Keeping You Safe From COVID-19
Interested in a career at Golden Heart Senior Care. APPLY HERE!

Month: April 2021

Tips to Stay on Top of Caring for Your Senior Parent

Posted on by Craig Bass
Elderly Care in Las Vegas NV
Elderly Care in Las Vegas NV

If you are a family caregiver, there might be times when taking care of your elderly loved one feels like a full-time career. It can be tough to get into a routine with your elderly loved one, especially if they have numerous health conditions or other needs. Even though caregiving can be tough, there are some tips that can help you to stay on top of everything, especially with the help of elderly care.

Improving the Safety of Their Home

One of the best things you can do to take care of your elderly loved one is to improve the safety of their home. There are many elderly people who get hurt in their home because they fall, get burnt, or have another type of accident. There are some modifications that you can have made to your elderly loved one’s home to keep them safer. Some of the things that can be done include the following:

  • Widen the doorway
  • Modify the height of countertops
  • Get safety knobs for the stove
  • Install a handicap ramp on their porch
  • Put in raised toilet seats
  • Install grab bars by the shower and toilet in the bathroom
  • Get better lighting throughout the home

If these home safety modifications are made, you can help to prevent falls and other accidents for your elderly loved one.

Be Ready for Emergencies

Do you often worry that your elderly loved one is going to have an emergency? Are you worried that you won’t be able to handle the situation quickly enough? This is a common worry amongst family caregivers. One of the things you can do to ease this worry is to be ready for emergencies. Some of the ways you can do this include the following:

  • Have all important medical documents ready to go (insurance cards, medication list, etc.)
  • Make a hospital bag of comfort items for your elderly love done (prepare for staying overnight)
  • Be sure to have elderly care providers scheduled in case of emergency (this way if you need someone to stay with your elderly loved one, someone is available)

If you are ready for emergencies ahead of time, you won’t have to worry about these aspects when an emergency happens.

Get Extra Help from Elderly Care

While you may want to do everything by yourself, it is always good to have an extra set of hands to help out. Even if you only need to hire elderly care providers for a couple of hours every week, this could give you the break needed, so you can provide your elderly loved one with better care the rest of the week. Getting extra help is always a good idea.

Conclusion

These are some of the tips to stay on top of everything with elderly care. Now that you have these tips, you can be better prepared to give your elderly loved one all the care that they need.

Sources

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/aging-place-growing-older-home
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/8-tips-long-distance-caregiving

 

If you or an aging loved on is considering elderly care in Las Vegas, NV, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.

April 2021 Employee of the Month

Posted on by Craig Bass
Pictured is Christy Swadkins, owner of Golden Heart Senior Care, and the April 2021 Caregiver of the Month, Sinone Miller.

Please join us in congratulating Sinone Miller as the April 2021 Golden Heart Senior Care Employee of the Month. Sinone is Simply the Best!

We appreciate Sinone so much because she has the biggest heart and makes a huge difference in the lives of her clients. Sinone is always also willing to step in and help with there are open shifts. She is an AMAZING caregiver!!

Helping Your Parent Deal with Anxiety

Posted on by Craig Bass
Home Care in Summerlin NV
Home Care in Summerlin NV

Your elderly parent’s mental health is just as important as his physical health as you help him to live independently in his home. Sometimes we can get so caught up in taking care of someone’s physical needs that the mental needs are forgotten or pushed to the side. If your parent has been showing indications of struggling with anxiety, you should set up an appointment with his physician to determine the cause of the anxiety. Some medications can increase anxiety and some other health issues (such as an overactive thyroid) can also create anxiety in your parent.

Once you have worked with your parent’s physician, there are things you can do at home as you take care of your parent that will help reduce the anxiety he is dealing with. These tips are also great to share with anyone else who may be caring for your parent, such as a home care provider or other family members.

Maintain a routine.

Anxiety can be wrapped up in not knowing what to expect each day. If you find this causes your parent to feel especially anxious, work with him to develop a regular routine for him. It might be as simple as to make sure he doesn’t have any surprise visitors. Plan those visits from his home care provider to be consistent and make sure your parent knows when to expect them. It might also be helpful for his daily routine to be consistent, with getting up at the same time each day and creating daily habits like walking after breakfast or having a lunch visitor every Tuesday.

Just listen.

For some people, speaking about their anxiety is one way for them to manage it better. If your parent wants to share his concerns and worries, listen actively and let him speak freely. Don’t shame his thoughts or disregard his concerns, even if you can’t relate to them. Your parent will feel more comfortable (and less anxious) if he knows he can share his concerns with you and still be treated with dignity and respect. A home care provider can also be a sounding board for your parent, if they feel more comfortable talking to someone other than their adult child.

Use distraction.

Your parent may just need help turning his brain away from its worries. Once you have listened well to your parent, encourage your parent to do something that will distract him from his worries and help his mind focus on other things. It might be a walk around the block, working on a puzzle, or calling a family member (especially a grandchild, they’re great at distractions!).

Refer to professional opinions.

If your parent is worried about the possibly of a tornado destroying his home, or the risk of suddenly developing a deadly disease, it might help to do some research with your parent to help him see the low risk of what he is worrying about. Just learning the facts about a topic can help reduce the anxiety around it.

If you find anxiety continues to rob your parent of his quality of life, medications and/or professional therapy can help him manage his anxiety and get back to enjoying life.

If you or an aging loved on is considering home care in Summerlin, NV, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.

Have You Cleaned These Germy Areas of Your Mom’s Home?

Posted on by Craig Bass
Senior Care in Las Vegas NV

When you think about germy areas in your mom’s home, you probably focus on the toilet, sink handles, light switches, remotes, and phones. There are germ-covered areas that people often overlook. Are you missing these critical areas when you clean your mom’s home?

Appliance Controls

Appliance controls like microwave buttons, stove knobs and control pads, and coffeemaker controls don’t get cleaned enough. You should be wiping them down each day. Clean appliance handles at the same time. Wipe down the refrigerator door and oven door handles.

The coffeemaker also needs to have its lines and reservoir washed out each week or two. It doesn’t take a lot of time to do this.

Pour four cups of white vinegar into the reservoir and let it sit for an hour. Top it up with water and run a complete coffee cycle. Rinse out the reservoir and refill it with clean water. Run a second coffee cycle. You may need to repeat that to get rid of the vinegar smell.

Cutting Boards

Cutting boards should be a hard surface to keep scratches away. Once a wood cutting board is scratched, bacteria can hide. Scrub them with salt and lemon to help kill germs.

If you get a glass or stone cutting board, you can place them in the dishwasher or soak them in a mix of water and bleach to kill bacteria. Ideally, get three cutting boards and use one for vegetables and fruits, one for meats, and one for cheeses.

Pet Toys, Dishes, and Bedding

Pet toys are exposed to saliva. That saliva is filled with bacteria. Toys and bedding also get covered in pet dander, yeast and mold, and coliform bacteria. Ideally, look for pet beds that you can wash and dry. Pet toys need to be cleaned and dried at least once a week or washed in hot soap and water if they’re not machine washable.

Each day, your mom’s pets need to have their water and food dishes washed out. Put them in the dishwasher or wash them by hand after soaking them in a mix of bleach and water for 30 minutes. If they don’t eat their canned food, don’t leave it sitting in the bowl overnight. They always need to start the day with clean bowls.

Hire senior care aides to help keep your mom’s house clean and sterile. With the help of professional caregivers, your mom’s house is rid of most germs, which allows her to stay healthy. Call a senior care agency to learn more about housekeeping and laundry services that help with disinfection within the home.

If you or an aging loved on is considering senior care in Las Vegas, NV, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.

Five Ways to Add Fruits and Vegetables to Your Parents’ Daily Diet

Posted on by Craig Bass
Caregivers in Henderson NV

Current recommendations are for older adults to get around two cups of fruit and three cups of vegetables each day. That’s about five cups in all. Despite this recommendation, the CDC found that around 10 percent of adults get that much.

How do you make sure your mom and dad are eating the right amounts of fruits and vegetables? Here are five ways to make it happen.

#1 – Have a Vegetarian Day

One or two days a week, have a vegetarian day. Instead of making a meal that includes meat, focus on a vegetarian day. Your dad loves chicken curry. Make a chickpea curry that’s loaded with vegetables instead. The chickpeas provide protein, and you can add a mix of vegetables like spinach, red peppers, carrots, and onions to boost vegetable intake.

Once a week, serve a favorite sandwich with a pot of homemade minestrone. Minestrone is packed with vegetables like kale, zucchini, carrots, onions, tomatoes, and beans.

#2 – Grow Produce at Home

If your parents enjoy gardening, one of the best ways to increase the number of vegetables is by growing them at home. When they open their refrigerator and see a small supply of produce, they’re likely to limit what they eat. If they have a bountiful garden with plenty of fruits and vegetables, they’re more likely to eat them in quantity.

#3 – Get It Ready to Eat

Prepare fruits and vegetables and package in ready-to-eat portions. If there are cucumber, carrot, and celery sticks already washed and sliced, your parents can quickly grab them when they’re hungry. It would be best if you also considered making small containers of hummus or yogurt ranch dips to entice them into snacking on raw veggies.

#4 – Be Sneaky About Adding Vegetables

If your parents don’t like many vegetables, start sneaking them into their foods. Your mom loves having a smoothie each day for breakfast. Add a handful of purple kale to her blueberry smoothie. Add a strong flavor like banana or passionfruit to help hide the taste of the kale.

#5 – Hire Caregivers to Cook Meals

Washing and preparing the fruits and vegetables they eat may be too much for your parents. Arthritis pain in the wrists and fingers can make it hard to slice, peel, or cube produce. Scrubbing away the dirt may be too difficult.

If that’s the problem, caregivers are an easy solution. You can have caregivers visit with your parents while preparing meals they’ll love. Caregivers can wash and prep a variety of fruits and vegetables for them. Call an agency to arrange food preparation services.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1116-fruit-vegetable-consumption.html

 

If you or an aging loved on is considering caregivers in Henderson, NV, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.

Golden Heart Senior Care Conducts Successful Caregiver Training

Posted on by Craig Bass
Pictured is Christy Swadkins, owner – Golden Heart, and Jesse Barnett, Community Liaison.

Golden Heart Senior Care recently conducted its monthly staff training that covered the following topics: Person Centered Care, Etiquette for a Smooth Shift and Engaging with your Client. The training was a huge success! There was fun, food and learning for all involved.

We want to thank our WONDERFUL caregivers for their participation and engagement during the training. They are the BEST!

If your loved one is on need of care, please call 702-800-4616 for a no obligation assessment.

Is Your Senior’s Bedroom Causing Her Sleep Trouble?

Posted on by Craig Bass
Elder Care in Summerlin NV

Environment matters so much in lots of the different issues your senior could be having. When it comes to sleep and problems with sleep, you really do need to consider her bedroom and some of the items in her bedroom as contributing factors. Here are just a few ideas to help you to narrow down possible culprits.

Check How Dark the Room Is

Having a dark bedroom is really helpful, because light can cause the brain to mistakenly send out “wake up” signals that aren’t what she needs. The downside to this, though, is that your senior might have trouble navigating if she needs to get up in the middle of the night and the room is too dark. Motion-sensing nightlights can help without completely waking your senior up. Elder care providers can also assist your senior getting into and out of bed at night safely.

Consider Making the Room Cooler at Night

Besides light, having the room even a touch too warm can also cause issues. You can either turn down the furnace a degree or two at night or consider using a fan in her bedroom. Some people find this to not be as comfortable as they want, either, so you might have to try a variety of different things to find the right combination for your senior. An elder care provider can help your senior regulate their temperature overnight.

Dim Screens on Clocks and Other Electronics

Alarm clocks, particularly digital ones, and other electronics your senior has in her room may be bright lights when it comes time for her to go to sleep. Many of these devices have a way for you to make the screens much dimmer, so it’s a good idea to try that. Some electronic devices may even have an option to remove the lights entirely, so check owner’s manuals for that information in order to turn the displays off when they’re not in use.

Double Check the Mattress

Something else to consider is that an uncomfortable mattress might not be obvious to your senior right away, but it can have an impact on how well she sleeps. Double check how old your senior’s mattress is. If it’s older than about 8 years old, it probably is due for replacement. She might experience faster results with a new mattress than with any other solution.
If your elderly family member has a lot of issues with insomnia, it might help for her to have someone there with her overnight, just in case. Elder care providers can offer companionship and they can help with anything your senior needs as well.

If you or an aging loved on is considering elder care in Summerlin, NV, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.