I hear it often: "Alzheimer's disease is such a horrible way to die."

I don't entirely agree. It is hard to watch a loved one lose their memory- I agree to that. There was a time in my life when I angrily tried to convince my elderly father with late-stages of dementia that he knew me. "I'm your daughter! This is your house!" He only stared at me with wide-eyed confusion. I can only be thankful today that he got over my reaction the instant I turned away. It was hard for me to watch his mind go, but my mother took great care of him. Thinking back more than ten years ago, he didn't suffer and die alone. She was there, feeding him and keeping him warm and clean every day. He died when it was ready for his body to let go.

If I had known then what I know now, I could have managed better to co-exist with him. We all pass on from this world. What matters is that there is someone to take care of you as you go. That could be a spouse, another family member, a friend, or a stranger who cares. It's not Alzheimer's disease that is a horrible way to die. It's loneliness, neglect, and abuse due to the lack of a caring guardian that is a scary way to go, especially as your mind begins to narrow of all things you've once known.

-A Caregiver in Boca Raton, Florida

Home modification ensures a senior's safety in the home. The safety changes you make to your elderly parents or senior relatives home should reflect their capabilities. If for example, old age has set with diminished eyesight, installation of optimum lights should be considered. If they have mobility issues, consider installing a ramp on steep paths and staircases. Start by paying particular attention to hazard-prone areas such as the kitchen, stairways and bathrooms. Finally, clearly communicate with the caregiver as to what sort of home modifications could help his or her job when assisting your loved one.

Finally! Let's close the intergenerational gap between young and old by bringing viewers a comedy that has- young and old. This show is a "social experiment" that shows what happens when energetic under 30 year olds live under the same roof with feisty seniors. Stay tuned.

I discovered this touching cartoon:

 
This article stood out to me because it reminded me of a time when I was a caregiver for a lady with Alzheimer's disease and we were watching a commercial about dementia. She ingenuously quipped at the commercial with, "I'm sure glad that I don't have dementia!" Finding her answer charming, I asked, "What would you do if you did get it?"

Her answer: "I would donate all my organs and die peacefully, not knowing that I was going, anyway." 

Will senior donors help solve the problem of organ shortage?  It might seem so considering the lower fertility rates we've been experiencing.

Modest studies reveal contradicting results of recipients that accept organs from seniors. In some cases, age of kidney does seem to correlate to shorter life expectancy (74.5% chance of living after five years with a kidney from a senior as opposed to 96% chance of living after five years with a kidney from a young donor). In other studies, no difference in results appeared. Not enough time has lapsed to conclude the effectiveness of old age organ donors with a longitudinal study, nor has enough been documented of the negative effects of donating at a much later age.

For more on this article about Older People Donating Organs.

Wells Fargo sounds bad enough until you read the bit about Villa Biscayne investor Joseph Chapman the III who is allegedly another non-profiteer profiteering under the eyes of the state- until now. Single parents and young mothers will need to find other living arrangements of Wells Fargo wins but it also means the turn out of seniors that have already made these apartments and even trailers their homes.

For more on this article about  Wells Fargo Suing for Villa Biscayne Foreclosure.

As scary as this sounds, I have faith that a foreclosure means that new investors with good intentions for the current residents will replace the old ones. *pray* I was just thinking that if the building became an assisted living facility, then perhaps those single mothers in there could train to become some of the finest Miami-Dade County senior caregivers | Homestead-Miami care companions to the seniors who are already living there and might need assistance. Great way for the building to become somewhat self-sustaining.

Dementia Care News from Boca Raton, South Florida, dementia care costs of $159 billion a year is higher than the cost of treatment for heart disease and cost of treatment for cancer! The highest payouts go to nursing homes and home health aides.

A very interesting study funded by the National Institute on Aging discerned the payout different to home health aides that worked directly with the senior with dementia and the cost to a family member or friend who worked for a senior for free. This report revealed that working for free was actually a larger cost ($56,290 year) compared to paying for a home health aide ($41,689 per year). Working for free might only be worth it if one is unable to get a job that pays much more than $57,000 a year.

For more on the article: Dementia Care Costs More than treating Heart Disease or Cancer.

My dreamy way around this is for the government to reinvent the Social Security System and use those monies solely for caregiving and end of life purposes instead of as disposable income, perhaps even forcing the lot of us to remain healthier longer and keeping up in the job force for as long as we possibly can... you know, as in going back to the main reason why Social Security was invented in the first place ;)

Back to reality: it would be nice to see the benefits of Long Term Care Insurance more readily exposed in American public.

For more information about how Long Term Care Insurance benefits | LTC for seniors can help you or a loved one with dementia, contact A Family Member Home Care Agency in Boca Raton | home health agency Palm Beach County for more information: 1(866) 99-A-FAMILY

Caregivers often share with each other funny moments they experienced their clients doing or did with them. These moments can be a delightfully great laugh and is what can really add to the bond between caregiver and Alzheimer client | dementia caregiver.

When I cared for Lo, a quirky senior women with late-stages dementia, she was still cheeky enough to reply with witty retorts. One day during a shopping activity, she came out of a dressing room with a shawl completely put on incorrectly. I told her that her "bits were hanging out." She responded, "Just the way the boys like it." We had a good laugh on that one.

In this:  Caregivers Stories: Funny Things That Elderly Parents, you can read similar funny and quirky stories.

A prelude: "My mom lived in an assisted care facility where everyone left their doors open. One man with Alzheimer's was restless and walked the halls endlessly. On one visit, she mentioned that he had tried to crawl into bed with her one night. I said what did you do?! She told him he was in the wrong room & he left. Then she added, "What good is a man in your bed if he can't remember anything..."

Florida Hospital Association | South Florida News commissioned a report pushing for $51 million in Medicaid funding to help insure its over 1 million South Florida uninsured residents. University of Florida research confirms that receiving these funds would help lower health expenditures and stimulate the economy. So far, the proposal has been denied. Still, the proposal has been denied by Legislation.

Research suggests that 5.4 million Americans are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease | beginning stages of dementia. This is a very dangerous stage for these Americans that can become depressed, isolated, and feel as if they've been boxed in and kept from driving and other things they normally do every day in fear of hurting themselves or others.

However, support groups for these people exists. This spring, the Alzheimer's Association is launching a number of creative support groups within each of their chapters. One of these meets involves peer-to-peer support where one person receives counseling from another person who also has early-stage dementia. Other programs have targeted this group, including one modeled after Europe's Alzheimer's Cafe (or Memory Cafe), where seniors with Alzheimer's meet at a cafe to support each other.

For more on this article, After the Diagnosis, the Getogethers.

Our senior caregivers of Florida | Boca Raton home helpers are aware of such facilities that can benefit a person with Alzheimer's disease or dementia and assist them in going to such a program and similar meeting groups that offer these social-stimulating elder services and senior services. The best caregivers | top performance home helpers keep in mind that care requires nurturing of the bio-psycho-and-social aspects of their clients.

 
Providing dementia care | Alzheimer's care for someone can be one of the most daunting tasks for a caregiver. In many unfortunate scenarios, an elder could be abused or neglected because the care provider is not intuitive or experienced enough. That is why we at A Family Member HomeCare Agency hold the strictest guidelines when it comes to selecting top performing home helpers, personal assistants | nurses, and senior caregivers before we send them throughout the Broward County, Palm Beach County, and Miami-Dade County to perform a variety of senior care services.

Our alzheimers and dementia care in-home helpers:

• understand that it is the disease, not the client, that is the cause of the new behavior.
• manages the client by always remaining objective and calmly communicating using patience, understanding, love, and kindness.
• must avoid attempts at bringing the client into reality by denying the Client’s delusions, or raising the voice and arguing with the client. The client has a new reality and this must be respected. The right caregiver joins the client’s new reality, validates it, but then tries to distract, always trying to maintain a safe and protective environment.

Our Hollywood and Boca Raton home care agency locations are always receiving praise for the people we bring into other people's homes. Our dementia care nurses | caregivers and companions must also be astute, creative, friendly, energetic and help bring relaxation and peace to the Clients' lives.

Senior caregivers deal with a lot of stressful situations inside the senior's home when helping them to age in place. We suggest that during leisure time, elderly and family caregivers should read blogs written by other nurses and caregivers who succeed regularly in dealing with the most difficult of situations.

I like to recommend for our home helpers in South Florida to emulate tips taken from sites such as Nurse Virginia's in regards to providing quality home care.

The Age and the City blog is written by a USC student of Gerontology and her experiences with constructing mind-stimulating activities with seniors of moderate and advanced dementia. Nurse Virgina's blog is useful when it comes to hands on personal care and observation while Catherine Lee's Alzheimer's Blog meaningful activities for seniors.

We'd like to reach out to our senior caregivers and clients of Broward and Palm Beach County and ask if any one of you have a blog or website you would recommend to us to share to the rest of our clients and friends.

Many of us work in the field of aging because someone old once touched our lives. And it's a great thing in this world to be able to see beauty in the young and the old. One of the best ways we can repay someone who once cared for us is to find the best caregiver | top personal assistant for them when needed.

Many of us have come into contact when an elderly person that seems to be neglected or exhibits signs of abuse such as bruising. Some of us grew up learning how to mind our own businesses while others just don't know where to start to help.

The Florida Department of Elder Affairs is proactive in keeping elders safe in their environments. Please do not hesitate to notify authorities if you feel that an elderly is being mistreated. Please remember that most dependent and frail elderly people cannot or will not call for help themselves.

How To Report Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation

To report online: Go to DCF website

By phone: Call Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE (1-800-962-2873). Press 2 to report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of the elderly or a vulnerable adult. This toll free number is available 24/7.

TDD (Telephone Device for the Deaf): 1-800-453-5145.

By Fax: Please send a detailed written report with your name and contact telephone to 1-800-914-0004. Download the Florida's Abuse Hotline's fax reporting form.

It's always nice to see a senior being able to take care of their own!



This woman could be one of the coolest grandmothers ever.

Not all home healthcare agencies are equal. The following video gives a report of how home care agencies in the UK have failed to provide seniors with responsible caregivers. Seniors have been dealing with no-shows that put them into hazardous and painful situations.



When choosing one of South Florida's home health care agencies, make sure to visit with the administrative staff or owner, to do all your research necessary to find out the credentials of the caregiver, and of course, to make sure you are receiving help from an accredited home health agency.

A Family Member HomeCare is proud to have two locations in South Florida (Hollywood and Boca Raton) and have been serving quality top-performing caregivers, home health aides, nurses, and companions for over a decade!

Caregivers are not the end of life. They are the start of a different life. Our independent lives could have been good or bad, but our later and more dependent lives can be wonderful with the right caregivers.

Some seniors require, fun, sprite, energetic caregivers to keep up with their still high-energy level pace. Contact us (1-866-992- 3264) for more information about finding the right caregiver for your loved seniors throughout South Florida.