Jan 23
I would wear this and the fact it has ruby crystals on it makes it so chic in my opinion. It is a beautiful and fashionable piece of jewelry with a functional “edge” that provides benefits beyond its beauty. The lens has a diameter of 1.15 inches, overall diameter is 2.0 inches, and it is made of optical grade glass lens with 2x magnification. The magnifier is attached to a 34 inch chain with a clasp. Retails for $49.00, another great item from Elderluxe!
Jan 19
I have been following the launch of www.ecaring.com and wanted to share this
company with my readers. They have developed a breakthrough web-based system which enables everyone involved with home health care—from family members to home care providers to doctors—to receive up-to-date, useful information on the care, conditions, activities and status of home health care patients.
Robert M. Herzog, eCaring’s CEO, says: “Family members, health care providers and all concerned parties can finally view and use home health care information from their computer or mobile device, anywhere, anytime. For the first time, home health care recipients can enjoy the benefits of digital records.” “Over 60 million Americans are involved with home care situations,” Herzog notes. “But until now, despite the growing emphasis on helping people stay at home longer to receive better quality of care, no system has provided the answer to the most basic of questions for family members who can’t always be by their loved one’s side: ‘What’s going on?’ But that’s all changed with eCaring.”
By providing necessary and critical information on a timely basis, eCaring can improve the health outcomes of those who wish to remain at home. It is an important addition to the home care process.” eCaring’s patent-pending system enables home aides and caregivers, regardless of their language skills or computer literacy, to enter extensive amounts of vital information in real time about the care being received by home health care recipients. “I know from firsthand experience how terribly difficult it is to have to make the transition to coping with home care, emotionally, logistically and financially, which led me to use digital media tools to develop a simpler and better way,” Herzog stated. “We’ve created an icon-based system that users can learn in minutes, which is what makes it so innovative and powerful,” says Herzog. “This system allows home caregivers to quickly and easily provide people outside the home with up-to-date comprehensive information about how their loved ones are being cared for: How well are they eating, or taking their medications? What are their vital signs? What are their activities, their bodily functions, and their physical and mental condition? All these essential concerns can now be tracked in a very detailed way using eCaring.”
Jan 9
A few years ago my husband and I started this tradition of writing goals for the New Year with our children on New Year’s Eve. Everyone gets a card after dinner and we each reflect on our personal and family goals. I tuck them away and then the following year we read last year’s goals on New Year’s Day. This year we had our New Year’s Day dinner and I gave everyone their card to read. I glance over and my husband has this look of total disappointment on his face but I do not put much thought into his look, he has high expectations, then I gaze over to the children who seem quite pleased with themselves. My daughter reads hers and she is proud she accomplished two out of her five goals, my son made a few of his and I am happy to report his goal to beat his mom in tennis did not come true in 2011 but I am positive it is coming in the next few months of 2012. I achieved a few of mine as well but my hubby is still looking glum…”none”, he reports. It bothered him; this is a person who has accomplished so much since starting his own company at the age of 25. He was a bit devastated. So this initiated a discussion about setting our goals too high, expecting too much and it got me thinking….
Do we set ourselves up for failure when we reach too high? Should we be more realistic when setting our goals but then are we predisposed for mediocrity? I am not sure and I do not have the perfect answer but I do believe that we tend to feel lost when we don’t define what we want out of life. As humans I think we function best when we have a vision of where we want to go or what we want to achieve. Our goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, rewarding and time bound (SMART).
I had an experience last week that was new for me; I was terrified. I called a friend and said,” Why did I agree to put myself through this?” She replied, “Because it is exciting!” She was right, a little bit of fear, mixed in with excitement, in order to create a life change is a good thing, no, it is a great thing! There was a rush associated with overcoming my fear and venturing into unknown waters. If we don’t ever take a risk, push our boundaries and step out of our little boxes then we just exist. I don’t know about you but I want a little more from this earthly experience.
So as you set out on your journey for 2012, I wish you all the best in meeting your goals and rewarding yourself when they become a reality. I will be right there with you in the trenches, digging deep and trying to make some things happen.
Carl Rogers said, “Man’s inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively.” December tends to be a busy month in my practice because so many people see their families at Thanksgiving and they are shocked to find out how much their loved ones have declined in cognition, physical ailments or just managing their lives in general. The phone starts ringing and I delve into the often times chaotic world of, family dynamics. People come to me asking for guidance and usually that process begins with an assessment in which I interview the older person and sometimes the clients (older children) are present and this is when geriatric care management takes on the face of family mediation or therapy. I have seen people with the best intentions start a family meeting with the hopes of trying to figure out how to care for mom and dad but egos and personality conflicts have turned discussions into screaming matches. All the while, no one listened to what the most important person in the room had to say.
I have learned over the years that listening is my greatest asset. Often times as humans we get caught up in “me” and we forget to just pull up a chair and be a good friend, daughter or son, the one who gives their undivided attention, fully and honestly. Last night I took a class and the instructor said, “If you exist in an honest manner, you are believable and if you do not come from your heart people know right away.” That spoke to me. How many times have you been with someone and everything is about them, they never ask how you are doing and when they do their eyes are drifting to everyone else in the room, there is no connection, no honesty. I truly believe that at the end of the day we all just want to be loved and heard. It is so elementary but we complicate situations by being self-centered. I cannot tell you the number of times I have walked away from a case with a completely different insight, more rich and complete in meaning because I attended to the needs of the client instead of what I thought they should do, I am forever the pupil.
As you begin or continue your journey of caring for your aging parents, listen to their needs, wants and concerns because one day those trepidations may become your own. How will you want your children to respond to you? This line of thinking will encourage you to be more honest in your approach. If we take the “me” out of the equation or situation, we have just increased the likelihood for a more successful line of communication.
Nov 30
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that
Medicare is adding coverage for preventive services to reduce obesity. This
adds to Medicare’s existing portfolio of preventive services that are now
available without cost sharing under the Affordable Care Act. It complements
the Million Hearts initiative led jointly by CMS and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in partnership with other HHS agencies, communities,
health systems, nonprofit organizations, and private sector partners across the
country to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes in the next 5
years.
Screening for obesity and counseling for eligible beneficiaries
by primary care providers in settings such as physicians’ offices are covered
under this new benefit. For a beneficiary who screens positive for obesity with
a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2, the benefit would include one face-to-face
counseling visit each week for one month and one face-to-face counseling visit
every other week for an additional five months. The beneficiary may receive one
face-to-face counseling visit every month for an additional six months (for a
total of 12 months of counseling) if he or she has achieved a weight reduction
of at least 6.6 pounds (or 3 kilograms) during the first six months of
counseling.
Through the end of October, 22.6 million people with
Original Medicare have received one or more of the free covered preventive
services this year.
This blog is dedicated to adult children who are caring for their aging parents. It is a place where you can find current information, health care policy, new products and stories from my clients. My hope is that this blog will help you navigate the eldercare issues you are facing. It has always been important to me that families realize there are options as they seek to find the best quality of life for their aging parents; I hope to be a part of that process for you.
I wish you all the best on your journey,
