by Carol Bradley Bursack, Editor-in-Chief
December 4th, 2010 at 3:11 am
If compassion could be personified, John Zeisel, Ph.D. could be in the running for the visual image. His book, “I’m Still Here: A New Philosophy of Alzheimer’s Care,” promotes the idea that Alzheimer’s symptoms can often be managed through compassionate, non-pharmacological methods, or in conjunction with pharmacological methods.
After reading about Zeisel’s approach, I requested the book from his publisher to see for myself. I wasn’t disappointed. In “I’m Still Here,” Zeisel teaches approaches that help caregivers understand that the person with Alzheimer’s still has access to many forms of memory functions, and that memories aren’t really lost, they just become harder to access.
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Posted in Alzheimer’s, Assisted Living, Support | 2 Comments »
by Isabel Fawcett, SPHR
November 19th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Some elderly drivers pose a direct threat on the road, both to themselves and/or others. Statistically, elderly drivers have more fatal car accidents than any other age group. Some Baby Boomers have the unenviable task of deciding when, whether, and, how to take the car keys away from our aging, increasingly frail parents.
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Posted in Assisted Living, Caregiving, Caring At Home | 5 Comments »
Tags: caregiver tips for elders driving safety | elderly diabetics driving safety | road safety red-flags in elderly
by Kathryn Kilpatrick, M.A. CCC/SLP
November 15th, 2010 at 3:11 am
How often have we heard an older adult say that to a family member? The problem is that many older adults may start limiting their driving, knowing that it is better not to drive on a highway, or take long trips. Then they may stop driving at night or in the winter. The big question is how safe is a person with a memory, vision, cognitive, and/or hearing problem behind the wheel of a car, even within a few miles of home.
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Posted in Assisted Living, Dementia, Support | No Comments »
by Sue Lanza
November 4th, 2010 at 2:14 am
We’ve all had times in our lives when we need to visit a recuperating friend or relative in a health care setting. As we get older, these visits can almost start to feel routine as more of our contemporaries are in and out of hospitals or rehabilitation centers for various treatments. I’ve been a visitor of family or friends in health care facilities many times of course but I really have more experience as an observer of other people’s visiting habits in my years as a long-term care administrator. I’ve seen just about everything when it comes to visiting (I’ll spare you the story that involves a ferret) and there are some not-so-wonderful patterns that I see over and over that I thought I’d share with you.
Myths of Visiting
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Posted in Assisted Living, Caregiving, Nursing Home | No Comments »
by Kathryn Kilpatrick, M.A. CCC/SLP
October 29th, 2010 at 2:11 am
Once a loved one is showing early signs of poor judgment, decreased orientation to time and place, anxiety and/or confusion, the environment in which they are living may need some adaptions while everyone is trying to figure out the best next step.
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Posted in Assisted Living, Dementia, Support | No Comments »
