Care Manager

Taking steps to learn how to be the best possible caregiver will improve life in a variety of ways for the person in your care – and yourself.

If someone were providing care for you, how would you want that caregiver/care receiver relationship to look? What qualities would shift that level of care from ordinary to extraordinary? Placing yourself in the shoes of the person in your care is the first step to learning how to be the best possible caregiver – something that will have a lasting impact on both your family member and yourself!

With so many similarities, can you tell the difference between dementia and medication side effects?

Disorientation. Confusion. Memory loss. While these are certainly hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, they may also come about from taking certain medications. Before automatically assuming an inevitable diagnosis of dementia, review the following list of prescribed medicines that can cause similar adverse effects in order to help tell the difference between dementia and medication side effects.

Learn what not to say to aging parents regarding driving and giving up the car keys.

As our parents grow older, it’s not always easy to know what our role as adult children should be. We want what’s best for them, but if we’re not careful, we can overstep our boundaries and find ourselves trying to parent our parents. It’s important to choose our words carefully, and to take it a step further, to know what NOT to say to aging parents.

This is especially true when safety is a concern. There’s a fine line to walk between ensuring senior parents are safe, and promoting the independent lifestyle they need and deserve. After all, it wasn’t all that long ago when our parents were meeting not just all of their own needs, but ours as well. The transition … Read More »

If you’re asking yourself, “How can I overcome caregiver dread?” we have the help you need.

What are your first thoughts as soon as you wake up each morning? Are you looking forward to what your day will bring, or would you rather crawl back underneath the covers and stay there? If you find yourself wondering, “How can I overcome caregiver dread?” you are not alone.

Distinctly different from depression, anxiety, and even burnout, caregiver dread is a heavy, exhausted sense of duty. It stems from feelings of overcommitment and the need to get away from responsibilities. While it is possible to push through and carry out needed tasks regardless of these feelings, there are methods to conquer them instead – and restore the joy that comes from making life better for someone you love. To begin with, … Read More »

If you’re struggling to come up with engaging activities for someone with Alzheimer’s and vision problems, give these ideas a try!

Finding meaningful, engaging ways to spend each day for a senior loved one with Alzheimer’s can be a challenge. Add in vision impairment, and it might seem overwhelming. Even so, it’s vitally important to ensure every day holds opportunities for purpose and joy – minimizing the level of agitation, frustration, and other difficult emotions and behaviors in dementia. If you’re coming up blank when trying to come up with these kinds of activities for someone with Alzheimer’s and vision problems, we have some suggestions you can try.

Dementia delusions can lead to false accusations, and it’s important to know how to respond.

Dementia delusions can come seemingly out of thin air: you place your loved one’s favorite chicken salad sandwich in front of her – light on the mayo, no onions – something she typically enjoys. But today, she pushes the plate away and will not take a bite, insisting that you’ve poisoned the food.

Or, you’ve provided your loved one with a meaningful activity that links her to a significant time in her past career, sorting paperwork. Out of the blue, she accuses you of tampering with the documents in order to steal money from her banking account.

How can you respond to dementia delusions or hallucinations without further agitating the person? Try these strategies:

Keep a controlled, soothing, understanding tone. It might be instinctive … Read More »

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 »

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 »

Make family senior care meetings more productive and efficient with these tips.

“It takes a village” was never a more accurate statement than when taking care of an older family member. It’s important for that “village” to have effective, ongoing communication so that you can offer the best care and to make sure everyone taking part in that care is on the same page. It’s also critical for family caregivers to have the opportunity to express concerns and to come together to get to resolutions, to share various perspectives, and to continue to be proactive in preparing for the future.

Holding senior family care meetings that produce good outcomes includes thinking through the following:

Who should always be included – and who should not? Unquestionably, those providing direct or indirect care for the senior loved one should attend, as … Read More »

Discover how to help someone with Alzheimer’s in a simple and unique way: reminiscence therapy.

Did you ever experience that jolt of a past memory that immediately pops to the front of your mind, perhaps through a scent, a song, or a picture? For those with dementia, the power of long-term memories is especially impactful, as short-term memory becomes weaker. And if you’re looking for ideas on how to help someone with Alzheimer’s, tapping into this idea is a great place to start. In fact, it’s become a growing trend in creative Alzheimer’s care: reminiscence therapy.

One extreme example is the transformation of a 9,000-sqft building in Chula Vista, California. The building is now an interactive 1950s town, including storefronts like a diner, a movie theater, and a healthcare clinic, all operating just as they would have been … Read More »