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Eldercare Tips | Caregiver Tips

Posted on May 15, 2013 - by Nurse Virginia

LISTENING – CAN BE A GREAT GIFT FOR THE ELDER WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Alzheimer's Disease

Everyone wants people to show interest and pay attention when they speak. A person with Alzheimer’s disease is no different; they want the respect that was given to them and their conversation before they developed Alzheimer’s. Yet, persons with Alzheimer’s disease many times will be unaware that their speech has changed and may even be [...]

Posted on May 9, 2013 - by Nurse Virginia

NATIONAL NURSES WEEK – FIVE TRAITS THAT MAKE A NURSE OR ANYONE ELSE GREAT

Nursing Home

I just read an article called the 5 things that make a good nurse. In reading the list I realized these 5 things would be good traits in anyone, especially anyone caring for an elder. 5 – Traits that make a great caregiver: 1.      Compassion – the ability to really see you’re elder and take [...]

Posted on May 8, 2013 - by Nurse Virginia

CULTURE CHANGE, PERSON-CENTERED CARE IN HEALTHCARE, LOOK TO THE RESTORATIVE NURSE

Person-Centered Care

Healthcare is moving in a more holistic system of care.  The definition of “holistic” is:  to treat the whole person rather than just the symptoms of the person’s disease. In the field of nursing care, the restorative nurse and restorative care would qualify as “holistic nursing.” Restorative nursing uses routine activities of everyday life: eating, [...]

Posted on May 2, 2013 - by Nurse Virginia

NURSING HOMES – THE FUTURE OF SENIOR CARE

Nursing Home

(PART IV) Is it a spa, a cruise ship or a nursing community? The focus of the future in senior living will be on wellness programs, living green, cyber learning labs, themed restaurants,  green environments, senior living design, wellness and healing gardens, therapy pools, and aquatic centers.  Having life long learning will be very important [...]

Posted on May 1, 2013 - by Nurse Virginia

NURSING HOME – TODAYS NURSING COMMUNITY MORE OF A REHAB FACILITY THAN LAST STOP FOR ELDER

Nursing Home

(PART III)   The usual move into a Nursing Home is often looked at, as the last home for that elder. But that is not always the case. When the elder has been living at home and now moves into the Nursing Home they gain many services.   Myrtle brought Bill into the Nursing Home [...]

NURSING HOME CARE – A LITTLE DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT IT
by Nurse Virginia on April 26, 2013
NURSING HOME CARE – THE “IT WON’T HAPPEN TO ME” REACTION
by Nurse Virginia on April 24, 2013
WHEN TALKING ABOUT HER MAKES THE ELDER WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE ANXIOUS
by Nurse Virginia on April 18, 2013
THE LATEST “BUZZ WORDS” IN ELDERLY CARE – PERSON-CENTERED CARE
by Nurse Virginia on April 15, 2013
BRUISES IN THE ELDERLY ARE NOT ALWAYS A SIGN OF POOR CARE – OR WORSE ABUSE
by Nurse Virginia on April 11, 2013
« Older Entries
Aging

THE LATEST “BUZZ WORDS” IN ELDERLY CARE – PERSON-CENTERED CARE

Whether you are a family member giving care, a private caregiver in a home, or a caregiver in a nursing community you can and many times do provide “person-centered care.” Person-centered means that all of the care comes from knowing the care recipient well. It means that the caregiver knows: ·         Does the person like [...]

Alzheimer's Activities

GREAT CAREGIVING – CULTIVATE THE ABILITY TO REALLY SEE AND BE IN THE MOMENT THROUGH ART

PART II In The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin S. Sharma, one of the enlightening rituals he shares is to stare at the center of a rose. When you start this practice you find it hard to concentrate for more than a few minutes, without becoming distracted. However with daily practice you get [...]

Alzheimer's Communication

BEING AN EXTREME CAREGIVER MEANS BEING CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERAL

The Conservative Caregiver Be conservative in your criticism and in the use of negative words. Words like “stop,” “don’t,” “that’s wrong,” “I already told you that,” and so on and on. When you have Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia causing illness, your day is full of mistakes. You no longer remember how to go about [...]

Alzheimer's Disease

LISTENING – CAN BE A GREAT GIFT FOR THE ELDER WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Everyone wants people to show interest and pay attention when they speak. A person with Alzheimer’s disease is no different; they want the respect that was given to them and their conversation before they developed Alzheimer’s. Yet, persons with Alzheimer’s disease many times will be unaware that their speech has changed and may even be [...]

Ambulation

FOR THE ELDER MOVING INTO A NURSING HOME MAY BE SYNONYMOUS WITH BECOMING WHEELCHAIR BOUND

Is it now standard practice that you move into a nursing home, you are immediately assigned a wheelchair? When you visit a nursing home, how many elderly people do you see still walking? It may start on admission, where the wheelchair just seems to come with your room. Or it may begin when you are [...]

Bathing

WHEN THE ELDER CAN NO LONGER GET INTO A BATHTUB TRY – A STAND-UP SINK BATH

EQUIPMENT: Elder’s personal soap Incontinent product/underwear Deodorant Comb/brush Electric razor/straight razor Clothes Elder’s personal lotion Shoes Personal items – watch / hair assessories/jewellery SET-UP: Two wash cloths – one to soap and one to rinse Towels Anti-slip mat Run water until it is warm, plug sink – continue to run small amount of warm water [...]

Behaviours

WHEN TALKING ABOUT HER MAKES THE ELDER WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE ANXIOUS

The elder’s behavior can tell you how negative the environment is. Mom started walking through the house, wringing her hands and shaking her head. We tried to find out what was upsetting her. She didn’t know and couldn’t seem to stop. We tried to reason with her, but that didn’t work. Then we grasped that [...]

Bowel and Bladder

URINARY INFECTIONS MAY LEAD TO INCREASED CONFUSION IN THE ELDERLY

(Part II) In the past when an elderly person experienced changes in behavior or increased confusion, the health care community collectively thought that this was normal; after all you’re getting old. How many times has a doctor said to a family member “What do you expect at his age, he’s getting old.” Addressing the behavior [...]

Caregiver Support

TAKING A BREAK FROM CAREGIVING – FOR THE ELDER WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Taking a break, respite for a few hours, a few days or a few weeks. Other words for respite are reprieve or pause, what caregiver doesn’t need a reprieve? A change, a break for both the caregiver as well as the elder with Alzheimer’s disease. The most beneficial respite care is probably a combination of [...]

Dressing

KNOW THE CONFUSED ELDER’S ROUTINE BEFORE YOU HELP THEM GET DRESSED

Know the elders routine. Do you drink your coffee first thing in the morning or with breakfast? Do you get dressed before breakfast or after? There is so much comfort in having your own routine, doing things the same way at the same time. Everyone has an established routine. You like to do things in [...]

Eating Problems

SUPPORTING EATING AND NUTRITION – FOR THE ELDER WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Make the mealtime experience as simple as possible for the caregiver as well as the elder with dementia. The activity of eating is the most important activity of the day. And it is certainly true that when cooking, everyone can be right “in the moment” with the person with Alzheimer’s disease. So cooking and eating [...]

Elderly - Infection

Follow common sense guidelines when caregiving for the elderly to prevent colds, flu and food poisoning

When all is said and done, the best prevention always turns out to be good old soap and water. Whether it is for washing hands or surfaces, soap and water still are the best. Hand washing: First line of defense! Every time we have an in-service at our Nursing Home, on preventing infection, we always [...]

Elderly Products

Caregiver Tips: “THE ALZHEIMER’S STORE” catalogue probably has what you need.

No more 911 calls from confused elderly: I absolutely love my new edition of The Alzheimer’s Store Catalogue. As I skim through it I can see, in my mind, those people from the past that would have benefited so much from some of these innovative products. Right from the first few pages – imagine a [...]

Falls

WHEN THE CONFUSED ELDER KEEPS FALLING OUT OF BED – SIDE RAILS ARE NOT THE ANSWER

The goal in the nursing home is to never use side rails as a restraint, or to keep someone in bed. There are only a few times in a nursing home that they will give an elder side rails: One side rail when the elder is in bed to give the elder something to hold [...]

Hydration

ANYONE CAN BECOME DEHYDRATED, THE CONFUSED ELDER IS AT MORE RISK

Many times an elderly person will intentionally stop drinking water, because they don’t want to make so many trips to the bathroom. They just get in the habit of never drinking more than a sip. The elder may already be dehydrated and not even notice they are thirsty. 12 Reasons everyone needs water: Water is [...]

Infection

FLU SEASON, GENETICS AND DISEASE

PART IV Yes, it stands to reason that the healthier a person is the less susceptible to virus and bacteria they would be. Yet there is a wide difference of opinion as to what constitutes a healthy person and an even wider gulf when you discuss healthy eating. Is a person who has a family [...]

Nursing Home

NATIONAL NURSES WEEK – FIVE TRAITS THAT MAKE A NURSE OR ANYONE ELSE GREAT

I just read an article called the 5 things that make a good nurse. In reading the list I realized these 5 things would be good traits in anyone, especially anyone caring for an elder. 5 – Traits that make a great caregiver: 1.      Compassion – the ability to really see you’re elder and take [...]

Parkinson's Disease

HOW THE NURSING HOME TAKES CARE OF THE ELDER WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE

(Part V) It is never too late for a Therapy base line assessment. If it wasn’t done at the start of symptoms, it can be done now. As with every other discipline in the Nursing Home, the key here is a “change in condition.” If you have not written down what the current level of; [...]

Person-Centered Care

CULTURE CHANGE, PERSON-CENTERED CARE IN HEALTHCARE, LOOK TO THE RESTORATIVE NURSE

Healthcare is moving in a more holistic system of care.  The definition of “holistic” is:  to treat the whole person rather than just the symptoms of the person’s disease. In the field of nursing care, the restorative nurse and restorative care would qualify as “holistic nursing.” Restorative nursing uses routine activities of everyday life: eating, [...]

Personal Care

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE ELDERLY PERSON’S SKIN THE WAY THE NURSING HOME NURSE WOULD-AND PREVENT WOUNDS

Nurses know when the elderly person no longer moves independently, they will need to be extra vigilant in their skin care. Nurses know: Preventing wounds is much easier than healing them An elderly person can develop a pressure wound in 2-6 hours of not changing position A pressure wound is painful Healing a pressure wound [...]

Stroke

THREE VERY IMPORTANT HOURS – WHEN A PERSON HAS HAD A STROKE

“Help, help, I can’t get up,” Vera called out to her sleeping husband. Vera was used to waking up around 3 a.m. and reading for an hour before going back to bed. But that night after sitting for an hour at the kitchen table, when Vera tried to stand up to walk back to bed [...]

Uncategorized

REMEMBERING MOM- DEATH OF A PARENT

I truly feel the warm thoughts and sincere prayers coming to me at this time, due to the loss of my Mom. As I worked with my sister clearing out her room I was struck by the flow of nursing assistants, nurses and activity staff who came to the room to pay their respects. With [...]

Vision Problems

Caregiver Tips: Helping your elder with Aging Vision and Alzheimer’s disease. (Part Three)

Aging vision needs much more light: “Why are you turning the lights on already” Carl’s wife asked. “Oh, it’s going to get dark soon” He replied. This from the man who went behind her for years turning off lights when she just stepped out of a room for a minute. He wasn’t even aware of [...]

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