It is wise to be cautious about crime. But extreme fear traps some elders at home unnecessarily, undermining their quality of life.

If you are concerned about the person you care for, these tips can help you support your relative’s safety and address his or her anxiety.

The facts about seniors and crime show that

- fear is out of proportion. Older adults are the victims of crime far less often than are people in other age groups.

- violent crimes are uncommon. Seniors most fear assault and rape. But older adults are rarely the victims of such crimes.

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June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Exploitation of seniors is an issue none of us likes to think about. But it’s a growing problem. Well over a half-million incidents of elder abuse are reported each year.

Elder abuse includes intentional acts of malice, as well as simple acts of neglect or ignorance.

There are seven types of abuse:

• Self-neglect. When a mentally confused elder’s actions threaten his or her health or safety. For example, not eating or not bathing because of dementia.

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Source: SeriousIllness.org

Technologies abound to help us stay connected with loved ones. There are also many options to support your relative in living independently. Here are some options in the areas of safety and health.

Personal safety and home security

• Personal medical alert: Wearable devices that call for help. Most require the push of a button. Some can detect a fall automatically. Others can be used even when away from home.
• Fall detection: Video systems that scan the bottom 12 inches of a residence. This protects privacy but reveals if a person has fallen to the floor.

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Source: SeriousIllness.org

When your family member is in pain, you are suffering too. The “mirror neurons” in our brains are programmed to recognize pain in others. That’s good news, in that it arouses compassion and spurs us to action. But it can be bad news, too. When you’re highly attuned to a loved one’s pain, you’re at higher risk of depression and self-neglect.

Learn about pain management. Your ability to reduce your relative’s experience of pain will help both of you.

- Report symptoms and ask questions. Download the Pain Tracking Kit offered by Partners Against Pain. And ask the doctor for a consult with a palliative care specialist. They have special training in pain control.

- Learn about medications. Master the steps you can take to lessen pain when it occurs.

Our article on managing pain provides guidelines for other remedies you can use at home.

Accept what is beyond your power and focus on what you can control.

• Emphasize comfort. Remind yourself, “Today, I may not be able to stop the pain, but I can still [prepare food, massage feet, etc.].”
• Provide distractions. If your family member is engaged in an activity, he or she is less likely to be aware of the pain.

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Source: SeriousIllness.org

It’s unsettling when a family member is losing weight unexpectedly. If the doctor has no medical explanation, perhaps it’s the result of one of these common situations:
Access to food

- Money. Many elders needlessly limit purchases. A review of the budget, or shopping together, may help. If finances are limited, contact your local Area Agency on Aging to find senior dining programs and food banks. Or check out our listing of nutrition programs.

• Shopping. Your parent may have difficulty getting to a grocery store. And difficulty carrying packages. Have your parent try using a wheeled cart. Arrange for rides. Order groceries delivered. Or consider a taxi.
• Cooking. Cooking is physically demanding. Standing. Lifting. Carrying. With arthritis or vision loss, simply opening a package can be difficult. Help prepare meals in advance. Or identify shortcuts, such as precut vegetables.

Appetite and eating

• Flavor. We lose taste and smell as we age. And salt-restricted diets are often bland. Suggest cooking with more herbs and spices.
• Pain. Pain decreases appetite. Eating with others can create a natural distraction. Also check for correctable problems with dentures or teeth.
• Depression. Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or loneliness commonly reduce appetite. Have your loved one evaluated for depression. Look for ways to reduce isolation, particularly at mealtime.
• Medication. Some medications cause nausea or constipation. Others bring on a depressed mood. Still others reduce taste and smell. Ask the pharmacist about side effects and possible alternative drugs.

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Soure: Winston-Salem Journal

By Annette Fuller
Published: February 09, 2011

Doctors’ busy schedules are no excuse for them not taking the time to discuss end-of-life care options with their patients, said Dr. William Blackstock, program director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

“Some of my colleagues do a fabulous job of discussing these issues with their patients,” Blackstock said. “But too many of my colleagues almost never have these discussions until the patient is seriously ill. At that point, they may be taking pain medication that can confuse them. We need to have these conversations sooner than that.”

And it’s not just an issue of doctors not having enough time, he said.

“There is a skill set to this,” Blackstock said. “We are not trained to do this. It’s not something that we emphasize during residencies or fellowships.”

That’s why Blackstock is glad that the American Society of Clinical Oncology recently published a 24-page booklet, available online, that advocates for more involved conversations between patient and doctor earlier in the process about the patient’s choices for care and treatments during his or her last few months of life, if treatments are not successful.

Cancer patients are “at different places” when doctors first bring up this topic, Blackstock said.

“Some want these discussions early; some want it later,” he said. Even if the patient puts off the topic, due to fear, “it is still the doctor’s responsibility to engage the patient in this discussion. It’s part of taking care of them, just as much as the medical treatment.”

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Source: SeriousIllness.org

It’s natural to want to help when your loved one can no longer drive. But it may not be realistic. Smart caregivers learn to delegate things that can be done by others. Only you can provide the love of a family member. Transportation is something others can do.

Each town has its own transportation program. Check to see which of these are available where your loved one lives.

Public transportation options

• Public or mass transit. This service is bus or rail travel on a preset route. It usually has a preset schedule. Seniors often pay a reduced fare. Some companies can even arrange ahead of time for someone to accompany a first-time rider, share tips, etc.
• Paratransit service. This service is for individuals with physical or mental disabilities. It provides door-to-door or curb-to-curb travel. Most paratransit vehicles can handle wheelchairs. Timing is based on the rider’s schedule. Advance reservations are required.

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For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, contact Ann Gauthreaux, public relations director, at 336-768-3972, or see Hospice’s website at http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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Source: Journalnow.com
By PAUL GARBER

Start with a blank piece of paper and a pencil.

Now think of the kind of health-care system you’d like to have. Design it from scratch assuming you don’t know what kind of family you’d be born into — rich or poor, black or white, rural or urban.

What would it look like? Probably nothing like the system we currently have, said Diane Meier, an internationally known expert on palliative care.

Meier said the health-care system in the United States is broken and needs to be fixed from the bottom up. She urged people to work together and raise their voices to demand change.

“The public is very powerful, and it’s a sleeping giant,” she said. “Create a movement that would create change.”

Meier said from what she’s heard from her patients and during her travels, people want a health-care system in which doctors have more time to spend with their patients, in which they will listen better to their patients’ concerns, and if they get sick will come to their homes rather than having them shuttle between hospitals and doctors offices.

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There’s a reason rivalries resurface when siblings share in elder care. According to Francine Russo, author of They’re Your Parents, Too!, the trigger is an awareness that time is running out. It often hinges on the desire to resolve unconscious needs for parental attention. Perhaps it’s a need to feel as important as another sibling. Or to feel forgiven. Or to feel capable.

When old issues operate beneath the surface, the result can be lots of emotion and little constructive progress.

What to do:

- Check in with yourself. Are you overly engaged in caregiving out of the hope for approval? Or underinvolved because you were “the baby”? Recognize how your perspective may affect your role in your parent’s care and your response to your siblings.

- Don’t blame your sibs. If you feel that Dad overlooks you, you may be right. Your parent may be unfair. This is not the fault of your siblings, however. Similarly, if you are the “favorite child,” try not to abuse that privilege. Instead, look for common ground with your siblings. Acknowledge your parent’s foibles.

- Treat your siblings as adults. If you don’t operate according to old family patterns, your siblings are less likely to do so too. Meet them as they are today. At a minimum, agree to put aside sibling issues to focus on the care of your parent. Use the forum of a “family meeting” for discussion. Hire a facilitator if problems persist.

- Get support. You may not ever receive the love you want from your parent. Your siblings may repeat old patterns. Accept these realities if they occur, and find connection in other places. Try a support group for family caregivers. Or consider individual counseling for help in letting go of old hopes.

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, contact Ann Gauthreaux, public relations director, at 336-768-3972, or see Hospice’s website at http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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Hospice to Provide Walking Meditation Labyrinth As a Spiritual Tool for Rest and Reflection

Hospice & Palliative CareCenter invites the public to experience its 6th annual walking meditation labyrinth, which will be set up in the agency’s Williams Education & Counseling Center (Building 121), located at 101 Hospice Lane in Winston-Salem from January 18-21 and on January 23.

The portable canvas labyrinth – designed in the style of the labyrinth found on the floor of Chartres Cathedral, a 13th century gothic cathedral in France – was created by the Winston-Salem Labyrinth Project.
“Dating back thousands of years, labyrinths have long been used as a place for rest and reflection,” explains Katie Cyre, manager of Hospice’s Complementary Therapies (CT) Program.

The CT Program offers Music and Art Therapies, as well Gentle Touch Therapies as part of patient and family care, grief counseling, and staff support.  These therapies enrich the total care of the patient, family member, and bereaved person, building upon the holistic philosophy of hospice care with therapeutic interventions that honor the mind, body, and spirit of each person.
“The journey in and out of the labyrinth is often viewed as a metaphor for life and provides opportunities for release, renewal, and insight,” Cyre says.
A new offering for 2011 is “Comfort for the Journey,” a workshop for those who are grieving the death of a loved one.  Sessions will be held on January 18, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, and on January 20, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm.  Workshops include a brief introduction to the labyrinth and a guided labyrinth walk.  There is no fee for the workshops; however, advance registration is requested.  To register, call 331-1348.
The labyrinth will be open to the public on the following dates.  No registration is required to walk the labyrinth.
•    Wednesday, January 19, 12:00 – 5:00 pm
•    Thursday, January 20, 1:00 – 7:00 pm
•    Friday, January 21, 12:00 – 7:00 pm
•    Sunday, January 23, 2:00 – 4:00 pm

“Our hospice campus serves as a place of respite and support for those seeking to gain comfort and understanding in their life journeys,” Cyre adds. “We offer the labyrinth each year with the hope that it will prove to be meaningful in the lives of those who visit.”

For more information about the labyrinth offerings, contact Katie Cyre at (336) 331-1331.

Since 1979, Hospice & Palliative CareCenter has been committed to providing quality medical, emotional, spiritual, and social support to patients and families who face a serious illness – regardless of diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment.  Today, Hospice & Palliative CareCenter provides these services in a 13-country area.  Hospice’s Grief Counseling Center offers bereavement services to families of Hospice patients as well as grief counseling to the community at large. Hospice’s Carousel Center offers pediatric palliative care to infants, children and their families.

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, contact Ann Gauthreaux, public relations director, at 336-768-3972, or see Hospice’s website at http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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