Alzheimer’s Wine Country Memory Walk 2011!.

Hey Check out our video from this years 2011 Walk to End Alzheimer’s!

Did you walk? IF so which walk did you do?

Table Talk: How to Get Mealtime Conversations Going

The shopping is done, and the meal is ready and on the table. Your work is complete, right? And now comes the fun part. You sit down to dine with an older loved one. But what is there to talk about? A senior’s world may have shrunk to the size of their four walls. Even so, mealtime conversations are an important part of the dining experience.

And sharing memories is one way to get the conversation going, according to Dr. Amy D’Aprix, a life transition consultant, author, corporate speaker, facilitator, coach, and an expert in aging, retirement and caregiving. “Sharing memories is a great way to deepen your relationship with an aging relative,” D’Aprix said. “But sometimes we all need help thinking of new and meaningful things to talk about.”

That’s why D’Aprix created Caring Cards^TM. This packet of playing card look-alikes features more than 50 questions on a wide range of topics that can help you engage a senior loved one in meaningful conversation. Featured below are two Caring Card questions and D’Aprix’s comments about ways that you can use them to start up table talk with older adults.

What are some of the most valuable things you learned from your parents?

Many of us enjoy remembering our parents and the impact they had on our lives. Whether our relationship with our parents was easy or difficult, or more likely a combination of both, most of us recognize that who we are as adults was at least partially formed by what we learned from our parents. This question gives seniors the opportunity to talk about some of the most impactful things they learned from their parents. Follow-up questions could include: How did your parents teach you about “X”? Why do you think it was important to your parents that you learned “X”? Do you think they learned “X” from their parents?

For example, if the senior mentions the “importance of hard work” as something valuable they learned from their parents, you could ask whether their parents worked hard and in what ways. You could ask if their parents required them to work hard as a child. You could also ask if their parents had to work hard as kids and if their grandparents taught them it was important to work hard. This question could lead to many questions about how much time was spent working versus leisure time, and whether the parents thought people who didn’t work hard were lazy.  

What was a major turning point in your life and how did it affect you?

As Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be understood backward, but must be lived forward.” By the time they have reached their senior years, many older adults have had numerous turning points. Reminiscing about these turning points allows seniors to make sense of their lives and their choices, and to gain peace of mind now. Natural follow-up questions include exploring more fully one or more of the turning points the person mentions and asking more details about the importance of that turning point in their lives and how they felt after taking the particular path they took.

Other questions include asking whether they would take that particular path again knowing what they now know and how they thought their lives might have turned out differently if they had taken a different route. When exploring this topic, it is important to be sensitive to whether a turning point was emotionally difficult or had outcomes that were not easy. Allow the senior to reveal only as much as they are comfortable revealing without pushing too hard or probing beyond his or her comfort zone.

To order a complete set of Caring Cards, go to www.mealsandcompanionship.com.

I don’t have to tell you that Alzheimer’s is a worldwide epidemic.  Currently, five million people in the U.S. have this disease, and there are more than 35 million globally.  By 2030, those numbers will double, and by 2050, they’ll more than triple.  Last year the worldwide cost of Alzheimer’s was more than $600 billion – if it were a country; it would be the 18th largest economy in the world.  That’s because it costs about four times as much to care for a senior with Alzheimer’s.   And there is no cure in sight, sadly.   

But what occurs to me is that until that cure is found, Home Instead CAREGivers ARE the treatment for Alzheimer’s.  Quality home care is the future.  Home Instead trains our CAREGivers to deliver on that care for your family! Our training program is paramount to your parent’s best quality of life & quality of care.  There is no greater differentiators for hiring a Home Instead CAREGiver we could offer today than our specialized Alzheimer’s program. 

  We have partnered with David Troxel, Dr. Amy D’Aprix and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – to take gathered information and add their expertise to create a training that directly responds to family needs and is custom tailored to our Home Instead CAREGivers.  

If you have a family member suffering from Alzheimer’s and you are looking for some help at home, please visit our web site to learn more about Home Instead CAREGivers or call our office and ask us about our training programs. We’d be more than happy to share our expertize with you. You are not alone, We are your home care & Alzheimer’s Solution!

www.homeinstead.com/sonoma

Whether accompanying your loved one to a doctor’s appointment or in response to a medical crisis, it’s critical to have your loved one’s medical information easily and quickly accessible. Home Instead Senior Care network worked with Humana Points of Caregiving® to create the Caring for Your Parents: Senior Emergency KitSM, an information management tool and website. This toolkit and other resources are part of the Answering the CallSM program to help you be prepared for these situations.

Senior Emergency Kit
The Home Instead Senior Care® network’s Senior Emergency KitSM can help ensure that family caregivers like you have fast and easy access to important information about loved ones in case of an emergency call.

This resource was developed with the assistance of Humana Points of Caregiving®. It is designed to help family caregivers gather details about a senior’s doctors, pharmacy and insurance company, medications and dosages, as well as allergies, power of attorney and other important information.

This toolkit will provide you with all the important information you need in a centrally located file so you are ready for a crisis, day or night. The toolkit materials are available for download at :

http://www.caregiverstress.com/category/helpful-tips-for-caregivers/ss/answering-the-call/senior-emergency-kit/

This past Monday June 20th,2011 the Early show on CBS cited Home Instead Senior Care research and featured clients discussing how they were unprepared to care for aging parents. Do you think you are prepared for your aging parents?

If you missed the show, watch it now at :http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/20/earlyshow/main20072534.shtml

The morning news program’s producer decided to cover the topic after reading an article that ran on page 3A of Friday’s USA Today and that featured an interview with Jeff Huber a Vice Presiddent with Home Instead Senior Care Inc., our international headquarters in Omaha Ne. CBS sent crews Saturday to the home of a Corona, CA, senior who is the client of Home Instead Senior Care franchise owners Ruby Louie and Geneva Labate.

Most of us don’t think about how will we help care for our aging parents. We are focused too often on our careers & our own children, we often are caught off guard when a crisis situation with one of our aging parents arises. Home Instead is here to help you. We offer many resources to guide you beginning with our book “Stages of Senior Care” written by Home Instead founders Paul & Lori Hogan. WE now are rolling out our Senior Emergency Kits to help navigate step by step the emergency information you will need in hand when an emergency does happen unexpectedly.

Take a few minutes out of your busy day to watch this short video which aired on CBS Early show sighting  Home Instead Research. I bet you will be glad you did! Have a fantastic & productive day!

Do you know Sheri?

Have you met her before at one of our CAREGiver meetings perhaps here in Rohnert Park?

Maybe you worked with the  same client before  either in Santa Rosa, Sebastopol or Petaluma with Sheri?

Sheri began caring for the elderly in the 80’s as a CNA in skilled nursing facilities while earning her BA degree at Sonoma State University.  While helping to care for her grandmother at home in the 90’s, she worked through the challenges that families are faced when looking for a caregiver for their loved ones.  Before moving into our Staffing Manager position in 2011, she worked as a CAREgiver for Home Instead.  Sheri worked all over Sonoma, in Healdsburg, and Windsor,  to the east of our county in  Sebastopol & down to Petaluma.  Her background gives her a natural instinct for matching the best CAREgiver for each client and, with our amazing pool of CAREgivers, that perfect match is easy to find!

If you have yet to meet Sheri, come on into our offices in Rohnert Park to meet her!

She’s always got candy in a bowl  on her desk!    ;-)

Women attending an annual conference for women business professionals in Omaha listed Lori Hogan among their most-admired female leaders in the community.

More than 1,800 women attended the ICAN 2011 Women’s Leadership Conference on April 7th at the Qwest Center Omaha. (ICAN stands for Institute for Career Advancement Needs.) Lori was one of the women attendees named, when asked to identify female leaders in the community they most admired. Others also listed included CEOs, a Nebraska Senator and an executive director of a non-profit organization. When attendees were asked what characteristics they admire most in a leader, they ranked the top five in the following order: inspirational, supportive, authentic, intelligent and flexible.

At last year’s ICAN conference, Lori on behalf of Home Instead, Inc. accepted the Best Places to Work for the Advancement of Women Award, which is given by Omaha’s Baird Holm, LLP and ICAN. The award recognizes companies that support and
develop women in leadership roles and is based on a survey measuring employee engagement and perception of advancement opportunities.

The recognition at both last year’s and this year’s ICAN conference shows Lori’s enduring influence as a thought leader and an
inspiration in the Omaha community. Congratulations, Lori!

The Starfish Story

 Adapted from the Starfish Thrower by Lowern Eisley

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.  He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer.  He smiles to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out. “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?” The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I must ask, then why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is gong out. If I don’t throw then in, they will die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But young man, do you not realize that there are miles of beach and there are starfish along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

At this the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said

 “It made a difference for that one.”

Our CAREGivers make a difference every day! If you know of anyone who could benefit from our caring services, please contact us so we can start making a difference in someone’s life….today!

Home Instead Senior Care….To us, it’s personal.

707-586-1516

Visit our website at : www.homeinstead.com/sonoma

                     Or become a Fan on Facebook 

Home Instead Senior Care provides Respite care, Alzheimer’s care, Hospice care, Medication reminders, Meal prep, Light housekeeping, Personal care, Incidental transportation for Errands, Shopping & Doctor Appointments.

Give us a call to see how we can make a difference in someone you knows life!

You can visit our web brochure at:

www.HISCsonoma.digbro.com

6050- Commerce Blvd. Ste# 210 Rohnert Park, CA 94928

707-586-1516

Home Instead Senior Care and Denny Corcoran – a real winning team!

Home Instead Senior Care, Ireland’s trusted source of home care for seniors, has won the Irish Franchise of the Year Award in this year’s prestigious Irish Franchise Association Awards. It was a cause for a double celebration as Denny Corcoran, a Home Instead Senior Care client, received the accolade of Waterford’s Person of the year, and was the Grand Marshall for the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Waterford.

Retiring in 2000 Denny was a key player of the Waterford Pantomime society and during the heyday of variety in Waterford when The Tops of the Town were a golden age of community entertainment.

An ambassador of theatre in Waterford, Denny was a key instigator in the development of the Waterford Pantomime Society and was a significant contributor to the ‘golden age’ of theatre in the city.

Denny Corcoran, 75 year old widower, stroke survivor started using the services of Home Instead Senior Care last year. Following a second stroke he lost a lot of his mobility. He was getting support from the HSE but had long periods of the day he had no company while his family were working. The local Home Instead Office went about matching a suitable CAREGiver. Danette Connolly, the Director of Care explains “matching the right person with the right skills is the most important part of the service.

“Someone told us about Home Instead Senior Care, and we started using their services, which has literally transformed Dad’s life and ours too,” says his daughter Ann.

“We explained to Home Instead Senior Care that Dad really wanted to get out and about during the week while we were working. They matched us with the most amazing carer, Charlie, who is like a family member. Two afternoons a week Charlie brings Dad into town or on an outing for two hours. Other afternoons, they spend an hour doing exercises and activities at home. At the weekends another lovely carer comes in for grooming and bathing, and gets Dad ready for mass. With the advice and support from their office and nurse, Home Instead Senior Care has changed all our lives, and we couldn’t recommend them enough,” adds Ann.

Home Instead Senior Care, Ireland’s trusted source of home care for seniors, has won the Irish Franchise of the Year Award in this year’s prestigious Irish Franchise Association Awards. This award reassures both seniors who use home care services and their families that the highest standards of care are being delivered.

Speaking about the award win, Ed Murphy, Chief Executive of Home Instead Senior Care said: “It is so rewarding to see that Home Instead Senior Care and the home care service we provide to Ireland’s seniors has been so strongly recognised by the Irish Franchise Association. As Managing Director of Home Instead Senior Care I am very passionate about not only providing the highest quality home care service, but also a truly caring service that makes a real difference in the lives of seniors. It is a terrific accolade for such efforts to be acknowledged”.

Waterford Person of the Year, Denny Corcoran, Mayor of Waterford Cllr. Mary Roche and Danette Connolly, Home Instead Senior Care.

Congratulations to Home Instead & Denny!

Meet the Pacific Region CAREGiver of the Year

We would like to introduce  Pacific Regional CAREGivers of the Year for 2010. The 8  regional winners are eligible to be honored as the 2011 Mary Steibel CAREGiver of the Year, an award that will be presented at this year’s International Convention in Omaha this coming April. Today we’d like you to meet Charles Carley, 2010  Pacific Region “CAREGiver of the Year.”

Charles Carley recalls the tough caregiving cases where he had to completely change a senior’s point of view.  “I’m old,” a person complained to him as a reason she could not participate in an activity. “No you aren’t, you are an individual who is growing older,” Charles responded.

Home Instead Senior Care© co-workers admire Charles’s approach to aging.  The Pacific Region CAREGiver of the Year provided nearly 8,000 care hours in his first three years with Roger and Kristi Low’s Seattle franchise office.  They respect Charles’s skills for establishing rapport immediately with clients and other seniors, as well as his willingness to mentor fellow CAREGivers.  They find in Charles a peer genuinely interested in seniors.

“You can’t just leave someone in a chair,” Charles said.  “It’s all about stimulation.  It’s about keeping individuals engaged.  Their dignity must be maintained.  Absolutely no one is worthless.”

Charles learned about Home Instead from a classified ad. “I thought, ‘I can do that.  I enjoy people.  I like to make people smile,’” he said.

Home Instead tapped Charles to work with Mrs. K, a resident at Horizon House, a Seattle continuing care retirement community with 500 members.  Mrs. K required special attention, but she was dissatisfied with other caregivers. 

Mrs. K’s three sons discovered Charles to be an exceptional professional who enriched their mother’s life.  “My mother can be more than a little trying at times, due to issues of impulsivity and memory.  She needs a CAREGiver with a steady, unflappable temperament, someone who gives her empathy and respect and, at the same time, directness and a gentle firmness,” a son wrote in Charles’s nomination letter.  “Charles has these qualities and exercises them in all his dealings with my mother.”

The Seattle Home Instead Senior Care staff acknowledges that Charles is “an institution” and a “favorite face” at Horizon House. He provides tours for new Home Instead CAREGivers serving residents there and introduces them to community members. 

Having been a computer consultant, Charles volunteered to help Horizon House residents establish a state-of-the-art community computer lab, for which he received recognition. 

“Seventy residents put a dinner together for me,” he said. “It was a wonderful honor.  They ask me, ‘What’s your [computer consulting] fee?’ and I tell them, ‘This job was particularly difficult for me, so I need four smiles.’”

As to the qualities it takes to be a good CAREGiver, Charles puts it simply.  “The keys are right in the words — care and giver.  It means to care about giving to other individuals who are in need without making them feel like you are giving them pity, because it’s not about that.  It’s about caring for the individual.”