Benefits of Home Care
The Increase in Senior Falls From Medications and How You Can Prevent Them
Studies are showing an increase in senior falls from medications, making it imperative to know what to do to reduce fall risk.
We’ve known for a while that there are certain medications that raise the likelihood of falls for seniors. Twenty years ago, a little over half of seniors were impacted by that risk; yet today, that number has increased dramatically – to a staggering 94% of older adults who are now in danger of senior falls from medications. Additionally, deaths from such falls are happening at more than twice the earlier rate.
Researchers who observed this growing concern also discovered that between 1999 and 2017, senior prescriptions for medications that escalate fall risk were filled more than 7.8 billion times. This consists of a spike from 12 million antidepressants in 1999 to greater than 52 million in … Read More »
Discover the Many Benefits of Gardening for Older Adults
Help someone you love discover the incredible benefits of gardening for older adults.
The cool dampness of rich soil. The warmth of the sun’s rays. The joyful trills of songbirds. Gardening has the capacity to engage so many of our senses, and offers a great deal of positive benefits to seniors. Regardless of ability level or any space restrictions, there is always a way to help those you love reap the many benefits of gardening for older adults through the joys of planting outdoors or indoors, watching new growth appear, and harvesting.
The Sweetest Human!
Hired Hands Homecare is proud to announce Gloria as our most recent Caregiver of the Month!
Gloria has been with us only about six months, but in that time, she has done nothing but impress! Every client and family that she has worked with has given her great compliments! On top of that, Gloria has been super helpful to pick up extra shifts when our clients needed extra assistance, often working 7 days in a row… simply to make sure everyone is well cared for! All in all, Gloria is honestly one of the sweetest humans we have ever met!
Gloria, THANK YOU for being you! It is a pleasure and honor to have you on the Hired Hands Homecare Team!
~HHH
What Can You Do When Family Members Refuse to Help With Senior Care?
If your family members refuse to help with senior care for a loved one, there are effective ways to get the help you need!
If you find yourself handling all of the care responsibilities for an aging parent while your siblings distance themselves from offering help, you’re not alone. In fact, as many as one out of every two family caregivers are taking care of an aging loved one on their own, according to a recent report from AARP. What can you do when family members refuse to help with senior care?
There are several reasons why siblings may shy away from supporting you in the care you’re providing. We’ve compiled the most common, along with what you can do to remedy the situation.
They don’t realize there’s a need for help. It may very well be that from … Read More »
Humidifiers for COPD: Helpful or Harmful?
Learn from our home care experts when and if humidifiers for COPD should be used.
For seniors and anyone else with a lung condition like COPD, maintaining the best possible air quality within the home is vitally important. But are humidifiers for COPD the right solution? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. If the air is too dry, for example, it can cause or exacerbate health problems including:
Chapped, dry, or itchy skin
Nose bleeds
Dry eyes
Sore throat
Aggravated allergy, asthma, and cold/flu symptoms like congestion
And more
However, air that is too humid can cause mold and mildew to grow, which can lead to a host of health problems along with potential damage to the home.
Humidifiers, when used properly, can help maintain the ideal level of moisture in the air (between 30 and 50%), and in particular for those … Read More »
Its that Most Magical Time of Year…!
Happy Holidays
from the Hired Hands Homecare family!
The Alarming Link Between Isolation and Alzheimer’s Progression
An attractive mature African American woman asks a question by raising her hand in class.
In the past several years since COVID-19 became a household term, seniors, who are most vulnerable to severe complications from the virus, became more isolated in order to stay safe. And while we already were aware that there are health risks connected with loneliness and isolation, we’re now beginning to realize another serious concern: how isolation and Alzheimer’s progression are linked.
Since people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia may struggle to understand and follow safety precautions, like wearing face coverings, reporting symptoms, and social distancing, isolation for these individuals became especially critical. But while maintaining these seniors’ physical health was the top priority, it’s also important to pay attention to their emotional wellbeing, which can also be negatively impacted without sufficient … Read More »
How to Effectively Handle the Extreme Emotions of Alzheimer’s
Screaming, crying, and other extreme emotions of Alzheimer’s can unnerve even the most seasoned family caregiver.
Of the many and varied challenging behaviors someone with Alzheimer’s may experience and display, perhaps the most heartbreaking is uncontrollable screaming and/or crying. Seeing a person you love in an inconsolable state of mind, and being completely unsure how to help or to understand what’s causing these extreme emotions of Alzheimer’s, is both painful and frustrating. How can you help a loved one with dementia feel calmer?
To begin with, realize that crying and yelling in dementia can occur as the result of:
Pain
Fear
Boredom
Sadness
Agitation
Frustration
Delusions, delirium, or hallucinations
Sundowning
An uncomfortable environment
Or a number of other factors
For the short-term, try these strategies to help:
Stay calm yourself, speaking to the senior in a soft, soothing tone of voice.
Try to uncover what’s causing the outburst. Maintaining a … Read More »
Make Sure You Have These Legal Documents for Aging Parents in Place
Finalizing all of the necessary legal documents for aging parents can be a challenge, but these tips can help.
If there’s one thing we learned from the COVID pandemic, it’s to be ready for anything. Although it’s human nature to want to procrastinate, particularly as it relates to the unpleasant topic of future planning and putting together all of the necessary legal documents for aging parents, now is the best time to take stock of your loved ones’ final wishes and make sure all of the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, before the need arises.
Surprisingly, a number of older adults actually do begin the process of completing a will, trust, durable power of attorney, advance healthcare directive, etc., but for a variety of reasons, they never finalize these important documents. Attorney Carolyn Rosenblatt, author of … Read More »
WHAT AN HONOR!
HIRED HANDS HOMECARE Receives
2022 Best of Home Care® – Leader in Experience Award
Hired Hands Homecare is extremely proud to announce winning the distinguished 2022 Best of Home Care –Leader in Experience Award from Home Care Pulse, the leading national firm in Quality Assurance and Experience Management for the home care industry. The Leader in Experience Award is the highest recognition awarded by Home Care Pulse and is given to select home care businesses that consistently rank among the very highest in 10 or more quality metrics.
This accomplishment demonstrates our long-term dedication to excellent care and quality improvement. Over a 12-month period, Hired Hands received the highest client and caregiver satisfaction ratings in areas such as caregiver training, compassion of caregivers, communication, scheduling, client/caregiver compatibility, and more. Using feedback from clients and employees, as well as quality benchmarks from Home Care … Read More »
