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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
(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 [...]
(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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
(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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
(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; [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
“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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
