How to Emotionally Support Your Senior When He’s Feeling Down

If you care for a senior loved one, you spend a considerable amount of time trying to meet the physical issues that often arise as we grow older. You implement steps to mitigate pain, ensure consuming food and beverages that deliver sufficient vitamins and minerals, and drive to different healthcare providers to address a wide variety of physical ailments. Although taking care of your senior loved one’s physical health is important, you should devote as much time and money to considering the emotional toll aging takes.

We fulfill emotional needs at every stage of our lives. As we grow older, our emotional needs change and the strategies used to meet those needs change as well. The key is to know how to support your senior loved one emotionally. You also should be able to identify the emotional needs of your senior loved one. A few of the most common emotional needs that senior loved ones need to meet include social interactions, developing meaningful relationships, and understanding what it takes to find a sense of belonging.

At our senior living facility in Phoenix, Arizona, our caregivers recommend four ways to support your senior when he’s feeling down.

Listen

When your senior loved one discusses feeling down, your role is to listen and understand what is said. You should not follow up with an immediate response, but instead, you listen to let your senior loved one know that what she said carries enough significance to warrant a little time of contemplation. When your senior loved one knows you have listened, you should be able to develop a stronger connection that provides emotional support.

Respect

Unless your senior loved one needs memory care in Phoenix, he is capable of expressing ideas that advocate a point of view. The last thing your senior loved one wants is to be treated like a child, which unfortunately, far too many family members do when they interact with an older adult. Your senior loved one wants to be in control of her life, which means you need to respect what he wants to do in terms of choosing an assisted living lifestyle.

Make Safety and Security a Priority

Safety and security represent two of the most important emotional needs for a senior. If your loved one does not feel safe and secure, she might not be able to generate the energy to have other emotional needs met. One of the most common reasons why seniors want to live in a facility with other seniors concerns the issues of safety and security. MorningStar at Arcadia installs safety and security measures such as advanced security systems and emergency call buttons to give residents peace of mind.

Participate in Activities

Assisted living facilities offer a wide variety of activities to keep residents engaged, as well as foster social interactions. The activities planned at our memory care community in Phoenix are not just for residents. To support your senior loved one emotionally, stop by our facility to join your senior loved one in an activity or two. We offer regularly scheduled activities such as yoga and tai chi, as well as special events like bus tours that take residents to area cultural and historical landmarks.

Professional caregivers represent the front line of defense to prevent the development of emotional issues such as fear and anxiety. Loved ones are the second line of defense, which means you should focus on ways to help your senior loved one feel valued, understood, and appreciated. At our assisted living community in Phoenix, AZ, we follow the mission of “to honor, to value, to invest” in our seniors. Learn more by contacting a resident care representative at MorningStar at Arcadia.

5 Important Supplements for Seniors

As we grow older, it is important to get the minimum daily requirement of vitamins and minerals in our bodies. From the quick rejuvenation of cells to enhancing the circulation of blood, vitamins and minerals play a crucial role in determining our health status. However, older adults tend to miss out on the daily minimum requirements for mineral and vitamin intake. They do not eat the right foods, which means seniors typically require the addition of supplements in their diets to bolster strength and fend off the development of debilitating diseases such as osteoarthritis.

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 75 percent of adults at least 60 years old take at least one daily vitamin and/or mineral supplement. Adding vitamin supplements to your senior loved one’s diet might be the most effective way to prevent the development of diseases, while at the same time improving cognitive skills. At our senior living facility in Phoenix, Arizona, our team of nutritionists customizes diets for residents that often include taking at least one vitamin supplement.

Let’s look at five important supplements for seniors at our assisted living and memory care facility in Phoenix.

Calcium

As the most abundant mineral in the body, calcium is critical to help maintain healthy bones and teeth. Older adults are especially at risk for suffering the loss of bone and tooth density. Without enough calcium, seniors become much more vulnerable to sustaining bone fractures that take a longer than average amount of time to heal. You can find ample calcium in foods such as fish, milk, and dark-green, leafy vegetables. However, adding a calcium supplement to a senior’s diet ensures the proper amount of calcium intake.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D, which is found in fish and fortified milk products, is an integral vitamin for seniors to have in their bodies. During spring and summer, just a daily 10-minute exposure to the sun can generate enough vitamin D. This vitamin is important for seniors to prevent the development of osteoarthritis and other types of bone diseases. Supplementing food sources like fatty fish with a daily pill can generate enough vitamin D for older adults.

Vitamin B12

The bones are not the only part of the body that benefits from the ingestion of vitamin supplements. Older adults also need to maintain the health of nerves and blood cells, which is the primary reason for taking a vitamin B12 supplement. As we enter our golden years, natural sources such as eggs, fish, and poultry of vitamin B become more difficult to absorb.

Vitamin B9

Also referred to as folate or folic acid, vitamin B9 can prevent or slow down memory loss in adults at least 60 years old. Vitamin B9 also plays an important healthcare role by converting carbohydrates into energy. Seniors who do not consume enough fruits like oranges and vegetables such as spinach are candidates for ingesting a vitamin B9 supplement.

Vitamin B6

Our bodies require vitamin B6 to form red blood cells, as well as maintain healthy connections between the brain and nerve cells. Far too many seniors do not get enough B6, which can mean the development of memory loss. Ingesting a vitamin B6 supplement can complement natural food sources such as potatoes and citrus fruits.

The team of nutritionists at MorningStar at Arcadia carefully plans meals for our residents to ensure they receive the right amount of vitamins and minerals. At our memory care facility in Phoenix, AZ,  vitamin and mineral supplements also play an important role in helping residents maintain strong mental and physical health.  Learn more about the five important supplements for seniors by scheduling a tour of our assisted living community.

What is the Best Senior Living Option for My Loved One

Seniors have different personal care needs that make it difficult to put every older adult into a neat category for a one-size-fits-all approach to living. For example, one senior might live out the golden years playing golf and enjoying a relatively healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, another senior of the same age might require much more intensive personal care by a licensed caregiver in an assisted living environment. From growing older at home to receiving memory care services, seniors have several living options to meet their unique needs.

At the MorningStar at Arcadia senior living community in Phoenix, Arizona, we offer three lifestyle options for residents. Many of our residents start with the independent living program, and then transition into a more assisted living arrangement as circumstances dictate.

Let’s review the three senior lifestyle options for residents at MorningStar at Arcadia.

Independent Living

The independent living option for seniors is the right choice for older adults who are ready to move into a senior housing facility, but do not require daily personal care assistance. Seniors who select the independent lifestyle option receive a limited number of personal care services, while having full access to the senior housing community’s amenities.

Independent living for seniors is the right lifestyle option for older adults who remain active, yet want to enjoy the companionship of other seniors in the same housing community. If your senior loved one can live independently, but does not want to live alone, the independent lifestyle option at our assisted living facility is the best way to meet both criteria.

Assisted Living

Seniors that require some form of personal care assistance, yet do not need daily medical care, opt for the assisted living lifestyle option at MorningStar at Arcadia. Assisted living residents have around-the-clock access to caregivers for emergency care, as well as receive help with daily tasks such as bathing, cooking, and dressing. Assisted Living residents receive just the personal care that they need, which allows them to enjoy much of their independence.

Examples of candidates who should consider assisted living include seniors that struggle with mobility issues like balance and coordination. Seniors who recently suffered a serious health setback also might consider an assisted living arrangement in Phoenix. Some of the signs that your senior loved should consider an assisted living facility include a decline in personal hygiene and a significant loss of weight.

Memory Care

Around seven million Americans at least 65 years old live with Alzheimer’s disease, with nearly 75 percent of memory care patients being at least 75 years old. Memory care represents the third lifestyle option for residents of our senior housing community. Memory care represents a specialized type of living arrangement for older adults dealing with advanced memory impairment. Seniors living with memory loss require intensive care to take care of standard daily responsibilities such as eating and cleaning. The memory caregivers at MorningStar at Arcadia must complete a comprehensive training program after earning the education required to provide memory care for older adults.

Memory care in Phoenix, AZ is the right lifestyle option for seniors who have entered the mid-to-late stages of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. During the early stage of memory loss, seniors can continue living at home with the family providing personal care. However, as memory decline worsens, older adults require around-the-clock care to remain safe and healthy.

Learn More About the Lifestyle Options at MorningStar at Arcadia

The MorningStar mission “to honor, to value, to invest” in our residents separates our senior housing community from other facilities in Phoenix, Arizona. Get the answers to your senior lifestyle questions by submitting the brief Contact form found on our website.

Assisted Living Communities Offer Many Benefits

Many times, a move to assisted living is not only good for the senior but for the family as well. Mom or dad living alone, perhaps already experiencing a fall or another type of health emergency, is stressful for everybody involved. 

Senior living experts point out the benefits of receiving attentive senior care along with services like nutritional meals, access to meaningful programs and transportation to and from appointments. At communities like MorningStar of Albuquerque, we sit down with in-coming residents to create a Personalized Service Plan designed to help with the ADLs (activities of daily living), which include bathing, grooming, transferring (such as from bed to a wheelchair), feeding and toileting. 

Dee Pekruhn, director of life plan communities’ services and policy for LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, says, “Whether they stand alone or are part of a larger continuing care campus, assisted living communities offer a wide variety of community and social activities.” These typically include arts and crafts, physical exercise classes such as chair yoga, live concerts and other entertainment, and educational and technology classes. At MorningStar, we tell our residents if we don’t already have a class addressing one of your interests, to start one. 

Special outings and trips are another component of many assisted living communities including MorningStar of Albuquerque. Bus trips to local points of interest, shopping or cultural events are just some of the activities enjoyed by residents.  

Another important service is medication management as statistics show the average older adult takes four or more prescription drugs each day, and as high as 39 percent of seniors take five or more. Medical management ensures seniors take the proper medication they need when they need it. 

MorningStar is proud to offer exceptional assisted living in Albuquerque, NM with our distinct mission statement “to honor, to value, to invest.”  Our community offers 48 private assisted living suites and 21 suites in our Reflections Neighborhood devoted to caring for those with Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related diseases. Contact us for more information and to set up a tour.

MorningStar is guided by a culture rooted in our mission of honoring God, valuing seniors, and investing in our team, which allows us to deliver services with warmth, sincerity and depth of purpose. We have built a reputation for creating homes filled with an atmosphere of love and community. Please contact us to learn more about the finest assisted living Albuquerque, NM offers.

Source: 

health.usnews.com/best-assisted-living/slideshows/how-assisted-living-improves-quality-of-life?

Should I Transition My Parent from Assisted Living to Memory Care

One of the most important decisions faced by most of us concerns moving a parent into an assisted living facility. Guilt can consume you and fear can overwhelm your parents. However, the hand-wringing does not end after your parents move into a senior housing facility in Phoenix, Arizona. For example, MorningStar at Arcadia offers three lifestyle options, one of which is the availability of memory care services. A new dilemma arises and it begs the question, “Should I transition my parents from assisted living to memory care?”

Assisted living involves a team of caregivers providing support in the form of meals, transportation, and medication management. It is a much more hands-off approach to providing care than the services provided by memory care. Memory care residents typically receive much more intensive attention, such as supervised care around the clock and personal care assistance like providing support for bathing. 

Our team of resident care professionals acts as a valuable resource to determine when the time has arrived to move a parent into memory care from an assisted living arrangement. However, you should contribute to the important conversation by understanding the three signs that it is time for a parent to transition from assisted living to memory care.

Safety Becomes a Major Concern

As dementia symptoms become worse, older adults can become vulnerable to a large number of safety issues. For example, a simple stroll around the grounds of an assisted living facility can quickly turn dangerous, as a resident forgets how to get back to the starting point. Basic personal care tasks such as bathing and cooking also have the potential to harm an older adult developing the symptoms of dementia. Signs that safety should be a concern include difficulty eating, taking the wrong prescription pills, and developing unexplained bruises on the body.

A Decline in Cognitive Skills

Because assisted living arrangements give residents more autonomy, a decline in cognitive skills is a red flag that alerts you to the need to transition your parents into memory care. From trouble holding conversations to failing to understand what goes on during certain activities can be signs your parent needs to receive more intensive personal care services. Assisted living residents who suffer from cognitive skills decline often isolate themselves from the rest of the community. Our memory care residents not only receive more intensive personal care, but our caregivers also can help residents recover some diminished cognitive skills.

Physical Impairments

Detecting a decline in a parent’s cognitive skills can be difficult to do because you do not spend as much time with your loved one. However, you can determine if it is time to transition a parent from assisted living to memory care by noticing physical impairments. Perhaps your loved one has lost significant motor control, which negatively impacts balance and coordination. Other types of physical impairment signs that might indicate the development of dementia symptoms include acute pain and chronic fatigue. 

Moving a Parent from Assisted Living to Memory Care

If you decide to move a parent from assisted living to a memory care community, make sure your parent has every cognitive need met to ensure safety. Keep the transition simple, which means choosing an assisted living facility in Phoenix that also offers memory care services. Allow your parents to maintain the same routine, as familiarity represents a powerful feeling that eases stress and anxiety. Seniors who develop dementia symptoms still want to retain control, dignity, and independence.

At MorningStar at Arcadia, we help older adults transition from assisted living to memory care because we devote an entire wing of our facility to providing memory care services. This means you do not have to leave our facility to enroll a parent in a different memory care program located on the other side of the Phoenix metro area. Learn more about the assisted living and memory care services provided by MorningStar at Arcadia by submitting the Contact form.

Reduce the Risk of Cognitive Decline With a Healthy Diet

Researchers have found evidence suggesting genetics, environment, and lifestyle can affect our risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. A poor diet is one of those lifestyle choices that causes high blood pressure and heart disease, and increases a person’s risk for Alzheimer’s disease. 

WebMD.com reports the MIND diet; a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets has shown promise in reducing the risk or slowing cognitive decline. They cite early studies showing MIND lowered the “risk of Alzheimer's by 53% in those who follow it closely and by 35% in those who follow more loosely.” In 2018, the MIND diet recommendation was expanded to include older adults who have suffered a stroke. 

To adhere to the diet, weekly meals should include food from the following groups: green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil, and wine. They say a good way to start is with a daily salad, one other vegetable, and three servings of whole grains every day. In terms of vegetables, collard greens, kale, and spinach have been found to be especially healthy. 

Poultry should be eaten once a week, fish twice a week and beans every other day. Nuts and berries make good snacks, blueberries and strawberries being some of the best. Olive oil not only adds a great taste to foods but has been shown to improve brain function over the long term and protect against dementia. 

At MorningStar of Santa Fe, we offer assisted living residents a healthy engaged lifestyle with luxury amenities, care services, wellness programs and activities. In addition, our five-star dining experience features seasonal menus with the freshest ingredients from high quality producers, locally sourced whenever possible. 

Meals at MorningStar include a variety of nutritional choices to allow residents to self-manage dietary habits and restrictions and include low sodium, gluten free, sugar free, no sugar added and low-fat options.  Our chef also uses ingredients with high concentrations of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds known to support brain health and aptly named “Super Foods.”  These include items like acai berries, Omega 3 fats, dark chocolate and dark greens.  Please contact us or visit our website for more information about outstanding senior living in Santa Fe, NM.

MorningStar takes tremendous pride in the reputation we have earned for excellence and authenticity since our inception in 2003.  We believe the human capacity to grow, to learn and to contribute is ageless; and we act upon that truth daily, as we care for, inspire, and love the residents under our roof. Contact us for more information about the finest senior living Santa Fe, NM offers.

Do You Need Hearing Aids?

Did you know the FDA has made changes to regulations regarding hearing aids, which now makes it possible to buy an FDA approved device over the counter (OTC)? While many of us have heard about the high cost of prescription hearing aids and that Medicare typically does not cover them, you may want to know whether the experts think an OTC purchase is a good idea. 

The Harvard Medical School went to Dr. James Naples, assistant professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, to see if it is a viable option and to explain potential pros and cons. He explains that despite there being several types of hearing aids, they all amplify sound and use a combination of signaling processing and directional microphones to filter out background noise. However, he warns against confusing personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) with hearing aids as they only amplify sound. 

To determine your level of hearing loss, experts recommend you start by getting a hearing test from an audiologist like you would get an exam from an optometrist when buying eyeglasses. This is especially necessary for severe hearing loss, as OTC devices are not appropriate for all types of hearing loss. For mild to moderate hearing loss, it may be possible to get good results by purchasing an OTC device without a hearing exam and fitting by an audiologist. 

The next question routinely asked is if you will save money by purchasing an OTC hearing aid and the answer is most-likely yes as a single hearing aid’s average cost is $2000, and age-related hearing loss may be in both ears. OTC also helps reduce the price by eliminating the added expense of the hearing test along with the actual device being substantially lower. Doctors say the new regulations should increase competition and some estimates indicate prices could drop by as much as $1,600. 

Dr. Naples cautions that just as drugstore readers are a great option for many, some individuals have more complicated issues that require more precise solutions. Hearing aids are the same. The doctor states the safest bet is to get a hearing test to confirm an OTC device is right for you. 

MorningStar of Albuquerque assisted living and memory care community provides a full range of care and hospitality services as well as luxury amenities. We also offer a complement of wellness programs and activities to help residents stay engaged physically, intellectually, spiritually and socially. Contact us to learn more about exceptional senior living in Albuquerque.

MorningStar has considered it a privilege and responsibility to “cast a new light” on senior living, inspired and empowered by our unique mission: to honor, to value, to invest. Our passionate commitment to serving seniors has proudly earned us a reputation for family satisfaction second to none. Contact us for more information about the finest senior living Albuquerque, NM has to offer.

Source: health.harvard.edu/blog/should-you-get-an-over-the-counter-hearing-aid-202211162852