging to any associations, networks, or the BBB?

Joni Seivert, founder of Connections Unlimited, LLC http://www.jonisconnections.com/

A preferred provider network of the best home care service providers in the Denver Colorado metro area. In home care options, products, professionals, placement in assisted living and nursing homes is what I specialize in. For the past 18 years I have been helping families look at their loved ones needs and helping them thru the maze of possible options and choices. You can call me at 303-232-3359 for a free telephone consultation.