When Do You Need Home Care for an Elder in Your Life?
Published May 25, 2008Most families with an elder in their life come to a juncture when their concerns about that elder’s safety increase. Especially for those elders who are still living independently. Telltale signs may indicate that the elder is no longer in command of their activities of daily living. We have a checklist available to help those families ascertain whether or not they should intervene for the safety and comfort of their elder.
Click on this link for the checklist … Need for Elder Services.
Owner, Barton Home Care
Caregivers Caution: Seniors at Risk for Falling
Published March 25, 2008Attention Caregivers – Littleton, Castle Rock and surrounding Denver metro area: According to the Center for Disease Control, more than one-third of people 65 and older fall each year. Falls are the foremost cause of injury deaths among older adults. Almost 16,000 adults died from injuries related to unintentional falls in 2005. Almost two million older adults were treated in emergency facilities for nonfatal injuries.
Falls have many undesirable outcomes. Approximately one-fourth of those who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries which include head trauma, fractures of the spine, hip, leg, hand and other body parts. Often people who fall, even if not injured, develop a fear of falling. This can lead to diminished activities which in turn can lead to reduced mobility and physical strength. Inadvertently, this may cause the opposite desired result and actually increase the risk of falling.
Some facts pertaining to elderly individuals falling include:
Women are more likely to suffer nonfatal fall injuries while men are more likely to die from falls. Fall-related fractures among the elderly are more than twice as high for women as for men.
Individuals 75 and older who fall are much more likely to be admitted to a long-term care facility for a year or longer.
Little difference is noted in fatal fall rates between blacks and whites in the age group of 65 to 74 but these rates change after 75. After reaching that age, white men suffer the highest fatality rates from falls, followed by white women, black men and black women.
Additional Info for Caregivers (Littleton, Castle Rock and surrounding Denver metro area)
For more related information for caregivers – Littleton, Castle Rock and surrounding areas - click on this link: senior safety and keeping senior citizens safe. We have also compiled additional senior care Colorado resources for your information.
Operations Manager, Barton Home Care
Eldercare Concerns
Published February 13, 2008When it comes to eldercare, you’ll see that the following alert requires immediate family intervention and assistance.
We know that Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease. People with this ailment have memory, behavior and thinking problems. Alzheimer’s, insidious by its very nature, has been found even it its earliest stages to affect financial decision making and the capacity to resist fraudulent schemes.
A recent study conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham compared healthy elderly adults with elderly adults diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s. Both groups were given a number of financial planning-type tasks. These tasks ranged from simple financial concepts like identifying coins and their values to more complex ones like describing investment options and returns. Conclusions of the study determined that financial capacity is significantly impaired in patients diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s. This impairment grows exponentially in just a one-year period. Decline in the ability to perform both simple and complex tasks is significant.
If you suspect or know that a family member is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, there is an immediate need to see that financial supervision and planning is available for them.
Eldercare can be involved … this should be a priority for family members.
Gerri Tyber
Operations Manager, Barton Home Care
