Is there anything more stressful than taking care of a sick or elderly loved one?
It’s a heavy load that often comes with a price tag of sacrificing the caregiver’s quality of life to meet the needs of another. It’s a formula for high stress, exhaustion and even developing health issues.
Here are some tips to help caregivers avoid burnout:
Ask for help! Needing help doesn’t make you a bad caregiver. It simply means you can’t do it alone (no one can do it alone).
Take care of yourself.
Don’t skip your own doctor’s appointments because you’re too busy. Exercise, eat well and get enough sleep. Get out of the house. Visit with friends. Pamper yourself
Make a list of your daily activities and tasks. See if you can delegate any of them. Perhaps your spouse can make dinner twice or a week. Maybe a friend or relative can run errands or help with laundry. People often want to help—take them up on it!
If your loved one is receiving hospice care, ask your hospice provider about local support groups. Communicating with others who are in your situation helps immensely, as does opening up and sharing your frustrations—and your joys!
If an opportunity comes along for a brief getaway for you, consider hospice respite care for your loved one. Your hospice program should offer short-term inpatient admission for your loved one (meaning more than 24 hours and up to five days and nights maximum) to relieve family members or other persons who are caregivers.
Give yourself some tender-loving-care, you deserve it!
Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.
― Hippocrates, “Father of Medicine”
March is the time to stop and open the refrigerator.
Good nutrition is vital at every stage of life, but as you age, staying well-nourished is even more important! During National Nutrition Month, take a good hard look at your eating habits, preferences and ask yourself, “have I been eating healthy lately?”
If not, we have some helpful tips to get you on the right track.
Easy Tips
Tip 1 – As soon as you get up, grab and quench a glass of water!
Drinking two or three glasses of water right when you wake up is a great way to way to rehydrate your body quickly. It helps you with moving the lower bowels for regularity in the mornings, maintaining optimal brain activity, and flush out all the toxins that stores in your body overnight.
Tip 2 – Be wary of nutrition bars
Some of these health bars also pack a similar nutritional punch as a traditional candy bar. Do not allow yourself to be fooled! Read the label and check out what is going into these products before you snack on them daily.
Tip 3 – Eat Fruit in Moderation
While fruit is an excellent source of fiber and natural sugar, some people tend to go overboard and overeat. Rather than ditching fruit altogether, try pairing one piece of fruit with almond butter, nuts or a source of lean protein.
Tip 4 – Try an oral nutritional supplement
Supplements have protein, calories, and vital nutrients that can help provide complete and balanced nutrition for individuals at any stage of life.
While many of us may have adjusted our diets at the start of the New Year, after a few months the determination to stay on track with nutrition begins to fade. If you’d like more information on healthy living and senior nutrition, please visit the National Council on Aging.
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Are you or your loved one in need of in-house services?
Have you started exploring different assisted living communities?
One of the most valuable things that in-house medical services can offer your family member is a new monitoring technology that is used in some senior residences to track residents’ care habits and activities.
Seniors who live alone often experience social isolation and poor nutrition which contributes to cognitive decline, health problems, depression and a lower quality of life. New monitoring technology helps alert staff to changes in residents’ health and makes it easier for caregivers to anticipate residents’ needs.
Here are some benefits of in-house medical services:
Physical and medical needs. As your loved one ages, they may need some help with physical needs, including activities of daily living – ADLs – (bathing, grooming, medication management, etc.). Or they may need increasing help with specific medical issues.
Financial needs. Modifying their home and long-term medical care can both be expensive. Making a budget with anticipated expenses can help you and them weigh the pros and cons of their situation.
Location and accessibility. Even if your loved ones are completely independent at this time, circumstances can change. It pays to think a little about their current situation and the availability of their existing home. For example, how far is their home from shopping, medical facilities, or other services? If they can no longer drive, what kind of transportation access will they have?
Social and emotional needs. As people age, their social networks may change. Friends or family may not be as close by, or neighbors may move or pass on. They may no longer be able to continue driving or have access to public transportation to meet up with family and friends. Or they may want to try different social outings.
Compassionate care for our residents is our priority with an emphasis on integrity, empathy, and service to enhance our residents’ lives and communities in every way. For more information about our different senior living communities and in-house medical services visit Guest Services Senior Living.
Did you know that nearly one in three adults in the United States have high blood cholesterol?
Or that having high cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke?
The good news? Heart disease is preventable when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions.
As American Heart Month, we have a few ideas of heart health resolutions that may inspire you for the rest of 2020. If you haven’t already, schedule a visit to your local health centers and hospitals since they hold free screenings and heart health awareness events.
Choose fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains.
Avoid processed foods and most canned foods (they are usually very high in sodium).
Read food labels. If you can’t pronounce it, you probably don’t want it in your body.
Cut Out Unhealthy Vices: Quit smoking or avoid second-hand smoke. Drink alcohol in moderation—one drink per day for women, two for men.
Changes that happen with age may increase a person’s risk of heart disease. Specifically, high blood cholesterol can be hard to detect, as it often shows no signs or symptoms.
A significant cause of heart disease is the buildup of fatty deposits in the walls of arteries over many years. The most common change when aging is the increased stiffness of the large arteries; this causes high blood pressure or hypertension.
If you already have high blood pressure, or hypertension, be sure to manage it by getting regular exercise, limit alcohol intake, no smoking and maintaining stress levels.
Recommended screenings for blood pressure are at least once a year.
Happy New Year! Have you had your annual eye exam?
Glaucoma is a serious, lifelong eye disease that can lead to blindness if not controlled. It can happen at any age but is more common in older adults.
Glaucoma causes loss of sight by damaging a part of the eye called the optic nerve. This nerve sends information from the eyes to the brain. When the disease damages the optic nerve, one may begin to lose patches of vision, usually side vision (peripheral vision).
According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, glaucoma affects more than three million people in the U.S. alone! That number is projected to skyrocket to 4.2 million by 2030 – an increase of 58 percent.
But glaucoma does not have to lead to blindness.
An annual comprehensive dilated eye exam can help catch glaucoma and other eye diseases early on. Especially if family members have had problems with vision health, protecting your eyes by avoiding smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, controlling your blood pressure, and being physically active will all positively maintain your eye wellness.
Thanks to modern nutrition, many things can help keep from further eye damage. A wholesome diet based fruits and vegetables with higher vitamin A and C content like collard greens, cabbage, kale, spinach, brussels sprouts, celery, carrots, peaches, radishes, green beans, and beets, can go a long way. Also, specific nutritional deficiencies are addressed with supplements that include vitamins A, B-complex, C, and E as well as the minerals Magnesium, Calcium, and Zinc.
Things to know
Age – The older you are, the higher you are at risk (especially if over 60 years old).
Race/Ethnicity –
African-Americans age 40+ are 4-5x more likely to have glaucoma than others.
Hispanic/Latinos have an increased risk for glaucoma as they age.
Those of Asian and Native American descent have a risk for angle-closure glaucoma.
The prevalence of pseudoexfoliation glaucoma was much higher in Caucasian Americans
Medical History – You are at risk if you have a history of high pressure in your eyes, previous eye injury, long term steroid use, or nearsightedness.
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NAPLES, Fla., July 25, 2019 — Guest Services Senior Living and Northstar Commercial Partners, a full-service commercial real estate investment and asset management company headquartered in Denver, Colorado are joining forces to renovate and rebrand Vista Gardens, a senior living memory care facility in Vista, California, as well as manage leasing and operations for the property.
Conveniently located ten minutes from the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by greenery and walking paths, Vista Gardens prides itself on providing multiple opportunities for healthy movement and exercise. Additionally, new ownership will enhance technology systems that help prevent falls and provide the best care possible – making the facility one of a kind.
“The vision for this community and its space is remarkable,” says Brian Watson, Founder and CEO of Northstar Commercial Partners. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to help provide quality care for so many seniors and grateful to share this partnership with Guest Services Senior Living. They have phenomenal insight and experience in creating spaces that are fresh, innovative, and inviting.”
“Guest Services Senior Living is excited to continue delivering the extraordinary care and quality of life for the residents at Vista Gardens,” stated Vice President of Guest Services Senior Living, Shawn Rose. “True senior living is not just the physical care but more so improving the quality of life for our residents in every capacity.”
With firsthand knowledge of how family members and friends are affected by memory issues (including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s-related dementia, and mild cognitive impairment), Vista Gardens is a special and unique community that treats everyone with the highest respect and dignity.
About Guest Services Senior Living, LLC
Guest Services Senior Living, LLC is the Naples, Florida-based senior-living management subsidiary of Guest Services, Inc. Since 1917, Guest Services, Inc. has worked tirelessly to earn the reputation of the providing the highest quality food, lodging and leisure services for valued clients and guests in the United States.
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NAPLES, Fla., July 2, 2019 — Guest Services Senior Living welcomes Shawn Rose as the new Vice President of Operations. Rose joins the Company with nearly 20 years of experience in the senior care industry.
As a highly successful multisite operator, Rose has maintained oversight of up to 2,000 units throughout the mid-Atlantic and southeastern states while promoting revenue growth and improving operational and clinical management. Prior to joining the company, he served as Regional Director of Operations for Senior Lifestyle Corporation where his efforts led to significant revenue growth, increased census and strengthening of key controls, region-wide. As Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Raydian Properties, Rose created, implemented, and headed all companywide sales initiatives and processes for 21 properties within five states. His experience also includes work with Capital Senior Living, Emeritus Senior Living and Brandywine Senior Living.
Shawn Rose holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. He is a licensed NJ Certified Assisted Living Administrator (CALA) and a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP).
About Guest Services Senior Living, LLC Guest Services Senior Living has worked tirelessly to earn our reputation as the premier senior living community management company in the United States. With the collaboration of our best-in-class Senior Living and award-winning Hospitality divisions, we are proud to provide a wide range of customized senior living community management solutions for clients involved in Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care communities.
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