Event Companion

Send a message from the heart, with a gift certificate for our Event Companion services!  This special service allows family’s members and friends to get their elderly family member or friend out for special events that they would otherwise not be able to attend.  It’s a service that takes the struggle and worry out of a senior attending a special event.

We, at Private Home Health Care, want you and your loved one to enjoy important moments in life.  Our service insures that that special senior never misses an important event.  Aging shouldn’t mean seniors can’t take part in life, and our service insures that they won’t miss another special time.  Please contact us when your next event comes around. We would love for your loved one to be a part of it, with no worry at all.

Wiser Healthcare Decisions and Choices through Knowledge

Join us this Monday, February 24th 12-1 pm for an interesting webinar that will change the way you plan healthcare choices and decisions.

The webinar will address the following:
1) Preparing a Written Agenda
• Knowing what to include and how to present it will save time, avoid confusion, and ensure all your concerns are addressed with the doctor.
2) Preparing a Medical History
• Knowing what to include and how to present it will create less stress and confusion at the appointment. It will also ensure the best decisions are made around personal care options.
3) Preparing Medication List
• Knowing what to include will encourage a mutual exchange of information with your physician. It will also uncover any conflicts or concerns with medications.
4) Preparing a Health Care Proxy
• Understanding the HCP will avoid later stress and /or confusion when making life-death decisions for incapacitated individuals.
5) Life-Sustaining Treatment MOLST guidelines recently passed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• Gain insight on the required documents that define the levels and types of treatment for patients entering nursing homes. This will ensure everyone is in agreement when difficult decisions are made.
6) Planning for Long-term Care
• Gain insight on the immense value of planning for long-term care.
7) Private care verses Nursing Home care which is better and why?
• Learn the pros and cons of each type of care and why preplanning is vital.

Please read more about the webinar by viewing and sharing the links below.

Twitter: http://web.hr.com/3ct9o
Facebook: http://web.hr.com/m80u
LinkedIn: http://web.hr.com/8teh
Email: http://web.hr.com/5i8go

Heart Month

It’s heart month! Time to looks at the facts to help you improve the quality of your heart. Exercise is essential to a healthy heart. Regular exercise improves your circulation and helps your body use oxygen better. It also improves muscle tone, strength, balance and flexability. Exercise can be as simple as walking for 30 minutes every day. Save your heart, stay active.

Go Red! Heart Healthy Month to Quit Smoking

Go red!  February is red heart month.   Not only is it Valentine’s Day, but it’s a day to begin a healthy lifestyle.  One way to do this is to play close attention to things that impact your heart and your health.  Having healthy habits, like regular exercise will go a long way, verses taking part in unhealthy habits like smoking.   Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and it causes many diseases and reduces one’s health overall.   Cigarettes causes more than 480,000 deaths each year, which is more than deaths caused by alcohol use and motor vehicle injuries, among others.   Smoking is estimated to increase the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke by 2 to 4 times.  Smoking also can cause cancer nearly any place in the body from your bladder to your stomach to your larynx and nearly in every other organ.   Smoking also ages every organ including your skin.  This is the month to focus on a healthy heart by adding healthy habits and stopping bad ones. Here’s to heart healthy focused month and year!

Save Your Life, Don’t Smoke

It is a known fact that smoking is not good for you. It will reduce the proper function of a person’s stamina, endurance, and overall lung function. Most people would say the most common disease by smoking is lung cancer. This is false, it’s heart disease. Which is worse than all forms of cancer combined. In 1965, a federal law was passed that cigarette packs must warn the people “Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health”. This being said, understand that smoking is the number one preventable caused death. The longer a person smokes, the greater the chance that person loses their life. The risk of heart attack drops 50% after 5 years of a smoker refraining from smoking. Within 15 years of not smoking, the person has nearly the same risk of heart disease as a non-smoker. The sooner you quit, the sooner you save your life.

Lack of Sleep; How it Affects You

Everyone can appreciate a good night sleep. There’s nothing better than waking up refreshed and ready to start your day with a smile. Lack of sleep will leave you drained and feeling terrible. Most people in today’s world do not get enough sleep. It is recommended for adults to get a minimum eight hours of sleep. Lack of sleep will affect your ability to learn and retain information; it can also affect judgment and mood. Long term side effects of sleep deprivation can lead to a much higher risk of health problems and injury. Avoiding these harmful effects is so easy and relaxing. Just sleep.

The Benefits of Fruit

There are numerous ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Fruit is a major factor of good health that strengthens the quality of life. Fruit contains antioxidants that help avoid harm to our bodies such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancers. Eating fruits that are high in fiber is a great way to reduce the chance of strokes, heart attacks and obesity. There are certain nutrients that our body craves because it doesn’t receive enough. Potassium is one; it fights high blood pressure, kidney stones and protects bone loss. Vitamin C is another which improves the growth of body tissues and strengthens teeth and gums. Folate (a folic acid) reduces the chance of birth defects and are a factor in creating red blood cells. Foods that are grown naturally on plants are called phytonutrients. Consuming these nutrients provide a pool of health benefits essentially enhancing life overall.

Safe Return Program

Tips to reduce wandering:

1. Place deadbolts either high or low on exterior doors.

2. Move around and exercise to reduce anxiety, agitation and restlessness.

3. Ensure all basic needs are met (toileting, nutrition, thirst).

4, Carry out daily activities, such as folding laundry or preparing dinner.

5. Reassure the person if he or she feels lost, abandoned or disoriented.

6. Control access to car keys (a person with dementia may not just wander by foot).

7. Avoid busy places that are confusing and can cause disorientation, such as shopping malls.

8. Do not leave someone with dementia unsupervised in new surroundings.

More than 60% of those with dementia will wander.