Articles written by Nancy Ludin
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 45
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Living with a companion/aide
Assuming that you have hired an aide from a home health care agency, you can expect a lot of support in easing your anxieties. It is the agency’s job to answer your questions in advance and resolve any issues that arise. The key to facilitating...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Choosing a Senior Living community, Continuous Care Retirement Community, or rental community
A Continuous Care Retirement Community is the same as a Life Plan Community. In both cases a continuum of care is provided — independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and rehabilitation. Some CCRC’s offer memory care, and some do not....
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Color therapy for dementia and everyone else
Color therapy can be beneficial for those with memory loss. Dementia specialists recommend using different colors to provide contrast in spaces and to help distinguish different objects. For example, painting a door a color that contrasts with the...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Medical alert systems
Medical Alert systems should provide reliable, 24/7 monitoring by trained monitoring agents, allowing seniors and their caregivers to live with less worry, at home or on the go. An Alert system should provide the following: If there is an emergency,...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Adult Day Care
Adult Day Care is a community-based program. There are more than 4,000 centers across the country with more than 78 percent operating on a nonprofit basis. All medical model adult day health care programs are affiliated and licensed under nursing hom...
Does your loved one need extra time in the hospital?
Sometimes, your loved one is going to be discharged from the hospital, and you feel that person is not ready to come home. You can refuse discharge. Every state has a quality innovation network quality Improvement Organization. These government...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Improving cognitive health
Cognitive performance is not fixed. There are small changes people can make in their daily lives that should sustain higher cognitive functioning in old age. Keep the mind active through work, volunteering, hobbies or playing games. Learning new...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Managing medication
According to the American Geriatrics Society, more than 80 percent of older adults are living with multiple health conditions. With each new health problem, things may become exponentially more complicated! A senior may see multiple doctors. There...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: When to give up the car keys?
There are certain signals that might mean it is time to give up the car keys. Unfortunately, very few seniors pay attention to these signs: • Nervous behind the wheel. • Reactions are too slow due to your vision. • trouble reading street...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: How to Get the Elderly to take in fluids
As we age, the amount of fluid in our bodies begins to decrease. This means there are fewer water reserves available for your body to use as you get older. There is a lowered thirst response. The natural aging process weakens the body’s ability...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Brain boosting activities
Want to give your brain a boost? Try these easy remedies: • Sing. Seniors choirs offer joy and a feeling of togetherness. Musical instruments are appealing and playing boosts brain health. Safe Sauna bathing Researchers say that the heat may...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Tips for keeping good medical records
One of the most important roles of a caregiver is to coordinate the medical care their loved-one receives. As medical needs grow, we often need to see specialists, have lab work done, go to therapists, and change care facilities. We would like to...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk Hearing loss and its effect on cognition
If you find a loved one asking repetitive questions, becoming more confused and forgetful, you may assume they have dementia, but the cause could be hearing loss. Long-term brain function is impacted by hearing loss. In a recent Johns Hopkins study,...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk What Medicare doesn't cover
A number of people call the Orlando Senior Help Desk at the Jewish Pavilion and ask me whether Medicare will cover their independent, assisted or killed, living and the answer is “no.” They are shocked and often angry. Most people pay into...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Empowering patients and their loved ones
When visiting a doctor or hospital bring along a notebook or tablet and take notes. It is important to ask question of your healthcare provider about the benefits and side effects of medications or procedures. I suggest that you, or a loved one,...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk Safety for someone with Alzheimer's
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, six in 10 people with Alzheimer’s disease will wander. Wandering is best described as a tendency to roam or walk around without a clear destination or purpose. For those with Alzheimer’s disease, the...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Summer safety
Summer weather can pose special health risks to older adults and people with chronic medical conditions. It is critically important that adults particularly susceptible to hyperthermia and other heat-related illnesses know how to safeguard against pr...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Hurricane Safety
The state of Florida is vulnerable to hurricanes during the Atlantic hurricane season (June-November.) When there is a warning of a hurricane or other natural disaster, elder-care communities ensure the comfort and safety of their residents. Senior...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Care for Veterans
If you or your spouse served in the military, you may be eligible for aid that can be applied to the cost of care services. The VA Aid and Attendance pension was established to provide financial...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Summer safety
Summer weather can pose special health risks to older adults and people with chronic medical conditions. Hyperthermia is caused by a failure of the heat-regulating mechanisms of the body. Heat fatigue, heat syncope (sudden dizziness after prolonged...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Dehydration is a great risk for seniors
Dehydration is dangerous no matter what your age, but seniors are at a greater risk for dehydration than other age groups. Dehydration happens when you don’t drink enough water. When your body’s water content is too low, it causes damage...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Nutrition for Seniors
Nutrition is about eating a healthy and balanced diet so your body gets the nutrients it needs. Nutrients are substances in foods that our bodies can function. They include carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. Good nutrition...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Exercising our brains
Most people notice changes in their thinking and memory as they grow older. Neurologists tell us that some older adults develop dementia, most memory changes are age related and normal. Staying...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: 10 tips for living with someone who has dementia
Agree, never argue. Divert, never reason. Distract, never shame. Reassure, never lecture. Reminisce, never say "remember..." Repeat, never say "I told you..." Do what they can do, never say "You...
Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk Seniors who hoard
No one likes a dirty house, where stuff is chaotically piled on top of each other just like in a flea market. The situation isn’t helped by the fact that retirees can turn into ‘hoarders’, filling every free space of their home with old junk...