Dementia? The Time is Now to Fight it!

August 6, 2009 at 9:39 am | Posted in Mark Heftler, Admin | Leave a Comment
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The Bergen Record the other day published a great article by Linda Shrieves detailing a number of tips to help younger adults “beef up their brains” in an effort to stave off dementia in later life.

Here are just a few of the 20 tips she listed:

4. Take dance lessons. In a study of nearly 500 people, dancing was the only regular physical activity associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. The people who danced three or four times a week showed 76 percent less incidence of dementia than those who danced only once a week or not at all.

7. Read and write daily. Reading stimulates a wide variety of brain areas that process and store information. Likewise, writing (not copying) stimulates many areas of the brain as well.

11. Take classes throughout your lifetime. Learning produces structural and chemical changes in the brain, and education appears to help people live longer. Brain researchers have found that people with advanced degrees live longer — and if they do have Alzheimer’s, it often becomes apparent only in the very later stages of the disease.

15. Pray. Daily prayer appears to help your immune system. And people who attend a formal worship service regularly live longer and report happier, healthier lives.

17. Get enough sleep. Studies have shown a link between interrupted sleep and dementia.

20. Eat at least one meal a day with family and friends. You’ll slow down, socialize, and research shows you’ll eat healthier food than if you ate alone or on the go.

For the entire list, and the original article, head over to the Bergen Record!

Helping Older Drivers

August 5, 2009 at 10:00 am | Posted in Sophia Heftler, GCM | 2 Comments
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I want to share an article I read in the July 30th edition of the Bergen Record written by Karen Rouse with you.  It is very informative and I found some interesting facts and tips in it.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Did you know AAA offers resources specifically for aging drivers and the challenges they may face?  The transition from an independent driver to passenger who must depend on others to get around can be painful for many aging motorists.

The AAA New Jersey Automobile Club hopes to make it easier for mature drivers to know not only when it’s time to make that transition, but how to do it better.  The organization recently announced the launch of www.AAASeniors.com a web site that addresses such challenges.  The number of drivers 65 or older in the United States is estimated to grow to 30 million – about one in four drivers – by 2030 according to AAA.

“Our research found that many children of older drivers are unaware of the resources available to help them effectively address the issues of safety and mobility of their aging parents,” says Michelle Mount, director of public affairs for AAA New Jersey.

“People are remaining active and living longer than ever before.  The driver safety tools and resources found on AAASeniors.com are designed to keep seniors safe and mobile for as long as possible”

The site features resources on senior mobility, how aging affects ones ability to drive safely and how to have a conversation with older drivers about whether they should continue driving and how to choose a vehicle.  It also helps people assess whether an older family member or friend who is having driving problems by looking at the following signs:

  • Does the driver have difficulty working the pedals – a signal of waning strength?
  • Does the driver have difficulty merging on freeways or turning onto busy streets – an indication of visual problems?
  • When merging, changing lanes or backing up, does the driver rely only on the mirrors rather than turning fully to check for blind spots over his or her shoulder?  That may indicate a stiff neck.

For these and other assessment tools check AAASeniors.com.

I checked out the site and as a care manager I found it to be a very useful tool for adult children who are concerned about their loved-one’s continued ability to drive.  It provides useful information to help extend their time behind the wheel safely.

Thank you Karen for a providing us with the information regarding this new web site and resource for adult children caregivers!

A Surprising Off-Label Use for Botox?

March 17, 2009 at 10:22 am | Posted in Mark Heftler, Admin | Leave a Comment
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Botulinum toxin is kind of a scary thing – as the most toxic protein known to man, it’s used as a medication for a number of purposes, ranging from the cosmetic application to the prevention of muscular spasms.

These days, however, it looks like Botox is claiming another procedure for its repertoire of successes: freeing up muscles of stroke victims. Though not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the off-label use of Botox on stroke victims has been widely accepted by Medicare as a reimbursable procedure.

For this, the patient is injected deep into the muscle tissue with Botox. Though Botox cannot restore the use of muscles when stroke has destroyed the brain region that controls them, it can help patients look and feel better and often find it easier to dress, hold objects and bathe themselves.

Second Quarter Newsletter

March 16, 2009 at 8:46 am | Posted in Mark Heftler, Admin | Leave a Comment
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The first quarter is quickly ending, and that means a busy time for Distinctive Care. Beside the typical paperwork and accounting, important number tracking and things of that nature, we’re very excited to be wrapping up our second newsletter. We’ve received a great deal of positive feedback from our first newsletter, which went out the beginning of January, and we’re hoping to keep our friends and contacts equally as happy and informed as we’ve done in the past.

If you’re interested in signing up for the newsletter, I encourage you to head over to our website. Just drop your information in the sign-up box, and we’ll get our Medicare guide right out to you, along with our quarterly newsletters and anything else we find newsworthy and important.

Our First Support Group Meeting

February 17, 2009 at 8:00 am | Posted in Sophia Heftler, GCM | Leave a Comment
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Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management’s first caregiver support group meeting was a success!

The group seemed to come together very well and it was an open and caring place to discuss the challenges and rewards of providing care for a loved one. The meeting is at the First Presbyterian Church on Shuart Lane in Ramsey, NJ. Caregivers from both nearby towns in Bergen and Rockland County are welcome to attend. The group is facilitated by Barbara Siembieda, MS, Geriatric Counselor and co -faciliatated by myself, Sophia Heftler, RN, CALA, Geriatric Care Manager. We have both been through the facilitator training offer by the Alzheimer’s Association. I have many years experience in working with Clients who have varying degrees of Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. It’s very exciting to be able to help caregivers to better understand the disease, its challenges and its rewards.

Welcome to all those who are considering joining. Take the first step and contact Barbara at Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management in Ridgewood, NJ at 201-857-5283.

RFID Networks to Fight Alzheimer’s

February 6, 2009 at 8:15 pm | Posted in Mark Heftler, Admin | 2 Comments
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Interestingly enough, the blog article I wrote regarding the Elder Gadgets at CES has garnered a fair amount of interest, and led to increased blog traffic – clearly, there are some elder-oriented individuals out there who are interested in technology, like myself! So, for today, another article about technological advances being used in the geriatric field.

The University of South Florida is testing a system of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips on bracelets in conjunction with strategically placed receivers to track elderly resident in facilities. By monitoring their patterns, the researchers hope to be able to diagnose the onset Alzheimer’s in their patients. Sudden veers, long pauses, and a tendency to wander are all indicators of dementia. By spotting these early on, the researchers hope to be able to implement preventative measures for their patients and residents, stopping the disease before it has time to take hold.

Original Article

In other news, for those who have been following our blog and perhaps have actually met me, I just wanted to say I was accepted to Seton Hall Law School today, and should be starting there in the fall of this year. Yay!

For the Coffee Drinkers Out There

January 29, 2009 at 2:34 pm | Posted in Mark Heftler, Admin | Leave a Comment
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A 21 year study was just recently completed. During the course of the study, 1,409 middle aged men and women, along with the number of coffees they drank each day, were carefully tracked. At the end, it was discovered that those individuals who drank between 3 and 5 cups each day were 65% less likely to develop dementia when compared to those who drank 2 cups or less.It was also noted that drinking more than 5 cups each day was not significantly different enough from the 2 to 5 cup range, so it’s not simply an issue of more is better.

A few reasons for the results have been posited. In the past, coffee consumption has been linked to decreased risk for Type 2 diabetes, a disease which has been associated with increased risk for dementia. Coffee may also have an antioxidant effect in the bloodstream – this would reduce the risk for vascular forms of dementia. It’s also been discovered that caffeine has been shown to reduce the buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain during animal studies. Amyloid plaques are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.

So for all those coffee drinkers out there, don’t forget to keep drinking your brew each day!

Original Article

Geriatric Care Managers Meet to Improve Caregiving

January 15, 2009 at 8:00 am | Posted in Sophia Heftler, GCM | Leave a Comment
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(Source: National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers) – On Dec. 10, in Washington, D.C., leaders of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys met with senior governmental agency representatives and experts from health care advocacy organizations, providers of services and foundations to brainstorm ways to improve caregiving.

At the Thought Leaders Conference on Caregiving participants discussed ideas and strategies that could help shape public policy and respond to the increasing need for caregiving and the issues facing caregivers. From discussing the lack of long-term care financing to the bias in favor of the existing institutional model for caregiving, the experts identified what they felt were the key issues impacting the industry.

“As the senior population grows, so does the demand for caregiving,” said geriatric care manager Linda Aufderhaar. “We need to combine our resources to find new and innovative ways to provide these necessary services.”

Go to full story: newswise.com

Good News for Caregivers!

December 30, 2008 at 4:12 pm | Posted in Sophia Heftler, GCM | 3 Comments
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We have all heard so much about caregiver stress and the challenges that caregivers face. Caregiver stress includes both the emotional and physical strains of caregiving.

Some symptoms of caregiver stress are:

  • Frustration
  • Anger
  • Guilt
  • Loneliness
  • Exhaustion

Women account for almost 75% of caregivers that report feeling very strained emotionally, physically and financially.

Caregiving can also have it’s rewards, making the caregiver feel needed, promoting a stronger relationship with the person receiving care, providing the caregiver with the feeling of “giving back” to a loved one. Many caregivers report that they appreciate life more as a result of their experience and that caregiving has made them feel good about themselves.

I just recently read about a new study that caring for a loved one for 14 hours per week or more actually decreased their risk of death…this is the first time I have ever read anything like this and would like to share the report I read with you. You can access the full story at washingtonpost.com.

This is very important information for the care managers at Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management and may change some of the interventions we develop for our Clients and their families in our care plans. Working together with the caregivers we can help them to find a happy medium where their caregiving responsibilities can provide positive responses while reducing the stresses involved for the caregiver.

If you are experiencing overwhelming stress in your caregiving responsibilities please don’t hesitate to contact Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management, located in Ridgewood, New Jersey and serving Bergen, Passaic, and surrounding counties in New Jersey and Rockland, Orange and Westchester and surrounding counties in New York. We can be reached at 201-857-5283 or www.distinctivecare.net.

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