Skokie Care and Support for Alzheimer’s disease causes memory loss and problems with thinking and behavior. According to the National Alzheimer’s Association, the illness currently impacts as many as 5.3 million Americans and accounts for 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases. The disease progresses with time and now ranks as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.

It’s difficult to understate the devastation that comes with Alzheimer’s disease and its impact not only on patients but on their loved ones, too.

Some of those loved ones are often placed in the challenging and emotionally stressful role of the caregiver, providing around-the-clock support to a husband or wife, a mother or father who is impacted by a fatal disease that destroys brain cells.

“We see the toll that being a caregiver in this situation can take,” said Michael Melinger, owner of Home Instead Senior Care, a provider of home care services for seniors. “The killer of it all is that with Alzheimer’s disease, it’s a degenerative disease and that can mean a long goodbye for the caregiver who sees a long and steady decline.”

Read the full story on Support Group for Alzheimer’s Disease

For more information regarding the support group, call (847) 673-1250 or email Stephanie Smart at ssmart@homeinstead.com. Information is also available at www.homeinstead.com/383.

Help for aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago is provided by -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.

Home Care Chicago enables seniors to live happy, healthy, and independent lives in their own homes.

Far too often, the health of a caregiver is not a priority. Most caregivers devote a majority of their time to providing services to seniors in need. This can lead to them becoming run down and ill. There are ways to prevent illness and maintain good health. By following some of the tips provided below, caregivers can remain healthy and will be able to continue doing the job they love.

1. Daily vitamin supplements can make a huge difference. The vitamins can be very useful for those who are tired and listless.

2. Exercise is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Even if it is just a short walk each day, exercise can be very beneficial in maintaining health.

3. Respite time is very important. Since many caregivers do experience stress and the feeling of being burnt out, respite time can provide for rest and relaxation. These are needed to remain healthy so you can continue to provide for a senior in need.

4. Flu shots can help caregivers stay healthy. Not only will this help avoid the flu, but it will also remove the chances of spreading the virus to a senior.

5. Do not make work your entire life. Being a caregiver is very demanding. It is important to have a well-balanced life. This includes having hobbies and spending quality time with family and friends.

6. Make sure to visit the doctor regularly. Routine check-ups can prevent illness and will help with over-all health maintenance.

Source: thefamilycaregiver.org

When needing help with aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago area please contact one of our offices -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.

Everyone around you is talking about the joy of the holiday season, but if you just don’t feel it, then you’re likely suffering from the holiday blues. Get through the season whether you’re a senior or a senior caregiver and make the most of what it has to offer with these tips:

1. Surround yourself with people – even if you don’t have family or friends around that you can spend time with, do join other social events taking place in your community

2. Volunteer – no matter what’s happening in your life, you’ll feel great when you volunteer and give back to those in need

3. Join a support group – sometimes it’s not easy to talk to family about the emotions you’re struggling with, so join a support group that allows you to share your feelings

4. Don’t put pressure on yourself – it’s okay if you don’t feel like celebrating over the holidays, don’t push yourself. Get involved with those things that make you happy, and don’t get down on yourself if you don’t feel joyful

5. Avoid alcohol – alcohol can depress your mood, so even though the wine and eggnog is flowing over the holidays, stick to the non-alcoholic stuff!

6. Know the signs of depression and seek treatment – the holiday blues are one thing, but you also need to recognize depression and get help

Via: Health in Aging

Image Source: www.sxc.hu

When needing help with aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago area please contact one of our offices -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.

Over 5 million seniors in the United States suffer with some form of Alzheimer’s or dementia, and this is a number that’s expected to double over the upcoming decades. Unfortunately, medical care for Alzheimer’s today is not at the level that it should be, and improvements are necessary to accommodate a growing population with quality care. In many cases today, seniors are hospitalized for other medical issues, and their Alzheimer’s goes undetected until they develop a complication as a result of their cognitive impairment. A new study indicates that more comprehensive care is needed for Alzheimer’s patients, and it uses a three-tier approach.

1. Screening upon admission to the hospital – rather than learning that a senior has Alzheimer’s or dementia retroactively following a medical issue, this approach ensures seniors are screened when admitted to the hospital

2. Education of the nurses and medical practitioners – there are three levels of care depending upon patient needs, but all of them ensure that all medical professionals responsible for the care of a senior are aware of their Alzheimer’s diagnosis

3. Planning for the future – right from the time of admission in this three-tier program, medical professionals talk with seniors and family members about preparing for the future, and arrangements that will need to be made for discharge. For those who require more comprehensive care, follow-ups are conducted to ensure that a senior’s health comes first

Via: Hospitals and Health Networks

Image Source: www.sxc.hu

When needing help with aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago area please contact one of our offices -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.

Q – I’m moving my mom into my home to provide for her senior care needs. We’ve already discussed some of the financial aspects with regards to arranging bill payment and financial responsibilities; but are there any other pros and cons we should consider with regards to money?

A – Unfortunately, money is always that white elephant in the room! Your question is a great one, because those are important things to know ahead of time, so nothing surprises you!

Pros:

• Living expenses (utilities, mortgage etc) don’t increase significantly when just one person is added to the home, but having another person to contribute to these bills can reduce the home owner’s costs!

• With taxes, families might be able to receive a deduction for having an additional dependant in their home

• Household items, like food, might be bought in bulk to save more money

• Any assets from the sales of the seniors home can be invested

Cons:

• Depending upon future care needs, one or more members of the household might need to take time off work, or hire additional senior care assistance

• Seniors may lose tax deductions once they’re no longer a home owner and other factors regarding capital gain may apply

When needing help with aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago area please contact one of our offices -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.

When the stress of family caregiving gets to be too much, it’s a sign that family caregivers need to take a step back on focus on themselves from time to time. Self-care is crucial to effective family caregiver, and these family caregiver survival tips are ones that all caregivers need to ensure they take proper care of themselves and their senior care recipients:

1. Take care of yourself with diet and exercise – eat well throughout the day, and no matter how busy you are, don’t skip meals, otherwise your energy levels will drop. Exercise at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes, and pick something that you enjoy doing (walking, biking, aerobics class)

2. Walk away – you won’t walk away permanently from your care responsibilities, but you can take a step back when you need to. Take a break, even if just for a few minutes, or have someone else step in to provide respite care

3. Seek help – 72% of caregivers refuse to receive outside help with their responsibilities; don’t be one of them. Ask a family member to step in and help, or hire a professional home caregiver to give you a break. Also, don’t be afraid to lean on others when you’re stressed, even if it means joining a support group

4. Spoil yourself – reward yourself for all of your hard work, once a week or once a month, go get a massage, have a manicure, go to a movie, or take a hot bath with a glass of wine. Do something that helps you rejuvenate!

5. Don’t neglect your health – remember to get yourself to the doctor regularly, especially if you’re feeling ill. You’ll be better help to a senior when you’re in one piece!

Via: Caregiver Stress

When needing help with aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago area please contact one of our offices -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.

If you’re like most modern caregivers, you spend a lot of time online, whether it’s part of your life as a caregiver or your life in your career; you browse the internet for resources, you follow news sites, and you stay in touch with others on a personal and professional level with email and social networking. While technology does help you to optimize your time, it doesn’t mean that you’re using it as efficiently as you could be.  It is possible to find even more time in your day, just by making use of some of the software packages available to you:

1. Manage your email – sorting through your email to determine what’s total junk, what needs your attention immediately and what can wait until later can be a laborious and long task. Take advantage of software programs like Outlook or even Gmail that allow you to filter your email by sender, by subject and priority so every time you open your email, it’s well-organized  and your priorities are in place! Spam filters on these programs can also help you save time by eliminating the amount of junk email you receive; if these aren’t doing a good enough job try a program like Cloudmark’s Spam Blocker.

2. Use software that make repetitive tasks efficient – how often do you find yourself providing directions to your care recipient’s home when you require respite care? Every time you send them, you waste precious moments typing them out. Instead, you can try a program like Activewords that allows you to create a shortcut to frequently used data so it’s automatically inserted into a file or email!

3. Sign up for RSS feeds – if there are blogs or news pages that you frequent for your career or role as a caregiver, sign up for an RSS feed that will send relevant stories to your email (which can then be sorted and filtered) or use a blog reader like GoogleReader so you don’t have to sort through irrelevant data every time you try to catch up on your resources

Sources: Gaia

When needing help with aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago area please contact one of our offices -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.

Caregivers cherish every second they have in their day, particularly if it’s a rare second of free time. They can find more of that time simply by making the tasks they need to do more efficient, and reading is one of those things. Often caregivers spend time reading to improve their skills and knowledge for caregiving, and other necessary things relating to their careers and home life. Here are some tips caregivers can use to improve their reading skills and speed:

1. Learn active reading – often when reading our minds drift away and we’re not totally engaged in what’s in front of us on the pages. Try to more actively engage your mind by taking notes, doodling keywords or underlining key words in passages. This will also help to engage your memory

2. Try a reading software – software programs like EyeQ teach you how to physically read faster by helping you learn how to move your eyes back and forth more quickly when reading

3. Try a technique called Photoreading – if you’re reading for the sake of gathering specific information alone from a document, you can increase your reading speed with this technique which teaches you to focus on what you want to get out of the book or document

Sources:

1. Gaia

2. Nina Potter

When needing help with aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago area please contact one of our offices -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to teach seniors and caregivers about how to make more productive use of their time, essentially turning 24 hours of inefficient time into 36 hours of sheer productivity each and every day. We’ll focus on the following elements of improving productivity to make the most out of everything you set out to achieve. Here’s a little teaser, but stay tuned for more on each of these points!

1. Sleeping for productivity

2. Eating your way to a 36 hour day

3. Learning to multi-task effectively

4. Organizing your way to success

5. Learning how to get it done faster

6. Learning while multi-tasking in your free time

7. Using technology to increase productivity

8. Turning off

9. Asking for help

Via: Gaia.com

When needing help with aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago area please contact one of our offices -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.

Q – This will be the first wedding anniversary my mom has had to get through since my dad passed away last year. She’s not talking about it, but I can tell that she’s dreading being alone for the first time on such an important milestone that marked their lives together. Any suggestions for how she can get through it?

A – Anniversaries can be a hard reminder when you’ve survived your spouse, but your mom will be able to get through it and might even find the strength to take this anniversary to honor your father’s memory. Here are some suggestions to help her get by:

1. Don’t do it alone – talk to someone about your fears as the day approaches, seek support from a group with other surviving spouses or bond with others who knew your loved one by sharing memories

2. Do something to acknowledge the grief – if it helps, visit the graveside, plant a flower in honor of the life of your spouse or loved one, release a balloon in the air or do something that has significant meaning to you

3. Eat right – anxiety or feelings of depression might shift your focus away from your own health, but remember to eat properly with nutritious meals. If your emotional state makes it too much for your to prepare them while the anniversary is approaching, ask for help from a family member or friend, hire a caregiver, or use a service like Meals on Wheels

4. Exercise – exercising regularly can help you to release stress and anxiety and will improve your disposition overall

5. Do something to remember your loved one – overtime as you learn to cope with the grief that comes with loss, you might be ready to celebrate their life on anniversaries. Go to a restaurant you used to frequent together, or make a new tradition by dining out with family at a new favorite spot. Take a trip you and your spouse always dreamed of taking; do something that helps you to honor the life you had with them

Via: Silent Grief

Image: giftideas-blogsome.com

When needing help with aging parents or older adults living in the Chicago area please contact one of our offices -  Home Care Chicago North Side (773) 784-4024, Home Care Chicago Gold Coast and Lincoln Park (773) 463-3500, or Home Care Chicago Downtown, Near West, South Side (312) 348-7238.