Elderly Care

What to do when you find yourself alone again for the Holidays and it's due to your friends and family dying off or moving to Nursing Homes? Or, your close friend has had to move in with a family member far away to be taken care of. This is a scenario many seniors find themselves in and are reminded of over and over at painful times of the year - Holidays.

Holidays are a time to share love, and many people end up feeling depressed when they do not have people around with whom to share love.

Last year an elderly woman while walking, tripped on a small tuft of grass, fell - and broke her hip! Her recovery was painful, debilitating and at times depressing. It also affected her elderly husband who relied heavily on her for day to day activities such as dressing, bathing and managing medications.

Falling is the number one reason why seniors enter Nursing Homes for rehabilitation, extended stay or worst of all, long term stay. The rehab process lasts weeks, if not months, with much often painstaking or monotonous physical therapy.

A Living Will is a legal document addressing only deathbed considerations; a client unilaterally declares his/her desire that life-prolonging measures be discontinued when there is no hope of ultimate recovery.

On the other hand, people use a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care to appoint someone to make all healthcare decisions, limited by certain elections regarding deathbed issues.

Elder care and rehabilitation services are meant for the aged who live by themselves, are sick or handicapped, or cannot look after themselves properly. Rehabilitation refers to the gradual process of regaining a person's lost physical and mental capabilities. The rehabilitation centers for the elderly mainly aim at improving the life of these old individuals. Psychology has an important role to play in rehabilitation programs. The caregivers in rehab centers adopt a psychological approach in treating patients.

A home elevator system is used to offer accessibility and custom mobility solutions in residential homes to those who are disabled or are challenged with climbing the stairs.

Home elevator systems are now also being installed in luxury residences, not only for those who are disabled or elderly, but for those who are anticipating the need for a home lift in the near future. Home elevators provide freedom and ways to access all parts of your dwelling. They also allow the elderly or disabled to overcome the barriers of stairways and gives them the option of independent living.

When it comes to choosing a hearing aid you will find that it involves having to decide between an analog hearingaid and a digital hearingaid. In fact, the choice today is not all that hard to make as digital hearing aids are becoming more affordable and therefore are attracting greater number of buyers.

Seniors and their families throughout New Jersey and the Philadelphia area suburbs use home health care services to remain living independently in their homes. Home care services, such as live-in caregivers and hourly companions allow seniors to age in place for as long as possible. There are basically two different models of home care, the registry (or consumer directed) model and the employee based (or agency directed). Both types can offer a variety of services to consumers, including nurses, home health aides, physical and occupational therapists, and companions.

At a certain old age the stick used for walking on account of the necessity to stabilize as a medical aid while walking. Around 65 years of age the problems of falling arises , so in order to reduce the risk of falling among elderly the use of walking products came into existence from many years.

The body changes with aging due to change in cell structure in body functions and also due to disorder. Other factors such as fear of falling, affect of balance, anxiety disorders all contribute to walking problems.

Rebecca and her husband live 500 miles away from her 82-year-old mother, who is suffering from early signs of Alzheimer's Disease and chronic arthritis. She worries about her safety, but upon questioning her mother, the answer is always the same: "Everything is fine. Stop worrying."

Then one day, while at work, Rebecca received a phone call from a hospital social worker. Her mother fell down the stairs, broke her hip and was hospitalized. Rebecca's mother insisted it could happen to anyone, and that she was perfectly safe at home and able to take care of herself.

Pamela Braun, MSW, LCSW, CPF, of Geriatric Assessment, Management & Solutions says letting the elderly person remain at home is the "least invasive intervention" and can be successful. "When people move out the home, it's usually when Plan A - remaining at home - didn't work.