Stress Relief and Relaxations for Caregivers
Stress is a fact of life. Although some stress is normal and even needed, too much of it can affect your quality of life and your health. There are simple things you can do to help relieve stress.
When you feel stressed, you can:
- Take slow, deep breaths.
- Soak in a warm bath.
- Listen to soothing music.
- Take a walk or do some other physical activity.
- Meditate or pray.
- Take a yoga class.
- Have a massage or back rub.
- Have a warm drink that doesn’t have alcohol or caffeine.
You also can make some changes in your everyday habits to reduce and relieve stress.
- Get plenty of sleep.
- Stay connected to your family, friends, and other caring people in your life.
- Get regular exercise. It can help you clear your mind and work off feelings of frustration and anxiety.
- Don’t drink or eat anything that has caffeine in it. Caffeine can make you feel “wound up” and more stressed.
- Don’t smoke or use tobacco. Nicotine can make you feel more anxious.
- Don’t drink alcohol. It can cause sleep problems and depression.
Muscle relaxation to relieve stress
Your body may respond to stress by tensing up, which can cause pain. If you learn to relax your muscles, you can reduce muscle tension and anxiety. Progressive muscle relaxation can help you do this.
In progressive muscle relaxation, you tense and then relax related groups of muscles. You can use a relaxation tape or CD to help you go through all the muscle groups. Or you can learn the muscle groups and work through them from memory. Find a quiet place where you won’t be bothered. be sure you can lie on back for comfort.
For each muscle group:
- Breathe in and tense the muscle group for 4 to 10 seconds. tense hard, but not for the point of cramping.
- Then breathe out while you suddenly and completely relax the muscle group. Don’t relax it gradually.
- Rest for 10 to 20 seconds.
Hands and Arms
- Hands: Make a tight fist.
- Wrists and forearms: tense them and bend your hands back at the wrist.
- Biceps and upper arms: make your hands intp fists, bend your arms at the elbows, and tense your biceps.
- Shoulders: Shrug them.
For FREE in-home care assessment, call or visit us at:
Caring for the Caregiver in the Home
Why care for the caregiver in the home?
For many, our journey in life includes many roles. We go to college to prepare us for our future career in life. These roles have somewhat gave us an idea on what we want to become but none have prepared us for the role as a caregiver.
Kathryn summed it up best after two years of caring for her 60-year old, once vital husband who had suffered a massive stroke. Taking him from hospital to outpatient rehabilitation to a necessary, more intensive live-in rehabilitation center, she had to spare some energy for fighting with his insurer to pay for his ongoing medical, rehabilitative, in in-home care. “It is staggering how ill-prepared we are for these types of situation, ” she said. The last two years have taught me that the current system of long-term care and connection to needed services is not taking care of what we caregivers and those we are caring need.”
Caring for the caregiver at home is very important.
Family members who care for their loved ones, are often, left to navigate a bewildering array of services, assuming that they know the options available and are confident of the choices they are being asked to make. Once an individual is confronted with a care-giving imperative along with the sheer emotional and physical toll of caring for a loved one, finding and accessing available resources presents a new challenge.
The professional community and individual agencies have organized a variety of services, both at the community level and nationwide. Federal and state aging agencies increasingly focus on initiating programs directed toward healthful lifestyles for older adults, encompassing exercise, nutrition, fall prevention, and self-care. For fragile and vulnerable elders, programs are in place to provide in-home care services for daily tasks, respite provisions, and home modifications.
Hospital discharge planners, area agencies on aging, senior centers, social workers, geriatric specialists, and allied professionals provide local referrals and sources, including caregiver support groups in diverse programs at separate locations. What is missing among these silos of care is an understanding of what the caregiver really needs: recognition and coordination to connect to help.
While the medical community is becoming educated in geriatric patient care, family caregivers are often unintentionally overlooked in the process. They may be present in the office as loved one’s advocates, but caregivers are – or often feel – invisible.
While caregivers are deep in the process of caregiving, they benefit from morale boosters of concern for their health and well-being and a friendly copilot to navigate the world of special resources needed for such challenges. Professionals need to recognize that caregivers want to be acknowledged, understood, and valued as individuals placed in emotionally charged situations in the continuum of their caregiving roles.
Professionals can provide links to legal, medical, and other care issues for what lies ahead, beginning with answers to the questions “Where do I start?” ‘What will I do?” and “How do I find out what is available?”. Caring for caregivers early on helps strengthen them and the quality of their care. Even the most capable families can benefit from consultation because they don’t have experience with the new and complex challenges of caregiving and service arrangements. Our agency professionals will help caregivers navigate the resources in the community or consider in-home care assistance to ease some of the stress.
Looking forward, professionals are the natural locus point to provide the “connective tissue” between the array of caregiving services, coordination, and access to care plus the emotional support in valuing their roles. Right Accord will do just that to care for the caregiver in the home.
To demonstrate how this new era of caregiving connectivity may work, Right Accord in Sarasota, Florida collaborates with local agencies in Sarasota, Venice, Bradenton and Longboat areas. To provide these connections between professionals,caregivers, and older adults, there are different locations that can serve as starting places where caregivers can learn what local resources are available, find a care manager, and participate in support groups and individual counseling.
CAREGIVER CONNECTION is a program in Sarasota, Florida sponsored by Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and the Neuro Challenge Department proving monthly caregiver support groups. Program is fun and interactive while giving tips on improving coping skills, guidance and good advice from others sharing the same experiences. There’s complimentary refreshments, no reservations necessary and most of all it’s free.
The program is held monthly at the Sarasota Institute for Advanced Medicine located at 5880 Rand Blvd. Sarasota, Forida. The progra is facilitated by Marilyn Tait, Neuro Science Educator, Patient Advocate for Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. Below is the 2009 schedule of programs held every second Wednesday of each month from 9:30am – 10:30am.
August 12 – “How To Be Your Own Best Friend”
September 9 – “How to Cope With Role Reversals and More, More, More”
October 14 – “How to Rest, Relax & Rejuvenate”
November 11 – “How to See Beyond The Surface to What Lies Beneath”
December 9 – “How To Live Today & Hope For Tomorrow”
For FREE in-home care assessment and assistance, please call or visit us at:
Excerpted from Aging Well by Jody Dunn
Elderly Nutrition – Fish Oil Helps Heart Disease. Fact!
In this article we shall be quoting factual information from the American Heart Association.
The benefits of Omega 3 fish oils on the various system of the body have long been documented. We can now safely purchase and consume fish oil knowing that extensive research has been carried out and that it is not some kind of health ‘craze’ or ‘fad’ that is sweeping the nation as we so often see with other natural products in the world of dieting, for example.
Omega 3 fish oil (or should I say the essential fatty acids) help the hearts of healthy people, people who are in a high risk category and people with heart disease. The omega 3 fatty acids come, in various quantities, from different fish species such as mackerel, trout, herring, tuna and salmon.
There are other oils that can be taken to help with heart disease, or just keeping the heart healthy, and these come from flaxseed, walnuts, canola and soybeans, for example. However, even though the fatty acids these foods release can be converted to omega 3, their benefits to the coronary system have yet to be further studied.
The background for this information goes back to 2002 when the AHA released a scientific statement indicating that omega3 fatty acids -
- decrease risk of arrhythmias, which can lead to sudden cardiac death
- decrease triglyceride levels
- decrease growth rate of atherosclerotic plaque
- lower blood pressure (slightly)
What does this mean for the caregiver and your elderly loved one?
These well documented findings on the relation between fish oil, omega 3 fatty acids and heart disease show that to begin with a healthy diet with the right variety of ‘good’ oils is crucial. Obviously, going hand in hand with diet, is exercise. But if there is a history of heart disease in the family then certain events might be out of your control.
Once coronary heart disease is confirmed then supplements may have to be considered. We shall leave you with the closing comment from the AHA on the use of supplements.
“Increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake through foods is preferable. However, coronary artery disease patients may not be able to get enough omega-3 by diet alone. These people may want to talk to their doctor about taking a supplement. Supplements also could help people with high triglycerides, who need even larger doses. The availability of high-quality omega-3 fatty acid supplements, free of contaminants, is an important prerequisite to their use.”
If you would like more information on heart disease and omega 3 fish oil and fish oil supplements then please visit the website – Mind 1st USA.
Should you be concerned about your loved one and heart disease, and you are the caregiver, then please contact us to see how we can ease your burden with our professionally trained caregiver staff.
For FREE in-home care consultation, call or visit us at www.rightaccordhealth.com
Our Company is Helping Jerry's Kids in Sarasota, Florida
Rosemarie Tamunday-Casanova, Right Accord Administrator agreed to participate in the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Telethon Executive Lock-up (TELU) 2009 in North Sarasota. Rosemarie had been charged with aiding and abetting MDA with the intent of helping area residents (children, adults and seniors) with Muscular Dystrophy. She is scheduled to be incarcerated next month. Her lock up date is August 27, 2009 at 10:00am. Bail is set at $3,000!
We are rasing bail out money as a commitment to the Sarasota, Florida MDA Telethon. Any donation toward my bail will not only help set me free, but will also help many area children and adults with muscle diseases by adding vital funds to MDA’s research efforts and health care needs.
I’m serving time for Jerry’s Kids. By participating in this event, we’re making a difference in the fight against muscular dystrophy. Any donation towards the “bail out money” will benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s local health care service programs in Sarasota, Florida as well as worldwide research efforts.
For more information about RIGHT ACCORD Private Duty-Home Health Care, visit us at www.rightaccordhealth.com
Hurricane Preparedness in Southwest Florida
Hurricane Season is here again. Are you prepared?
In an era where disaster preparedness is more necessary than ever before, we should all have emergency documents ready in case of a natural or man-made disaster. Here are few tips:
Ask several relatives or friends who live outside your immediate area (approximately 100 miles away) to act as a clearinghouse for information about you and your family after a disaster. It is often easier to place an out-of-state long distance call from a disaster area, than to call within the area. All family members should know to call contact person to report their location and condition. Once contact is made, have the contact person relay messages to your other friends and relatives outside the disaster area. This will help to reduce calling into and out of the affected area once the phones are working.
Emergency Documents includes important information typically needed after a disaster. Copies of emergency documents should include vital information:
- Specifications for adaptive equipment (in case it needs to be replaced)
- Proof of ownership or lease of your residence. (This is important when applying for disaster assistance).
- Social security numbers of family members
- Charge and bank account numbers
- Insurance policy numbers
- Securities, deeds and loan numbers including company name, address and telephone numbers
- Wills/ Living Trusts and letters of instructions
- Important Business documents
- Family records (birth, marriage, death certificate)
The documents should be placed in a water proof container.
Should you be requested to evacuate your home you should remember to bring this container with you.
Right Accord participates in the Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Plan in the Sarasota County by submitting an Emergency Preparedness plan to the Sarasota County Health Department.
Seniors in Sarasota, Longboat key, Bradenton and Venice area who are receiving help at home from our Agency are automatically encouraged to fill out the Person with Special Need (PSN). Right Accord assists with registering seniors to the County Emergency Management Services if necessary. Right Accord will continue to provide services at the designated shelter to seniors who were receiving help at home.
Families living out of Florida who are looking for help for Mom or Dad in the Sarasota County or Manatee County who feel that they may need assistance during the hurricane season may contact our agency to arrange for care providers. We may arrange transportation to a safety place if it is needed especially seniors who require wheelchair transportation. Caregivers will assist the elderly with all the necessary documents and items needed to prepare prior to the actual evacuation.
Hurricane Preparedness is everyone responsibility. Be Prepared!
Estate Planning in Florida – Senior Legal and Financial Literacy
This article is provided by Mary King, ESQ, a Sarasota based Attorney speaking with knowledge that seniors need to know about estate planning, financial choices and challenges. Legal anf financial literacy in older age will assist seniors with financial issues and making informed decisions in Florida.
As an estate planning attorney who meets with clients to discuss their estate needs, I have found over the years that there are number of myths that persist about wills, trusts and probate in the State of Florida. Before we delve into those myths though, it is even more crucial to know what 4 estate planning documents that every single individual should have at a minimum: a Last Will and Testament, a Health Care Surrogate, a Durable Power of Attorney and a Living Will.
This is not to say that more complicated estate planning techniques, beyond tha 4 minimum documents mentioned above, may be appropriate for certain individuals. This is where an education and counseling focused attorney can assist clients in learning how to best plan their estates to meet their goals and needs both while they are living and after they pass on. For the purposes of this article, however, I am just going to discuss the documents mentioned above and why they are so important for seniors living in Sarasota, Florida.
Wills vs. Trust
When a person dies, they have prepared either a Last Will and Testament which is called testate, or in the event that they have not prepared a Last Will and Testament,they die intestate. In either situation, their estate must be probated by the Florida Courts. The Florida Statutes provide the outline for the administration of a probate estate.
A will is a document which only begins to function at the time a person passes away. Essentially, it is an instruction book to the Executor (in Florida called a Personal Representative) about how to dispose of assets after all expenses and obligations of the Estate are taken care of following the person’s demise. In the event that there are minor children of the decedent, a guardian may be nominated within the Will to care for their personal and financial needs. therefore, a Will serves to take away the speculations about a person’s final wishes which may otherwise arise when a person dies intestate.
In my estate planning conferences with clients, many times I have heard these clients express the myth that if they die without a will, their entire estate will go to the State of Florida. As stated earlier in this article, the Florida Statutes provide for the administration of estates in our State. Those statutes also provide for how intestate estates will be distributed. In most cases, the assets are distributed to the family members in percentages which are set forth in the statutes. However, in very rare instances, when a person dies without family members, the estate would go to the State of Florida.
Regardless of whether or not it is a testate or intestate case, family members are protected from the decedent’s creditors by way of Family Allowance and Exempt Personal Property set asides. Through these provisions in the Florida Statutes, the surviving family members that were dependents of the decedent are entitled to receive up tp $18,000 per family expenses during the probate process. Under the exempt personal property provisions, the furniture, and personal automobiles owned by the decedent are also protected from creditors.
A few final thoughts regarding the Last Will and Testament and probate process. As a general rule, the probate process will take apporxiamtely six (6) months to a year depending on the variety of factors, which include but not limited to the state of the real estate market if there is a real property to be sold. Within the provisions of a Will, a testator cannot project his testemetary wishes beyond the time frame of the probate process; ie. he cannot control the disposition of his assets beyond the grave. Should a testator decide what wishes to retain control over how the assets are distributed over time to his beneficiaries, then he may wish to consider the use of a Revocable Living Trust which provides more options both during life and thereafter.
Trusts have been used for hundred of years. The basic trust agreement consists of a Grantor who appoints a Trustee to manage the assets of the estate for the benefit of certain named individuals.Over the years, Florida has enacted numerous statutory provisions governing trusts,the most recent and sweeping changes occur in 2007, which substantially changed the Florida Trust Code completly.
Unlike a Will, when trust is formed it is a separate and distinct entity from its creator, the Grantor. In other words, when the grantor appoints a trustee to manage assets for the benefit of the individuals he has selected, a separate legal entity comes into existence, which holds title to the assets. Due to the fact that this is a separate legal entity, it can exist long after the Grantor’s death, thereby providing for distribution of assets far into the future according to the Grantor’s wishes.
As an estate planning attorney, not only do I concern myself with designing strategies that minimize a client’s exposure to creditor’s attacks, but also try to reduce their overall estate tax liability at the time of death. Both of these objectives may be attained by focusing on the client’s goals and determining the appropriate estate planning strategy for them. However, it is also important to focus on the client’s needs during their life. Therefore, I recommend to clients that they try to anticipate and provide the necessary tools to deal with periods of incapacity. With that in mind, almost all clients that I prepare a will or trust for will also receive a set of power of attorneys.
Durable Power of Attorney
A Durable Power of Attorney grants immediate authority to a trusted individual to buy, sell, mortgage, and many other financial powers that become invaluable during a period of incapacity as a result of illness or accident. Unlike a general power of attorney, the power conferred is durable, meaning it is unaffected by the person’s disability.
Health care Surrogate and Living Will
The designation of health care surrogate and living will are also durable powers. However, they are specifically limited to medical and hospital settings. Through the preparation of these documents prior to the time a person is incapacitated, a person can express their wishes for their medical care during periods when they are unable to do so. This can become especially important in the event of a serious or catastrophic illness at a hospital, hospice or nursing home.
By preparing a living will and designation of health care surrogate when they are well, these documents enable a seriously ill or comatose patient to designate a trusted friend or family member to prevent the use of respirators and other heroic medical treatments and life sustaining measures that may be viewed as only extending life when there is no reasonable hope or expectation of recovery.
In conclusion, this has been a very brief discussion of estate planning options. Numerous options exist for advanced planning techniques for those individuals who are interested in qualifying for Medicaid benefits, as well as asset protection for high-net worth individuals but may be interested in meeting with me to discuss estate planning or one of my other practice areas, please contact me at (941) 906-7585 or visit my website at www.kinglawpl.com.
Use Your Home to Stay at Home Instead
Most senior Americans would prefer to “age in place” in their own home instead of the ‘other’ options. The high costs of long-term care however, suggest that few seniors can afford to pay these costs for very long. Until recently older homeowners had limited resources for improving their financial situation; they could sell the house, or if they had adequate incomes, they could take could take out a first or second mortgage. A new solution is a Reverse Mortgage.
Reverse Mortgages offer benefits for impaired elders. These funds are quickly available to homeowners so that they can deal with long-term care needs as they arise. The funds can be used for any purpose, such as paying for family caregivers, home modifications, or a care coordinator. The Reverse Mortgage gives consumers considerable flexibility in managing their financial assets over time.
Seniors who are unfamiliar with reverse mortgages often are fearful about taking out this type of loan. The most common concern is that they will lose their home instead of having financial security. Others believe that this financial option is very risky and should only be used by someone who is facing dire financial circumstances. More education will help address these concerns. Many consumers do not understand that the mortgage insurance offers important protections to borrowers who continue to live at home for the long term.
6.1 million Seniors are coping with functional limitations. These are the seniors that would benefit most from reverse mortgages because they are not well served by traditional sources of long-term care financing that target elders with a high level of impairment. Only the sickest seniors may be eligible to receive services through Medicaid programs. Similarly, long-term care insurance policy holders typically must need help with two or more ADL’s to trigger their home care benefits. Thus making it difficult for seniors with limited financial resources and moderate levels of impairment to get timely help before they face a debilitating and costly – crisis.
The reverse mortgage resources could have a significant impact on the well-being of impaired seniors and their families. By having money of their own to pay for home care elders can maintain their dignity, as well as retain some independence and control over their lives. For spouses and other family caregivers, these supports can help reduce the financial, emotional, and physical strain that often comes with caring for impaired elder
For more information, education or free consultation on Reverse Mortgages here is the link. www.blondinreverse.com or contact Your Local Reverse Mortgage Specialist at (941) 400-0962
The team here at Right Accord Health agree fully with the opinion that it is always better stay at home instead of having a senior moved into a home. We provide our services to Sarasota, Bradenton, Longboat Key, Venice and the surrounding areas.
Why Use Senior Transportation Services?
There are many forms of senior transportation services. There are the non-emergency transport agencies which provide specially designed and kitted out vans available for the individual. Then there are forms of transport that are organised from within various communities, these could be small mini buses that do a circuit of the local area, they collect seniors and get them back home after events.
Generally speaking, these senior transportation services are more suited to helping people who are slightly more immobile than the rest of the population. I’m sure we’ve all seen, and felt sorry for, an older person who is struggling to get off a bus (usually with some kind soul helping out) but with everyone huffing and puffing about the time taken to do so. This behaviour by ‘the masses’ is, and will be, around for much time. So will the high steps to get on and off the bus to begin with.
Most forms of transport that cater for seniors have wider doors, seats and some have air suspension that lower the bus to the ground when people get on and off. One thing that is hugely important is that everyone on that bus is in the same situation and there certainly wont be anyone complaining about the time taken to get through the door. An added bonus is that the driver will have been employed to drive the minibus or transport because of a decent, relaxed and helpful mannerism.
The specialist kind of non-emergency transport usually has to be booked through an agency and is date, time and distance specific. You have willl have to provide details of the immobile client with regards to wheelchair or stretcher uses, their height and weight. If your loved one is medically stable but requires medication to be close at hand or needs a care provider to escort them most transport services are closely aligned with senior care provider agencies so they can help with your needs.
For non-emergency senior transportation services, they can be found through your local church, charities provide transport to their centers where they usually have activites, the local Town Hall will either have information or have their own transport, shopping centers or malls can provide means of transport as well.
Wheelchair & Stretcher Transportation
In today’s society their are many needs for wheelchair and stretcher transportation. We live in an age where the immobile, whether they be in wheelchairs or on stretchers, are no longer discriminated against.
Shops, restaraunts, parks, museums, airports, etc, all cater for people with limited mobility. So, the problem isn’t with what to do or see, the problem is now how to get there.
Various companies offer wheelchair and stretcher transportation. This normally involves a highly modified vehicle. To start with there will be a way for the wheelchair or stretcher to be loaded easily into the interior of the vehicle – if you are considering hiring a service to transport and assist a loved one this would be a good question to ask – a lift is the usual means.
The van will have a good sized wide body for ease of access for the individual and once inside there will need to be enough room for a caregiver (professional, family or friend) to move around the client to assure comfort and safety. obviously some good head room here will help the caregiver more than your loved one.
Where are you and what season is it? Is the transport suitably equipped to deal with the extremes of heat or cold during winter or summer? A good heater and a comfort blanket is essential and the opposite is air-conditioning and some sun shades on the window next to the passenger.
You are now in the vehicle, the wheelchair or stretcher is in and secure, your loved one is comfortable. Let us now look at the driver. Is he familiar with the vehicle he is driving, the size, power and handling? Has he the latest up-to-date CPR/first aid certificates? Is he polite and courteous (you are after all paying for a service!)? Was he on time and knows where he is going?
So…. now we have places to go and things to see and do for our immobile loved ones and also we have a means of getting them there and back home again safely.
For more information our own wheelchair and stretcher transportation in the Sarasota, Venice, Longboat Key, Bradenton and surrounding areas please visit our Non-Emergency Transport page.
