May 2022 - Golden Heart Summerlin

How to Encourage Your Senior Parent to Eat Healthy Foods

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Craig Bass

Personal Care at Home in Summerlin NV

It can be so hard to encourage your elderly loved ones to make healthy life choices, especially if they grew up not focusing on health or eating right. Diet and health have gone through many trends and if your parents grew up a certain way, they may view health differently than you. A few generations ago being skinny meant you were too poor to eat. Now that mindset could not be any more wrong as obesity rises among US citizens.

It is crucial to help your senior eat healthily but how can you do that when you don’t live with your senior full time? If you notice your senior is struggling to eat on their own, going for quick foods, they may need help eating or cooking and this may require something like personal care at home.

As you become older, the concept of what constitutes a healthy diet shifts. You require fewer calories as you age since your metabolism slows down. Certain nutrients are also required by your body in larger amounts. As a result, it’s now more critical than ever to eat foods that are high in nutrients and fiber. Here are some good tips for getting your senior to eat healthily.

Understand What a Healthy Meal Looks Like

If you’re familiar with the USDA’s food pyramid, you’ll recognize this new method of determining what individuals should consume each day: You may find it under the name MyPlate. This straightforward diagram demonstrates how to properly arrange the five major food categories on your plate. For a healthy diet, these are the essentials. If you don’t know what a person should be eating, it can be hard to tell your mom or dad what to do.

Always Read the Label

A senior may not have grown up in a time when food had extra chemicals or was ever so processed. This means they may not know that they should be reading the nutrition label and sometimes this job will pass on to you. The nutrition label will help you understand how many servings should be eaten, what exactly is in something, how many calories, and how much sodium and carbs are in something. This information can be crucial when trying to make healthier choices.

Focus on Hydration

Seniors may not feel thirsty like they did when they were younger and because of this, they are at a higher risk of dehydration which is incredibly unhealthy. Drinking water is an essential nutrient, as well. Drink little quantities of water often throughout the day to avoid becoming dehydrated. Maintain a low intake of sugary and salty fluids, unless in cases when your doctor has advised you differently.

Personal Care at Home Care Help

When a senior chooses to age in place, it can be challenging for a family who works full time to help. This is another reason why personal care at home can be so useful. They will help your senior bathe, get dressed, and eat throughout the day. This can also be a way for seniors to feel like they have more independence rather than relying on their adult children.

Source
https://medlineplus.gov/nutritionforolderadults.html

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

What Does Home Care Assistance For Seniors Include?

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Craig Bass

Home Care Assistance in Las Vegas NV

If you have a senior parent that wants to continue living at home, you may have already starting talking with them about options for home care assistance. Even if your senior loved one is managing fine on their own now, in the future they may need help in order to live comfortably in their home. Starting the process of finding out more about home care now will help you and your senior parent make a smart choice for their health and safety. The most frequently asked question about home care assistance is what does home care include? The answer to that really depends on what kinds of care services your senior loved one needs. Home care can include services like:

Housecleaning

Many seniors need a little extra help cleaning up as they get older. Keeping the home free from clutter will lessen the risk that your senior parent will fall. And chores like dusting and vacuuming are essential to maintain a healthy indoor air quality. Home care assistance often includes light housekeeping so that seniors will have a safe and healthy environment to live in. Care providers can do things like vacuum, dust, mop, do the laundry, clean the kitchen and bathrooms, and make sure that the house is orderly,

Meal Preparation And Cleanup

It’s also common for seniors to need a little help preparing meals. Opening food packages can be tough if your senior loved one has poor grip strength. So is lifting dishes or heavy pots and pans. People with tremors may not be able to safely use the stove or carry glasses. Home care assistance can help seniors prepare meals by opening packaging, measuring things, chopping and dicing, and stirring things for them. They can also help with cooking and clean up the dishes and pots and pans after the meal. Seniors enjoy the company of a care provider who will eat meals with them as much as they enjoy not having to clean up after the meal.

Medication Management

Often seniors benefit from having a trained care provider oversee their medications and make sure that those medications are organized. A care provider can make sure that your senior loved one is getting the medications they should be taking every day. It’s also helpful that they can go to the pharmacy so that your senior loved one doesn’t run out of the meds they need.

Help With Shopping And Errands

Doing the shopping and running errands can be difficult as seniors get older. They may find that they don’t have the energy to walk around a bunch of stores like they used to. Or they may be easily confused by shopping lists or by handling money. With a caregiver accompanying them on shopping trips, your senior will be able to confidently handle all of their errands.

If you are considering home care assistance in Las Vegas, NV, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.

May 2022 Employee of the Month

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Craig Bass

Golden Heart Senior Care is proud to announce that Roxana M. is our May 2022 Employee of the Month.

Roxana is originally from El Salvador and is married with two boys. Roxana has been a caregiver for two years with experience as a CNA. She enjoys working and helping people who can’t help themselves. She puts herself in their shoes and tries to understand what they are going through and how they are feeling.

Roxana is looking forward to returning to school sometime in the future and continue her education in the medical field.

We want to thank Roxana for being a valued Golden Heart employee!

Is Your Elderly Loved One Losing Sleep?

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Craig Bass

Home Care Assistance in Summerlin NV

Has your elderly loved one been losing sleep? Maybe you have gone over to their house in the morning only to find that they are still asleep later than they normally would be. It could be that your elderly loved one is yawning through lunch or when talking to you on the phone. If they are losing sleep, it is best to find out why, so you can help them to do something about it.

Experienced a Loss

Has your elderly loved one recently experienced a loss? Many of us have, but for the elderly, it often hits them a bit differently. They know they don’t have a lot of years left to live and the more people they lose, the harder it can become, especially if the people they are losing are close to them. If your elderly loved one has experienced a loss, the grieving process may be keeping them up at night. If this is the case, it may be a good idea to have home care assistance spend the night at their house. That way, they have someone to talk to before bed and they don’t feel so alone.

Worrisome Nights

Another reason why your elderly loved one may be losing sleep is that they are worrying well into the night. The worries are a common reason that senior citizens can’t sleep. Think about it – when you can’t sleep are you worried about bills, family members, personal issues, or anything in particular or do you worry about just everything in general? This is likely the same for your elderly loved one, too. The things they worry about could be running through their mind at night and keeping them awake. If this is the case, it might be a good idea to have someone at their house who they can talk to before bed to get these worries off their mind.

Procrastination

Does your elderly loved one seem to wait until late in the evening to get things done? Maybe it is the dishes, vacuuming, making phone calls, watching their favorite television shows, or anything else really. If they are procrastinating during the day, they may be staying up too late trying to get things done. In addition, if they are trying to go to bed without things being finished for the day, they may be lying in bed thinking about everything they should be doing instead. If this is the case, it may be good to have someone around during the day time to help remind your elderly loved one to get things done. Home care providers can do this for your elderly loved one.

Conclusion

Has your elderly loved one been losing sleep? If so, it may be best to hire home care assistance to help them get better sleep. These providers can help them to stop procrastinating, get thoughts off their mind, and just feel more relaxed before bed.

Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5689397/

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

Golden Heart Celebrates Cinco De Mayo!

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Craig Bass

Golden Heart Senior Care was a proud participant in the Destinations – Alexander Cinco De Mayo Neighborhood Event on Thursday May 5th, 2022. The event was well attended and everyone had a great time. Thank you Destinations for a fabulous event!

How In-Home Care Can Help Your Senior with ALS

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Craig Bass

In-Home Care in Summerlin NV

If your senior loved one has been diagnosed with ALS, enlisting the help of in-home care sooner than later is a great first step in your care plan. ALS is a progressive disease. As time goes by your senior loved one may experience symptoms like slurred speech, difficulty breathing, and problems with balance. They also may suffer from muscle weakness, especially in the limbs, which can make doing certain tasks difficult. In-home care providers often have experience helping people with ALS so that they can safely get around the home and do the things they want to do. Some of the ways that in-home care will help your senior loved one include:

Fall Prevention

Fall prevention is important for anyone with ALS who his experiencing muscle weakness that could cause them to fall. A caregiver at home can help your senior loved one prevent falls by making sure that all the walkways and paths in the house are clear and dry at all times. By keeping the house tidy, removing clutter, and moving furniture when necessary a home care provider can make your senior loved one’s home easier to navigate. Even if your loved one needs to use a walker or a wheelchair a home care provider can help keep their home free of obstacles and safe to move around in.

Cooking And Meals

When your senior loved one has muscle weakness in their hands and arms cooking can be a challenge. Simple things like lifting a plate of food or a pot with water in it can be a real challenge. And if they drop food or dishes cleaning up the mess can be a separate challenge. But a home care provider can make sure that your senior loved one is getting the nutritious meals that they need to stay healthy. In-home care can cook meals, chop vegetables, make sauces, and prep snacks that your senior loved one can easily eat on their own. They can also do all the cleanup and wash the dishes.

Personal Care

Personal care tasks like washing up, washing hair, showering, brushing teeth, or showering can be difficult for seniors who have ALS. So can putting on clothes and shoes, buttoning up pants or shirts, and putting on sweaters or jackets. But in-home care includes personal care that will make your senior loved one feel better and help them stay healthy at home. In-home care can help your seniors feel good about themselves without the awkwardness of having to ask you or your siblings for help.

Household Chores

Staying safe at home means having a clean and safe home to live in. But seniors with ALS often don’t have the strength in their hands and feet to do household tasks. In-home care can help out by completing tasks like dusting, vacuuming, doing the laundry, mopping, and other chores. Your senior loved one deserves to have a clean and safe home and a care giver can help keep your senior loved one’s home that way.

Sources:
https://www.cherishedagency.com/blog/support-als-diagnosis
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als
https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis.asp

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

Month: May 2022