Spring Arbor Living Blog

Today, a growing number of adult children are taking care of their aging parents with Alzheimer's. While most families cope well with the added responsibility, the primary caregivers, usually the women, suffer from stress and often neglect their own health.

Many adult children feel as though they can take care of parents, and they don’t realize the difficulties and the stresses that are involved. They also don’t understand how challenging it will become over time.

Experts say the numbers of adult children taking care of their parents will increase as people live longer. According to a 2011 study by MetLife Mature Market Institute, there are nearly 10 million children over the age of 50 who care for their parents. That figure has more than tripled over the past 15 years.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the demand for informal caregivers - family, friends and neighbors - is expected to grow by more than 20% in the next 15 years as baby boomers age.

As life expectancy increases, it will increase the responsibility of caregivers.

Trying to meet the needs of kids and the patient with Alzheimer's is pretty challenging for caregivers with families. The difficulty for families is in finding a compromise that allows Alzheimer’s patients to remain on their own like they want, yet making sure that they are receiving proper care.

Adult children should prepare a care plan for their elderly parents' when it becomes apparent that the parents are beginning to have difficulty taking care of them.

If adult children don't have a plan for how to deal with those challenges, they are going to end up in a crisis situation. If they're able, older adult parents should have some say in the plan before Alzheimer’s or dementia gets too far along.

For information on Alzheimer’s care in your area, contact Spring Arbor Living.

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While no one can promise a sure-fire treatment to prevent memory loss, there are strategies that can significantly improve your chances of keeping Alzheimer's at bay.

Dr. Peter V. Rabins, acclaimed author and geriatric psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins, wrote “How to Protect Your Memory and Brain Health, 8 Key Strategies Focused on Saving Your Memory With Evidence-Based Research to Support Each Step.”

He is one of the nation's leading experts on the care and management of patients with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Dr. Peter V. Rabins writes about eight steps to dramatically enhance your quality of life and reduce or delay your chances for memory deterioration.

Many experts believe that once you understand your various risk factors for cognitive decline, take control of them, and follow through with the evidence-based strategies detailed in How To Protect Your Memory and Brain Health, you'll be in a better position to keep your memory strong well into later life.
For example, do you know:

What's the best way to guard your memory and prevent dementia?

Stay heart healthy. Controlling high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease are absolutely critical to cognitive function.

What are the effects of too little sleep on keeping your memory sharp?

Many of us have trouble sleeping at night. Now new studies show that getting adequate sleep plays an essential role in learning new information, relating to names, dates, faces, facts, specific events - in short forming memory.

What's so special about the Mediterranean diet?

For years the marketing and promotion of dietary supplements that claim to enhance memory have left many people confused and wary. Now recent evidence-based research reported in the Annals of Neurology suggests that people who closely follow the Mediterranean diet have a 40 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. The take-away: The food you eat, not the pills, can prevent or slow the rate of cognitive decline.

How does regular physical activity protect memory and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's?

Studies investigating the exercise/memory/dementia link have shown positive outcomes in recent years. There are benefits of regular exercise, incorporate exercise into your schedule.

How does stress affect memory?

We all know that living a stress-filled life is unhealthy. It turns out that stress is worse for us than we thought. Johns Hopkins researchers have linked high levels of the stress hormone cortisol with poor cognitive performance in older adults. And another study, reported in the journal Neurology, found that depressed and anxious people are 40% more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment.

Every day, scientists are proving that diminished memory and mental capacity are NOT inevitable - and can be slowed, halted or even reversed through good nutrition, lifestyle habits and more. Even Alzheimer's disease is not something that suddenly occurs in old age. Rather, it's a continuum of illnesses that gets its start decades earlier without any symptoms.

So it makes sense that if we could find a way to keep our brains healthier and better able to counter the damage that occurs with age, we could better the odds of preserving memory and preventing or forestalling Alzheimer's and other dementias.

A recent report from the National Institutes of Health supports this view. It provides evidence that vascular disease risk factors - including mid-life hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes - can all predispose someone to developing memory problems-even Alzheimer's.

While this may not sound like good news - it is.

Because it points the way to the importance of effective prevention strategies - strategies you can begin TODAY to keep your brain healthier, longer.

Original Article – Johns Hopkins

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What Should I Look for in an Assisted Living Community?
The following checklist will help you and your family evaluate assisted living facilities.
 
Assisted Living Consumer Checklist

General Concerns

• Does the assisted living community meet local and/or state licensing requirements?
• What is the policy on insurance and personal property?
• What is the procedure for responding to a medical emergency?
• Are visitors welcome at any time?

• Is there a written plan for the care of each resident?
• What is the procedure for assessing a potential resident's need for service? Are those needs reassessed periodically?
• Can a resident be discharged for refusing to comply with a care plan?

• Is a contract agreement available to include accommodations, personal care, health care, and support services?
• When may a contract be terminated and what is the refund policy?
• Are additional services available if the resident's needs change?
• How do you pay for additional services that are needed on a temporary basis (such as nursing care)?
• Are there different costs for various levels or categories of services?
• Are there any government, private, or corporate programs available to help cover the cost of services to the resident?
• What are the billing, payment, and credit policies?
• May a resident handle his or her own finances with staff assistance (if able), or should a family member or outside party be designated to do so?

• Is staff appropriately trained?
• Did you receive a warm greeting from staff? Are staff members personable and outgoing?
• Is staff appropriately dressed?
• Do staff members greet residents by their first names and interact warmly with them?
• Is staff available to meet scheduled and unscheduled needs?
• Is staff available to assist residents who experience memory, orientation, or judgment losses?

• Do residents socialize with each other and appear happy and comfortable?
• Do residents, other visitors, and volunteers speak favorably about the facility?
• Do the residents seem to be appropriate housemates for you or your loved one?

• Do you like the appearance of the building and its surroundings?
• Is the decor attractive and home-like?
• Is the floor plan easy to follow?
• Do doorways, hallways, and rooms accommodate wheelchairs and walkers?
• Are elevators available?
• Are handrails available to aid in walking?
• Are cupboards and shelves easy to reach?
• Are carpets secured and floors made of a non-skid material?
• Is there good natural and artificial lighting?
• Is the residence clean, odor free, and appropriately heated and cooled?

• What is the residence policy regarding storage of medicines, assistance with medicines, and medicine record-keeping?
• Is self-administration of medicine allowed?
• Who coordinates visits from a nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or other specialist if needed?
• Does a doctor or nurse visit the residents regularly to provide medical checkups?

• Is staff available to provide 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living, if needed? Do daily activities include:
• Dressing
• Eating
• Mobility
• Hygiene and grooming
• Bathing, toileting, and incontinence assistance
• Using the telephone
• Shopping
• Laundry
• Housekeeping in unit
• Transportation to doctor, hairdresser, or other activities

• Are different sizes and types of units available?
• Are units for single and double occupancy available?
• Do residents have their own lockable doors?
• Is a 24-hour emergency response system accessible from the unit?
• Are bathrooms private? Do they accommodate wheelchairs and walkers?
• Can residents bring their own furnishings? What may they bring?
• Do all units have a telephone, internet access, and cable television? How is billing handled for these services?
• Is a kitchen area/unit provided with a refrigerator, sink, and cooking element?
• May residents keep food in their units?
• May residents smoke in their units? May they smoke in public areas?

• Is there an activities program?
• Do residents participate in the neighboring community's activities?
• Do volunteers, including family members, come into the residence to conduct or help with programs?
• Does the facility require residents to undertake any chores or perform specific activities that benefit all residents?
• Are residents' pets allowed in the unit? Who is responsible for pet care?
• Does the residence have its own pets?

• Does the residence provide three nutritionally balanced meals a day, seven days a week?
• Are snacks available?
• May a resident request special foods?
• Are common dining areas available?
• May residents eat meals in their units?
• May meals be provided at times the resident prefers or are there set meal times?

Checklist by WebMD

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Assisted living communities provide a type of housing for people who need various levels of medical and personal care. The goal of Spring Arbor Living is to provide a home-like setting and is designed to promote the patients’ independence. Services are offered to assist residents with daily living.

What Services Do Assisted Living Communities Provide?
Generally the services provided by assisted living communities vary from facility to facility. Services in various facilities often include:

• One to three meals a day
• Monitoring of medication
• Personal care, including dressing and bathing
• Housekeeping and laundry
• 24-hour emergency care
• Varying medical services
• Social and recreational activities

How Can I Know What Services my Loved One Needs?
Talk with your family, caregivers and patient about what services are needed from an Alzheimer’s Care Facility. Take time to consider what services are important before you visit the assisted living communities. This will help ease the transition. Think about these questions:

• How soon do you want/need to change the patients’ residence?
• What daily activities do they need help with (bathing, dressing, toileting, eating)?
• How often do they need help?

For more information or to set up an appointment contact Spring Arbor Living in your area.

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Music therapy can enhance the quality of life for people with conditions ranging from dementia and cancer to chronic pain. Such therapy may involve listening or performing sessions designed by music therapists and based on the individual needs and interests of patients. But caregivers and family members also can connect with loved ones through music — whether by playing or singing favorite songs together or by dancing.

Especially for families living with Alzheimer's, the lyrics of the traditional German song apply: "All things shall perish from under the sky. Music alone shall live…never to die."

Music can help lower stress for people with Alzheimer's, says Alicia Clair, director of music education and music therapy at the University of Kansas. Active in the field for 40 years, Clair specializes in older patients with dementia and veterans who have experienced traumatic brain injury.

Use music to stay connected to a loved one with dementia..

Original article AARP

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It's normal for people to become more forgetful as they age. So how can we tell the difference between a senior moment and Alzheimer's disease? One in eight people 65 and older have this form of dementia. In its first stages, Alzheimer's may not be obvious to friends and family. But there are some early warning signs to watch for.

Warning Sign:  Memory and Speech
In early Alzheimer's, long-term memories usually remain intact and short-term memories become sketchy. Your loved one may forget conversations you had or questions that were already answered. Alzheimer’s disrupts speech, so patients may struggle to remember common words.

Warning Sign: Behavior
In addition to memory loss, Alzheimer's can cause confusion and behavior changes. They may get lost in familiar places. Poor hygiene, mood swings and poor judgment are also common. Those who once cared for their appearance may begin to dress in stained clothes and have unwashed hair.

Don't Ignore the Signs
While it's difficult to face the possibility that a loved one could have Alzheimer's, visiting a doctor sooner rather than later is better. The diagnosis might not be Alzheimer's after all relieving you of unnecessary stress. And if it is Alzheimer's, treatments work best when they are used early in the course of the disease.

Alzheimer's Progression: What to Expect
Alzheimer's shows differently in every patient. In some the symptoms worsen quickly, leading to severe memory loss and confusion within a few years. In others, the changes may be more gradual with the disease taking 20 years to run its course. The average length of survival after a diagnosis of Alzheimer's is three to nine years.

How Alzheimer's Affects Daily Life
Because Alzheimer's affects concentration, patients may lose the ability to manage ordinary tasks. A study suggests difficulty balancing a checkbook is often one of the first effects of Alzheimer's. As the symptoms worsen, your loved one may not recognize familiar people or places. They may get lost easily, or use utensils improperly. Incontinence, balance problems, and loss of language are common in the advanced stages.

Alzheimer's and Exercise
Exercise can help Alzheimer's patients maintain some muscle strength and coordination. It also improves mood and may reduce anxiety. Check with your loved one's doctor to learn which types of exercise are appropriate. Repetitive activities, such as walking, weeding, or even folding laundry may be the most effective at promoting a sense of calm.

Assisted Living Facilities
There may come a day when your loved one can no longer be cared for at home. An assisted-living facility may be an appropriate choice, or a facility with levels of Alzheimer's care, so the services the facility provides can progress with the patient. Assisted Living Communities provide housing, meals, and activities. Look for a facility with an Alzheimer's special care unit, which delivers 24-hour supervision and personal care to meet the needs of people with dementia.

Original article WebMD

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