Let Food Be Thy Medicine – Tower Garden at Lynnfield Sunrise

“Let food be thy medicine,” is the theme for Sunrise of Lynnfield residents who were awarded a grant secured by Private Home Health Care, Inc. The grant was used to purchase an Aeroponic Juice Plus Tower Garden in support of their Alzheimer’s and Dementia population. Once the garden was installed, its uniqueness drew interest from the staff, residents and general community who marveled at the innovativeness of growing fruits, vegetables, and herbs year round in a small indoor space. Private Home Health Care, Inc. continues to seek additional grant opportunities for to place Juice Plus Tower Gardens into area elderly resident homes.

Stay Safe this Halloween and have a Boo-Nilla Shake!

Halloween is a time for safety reminders. When outside gathering holiday treats make certain you don’t let the spooks and goblins cause too much fright and be mindful of the following:

1. Carry some form of illumination at all times.
2. Plan out your trick or treating route before Halloween.
3. Trick or treat in groups.
4. Wear comfortable footwear.
5. Make sure the mask is comfortable without any visual impairment.
6. Dress according to the weather and dress in layers.
7. Check suspicious candy and stay in safe neighbors.
8. Avoid unlit houses.

And, if you are looking for a safe holiday treat for everyone. Try a Boo-Nilla Halloween Shake for starters.

Get crafty and spookify your shakes for Halloween! Complete by Juice Plus+ Vanilla shake mix and a creamy coconut milk topping make this shake a healthy Halloween splurge.

Ingredients:
2 Scoops of Complete by Juice Plus+ Vanilla shake mix
16 oz milk of choice

For Topping:
1 can full-fat coconut milk chilled for 24 hours
1- 2 tbs sweetener like powdered sugar to taste

For Decoration:
Paint pens for the glass
Black sprinkles

 Directions:
1. Decorate the glasses by painting ghost faces!

2. Prepare the Shake

• In a blender, combine the milk and Complete powder.
• Blend until smooth.

3. Prepare Topping: Whipped coconut milk

• Chill can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
• Chill a mixing bowl in the freezer for 20 min to an hour.
• Use the solid white coconut cream from the bottom of the can. Save the clear coconut water for another use.
• Scoop the solid white coconut cream into bowl.
• With an electric hand-mixer beat the cream until fluffy and smooth.
• Add in sweetener to taste if you like.
• Return whipped cream to fridge until ready to use.

4. Assemble

• Dip the rim of the glass in a little bit of the frosting and roll in black sprinkles so they stick.
• Poor the shake into the glass and top with frosting.
• Serve immediately.

Mental Heath in a Changing World

Young people and mental health in a changing world is sometimes difficult to understand. The month of October is nationally dedicated to mental health awareness! Luckily, there is growing recognition of the importance of helping others build resilience from early ages where mental illness beings to form. One half of mental illness beings at age 14, however, go undetected until later in life.

Prevention beings with better understanding and awareness of early warning signs as well as symptoms. The internet is an excellent tool to look up symptoms and disorders. There’s plenty of  resources such as online psych tests or lists of symptoms to look for. It’s a helpful first step to know what to look for and then visit a doctor to receive a official diagnosis.

When considering specific symptoms of mental illness, it’s important to keep certain things in mind. Of course the symptoms of mental illness themselves are important, but to truly be a mental illness rather than extreme distress, professionals look deeper than a checklist of symptoms to consider just how they disrupt someone’s life. The more precisely you’re aware of your mental illness symptoms, the better able you’ll be to communicate what you’re dealing with. This means that you and your mental health care provider can determine the best possible treatment plan so you can define new goals, get back into life, and transcend mental illness symptoms.

October if Fire Prevention Month!

October is fire prevention month! In 2016 fires caused 3,390 civilian deaths and even more were injured so we take this very seriously.

Our team is dedicated to checking all of our client’s houses for safety hazards that can start fires. The client’s well-being is extremely important to us therefore, we make sure measures such as two unblocked exits are available, no combustibles are close to heat, looking at electrical equipment condition, and something as little as candles are taken care of.

Please spread the word and stay safe by inspecting you or loved ones home.

The URL below is a helpful fire prevention booklet for older adults.

http://files.esfi.org/file/Home-Fire-Safety-for-Older-Adults-Safety-Awareness-Program-Toolkit.pdf

It’s Fall Prevention Month!

It’s Fall Prevention Month!  And, we are highlighting some tips to keep you and your family safe.

Falls can happen to anyone at any age and they can lead to serious complications.  However, as we age, our likeliness of falling increases and the injuries from falls can be more serious. Injuries can lead to long-term hospitalization which carries its own risks.

Below are some safety tips to prevent falls.

1. Use your assistive devices as recommended by your healthcare practitioner.
2. Maximize your vision by cleaning your glasses and avoid sunglasses in lowlight areas.
3. Turn on entryway lights and add highlights to low light and unlit areas.
4.  Keep flashlights in bedrooms, bathrooms and in easy access areas.
5. Maintain a strong footing by wearing sturdy snippers and shoes.
6. Keep pathways clear by moving furniture and items such as books and papers from floors.
7. Remove scatter rugs and tape down edges of area rugs.
8. Wipe up spills and keep floors dry.
9. Have your hearing checked.
10. Be checked for vitamin deficiencies.
11. Stay hydrated year round.

Sunrise Lynnfield Rise Alzheimer’s Unit Tower Garden

Sunrise Lynnfield has graciously accepted a Juice Plus Tower Garden to be placed in the Alzheimer’s Memory unit.   We will be there to set it up on September 12th.  Join us there if you want to learn more about the abundance of healthy fruits and veggies you can grown in a 5 foot vertical garden.

National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness + Prevention month!

July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month, a chance to improve and raise awareness about orofacial clefts. In the United States has approximately 2,650 babies are born per year with a cleft palate and 4,400 are born with a cleft lip. A cleft lip happens during mid pregnancy when body tissue and cells from each side of the head grow towards the center of the face, causing the babies lips to not join before birth, usually an open space between the lips and nose due to lack of tissue. A cleft palate is also formed during mid pregnancy; however, the tissue that makes up the roof of the mouth does not join together completely leaving some babies with front and back parts of the palate open. Both defects leave babies with feeding restrictions, breathing, and problems speaking clearly.

To help reduce a woman’s risk for having a baby with an orofacial cleft or other craniofacial condition, health care providers should encourage patients who are thinking about becoming pregnant to commit to a healthy lifestyle such as monitoring diabetes and to quit smoking. CDC and its partners are working to better understand the preventable causes of clefts and craniofacial defects. You could also donate to organization Smile Train, an international children’s charity that provides free cleft repair surgery and cleft care to children in over 80 countries! Surgeries are recommended to take place within the first 12 months of life, but the organization works with youths with clefts as well.