When 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

For many people, the need for home care can happen suddenly. Let’s say an elder woman is living with her daughter and all is well even though the daughter works outside the home everyday. One day that elder takes a fall and fractures her hip. Now everything changes. Off to the hospital and then usually a rehab facility. Then they release this elder and the daughter has a dilemma. Who will watch over Mom while she’s at work? And she must work since she has used up most of her vacation time. Frantically she searches for home care and discovers just how difficult the process can be … especially here in Colorado.

You see, in Colorado, in-home, non-medical care for seniors is an unregulated business. It’s caveat emptor … buyer beware. Does this woman search randomly through the Yellow Pages? That can definitely be hit or miss. Where does she find a reputable home care company that would be appropriate for her current situation? What questions does she ask? She’s never done this before and just does not know how to navigate these “uncharted waters.” This, unfortunately can add to her already mounting stress.

As a service to prospective home care clients, we have put together a list of questions to help one discern which company to hire. Click on this link: home health care and you’ll be directed to a page that can help you to ask the right questions to make an informed decision.

The bottom line is don’t wait until something happens to start a relationship with a senior companion care company. If you are caring for elderly parents who may need some assistance at some point, be proactive — it will help you to make a better informed decision and help to eliminate or lower your stress levels.

Tom Barton

Owner, Barton Home Care

Neurologists say that if they can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours they can totally reverse the effects of a stroke. The trick is recognizing stroke symptoms, diagnosing and then administering proper medical treatment within that 3-hour period. Speed is everything.

Someone came up with a potent 3-step process that can make all the difference. Since the symptoms of a stroke can be difficult to identify, awareness of the 3-step process can possibly avert brain damage and even death. Remember the acronym S.T.R.

S - stands for SMILE … ask the individual to smile.

T - stands for TALK … and to speak a simple sentence coherently. “It’s sunny out today” as an example.

R - stands for RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If the individual has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the signs of the stroke to the dispatcher. A new sign of a stroke … STICK OUT YOUR TONGUE. Ask the individual to stick out their tongue and if it’s crooked, goes to one side or the other, that is also a sign of a stroke.

As a home care professional in the Denver area, we have helped folks suffering from the effects of a stroke and it’s challenging, not to mention the suffering these folks endure. Quick action can help to maintain a better quality of life (and possibly prevent death) for someone prone to strokes … raise your awareness and be prepared to help someone exhibiting these warning signs.

Click on this link for more information regarding strokes and elderly care for the Denver Metro area.

Tom Barton

Owner, Barton Home Care