When I founded Senior Helpers of Tempe, our stated goal was to help seniors age in place WHEREVER they call home. That was because while some seniors prefer and are capable of remaining in their longtime home, many who have been there for 50+ years, others are not able to stay in those homes because of health or underlying issues.
They say hindsight is 20/20. But things from the past that may seem “clear” to you now can still be distorted by difficult emotions—especially when it comes to something as impactful as caregiving.
Over 10 million Americans live with osteoporosis, a condition of low bone density that occurs when a person loses too much bone mass. Learn what daily habits worsen or cause osteoporosis so you can help your senior loved ones live a healthy lifestyle and avoid osteoporosis-related injuries.
Hear from our caregiver Stacy why she loves working with Senior Helpers in Tempe- we're so lucky to have you Stacy!
Seniors with osteoporosis are at a much higher risk of bone fractures, loss of balance, and immobility; but it doesn’t take much to provide relief and improve bone health. Learn how to incorporate daily habits for treating and managing osteoporosis so that your elderly loved one can continue living a healthy life.
As more and more seniors continue to move to the Grand Canyon state, it has never been more pressing to increase access to affordable, high-quality health care for Arizona seniors and those living with disabilities.
Retirees in Tempe, Arizona struggle to divide monthly social security payments of $1,667 between rent, food and healthcare bills. Provisions in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act seek to ease some of that budget strain by introducing caps on rapidly rising Medicare costs.
Despite falling fuel prices, a disappointing inflation report Tuesday showed the consumer price index inching up 0.1% in August. On the same day, there was a celebration touting the Inflation Reduction Act at the White House.
When it comes to eye care, what's good for the young is good for the elderly. While not every senior citizen has eye problems, aging poses various threats to eye health. Reports indicate that 12.2% of seniors aged 65-74 and 15.2% above 75 years have vision loss. So, how often should their eyes get checked to achieve optimum senior eye health?
In a way, time management is a way of taking care of ourselves. Efficiency in doing for others can actually leave us more time for self-care. If we don’t prioritize our physical and mental health, we’ll become less efficient at all the other tasks on our plates.
The federal government is beginning to take action against hospitals not complying with pricing transparency laws. This month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued two civil penalties to hospitals in Georgia, totaling more than a million dollars, for non-compliance, and the agency says it will continue to investigate hospitals around the country to make sure consumers have all the information they are entitled to.
While the average lifespan of a healthy dog is 10-13 years, some can live much longer. As senior dogs age, they begin to show signs of age-related decline, similar to humans. While several changes occur in a senior dog, the most common include:
Just because loved ones are 65 years or older doesn't mean they stopped having fun. A dinner party is an excellent way for older persons to have fun, stay active, and reminisce with family and friends. To make the dinner party successful:
The Dementia Caregiver Guide includes:
· An explanation of each of the GEMS States
· A description of the types of support needed as the condition progresses
· A demonstration of Positive Approach to Care techniques such as PPA and Hand-under-Hand
· A combination of visually appealing pictures and helpful text explanations
With fun-filled technologies and apps, older loved ones can bid farewell to loneliness and stay in touch with those who matter most in their lives. Let's walk through a list of online technologies that boost online interactions with friends from Tempe and anywhere on the planet.
Tempe Community Council is committed to creating a community that not only meets the immediate needs of its aging citizens, but also embraces the concepts of healthy aging. TCC is proud to be a regional partner with The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), who has been awarded a $150,000 grant from the Pfizer Foundation and Grantmakers in Aging (GIA), a national association of funders, as part of Community AGEnda: Improving America for All Ages. This new initiative is funding nonprofits in five U.S. cities to help accelerate local efforts to make communities “age-friendly” – that is, great places to grow up and grow old.
Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing shortages continue to affect medical care facilities around the U.S., and long-term care is no exception. ValuePenguin health care expert Robin Townsend says this and other factors are putting the quality of long-term care at risk. "When staff is spread thin, they’re less equipped to meet a facility’s standard level of care," Townsend says. "Meanwhile, the cost of care will likely increase as the overall cost of living rises." Despite this, some states provide better long-term care than others. According to the latest ValuePenguin study — which analyzes data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns and more to assess cost, accessibility and quality of care in each state — Arizona ranks highest for long-term care.
I have spent my career as a gerontological nurse practitioner working with people who have Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. My interest in this field began when my grandmother developed dementia and I was dissatisfied with the care and level of understanding she received from medical professionals. Families often consult with me about one worrisome symptom of dementia: wandering. For dementia patients, this behavior is very different from the aimless wandering of hikers exploring the woods or tourists moseying around a new city. Most often, there is nothing purposeless about the wandering behaviors I observe.
My husband had a hemorrhagic stroke 9 yrs. ago.. He was very mobile at first but now has become completely deaf (he got a cochlear implant) but his balance is terrible. Stumbles and falls frequently and will only use a cane. He has several conditions with his eyes...some days he sees well others not so much. He is starting to have some short term memory moments. He also has kidney disease as a result of his kidneys shutting down immediately after his stroke.
Kyrene School District announced it will be using new state funding to give all employees a pay increase this school year. Thursday marks the start of the school year for the district in Tempe, and the start of Kenora Hernandez’s 32nd year of teaching there. “To be very honest, it's been a long time since I’ve been energized to start a school year,” she said. “It’s the first time in probably three years that I’m excited.”
Are you having trouble convincing your parents to let you help them keep track of their doctor's appointments or balance their checkbook? You’re not alone. According to a 2017 analysis of National Health and Aging Trends Study data conducted by The Commonwealth Fund, 45 percent of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries age 65 to 74 required help with at least one activity of daily living (ADL) or instrumental activity of daily living (IADL), or have probable dementia, yet reported receiving no assistance. Results were similar (42 percent) for seniors age 75 to 84.
Communication can be challenging. There are so many things that can get in the way of proper communication; people speak different languages, or maybe we speak the same language but some words mean one thing to one person and something very different to someone else. Perhaps you received the message I’m giving in a way that was not intended? Maybe I misheard what you said. There’s always the potential that something was lost in translation. There are many things that can get in the way of effective communication when we have healthy brains, but what happens when one of us is living with dementia?
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis found that positive connections with other people were associated with a sense of purposefulness in older adults. Having a sense of purpose is defined as the extent to which a person feels that they have personally meaningful goals and directions guiding them in life. The findings applied to both working and retired adults, but researchers found the strongest benefit from social interaction was tied to individuals who were retired.