Elder Care Needs Can Change in an Instant
Photo credit Ivan Samkov
During the years I cared for multiple elders, I grew to dread the ringing of the telephone. It seemed most calls meant emergencies. One example? My neighbor, Joe, for whom I was the primary caregiver, wore a personal alarm so that he could push a button to notify a dispatch center if he had an emergency. The dispatch center would call him back. If he didn't answer his phone, they'd call me. The moment is frozen in time for me when, just hours after I left his house, my phone rang. It was the dispatch center telling me that Joe had punched the help button and wasn't answering his phone. I imme...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 11, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Should I Have to Take Care of My Elderly In-Laws?
Photo credit Sven Mieke
Being a family caregiver doesn’t always stop at caring for our own aging parents. Our significant other’s mom and dad often look to us for care, too, especially if we already have some experience under our belt. Some of us take on this responsibility without hesitation. Our in-laws are our spouse’s parents and our children’s grandparents. Often, we love them, or at least like them. In more difficult cases, relationships with in-laws never really blossomed or have been downright impossible to cultivate.
Regardless of how you feel about your mother-in-law and father-in-law, taking on the care ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 10, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Paul Krugman and the “Ersatz” Theory of Private Currencies
George SelginAlthough I ' ve devoted many essays here to exploding myths about historical private currencies, there ' s one I ' ve yet to directly challenge. That ' s the belief that such currencies only thrive in the absence of official alternatives. Otherwise, the argument goes, people would drop private currencies like so many hot rocks. Since this opinion assumes that private currencies are inevitably inferior to official ones, I hereby christen it the " ersatz " theory of private currency. Note that " currency " means circulating or (in today ' s digital context)peer-to-peer exchange media: nobody denies that other so...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 9, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: George Selgin Source Type: blogs
The Macro View – Health, Economics, and Politics and the Big Picture. What I Am Watching Here And Abroad.
June 09, 2022 Edition-----The Russian war on Ukraine is now well over 100 days old. The destruction and deaths are just awful and the world is being seriously re-shaped. Where this ends is unknowable but unlikely to be good.In the US we are seeing almost daily mass shootings and no-one seems to know what to do. Just pathetic.In the UK the hangover is slowly lifting after the 4 day royal celebration.In OZ we are having an energy crisis which we hope we will find solutions for soon!-----Major Issues.------https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/australias-labor-government-faces-a-whole-new-economic-ball-game/news...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - June 9, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
How Involved Should Families Be When Elders Live in a Senior Living Facility?
Photo credit: John Mark Kuznietosov
Over the course of 15 years, five of my elderly loved ones lived, for various spans of time, in a nearby nursing home. I visited them nearly every day. Some would say I was over-attentive since my elders were getting excellent care in the facility. But I tended to their specific requests that were beyond what the staff could possibly deliver, which made my elders easier for the professionals to care for. Striking a careful balance is crucial when it comes to visits and family involvement at a long-term care facility. There is helpful participation with your loved one, and then the...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 8, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Structure of working memory in children from 3 to 8 years old. - PsycNET
In this study, we tested various models of WM on a sample of 739 Italian children, ranging in age from 3 to 8 years, primarily of European heritage and from medium to medium –high socioeconomic background. Participants were assessed with 12 WM tasks, systematically varying the modality and level of executive control required (based on the number of activities to be performed at once: retention alone, ignoring distractors, and dealing with dual tasks). We examined youn ger children (n = 501, Mage = 56.8 months, SD = 6.4, 48% boys) and older children (n = 238, Mage = 80.0 months,...
Source: Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) - June 7, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: blogs
Do Parents Really Want to Live with Their Adult Children?
Photo credit Pexels Robert Stokoe
It’s difficult to pinpoint how many aging parents live with their adult children, but there is certainly a lot more interest in this type of arrangement now than there was a decade ago. Part of the reason for this increase in multigenerational living is the economy. It’s cheaper for two families to live in one house than for each to have a separate home. I believe another significant factor for many adult children is that it seems easier and cheaper for us to care for our aging parents personally than it would be to pay for in-home care or consider a move to assisted living.
Tak...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 7, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Finding a Balance between Physical Safety and Mental Health in Older Adults
Photo credit Binyamin Mellish
Dear Carol: After suffering a stroke, my dad was diagnosed with early-stage vascular dementia. So far, other than having one weak side, Dad is independent and wants to do things for himself including minor maintenance and planting flowers around his condominium. When we tell him he should leave these jobs to others he says that he enjoys “puttering,” and he needs a reason to get out of bed. I do worry about him, but he’s shown he’s capable of making good decisions so he wouldn’t take on projects that common sense says he should not attempt. My sister, on the other hand, says that we ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 5, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Breaking the News That a Loved One is Going on Hospice Care
Photo credit Pexels Kampus Productions
When the paperwork was finally signed to get hospice care for my dad, I was grateful. There would now be a routine of care for him where he could live in comfort. That's all he really wanted. However, I knew that breaking this news to Mom would be difficult. She'd have to finally admit, and somehow accept, the fact that Dad was dying. After all, hospice care is for people diagnosed as terminally ill. A brief time after Dad's death, Mom's own terminal condition required hospice care in order to control her pain. She had told me numerous times that she was tired of living and read...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 4, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Encouraging Parents to Socialize After the Move to Senior Living
Photo credit Pexels Jean van Der Meulen
Moving to senior living is often a difficult transition for aging loved ones. Even elders who are on board with the decision to relocate to an independent living community, assisted living community or skilled nursing facility are likely to encounter some obstacles when trying to become more familiar with their new living environment and neighbors. The whole experience can be overwhelming, and many seniors initially react by withdrawing into their new room or apartment instead of making friends and joining in activities. This can be frustrating and heartbreaking for family care...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 3, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
10 Tips to Help You “Unplug” from Caregiving
Jen has been caring for her parents for almost two years and she is quickly approaching caregiver burnout. A close friend booked and prepaid a five-day beach vacation for her family months ago, but it turns out they can’t go. They’ve offered Jen the package since they don’t want it to go to waste, but her first instinct is to turn it down. She reckons she could ask for time off work, but who would care for her parents? Even if she managed to arrange respite care for five days, how could she possibly go without being mired in guilt and worrying about what’s happening back at home?
While a free vacation offer isn’t...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 2, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Planning a July 4th “Picnic” for a Loved One in a Senior Living Community
Photo credit Stephanie McCabe
For July 4th or even better, a random time or boring season:
...my uncle loved going for car rides when the weather was cooperative. Once a week, rather than visiting him in his nursing home room as I did on other days, I’d pick him up and we’d drive around to look at flowering trees and bushes in the community. My uncle particularly enjoyed the spring crab apple blossoms that reminded him of the two decades he and my aunt had spent living out east. Later in the year, we’d drive around local college campuses and neighborhoods to enjoy the summer blooms, and later still, we’d ta...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 2, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Should You Quit Your Job to Care for Your Elderly Parent?
Photo credit: Pexels Kampus Productions
As parents age and need more assistance, most adult children do what they can to help. For many, the first step is a weekly stop by Mom and Dad’s home to assess the situation and perhaps help with some chores and errands. Often, these check-ins increase in frequency until it becomes a routine part of each day. Family caregivers typically look into community services and in-home care for assistance. They research adult daycare centers and assisted living communities. However, most seniors are adamant about wanting to remain in their own homes and receive assistance from their own ch...
Source: Minding Our Elders - June 1, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Who Has the Toughest Time: People with Alzheimer ’s or Their Caregivers?
Photo credit Dario Valensuela
Though they look through the prism of the future from different angles, people with Alzheimer's disease and their loved ones will likely find their lives dramatically altered after the onset and diagnosis of AD. Certainly, the person who develops the disease is facing a life-altering and ultimately terminal disease. However, because of the intensive care needed by people with advanced Alzheimer's, and the pain involved in watching a loved one gradually lose their cognitive abilities, some people wonder if the caregivers endure more than the person with the disease.
Every case of Alzheime...
Source: Minding Our Elders - May 31, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
How to Survive Caring for Multiple Elders at the Same Time
Photo credit: Exels
Each of our aging parents is unique. Some people age so well that they need little help until they are well into their eighties, while others need hands-on care as early as their fifties or sixties. Adult children are often faced with the task of caring for both parents, and those who are married must contend with their in-laws’ declining health as well. Caring for more than one person brings added stress over how a caregiver should divide their time. It’s typically a case of caregiver burnout waiting to happen.
When Caregivers Are Pulled in Too Many Directions: Every caregiver is famil...
Source: Minding Our Elders - May 30, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
