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HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR YOUR LOVED ONES AGING IN PLACE

12/10/2020

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This year give your elderly loved ones the gift of helping them age in place more safely and securely.   Studies find that nearly 90% of people want to stay in their homes as long as possible.  Aging in Place gifts include installing home safety equipment, arranging for help in or around the home, and helping your loved ones get their financial affairs in order.  “Gift Certificates” like the below can be personalized to meet your loved one’s needs.  Place the personalized certificate in a nice box, wrap it up, and give your gift of loving support.   

Examples of holiday ‘aging in place’ gifts:
  • Improving home safety (eg, installing grab bars in bathrooms or ramps to the front door, or obtaining medical alert devices including new smart watches).  Deciding what to give should be based on an in-home safety evaluation; you then choose to perform the work yourself or arrange to have a professional do it.
  • Finding help for in and around the elderly person’s home (eg, assistance with personal care, a cleaning service, lawn care or a handy-man) - your gift is locating the needed help and then arranging for them to visit and provide cost estimates for their services.
  • Helping an elderly loved one get their financial affairs in order (eg, creating an inventory of all assets, consolidating those assets, or creating or updating wills) - your gift is doing this work or finding a needed financial advisor or elder law attorney to provide the service.
  • Arranging transportation and/or encouraging new sources of social support - example gifts can be arranging rides via IKOR, Reliable Rides or GoGoGrandparent, taking someone to a community senior center, or re-engaging an elderly loved one with their church or other community group.
Conducting home safety evaluations - there are several home safety checklists available from both government & private sources.   However, if your elderly loved ones have health concerns or physical or cognitive/memory limitations, an in-home assessment by a trained health care professional is needed.   Professional assessments are available from area home care providers and from www.BlueRidgeElderCare.com/services.html.
Blue Ridge ElderCare Advisors is here to help and provides a free initial phone consultation.  
​Please call 434-465-4508 for any questions or for further information.   

Happy Holidays!
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THIS FALL, HELP YOUR ELDER LOVED ONES AVOID FALLING

10/8/2020

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​According to the National Council on Aging, one in four Americans aged 65+ fall every year.  Having a Care Manager as part of your health care plan for your older loved one can help avoid this common, but avoidable, part of aging.   

The following video provides information about common reasons for falls in the elderly and how they can be prevented.   Thanks to the Aging Life Care Association for this information which they recently posted in recognition of National Fall Prevention Week (Sept 21-25, 2020).  For more information visit:  blog.aginglifecare.org/blog/this-fall-prevent-falls-for-your-elder-loved-one/
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Healthcare Decision-Making During a Pandemic

9/3/2020

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​The Covid-19 pandemic is requiring people, especially the elderly, to make potentially life-and-death decisions, daily.   Do I visit my out-of-town family, how do I get there, and even more basic, is it safe to go shopping or to meet someone for lunch today?   

For healthcare professionals caring for the elderly, Covid-19 decision-making can be even more complex.  Along with the elderly and their families asking for advice on avoiding infection, they want advice on healthcare facilities.   Is it safe to go to the hospital, and for what?   And maybe most difficult, they want help making informed, objective decisions about long-term care facilities.

Health care professionals have an ethical obligation to use the most current health care science and data.  For Covid-19, the primary sources of that information should be local, state and national public healthcare agency websites (.gov sites).  Policy and politics aside, all of us have an obligation to actively support the continued objective and unbiased reporting of public healthcare science and data.    

There are many types of Covid-19 data and key is data on the local community, since most transmission and infection occurs locally.   Local data are often reported by county or zip code and include number of cases and deaths per week, percent of the population testing positive, and whether rates are increasing or decreasing.   Health department/agency sites also provide data on long-term and other healthcare facility infection and death rates, including ‘hot spots’.

With the internet, it’s now impossible to review all available information.  Instead we must focus our internet searches and avoid relying on social media as a primary source of information.  Health departments, in collaboration with larger academic healthcare centers, should be our primary sources.   The only way we will make it thru this pandemic and minimize suffering and death will be with objective data, science and expert healthcare guidance.   Our lives and those of our loved ones depend on it.

For Virginia Covid-19 information and data, please go to:  www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/.      

And if not already, please be sure that you or your loved ones still get your flu shots for the 2020-2021 flu season.   You can catch both the flu and Covid-19, a potentially deadly combination.   For more information, please go to:  www.helpadvisor.com/conditions/flu-vaccine-resource-guide
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Blue Ridge ElderCare Advisors, LLC
Fred D. Jung, RN, PhD
.    Crozet, VA  22932
434-465-4508     breldercare@gmail.com
www.BlueRidgeElderCare.com      Secure Video Conferencing Available
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