Veteran’s Roundtable Duplicated, Scheduled At Milford Senior Center

Veterans from all wars are invited to gather at the Milford Senior Center to become a member of the Veteran’s Roundtable at their monthly meeting on Monday, August 20^th, beginning at 12:00 p.m.  Hosted by Bert Copple of Home Instead Senior Care, this month’s activities will include bringing pictures of themselves and spouses in from their times during service to share stories and experiences.  These pictures will then be used to make personal stationary for the veterans to use in an effort to correspond with a unit at war in a later month.  The purpose of these events is to help the veterans build a support system within their own community.  This is a great opportunity to share your experiences as well as listen to other’s about their time in the military.  Registration is required each month as the food will be provided by Home Instead Senior Care.  RSVP by calling 248-685-9008. 

Bert Copple, the Director of Community Relations for Home Instead Senior Care and VA Connect, facilitates the roundtable lunches.  He is a decorated war veteran having served a tour in South Korea and a combat tour during Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 3^rd Squadron of the 7^th U.S. Cavalry.  He is also a licensed minister serving as an associate pastor at a church in Roseville, and is working on his Masters of Divinity degree from Liberty University.

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Your Senior Advisor: Cataracts Common Ailment of Aging

By Shannon Wygant, Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and owner of the Waterford and Walled Lake, Michigan franchises of Home Instead Senior Care. 

1. I am a 78-year-old widower who recently has been diagnosed with cataracts.  My vision has deteriorated and I’m scared about not being able to care for myself.  I’m scheduled to visit my eye doctor soon to discuss this issue.  Until then, what can you tell me?

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, you shouldn’t have to live with the problems brought on by cataracts.  August is Cataract Awareness Month, a great time to focus on what causes this common eye condition and the importance of caring for your eyes.Technological advances in recent years have made cataract surgery faster, safer, more comfortable and ultimately more effective, the academy said.  A cataract is a gradual clouding of the clear lens in the eye, the part that focuses light and produces clear images. Inside of the eye, the lens is contained in a sealed bag or capsule.As old cells die they become trapped within the capsule, the academy explains.  As time passes, more cells die and accumulate causing the lens to cloud, smearing vision and making things appear blurred and fuzzy, like peering through a fogged or frosted window.

Those with a cataract may have:

·         blurry vision, with no pain

·         glare, or sensitivity to light

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90% of Seniors Want to Age At Home: Growing Need for At-Home Elder Care

Today in the New York Times, a story featured the plight of one New York elder couple insisting on staying at home.  It is proof that American seniors, despite concerns with general and mental health, want to be where they are most comfortable: in their homes.  A portion of the article reads as follows:

“Mr. Allen has been hobbled since he fractured his spine in a fall down the stairs, and expects to lose his driver’s license when it comes up for renewal when he turns 85. Mrs. Allen recently broke four ribs getting out of bed. Neither can climb a ladder to change a light bulb, or crouch under the kitchen sink to fix a leak. Stores and public transportation are an uncomfortable hike.

So the Allens have banded together with their neighbors, who are equally determined to avoid being forced from their homes by dependence. Along with more than 100 communities nationwide — a dozen of them here in Washington and its suburbs — they are part of a movement to make neighborhoods comfortable places to grow old, both for elderly men and women in need of help but not ready for assisted living, and for baby boomers anticipating the future.

‘We are totally dependent on ourselves,’ Mr. Allen said. ‘But I want to live in a mixed community, not just with the elderly. And as long as we can do it here, that’s what we want.’

The Allens’ wish to live out their lives in familiar surroundings, shared by almost nine in 10 Americans over age 60, according to numerous polls, may soon become a reality. Their group has registered as a nonprofit association, developed a business plan based on membership dues and begun lining up providers of transportation, home repair, companionship, daily security check-ins and other services to meet their needs at home for as long as possible.

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Senior Con Games: Local Senior Care Company and Fraud Experts Say the Stakes are High when Criminals Target Older Adults

While con games have changed with the times, the practice of defrauding consumers of all ages is nothing new.   When the target is a senior, however, the stakes have never been higher, say senior care experts.  Senior scams are costing older adults their life savings, their homes and even their lives.  

From investment fraud to lottery and sweepstakes scams to home improvement schemes, seniors often are sitting ducks for a criminal looking to make fast cash.  According to 2005 statistics from the National Fraud Information Center, 22 percent of telemarketing scam complaints were logged by those over the age of 70, which represents the highest percentage of any demographic group that year.

What makes older adults so vulnerable to tricksters, scammers and con criminals?  It appears that physical and psychological needs are at the heart of this issue, according to research and anecdotes from senior experts.

“Seniors often worry they will outlive their money and are concerned that they might not be able to continue to live the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed,” said Nancy Wasilk from the Home Instead Senior Care^® offices serving North and Southwest Oakland County.  “That’s among the concerns that we’ve heard seniors express and one reason we believe they are so vulnerable to scams,” she added.  “Some may get caught up in these schemes because they are looking for ways to improve their financial situations.”

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Your Senior Advisor: Negativity Can Make Seniors Forgetful, Study Says

By Shannon Wygant, Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and owner of the Waterford and Walled Lake, Michigan franchises of Home Instead Senior Care. 

Q.     My 80-year-old mother who lives alone sometimes gets herself so worked up over things that suddenly she can’t remember anything and then become nearly incapacitated.  Have you ever heard of such a behavior? 

Yes, we have heard of such a condition, and research also confirms its existence.  A study earlier this year from Rush University Medical Center found that people who are easily distressed and have more negative emotions are more likely to develop memory problems than more easygoing people. 

In commenting about the study, author Robert S. Wilson, PhD.,  a neuropsychologist at Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, said:  “People differ in how they tend to experience and deal with negative emotions and psychological distress, and the way people respond tends to stay the same throughout their adult lives. 

“These findings suggest that, over a lifetime, chronic experience of stress affects the area of the brain that governs stress response. Unfortunately, that part of the brain also regulates memory.”  An earlier study by Wilson and his colleagues showed that people who are easily distressed also are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than more easygoing people.  

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Press Conference and Reception for Artist with Alzheimer’s Disease: Inspire Magazine

Local Artist with Alzheimer’s Has Work Featured on Cover of Magazine:

Press Conference and Reception Draws Attention to

Medical Advances in Alzheimer’s Treatment

and Available Resources for Those Living with Alzheimer’s

Ray Maloney is a gifted teacher, a self-taught artist, and a loving husband and father.  That all changed in 1998 when Ray was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

            As his memory began to fade, so did his ability to teach and create.  However, his legacy of hope continues on today.  After losing the capacity to create art with paints and acrylics, he moved to complex collages of carefully selected magazine clippings to create beautiful pieces of art.  One of his first collages, Safe Haven, was then described by him as his mind breaking up into pieces and his only safe place was his home as depicted by the circle in the lower left side of his collage.

            Ray’s first magazine collage piece, has been chosen to grace the cover of Inspire Magazine’s summer issue dealing with Alzheimer’s disease.  The periodical, published by the Inspire Senior Network, is written entirely by regional medical experts dealing with one specific senior-related topic each quarter.

            The magazine will be released at a press conference on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at Arden Courts of Bingham Farms, (24005 W 13 Mile Rd, Bingham Farms, MI, (248) 644-8100).  The press conference will begin promptly at 3:20 p.m., and will be followed by a reception for Ray and Jan Maloney. Valet parking will be available.

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Summer Care Conference: Elder Abuse and Alzheimer’s Disease (8.16.07)

Home Instead Senior Care, partnering with the Community Counseling Center of Novi, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the Lourdes Campus, presents its summer care conference.  The focus will be on elder abuse and Alzheimer’s Disease.

The care conference will be held on Thursday, August 17, 2007 beginning at 2 p.m. and will last no more than two hours.  It will be held in the chapel at the Lourdes Campus Nursing Home, located at 2300 Watkins Lake Road in Waterford.  Attendees should use the Nursing Home entrance.

There is no cost to attend, though pre-registration is required and is limited to 50 attendees.

 

“Who should attend?  Anyone who desires to know how they can better care for the senior population,” says Nancy Wasilk, Community Service Representative for the Waterford office of Home Instead Senior Care.  “This care conference will be especially relevant for caregivers and social workers as they are actively involved in protecting our seniors and their livelihood.”

   

Wasilk adds that the list of possible attendees whom could benefit from the conference may include caregivers, social workers, nurses, financial institution managers, chaplains, facility managers, and children or relatives of seniors who may be at risk for abuse or exploitation.

Networking opportunities will be available after the presentations.  Refreshments will be served and provided by Lourdes.

To reserve your seat, call 248-674-2241, and press 0 for the operator.  Remember – seating is limited. Reserve your space soon.

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Your Senior Advisor: Caregiving a Great Job for ‘Seasoned’ Citizens

By Shannon Wygant, Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and owner of the Waterford and Walled Lake, Michigan franchises of Home Instead Senior Care.

Q.  I’m a 76-year-old widow looking for part-time work.  I like to keep busy, but working in a store, restaurant or office doesn’t appeal to me.  I’d rather help people.  What can I do at my age?

Retiring at age 65 used to be the dream for many people, but times are changing throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Older workers are returning to the employment ranks for various reasons from monetary needs to boredom.  And that number appears to be on the rise.In fact, 13.5 percent of the U.S. population age 65 and older was employed in 2003 compared with 12.5 percent in 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.  In Canada, an estimated 305,000 people age 65 and older were employed in 2001, up from about 255,000 in 1996. That was a 19.6 percent increase, nearly twice the 11 percent growth in the total senior population during the same period.  As you can see, you’re in good company.     

Everyone has special gifts.  To begin, make a list of experiences you have that few others do and see if you can get paid for them.  Put together a resume that will help capture your unique talents and experience.  Going through that process also could help you better determine what you’d like to do.  Since helping people is your interest, try to find places in your community that are looking for someone with your compassion and skills.  Networking with friends and business associates is often your best place to find out what’s available in your employment market. 

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Use It Or Lose It: Local Company Helps Keep Seniors’ Minds on the Move

When it comes to how the mind ages, research is increasingly giving new meaning to the popular phrase “use it or lose it,” said Bert Copple, director of community relations of the Home Instead Senior Care^® franchise offices in Waterford and Walled Lake, Michigan. “We know that mind games keep many aging minds young and vital,” said Copple. 

So what are today’s seniors doing to keep mentally fit?  Many have said goodbye to traditional games such as bingo.  They’re gravitating more to video-game technology and group activities such as Scrabble^® and bridge tournaments.  According to the latest studies, it all helps.  Researchers in a study published just last year in Psychological Medicine from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, found that individuals with high brain reserve—which looks at the roles of education, occupational complexity, and mentally stimulating pursuits in preventing cognitive decline—have a 46-percent decreased risk of dementia than those with low brain reserve.  The study found that it is, in fact, a case of “use it or lose it,” and pointed out that even a late-life surge in mental activity can stave off the effects of this terrible disease. However, one deterrent for many seniors who would like to stay mentally active is lack of companionship—particularly for those older adults who live alone. 

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