Seniors’ Economic Struggles Continue This Holiday;

Be a Santa to a Senior^®, the popular program that has delivered gifts to thousands of local needy seniors is being planned again this holiday season as older adults continue to struggle during tough economic times. Home Instead Senior Care has joined with local organizations and merchants to provide gifts and holiday cheer to seniors who otherwise might not receive either this holiday season.

“Many older adults continue to face a difficult economic climate, particularly those who live alone with no family nearby to help provide resources,” said Bob Vielee, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care in Clarks Summit. Seniors have faced a trying year amid the threat of Social Security payment delays as part of the debt-ceiling debate. What’s more, seniors have lost almost one-third (32 percent) of their buying power since 2000, according to the Annual Survey of Senior Costs from The Senior Citizens League (TSCL).

That’s where Be a Santa to a Senior can help. Before the holiday season, the participating local organizations, such as Meals on Wheels and Serving Seniors, Inc., identified needy and isolated seniors in the community and provided those names to Home Instead Senior Care. Christmas trees, which are up now through December 12^th, will feature ornaments with the first names of seniors and their gift requests. Trees will be located at:

· Abington Community Library, Clarks Summit

· Fitze’s Department Store, Tunkhannock

· Marshalls, Dickson City

· Peebles, Carbondale

· The Mall at Steamtown, Scranton

· Walgreen’s, S. Main Street, Scranton

Holiday shoppers can pick up an ornament, buy items on the list and return them unwrapped to the store, along with the ornament attached. “We hope holiday shoppers will open their hearts to those seniors who have given so much to make our community a better place,” Vielee said.

On Wednesday, December 14^th beginning at 10 a.m., Keystone College will host the annual Be a Santa to a Senior Gift Wrapping Party being held in Evans Hall on the college campus in La Plume. Community volunteers of all ages are invited to attend and help wrap gifts as well. Gifts will be delivered to each senior during the week of December 19^th.

For more information about the program, visit www.beasantatoasenior.com or contact Jessica Engel at 570-687-4755.

Better Communication with Medical Professionals Is the First Step to Improved Care

“People are making life-and-death decisions that may affect their survival, and they need to know what they’re getting themselves into,” says Angela Fagerlin, Ph.D., associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher.

Fagerlin and her colleagues have published a commentary in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that outlines 10 things health-care professionals can do to improve the way they communicate information about treatment risks to patients. Here are some of them:

Insist on plain language. If you don’t understand something your doctor says, ask him or her to explain it better. Doctors don’t know when patients don’t understand them, and they welcome questions.

Focus on the absolute risk. The most important statistic to consider is the chance that something will happen to you. Using relative risk makes both patients and doctors more likely to favor a treatment, because they believe it to be more beneficial than it actually may be.

Focus on the additional risk. You may be told the risk of a certain side effect occurring is 7 percent. But if you didn’t take the drug, is there a chance you’d still experience that? Ask what the additional or incremental risk of a treatment is.

The order of information matters. Studies have shown that the last thing you hear is most likely to stick. When making a treatment decision, don’t forget to consider all of the information and statistics you’ve learned.

Write it down. You may be presented with a lot of information. At the end of the discussion, ask your doctor if a written summary of the risks and benefits is available. Or ask your doctor to help you summarize.

Go to www.SeniorEmergencyKit.com for more tips on how to be better prepared for medical appointments. One way is to take someone with you to help you ask questions and understand the information. If a family member is not available, a CAREGiver^SM from the local Home Instead Senior Care^® office could help. CAREGivers can be there if others can’t.

For more about the study, view

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/09/19/jnci.djr318.abstract.

Laughter Might Be the Best Medicine for Seniors

Trying to cope with an agitated dementia patient? Ask a doctor about humor therapy, which is as effective as widely used antipsychotic drugs in managing agitation in patients with dementia – and avoids serious drug side effects, according to a new Australian study.

The first major study of the impact of humor therapy on mood, agitation, behavioral disturbances and social engagement in dementia patients found both short-term and persisting decrease in agitation, according to lead researcher Dr. Lee-Fay Low, a Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales's School of Psychiatry. 

The “SMILE” study across 36 Australian care facilities involved the training of a staff member to act as a “Laughter Boss” who worked with a humor practitioner with comedic and improvisation skills. Jean-Paul Bell, the key humor therapist in the SMILE study, has set up the Arts Health Institute to train humor practitioners and care staff. The institute’s core program, Play Up, provides a playful relationship with residents and staff in elder care, focusing particularly on people with dementia.

Between 70 and 80 percent of people suffering from dementia are troubled by agitation, a problem for both patients with the disease and their caregivers.

The SMILE study found a 20 percent reduction in agitation using humor therapy, an improvement comparable with the use of anti-psychotic drugs. In the SMILE study, agitation decreased not only during the 12-week humor therapy program but remained lower at 26-week follow-up. Happiness and positive behaviors rose during the 12 weeks of the program, however, dropped as soon as humor practitioner visits ceased. 

For more about the study, visit www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2011/sep/SMILE.html.

Mom and Dad Say No to a Care Facility; What Are the Alternatives?

Finding a good senior care community is a common problem and will get worse with time as Baby Boomers hit their 70s and 80s and the staffing shortages at senior-care facilities deepen.

A recent report measured the availability of accessible, affordable and quality long-term care for the elderly and disabled – as well as support for caregivers – in each of the 50 states and D.C. And it found a wide variation. Consider these facts:

·         The cost of nursing homes averages 166 percent of median household income in Utah and the District of Columbia and 444 percent in Alaska.

·         For every 1,000 residents, Minnesota has 108 home health and personal care aides, compared with 13 per thousand in Kentucky.

“This report will help states make and sustain targeted improvements so that people can live and age with dignity in their own homes and communities,” said Susan Reinhard, senior vice president at AARP, one of the organizations – along with the Commonwealth Fund and The SCAN Foundation – responsible for the study.

The report ranked states on 25 categories such as hospitalization of nursing home residents, percent of patients getting home and community based services and cost of nursing home care relative to state’s average household income.

The report found that states with the highest level of performance generally have enacted policies designed to improve access to services and choices in their delivery of care by offering alternatives to nursing homes.

One popular alternative is home care. Surveys typically show that nearly 90 percent of seniors prefer to stay at home, which has led to a boom in the home care industry. Research also has shown that home care is a little known and understood option. In fact, a 2010 survey conducted by the Boomer Project on behalf of the Home Instead Senior Care^® network found that 49 percent of family caregivers overestimate the cost of non-medical home care on average by almost $6 per hour.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, contact Home Instead at 570-586-3135 or go to www.homeinstead.com/nepa. For more about the study, check out http://www.longtermscorecard.org/Report.aspx

‘Wisdom’ Helps Older Brains Keep Pace, Study Shows

In a matched test, the brains of older people were not as fast as those in a group of younger people, but they performed just as well because their brains are wiser, say Canadian researchers.

“It was already known that aging is not necessarily associated with a significant loss in cognitive function,” explains Dr. Oury Monchi, University Geriatrics Institute of Montreal. “We now have neurobiological evidence showing that with age comes wisdom and that as the brain gets older, it learns to better allocate its resources. When it comes to certain tasks, the brains of older adults can achieve very close to the same performance as those of younger ones,” Monchi added.

The study included a group of 24 people aged 18 to 35 and a group of 10 people aged 55 to 75 who were still active professionally. For this test, participants were asked to pair words according to different lexical rules, including semantic category (animal, object, etc.), rhyme, or the beginning of the word (attack).

“When the young participants made a mistake and had to plan and execute a new strategy to get the right answer, various parts of their brains were recruited even before the next task began. However, when the older participants learned that they had made a mistake, these regions were only recruited at the beginning of the next trial, indicating that with age, we decide to make adjustments only when absolutely necessary. It is as though the older brain is more impervious to criticism and more confident than the young brain.”

That’s interesting information to consider. A mounting body of research also has shown that keeping the brain active is one important part of healthy aging. So anything you can do to to stay busy is valuable.

For more information about the study, visit http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/uom-css082511.php.

Secret to Longevity: Genetics and Lifestyle

Both genetics and a healthy lifestyle are important to healthy aging. Two recent studies lend credence to both theories. New research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms what other studies have uncovered. If you want to live longer don’t smoke, eat healthy, exercise and drink alcohol moderately.

During the study period, people who engaged in all four healthy behaviors were 63 percent less likely to die early, compared with people who did not practice any of the behaviors. But people can live longer if they practice even just one of these healthy lifestyle behaviors, according to the CDC. Not smoking provided the most protection from dying from all of the causes examined.

People who engaged in all four healthy behaviors were:

·         66 percent less likely to die early from cancer,

·         65 percent less likely to die early from cardiovascular disease, and

·         57 percent less likely to die early from other causes compared with people who did not engage in any of the healthy behaviors.

On the other hand, another recent study has revealed that people who live to 95 or older are no more virtuous than the rest of us in terms of their diet, exercise routine or smoking and drinking habits, according to research by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, N.Y. That group found that genes were an important indicator of longevity.

Overall, people with exceptional longevity did not have healthier habits than the comparison group in terms of body mass index (BMI), smoking, physical activity or diet, that research indicated.

Let the debate continue! Take these results back to your coffee klatch and you are sure to generate even more discussion. Remember, as you all start to need support, assistance at home can help you and your friends remain independent longer. Contact your local Home Instead Senior Care^® office today for more information.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, go to www.homeinstead.com. To learn more about the CDC study, go to http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/p0818_living_longer.html. For more information about the centenarian study, visit http://www.einstein.yu.edu/home/news.asp?ID=678.

Study Shows That Broken Heart Syndrome Can Kill

Unresolved grief could have a devastating effect on your health. For generations it has been said that people who collapsed and died soon after a severe personal loss just died of a “broken heart.” The cause was probably stress cardiomyopathy, which is now often referred to as “broken heart syndrome.” New research, however, indicates this acute heart failure triggered by stressful events is more common than first thought.

Stress cardiomyopathy (SC) has been known to primarily affect postmenopausal women and is characterized by acute, profound, but reversible left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in the absence of significant coronary artery disease, according to the study published in a recent issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The condition can be difficult to diagnosis, according to the report from researchers at the University of Leipzig, Germany. However, it appears that patients with SC were an average age of 69 years old and 89 percent (227) were women.

Please think about your family and how they would feel if something happened to you as well. If you are overwhelmed at the thought of being home alone or trying to take care of your house, consider contacting your local Home Instead Senior Care^® office to discuss how they might help. CAREGivers ^SM, who are screened, trained, bonded and insured, are well-equipped to assist older adults who find themselves in need of companionship.

Safer travel for those with dementia

With the Labor Day weekend upon us, the Alzheimer’s Early Detection Alliance (AEDA) reminds us that traveling with an individual who has Alzheimer’s requires additional thought and preparation.

The Home Instead Senior Care network has joined the AEDA, which is a group of corporations, nonprofits and government entities determined to make a difference in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Under the leadership of the Alzheimer’s Association, this alliance will work to educate people nationwide about the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease and the importance of early detection. Labor Day provides an opportunity to educate yourself about how people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers handle travel – they need to be prepared for a change in schedule and environment. Even if it is a trip you have taken before, it may feel new for the person with the disease.

Additionally, as Alzheimer’s progresses, negotiating changes in environment will become increasingly challenging. Be prepared for the individual with the disease to experience some confusion or disorientation. Exercise caution, as wandering and getting lost are more likely during transitional times. The checklist below will help you plan for the trip and make it successful and safe.
Before going
 

• Call the Alzheimer’s Association chapter in the area you will be visiting. Let them know you will be staying in the area and ask about available resources. You can locate any chapter by calling 1.800.272.3900 or visiting www.alz.org/apps/findus. 

• Enroll the person in MedicAlert® + Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return®, a 24-hour nationwide emergency response service for individuals with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia who wander or have a medical emergency. You may also want to consider the Alzheimer’s Association Comfort Zone®, powered by Omnilink, a Web-based GPS location management service or Alzheimer’s Association Comfort Zone Check-InTM.

• If you are already enrolled in MedicAlert, update your records with temporary contact information (call 1.888.572.8566).

Upon arrival

• Let neighbors know a person with Alzheimer’s is staying next door and ask them to keep their eye out for wandering or other unsafe behavior.
• During the first few days after arrival, keep your schedule light with lots of down time.
• Create opportunities to re-acclimate the person to the new environment.
• Keep familiar things around.
• Limit access to money and credit cards.
• Limit access to driving.
• Be aware that the change can be chaotic for the person.
• Recognize the warning signs of anxiety and agitation.

 

For more tips on safety for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including concerns about wandering, disaster preparedness, home and medication safety, visit the Alzheimer’s Association Safety Center at

www.alz.org/safetycenter or call 1.800.272.3900 to find the Alzheimer’s Association chapter closest to you.

SEVERE WEATHER PROMPTS LOCAL COMPANY TO ISSUE DISASTER SAFETY PREP CHECKLIST FOR SENIORS

Home Instead Senior Care has issued a disaster safety preparation checklist to help prepare seniors for the possibility of natural disasters.

“We know that a disaster can be deadly for some seniors because of physical and other limitations,” said  Bob Vielee, owner of the Home Instead Office serving Northeast Pennsylvania and the Greater Pocono Region.  “That’s why the sooner the better for families to talk with their senior loved ones and begin preparing in advance for any kind of emergency that could threaten their health or safety. Consider this checklist as you help your older adult get ready."

Home Instead Senior Care's Disaster Prep Checklist For Seniors:

 

____Tune in.  Contact the local emergency management office to learn about the most likely natural disasters to strike your area.  Stay abreast of what’s going on through your local radio or television. 

____Take stock.  Decide what your senior can or can’t do in the event of a natural disaster.  Make a list of what would be needed if a disaster occurred.  For example, if your loved one is wheelchair-bound, determine an evacuation strategy ahead of time. Prepare for whatever disaster could hit the area.

____ To go or to stay?  When deciding to evacuate, older adults should go sooner rather than later.  By waiting too long, they may be unable to leave if they require assistance.

  

____ Make a plan.  Schedule a family meeting to develop a plan of action.  Include in your plan key people – such as neighbors, friends, relatives and professional caregivers – who could help. 

____More than one way out.  Seniors should develop at least two escape routes: one to evacuate their home and one to evacuate their community.  The local emergency management office can tell you escape routes out of the community.

____Meet up.  Designate a place to meet relatives or key support network people outside the house, as well as a second location outside the neighborhood, such as a school or church.  Practice the plan twice a year. 

____Get up and “Go Kit.”  Have an easy-to-carry backpack including three days non-perishable food and water with an additional four days of food and water readily accessible at home.  Have at least one gallon of bottled water per person per day.  Refresh and replace your supplies at least twice a year.  And don’t forget the blanket and paper products such as toilet paper.

____Pack extras and copies.  Have at least a one-month supply of medication on hand at all times.  Make ready other important documents in a waterproof protector including copies of prescriptions, car title registration and driver’s license, insurance documents and bank account numbers, and spare checkbook.  Also take extra eyeglasses and hearing-aid batteries.  Label every piece of important equipment or personal item in case they are lost.

____Your contact list.  Compile a contact list and include people on a senior’s support network as well as doctors and other important health-care professionals.

____If you can’t be there.  If you’re not living close by to help your loved one, enlist the help of family or friends, or contact a professional caregiving company. 

For more information about disaster preparedness for seniors, contact Home Instead Senior Care 570-586-3135 or visit homeinstead.com/nepa

Home Instead Senior Care network joins effort to detect Alzheimer’s early

The Home Instead Senior Care network has joined the Alzheimer’s Early Detection Alliance (AEDA), a group of corporations, nonprofits and government entities determined to make a difference in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Under the leadership of the Alzheimer’s Association, this alliance will work to educate people nationwide about the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease and the importance of early detection.

Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and no method to prevent its onset. Early detection is our only management tool, allowing those living with the disease – and their families – time to plan for the future. This may include building the correct medical team, enrolling in clinical studies or investing in safety measures.

Many people struggle to determine if a behavior is a typical age-related change or the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. To help, the Alzheimer’s Association has created this list of warning signs for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Every individual may experience one or more of these in different degrees. If you notice any of them, please see a doctor.

1. Memory changes that disrupt daily life
2. Challenges in planning or solving problems
3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks
4. Confusion with time or place
5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
6. New problems with words in speaking or writing
7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
8. Decreased or poor judgment
9. Withdrawal from work or social activities
10. Changes in mood and personality

To learn more about the 10 signs, please contact the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org/10signs or 877-IS IT ALZ (877.474.8259). As a member of the AEDA, the Home Instead Senior Care network will work to provide reliable information about Alzheimer’s disease and early detection during the upcoming months.

If you or a loved one is affected by Alzheimer’s disease, turn to the Alzheimer’s Association for support and services. Information is available online at www.alz.org or by calling the Association’s 24/7 Helpline at 1.800.272.3900.

Research: Exercise Slows Age-Related Mental Decline

Inactivity after the death of a spouse is not unusual. Why not suggest that your mother see her doctor to make sure her health conditions haven’t changed or that she’s not suffering from depression. Ask the doctor about her ability to exercise, because it could help.

Home Instead CAREGivers can encourage
 and assist seniors with their physical activity

A study published as “Online First” by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, clearly points to new hope in a method of slowing age-related mental decline in women who had vascular or coronary risks.

Previous research has suggested that physical activity is associated with reduced rates of cognitive impairment in older adults. However, much of this research has apparently been conducted among individuals who are generally in good health.

Further, many of these studies rely on self-reports of physical activity, which are not always accurate; and focus on moderate or vigorous exercise, instead of low-intensity physical activity.

In the recent article, researchers from the Foundation of Public Health, Mutuelle Generale de l'Education Nationale, Paris, examined data from the Women's Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study, which included women who had either prevalent vascular disease or three or more coronary risk factors.

As participants’ energy expenditure increased, the rate of cognitive decline decreased. The amount of exercise equivalent to a brisk, 30-minute walk every day was associated with lower risk of cognitive impairment. So you can tell your mom that even a 30-minute walk a day would help her maintain good “brain” health.

 It sounds as though Mom could benefit from a little companionship. Why not try to interest her in activities she used to enjoy with your father or pastimes she liked at one time herself. Recommend she join a walking club, or take up gardening with a friend when the weather is nice.   

If she isn’t interested in doing anything with her friends, suggest a paid caregiving service. CAREGivers^SM from the local Home Instead Senior Care^® office often join older adults in activities, serving as companions as well as motivators.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, contact <<Insert Franchise Owner’s Full Name>> at <<Insert Telephone Number>> or go to homeinstead.com/nepa. For more about the study, visit http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/171/14/1244.

Reliable Resources for Seniors and Caregivers

• Caregiverstress.com - while family caregiving is often a very rewarding and bonding experience, it can also be stressful and cause tension within families. Caregiverstress.com is an educational program designed to help family caregivers take care of themselves while taking care of their senior loved one. For more information, visit caregiverstress.com
• Too Close For Comfort? - a resource that helps adult children and their aging loved one answer the question, "Should we or shouldn't we live together?" This program includes information on the emotional, safety and financial aspect of intergenerational living. Visit makewayformom.com for more information.
• The 40-70 Rule - helps adult children begin positive conversations with their aging parents before a crisis or emergency occurs. The program and emotional support services are offered to develop open discussions between families relating to providing care to parents and other topics. Visit 4070talk.com for more information.
• Cooking Under Pressure - healthy eating is essential for people of all ages, but for many seniors, a well-balanced diet is the key to feeling their best. A variety of issues, from medications and illnesses to memory problems and physical constraints, can jeopardize a senior's ability to maintain a balanced diet. This program is arming seniors and family caregivers with nutrition resources for healthy aging. For more information, visit foodsforseniors.com
• Stages of Senior Care - to help children of seniors adapt to their parents' changing lives, Home Instead Senior Care founders wrote a special book - Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions. It can help adult children make the best-informed, most confident plans and decisions when it comes to caring for senior parents, family members or any older adults in their lives. For more information, visit, stagesofseniorcare.com
• Get Mom Moving - lack of activity can lead to a downward spiral of poor health resulting in frailty, a condition that threatens the mind, body and social life of older adults. Information designed to keep seniors engaged and fit can be found at getmommoving.com
• Caring for Your Parents: Education for the Family Caregiver- a support series for caregivers that addresses senior resistance to care, featuring a variety of topics such as choosing an in-home care provider, the signs of aging, long distance caregiving and communicating with aging parents. Materials and videos can be found on caregiverstress.com
• Breaking Point - experts say even seniors who simply don't know how to part with their possessions are vulnerable. The risks are many from slipping on loose papers to the threat of fire to mold and mildew. Clutter can also interfere with family relationships. And that may leave adult children wondering if the only inheritance awaiting them is a big mess. More information can be found on homeinstead.com
• The 50-50 Rule- provides practical support services to develop open discussions between adult siblings in an effort to help them improve communication skills, develop teamwork, make decisions together and divide the workload in caring for aging parents. Visit solvingfamilyconflict.com for more information.
• Answering the Call - a senior emergency can help ensure that family caregivers have fast and easy access to important information about loved ones in case of an emergency call. For more information, visit senioremergencykit.com

What Our Caregivers Are Saying...

Some of our CAREGivers share what it means to be a Home Instead Senior Care CAREGiver:

Being a caregiver allows me the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life. I really enjoy helping out others and knowing that what I do is important to them.

I really don’t believe there is one special thing that we do for our client. Everything that we do for our clients is important, whether it’s taking them to the grocery store, or accompanying them on doctor visits, or just sitting and listening to their stories. Everything we do is important to our clients.

If I had to describe my job in one word I would have to say that it’s rewarding.

The best part of my job would have to be the smile that I receive when I arrive at a client’s house. It’s just such a friendly welcome that they give you. They’re just so excited to see you. I think that’s the best part of being a caregiver.

I was with a client for almost four years. In the beginning she used to tell her son, “Tell her to go home. I really don’t need help.” The last six months of her life we would sit down on the bed when she’d get ready for bed. She would hold my hand and put her head on my shoulder and say, “I’m so glad that you’re here to be with me. I’ll never be alone.”

I think the most important thing that I do is give them companionship, keep them safe and secure, and make them know that they’re not alone, that they always have someone to be with them and help them.

I think if I was going to describe my job in one word it would have to be rewarding because it’s so powerful to see these people and know that they appreciate what you’re doing and you’re really helping them and keeping them safe and happy.

Craving Companionship

It’s dinnertime, and what your senior parent is likely craving the most is to share a favorite family meal with you.

That’s according to research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care® network, which revealed that lack of companionship is the biggest mealtime challenge for seniors.* The local Home Instead Senior Care office is encouraging family caregivers to dig into the family recipe box to find that favorite dish, and prepare and share a meal with their senior loved one.

Then enter that recipe and the story about what makes the dish so special to your family in the Craving Companionship^SM Recipe Contest between July 15 and September 15, 2011. The contest is part of the Craving Companionship program at www.mealsandcompanionship.com launched to help seniors stay connected socially and eat more nutritiously.

“Many seniors need help planning and preparing nutritious meals,” said Bob Vielee, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care office in Clarks Summit. “But that’s only part of the story. So many seniors want to relive a time around the dinner table when they are sharing their lives with the people they love most. Home Instead Senior Care network research reveals that seniors who live alone want good-tasting, nutritious food and stimulating conversation when they share home-cooked meals with family and friends.”

The program offers family caregivers tips and practical advice to encourage companionship and easy healthy meals. For more details about the contest including guidelines and prizes, visit www.mealsandcompanionship.com. Selected recipes and stories will be posted online as well as in the Homemade Memories^SM Cookbook, which will be available for purchase in time for the 2011 holiday season. Proceeds will go to the non-profit Home Instead Senior Care Foundation to benefit North American seniors.

Craving Companionship is geared to helping families support a nutritiously vulnerable population – older adults who live alone. In the United States, approximately 40 percent of the population age 75 and older – 6.7 million people – lives alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Craving Companionship program and contest are incentives for families to find time to help their loved ones prepare the foods they’ve always loved and enjoy those dishes with them. “Who likes to eat alone?  Nobody,” said Sandy Markwood, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), expert source for the Craving Companionship program.

 “We know from the popular home-delivered meals program, also known as “Meals On Wheels^®,” that companionship is among the most important needs of local seniors. Older adults often look forward to the delivery driver as much as the meal,” Markwood noted. “We share the Home Instead Senior Care mission to help older adults live with confidence at home for as long as possible by providing the support they need.  Because when a senior is isolated, it’s indicative of bigger challenges that person could be facing.”

Two of five seniors who live alone (44 percent) have at least four warning signs of poor nutritional health**. According to Home Instead Senior Care network research, the most common of these warning signs and their incidence rates are:

§  Eating alone most of the time (76 percent)

§  Taking three or more different medications a day (71 percent)

§  Eating few fruits, vegetables or milk products (46 percent)

§  Having an illness/condition that prompted a change in diet (31 percent) 

§  Not always being physically able to shop, cook or feed themselves (25 percent)

Furthermore, the research confirms the value of mealtimes. An overwhelming majority of seniors (85 percent) say that having someone to share their meals makes those times more satisfying for them. In addition, nearly one-half (48 percent) say their mealtimes are more satisfying if they have someone prepare their meals for them. 

Sadly, these same seniors say that several factors can get in the way of their mealtime companionship. The most common obstacles that prevent these seniors from sharing more meals are family/friends don’t have enough time (28 percent) or they live too far away (20 percent).

“That’s no surprise since we know from experience families often lack the time to help their aging parents,” Vielee said. “But 59 percent of seniors who live alone say they eat more nutritiously when family and friends are around. They really enjoy having that connection with someone, whether it’s a family caregiver or a professional caregiver.”

*The Home Instead Senior Care network completed 600 telephone interviews with seniors age 75 and older in the U.S. who live alone in their own homes or apartments. The sampling error is +/-4.0% at a 95% confidence level.   

**The warning signs of poor nutritional health were previously identified and published by the Nutrition Screening Initiative.

Seniors Turn to Prayer for Better Health

The latest on the topic of health comes from the spiritual realm rather than the medical field. Praying for better health dramatically increased among American adults over the past three decades, rising 36 percent between 1999 and 2007, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. The study focused on new data comparing 2002 to 2007 that found senior citizens are by far more likely to turn to prayer in coping with health issues than younger people.

Not surprisingly, too, seniors had a smaller percentage increase in those saying they prayed recently, because their numbers were already so high. One suggestion from the researchers is that a previous study found that as pain becomes more chronic, people are more likely to turn to prayer.

Some key findings:

·         A significantly greater proportion of women prayed compared with men; 51 percent of women reported praying in 2002 and 56 percent in 2007, in contrast with 34 percent and 40 percent, respectively, among men.

·         African-Americans were more likely to pray for their health than Caucasians, with 61 percent of African-Americans reporting having done so in 2002 and 67 percent in 2007, compared with 40 percent and 45 percent for Caucasians during the same periods.

·         People who were married, educated beyond high school or had experienced a change in health for better or worse within the last 12 months were also more likely to pray about health concerns, the study found.

The study did not reveal the type of prayer people used, or which occurred first – prayer or the health issue.

The support of a professional caregiver can be of help as well, particularly if you need assistance around the house. CAREGivers^SM from your local Home Instead Senior Care^® office can help take some of the fear from the issues of aging and growing older by providing a variety of non-medical and companionship services. CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured.  

To learn more about the research, visit http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/05/praying-health.aspx.

Research Says Coffee Drinking Cuts Breast, Prostate Cancers

It appears that your parents are doing at least one good thing for themselves: drinking coffee.  The results of two recent studies reveal a link between lower risks of prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women among coffee drinkers.

Men who regularly drink coffee appear to have a lower risk of developing a lethal form of prostate cancer, according to the new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. What's more, the lower risk was evident among men who drank either regular or decaffeinated coffee.

The researchers chose to study coffee because it contains many beneficial compounds that act as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and regulate insulin, all of which may influence prostate cancer.

Among the findings:

·         Men who consumed the most coffee (six or more cups daily) had nearly a 20 percent lower risk of developing any form of prostate cancer.

·         The inverse association with coffee was even stronger for aggressive prostate cancer. Men who drank the most coffee had a 60 percent lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer.

·         The reduction in risk was seen whether the men drank decaffeinated or regular coffee, and does not appear to be due to caffeine.

In another study, researchers from Sweden compared lifestyle factors and coffee consumption between women with breast cancer and age-matched women without. They found that heavy coffee drinkers had a lower incidence of ER–negative breast cancer than women who rarely drank coffee.

Women who drank five cups of coffee a day had a 33 to 57 percent lower risk for this cancer than did women who drank less than a cup a day. Once they had adjusted their data to account for these other factors they found that the protective effect of coffee on breast cancer was only measurable for ER-negative breast cancer.

Encourage your parents to get regular exercise and visit their doctors as scheduled. Remind them to discuss a healthy diet with their doctor or a nutritionist. If they need help around the house, a Home Instead CAREGiver^SM could assist. CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured, and provide a variety of companionship and home helper services.

For more about the studies, go to http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsid.2655/news_detail.asp and http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/bc-crb050911.php.

Medicare Preventive Care Important Resource for Older Adults

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a new report showing that more than 5.5 million Americans with traditional Medicare – nearly one in six people with Medicare – took advantage of one or more of the recommended preventive benefits now available for free, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Those services include, most prominently, mammograms, bone density screenings, and screenings for prostate cancer.

Roughly 70 percent of Medicare beneficiaries had at least one chronic condition in 2008, while as many as 38 percent had between two and four chronic conditions, and 7 percent had five or more. They see an average of 14 different doctors and fill an average of 50 prescriptions or prescription refills a year.

In 2011, Medicare began covering an Annual Wellness Visit at no cost to Medicare beneficiaries. As part of that visit, beneficiaries and their physicians can review the patient's health and develop a personalized wellness plan.

Over 780,000 beneficiaries received an Annual Wellness Visit between January 1 and June 10. Additionally, more seniors have used the Welcome to Medicare Exam this year: 66,302 beneficiaries had taken advantage of the benefit by the end of May 2011, compared with 52,654 beneficiaries at the same point in 2010, a 26 percent increase.

A renewed push toward prevention is the latest step toward CMS's fulfillment of its “Three-Part Aim: Better care and better health at lower cost through improvement in health care.”

“Even in your 70s, 80s, or beyond you can reduce your risk of disability and chronic illness if you take care of yourself,” said CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, M.D. With the new free Annual Wellness Visits and free preventive care, people with Medicare have the tools to take common-sense steps to control their health."

Preventing chronic disease among the Medicare population would not only improve their health and quality of life, it could help save an estimated two-thirds of the $2 trillion the U.S. spends treating preventable long-term illness today.

It also may be time for your parents to seek out assistance in their homes. The local Home Instead Senior Care^® office can help by providing CAREGivers^SM who are screened, trained, bonded and insured.

 To learn more about prevention, go to www.Medicare.gov or www.healthcare.gov.

10 Senior Mealtime Challenges

Research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care^® network reveals 10 mealtime challenges for older adults. The following percentages refer to the number of seniors who believe these are challenges for older people who live alone. After each are tips for how to make the most of mealtimes for older adults who live alone, from the Home Instead Senior Care network and Sandy Markwood of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

1.      Lack of companionship during mealtimes (62 percent) Tip: If you can’t be there to dine with a loved one regularly, look for alterative options such as friends and neighbors. Check out special activities at churches and senior centers as well as the local Area Agency on Aging and Home Instead Senior Care resources.  

2.      Cooking for one (60 percent) Tip: Freeze most any type of leftovers including sliced and seeded fruit by placing it in plastic containers or freezer bags. Buy your senior healthier low-sodium dinners for one.

3.      Eating nutritious meals (56 percent) Tip: Buy fresh, when possible, or frozen foods including fruits and vegetables. Frequent affordable farmer’s markets in season. Your older loved one may enjoy perusing the racks of produce.  If your senior is able, help plant a garden.

4.      Grocery shopping for one (56 percent) Tip: Transportation can be a big issue for seniors. Contact the local Area Agency on Aging and Home Instead Senior Care business, or encourage your loved one to engage neighborhood support systems when possible.

5.      Eating three meals a day (49 percent) Tip: So many seniors are on prescription medications that must be taken with or without food. Coordinate the food plan with the medication plan. “Remember, Dad, to take this pill when you’re eating oatmeal for breakfast.”

6.      High expense of cooking for one (45 percent) Tip: Encourage shared meals when possible – your older loved one will get the benefit of reduced costs of meals as well as companionship. Check out your local senior center, which often offers affordable meals for older adults, as well as the home-delivered meals program, also known as “Meals On Wheels^®.”

7.      Relying too much on convenience food (43 percent) Tip: Encourage your older adult to meet with a nutritionist or talk with the doctor to learn how to read labels. So many older adults don’t know the foods that are good and bad for them.

8.      Loss of appetite (41 percent) Tip: Help older adults make mealtimes an event, which can make dining more appealing. Pull out a favorite recipe, help that older adult prepare a meal, get out the good dishes and decorate the table with real or artificial flowers.

9.      Eating too much food (38 percent) Tip: The bigger issue is eating too much of the wrong types of food. If you’re helping an older loved one with a shopping list or grocery shopping, encourage healthier choices.

10.  Eating too little food (35 percent) Tip: Plan a trip to a favorite restaurant for a special dish. If lack of food is an ongoing problem, check with your senior’s doctor to learn about supplemental products that could ensure an older adult is getting the proper nutrition.

For more information about the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, go to www.n4a.org. Learn about the Home Instead Senior Care network’s Craving Companionship^SM program at www.mealsandcompanionship.com.