Craig Bass, Author at Golden Heart Summerlin

5 Ways Senior Home Care Can Help Manage Depression

Posted on November 4, 2022 by Craig Bass

Senior Home Care in Summerlin NV

Depression is a lot more common for aging adults than a lot of family caregivers realize. Having senior home care professionals there with her during the day can be a big part of putting solutions in place for your elderly family member. Here are just a few of the ways that these care providers can make a big difference for your elderly family member.

Staying Aware of What’s Happening

It’s really important that you are able to stay aware of what is happening with your elderly family member and her health, especially if you’re not able to be there with her on a consistent basis. Having senior home care professionals there with your aging family member allows you to get another perspective about how your senior is doing. You can keep track of how she’s feeling, whether she’s eating or not, and other details that help you to talk with her doctor more effectively.

Encouraging Your Senior to Eat Healthy Meals

Nutrition always matters, especially when your senior isn’t feeling her best. Home care providers can keep up with all of the heavy lifting involved in getting healthy meals on the table and also remind your senior to eat. While depression isn’t a fully physical issue, remembering to eat and having nutritious options available can make a big difference in how your senior feels.

Keeping Her Home Safe and Tidy

It can be incredibly difficult for people dealing with depression to keep their physical environment as clean and as safe as it should really be. Senior home care can handle that part for your senior, too. You’ll feel better, as well, because you’ll know that your aging family member is in good hands and that she’s less likely to be living in an unsafe environment.

Helping Her Get to Appointments

Your senior’s doctor can be a crucial part of helping her to manage depression. Therapists and other mental health professionals may also be part of your senior’s care plan, so it’s important that she gets to those appointments when she needs to. If driving isn’t something she’s up for, having home care providers drive for her means she’s got another option.

Offering a Friendly Face

It’s also important for your senior to have a friendly companion available when she’s up for socializing. Isolation and loneliness can be big factors in seniors developing depression, so having a solution in place can do a lot of good. Your elderly family member may not even realize how important this is to her mental health until she’s got someone there with her on a regular basis.

There might be a lot of different causes and risk factors associated with your senior’s depression. It’s a lot easier to put a full care plan together for her when you and she have as much help as you need. And once a plan is in place, you can adjust the variables as needed to ensure that your elderly family member continues to have what she needs.

If you are considering senior 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.

How In-Home Care Providers Can Help Your Elderly Loved One

Posted on October 28, 2022 by Craig Bass

In-Home Care in Las Vegas NV

When a senior gets released from the hospital and goes home, it might be reassuring to see familiar faces. However, if no arrangements are in place to facilitate a seamless transition, it may be challenging. Seniors who do not get enough care at home are more likely to need hospitalization. They are not ill enough to need rehabilitation, but they are also not healthy enough to be left alone. In many circumstances, someone needs to check on them, support them in any manner, and be with them during this potentially stressful time. Here are some reasons why in-home care can be a great thing for seniors, especially after a hospital stay.

In-Home Care Provides Medication Reminders

Many caregivers will not be able to handle medications or give them to a senior; however, they can give good reminders to seniors. When a senior has prescribed medication, it can be perilous to miss a dose or forget to take it. This is why having someone who knows their schedule is crucial when a senior gets home from a hospital trip. Before a senior goes into surgery, it is going to be important to talk to the doctor and find out if they recommend hiring someone outside of a family member.

In-Home Care Provides Extra Safety

Sometimes seniors want to live on their own, which is perfect unless they are recovering from something or need extra help. Even if they need help around the house, that doesn’t mean they need to be moved into a nursing home. It means you need to hire someone to help around the house. In-home care professionals can help ensure a senior stays safe while at home. They can help them cook, clean, get dressed, and be a second set of eyes on your elderly loved one.

Home care allows elders to return to a more regular and less stressful lifestyle after hospitalization or rehabilitation. Laundry, food shopping, doctor’s visits, mild housework, and grooming are all taken care of. Someone is constantly there to offer a comfortable home environment and aid with mobility concerns such as walking or moving from a bed to a wheelchair, always watching out for the safety of your loved one.

Caregivers Provide Companionship

In-home care is one of the best ways to ensure a senior has someone around. It could limit the amount of loneliness they feel. Following hospitalization, your loved one’s emotional condition may be quite vulnerable. When you go home, having someone to speak to who would listen and offer the empathetic company is incredibly soothing. There is a lot of help, whether going for walks or other activities, playing games, or encouraging your loved one to pick up a passion again.

Elder Care Helps With Proper Nutrition

If your loved one is on a special diet, the caregiver can ensure that he or she is eating the proper meals. If necessary, your loved one’s caretaker can cook simple, wholesome meals. Advance preparation ensures that your loved one’s transition from hospital to home is as smooth as possible, with all essential requirements met.

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

Employee of the Month – October 2022

Posted on October 28, 2022 by Craig Bass

Golden Heart Senior Care is proud to announce that Julie R. has been awarded Employee of the Month for Golden Heart for the month of October 2022.

Julie is from the Philippines and came to the USA in 1977, she is married with one son and really enjoys her family. Julie is a former group home owner in California from 1992 – 2001 and decided to sell it and move to Las Vegas. Living in Las Vegas, Julie knew she wanted to help seniors like she did in California as helping the elderly is her passion.

Please join us in congratulating Julie as our Employee of the Month!!!

Hearty, Heart-Smart Recipes That Take Little Time to Prepare

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Craig Bass

Home Care Assistance in Summerlin NV

Heart disease is one of the most common chronic health conditions affecting older adults. Your dad’s cardiologist wants him to make changes to his diet. You don’t have a lot of free time where you can help him out, but you want to do what you can. Here are some quick, hearty meals that don’t take a lot of time to cook. Your dad has heart-healthy meal options, and you’re not spending hours in the kitchen. Elder care providers can also help your senior parent prepare these meals when you can’t be there, and save the leftovers for him to reheat for lunch.

Try these healthy meal ideas:

Chicken Curry

Chop two chicken breasts and put them in a slow cooker. Add a chopped onion, bag of frozen peas, chopped carrots, and half-cup of homemade chicken stock. Stir in a tablespoon of curry powder. Let that cook on low for several hours. About 10 minutes before serving, stir in a cup of low-fat Greek yogurt. Serve over brown rice.

Turkey-Cabbage Soup

Ground turkey is a healthier option than ground beef or ground pork. Aim for 95% lean or higher. Brown it in a pot and add sliced cabbage, diced onion, chopped celery, and chopped carrot.

Drain and rinse a can of cannellini beans and add those to the pot. You also want to add a 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, and six cups of salt-free vegetable broth. Simmer for an hour. About 15 minutes before the hour is up, add a cup of whole-grain orzo.

Seafood Stew

Chop an onion, three carrots, and three stalks of celery and put everything in a pot. Add a can of whole tomatoes, two cans of chickpeas that have been rinsed, and two chopped potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce to low for half an hour.

Chop two pounds of cod, pollock, or salmon and add that to the pot. Cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in chopped basil leaves, the juice from half a lemon, and black pepper to taste.

Vegetarian Chili

This is a great meal for a slow cooker. The night before, soak a bag of dried pinto beans. In the morning, drain and rinse them and add them to the slow cooker pot. Add two 28-ounce cans of diced tomatoes and rinse each one out with a cup of water that you add to the pot, a diced poblano pepper, and a sprinkling of chipotle powder.

Add a chopped onion, a couple of teaspoons of cumin, a teaspoon of smoked paprika, three stalks of celery that you’ve sliced, and two chopped bell peppers. Cook those on low for eight hours.

Avoid adding extra salt and any sugar. If your dad wants it spicier, you can add cayenne powder. If it’s too thin and watery, thicken it using cornmeal.

How Elder Care Can Help with Healthier Meals

Make sure your dad is following his doctor’s dietary recommendations. His heart health has to be a priority, and elder care providers can cook meals for him. Instead of relying on frozen meals and takeout dinners when you’re not around, hire elder care aides for meal preparation. Elder care can also ensure that your senior is taking their medications with meals when necessary, and take care of dishes and clean-up afterwards. Consider the many benefits of elder care providers for your senior parent.

Source
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/healthy-meal-planning-tips-older-adults

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

What Do Overnight Caregivers Do While Your Mom Sleeps?

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Craig Bass

24-Hour Home Care in Summerlin NV

You’ve heard a lot about 24-hour home care services, but you have some questions. One of the most common is what happens when the client is sleeping. If you hire overnight caregivers for your mom, what do they do while she’s in bed?

Caregivers Are Not Asleep

It’s a common misconception that 24-hour home care aides are sleeping while their client sleeps. That’s not the case. A caregiver is not going to move into your mom’s home and sleep during the hours she’s asleep.

She’ll have a team of caregivers working in shifts. While she sleeps, her caregiver is awake and ready to help her. If your mom wakes up and needs a glass of water, her caregiver brings it to her. If she has Alzheimer’s and wakes up and tries to leave the house, her caregiver redirects her.

Overnight Caregivers Help in Many Ways

While your mom sleeps, what is her caregiver doing? The caregiver does anything that’s on the list of chores for the night. If your mom has medications to take in the middle of the night, her caregiver will wake her up long enough to take them.

If your mom has laundry or needs her home dusted, the caregiver can do that while she’s asleep. Her caregiver can start prepping vegetables and meats for meals. If your mom needs to get groceries, her caregiver can schedule an online order for pick-up.

Your mom has Alzheimer’s and often wakes in the middle of the night and wants to “go home.” Her caregiver is there to stop her from going outside and wandering away. With a home care aide to redirect her, your mom has someone to put on a movie, prepare her a snack, or help her get back in bed.

If your mom wakes up and doesn’t feel well, her caregiver can alert doctors if needed. If your mom’s dealing with nausea from medications she takes, her caregiver is there for moral support and to support her to prevent a fall.

Caregivers Work in Shifts

The number of caregivers depends on the caregiver. There are some who work six-hour shifts and others who work eight hours. If your mom’s 24-hour home care aides work six-hour shifts, she’d have four caregivers covering her daily needs. If they work eight-hour shifts, there would be three caregivers covering the full day.

When one caregiver’s shift is about to end, the next caregiver arrives. They’ll talk about what tasks have been completed and what’s left to do. The new caregiver takes over and the first caregiver goes home. This cycle continues.

Do you have additional questions? Reach out to an expert in 24-hour home care to learn more about this service and how it can help your mom.

Source
https://www.webmd.com/insomnia-awakening-help

If you are considering 24-hour 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.

Home Care Assistance Supports Seniors During Breast Cancer Treatments

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Craig Bass

Home Care Assistance in Summerlin NV

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here are a few facts you should know about this common type of cancer. First, the highest number of new cases is found in the 65 to 69 age group. Second, the highest number of total breast cancer cases is highest in people between the ages of 70 and 74.

Your mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is about to undergo treatments. Most breast cancer patients undergo a biopsy first and then the common treatment plan is the surgical removal of the cancerous mass, chemotherapy, and radiation.

If this is the treatment plan for your mom, she’s going to require a lot of support at her appointments and at home. What arrangements should your family make to ensure she has the help she needs?

Help Her Around the Home

Your mom may not have the energy needed to properly clean her home. A home care assistance provider could make her bed, change and wash her sheets and towels, and run a vacuum. Her caregiver can water her plants, get the mail, and wipe down counters and other hard surfaces to clean up stains and kill germs.

She might struggle to cook meals that appeal to her. If she’s dealing with nausea, she might find only certain foods are palatable. Having someone else available to cook meals and bring beverages to her is helpful.

Provide Companionship

Your mom may be comforted to know someone is in the house and can help. If your mom is feeling particularly ill, it can be comforting to know that there is someone there to talk to or to alert her doctor if she seems to be dehydrated or too weak to function.

Arrange Transportation

Your mom needs someone to drive her to appointments. Until she knows how she’ll feel after chemo or radiation treatments, she shouldn’t drive on her own. Make sure you or another family member has the day off to be with her. If she wants moral support in the medical office, be there for her.

She’ll also need someone to drive her to the pharmacy to pick up any medications she needs. She might want to have someone with her when buying groceries and home goods or when running errands

If you can’t take enough time off work to drive her to all of her appointments and help her run errands, make sure you arrange to have others free to drive her. If other family members also have limited time in their schedule, arrange transportation with home care aides.

What home care assistance services will most help your mom during treatments? It’s important to talk to an advisor to make sure you’re not overlooking anything that you haven’t thought of. Call today.

Sources:
https://gis.cdc.gov/Cancer/USCS/#/Demographics/

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

Simple Ways to Make Sure Your Mom’s Daily Routine Stays On Track

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Craig Bass

Home Care in Henderson NV

As she gets older, your mom has a harder time keeping up with the things she’s supposed to do each day. What steps can you take to make sure her daily routine is completed in a timely manner?

Create a Whiteboard Schedule

Using a permanent marker, complete a whiteboard schedule with checkboxes. Write down the time something needs to be completed and put a box next to it. As your mom or a family caregiver completes the chores on her list, that person can check them off with a dry erase marker. At the end of the day, erase the checks and start over again the next morning.

Set Up Reminders on Smart Devices

Some of the tasks your mom needs to do are easy for her to do on her own as long as she has a reminder. Use smart devices like her Alexa or Google speaker to issue the reminders she needs.

Your mom takes her pills every morning at 10 a.m. You could set an alarm to go off every day at that time. Her smart speaker tells her it’s time to take her pills. When she’s completed the task, she can tell her speaker to stop that reminder or timer.

Share Schedules With Close Friends and Family Members

Build a daily, weekly, and monthly calendar of the things your mom needs to do, appointments she has to keep, or household chores that need to get done. Once it’s completed, share it with close family and family friends.

When they visit, they’ll know if there is something they could do to help out. If your sister plans to stop by Friday afternoon and sees that’s the day your mom likes to grocery shop, she could take her. It helps you out and gives visitors insight into everything that’s going on with your mom throughout the week.

Arrange Unexpected Activities to Ensure They Don’t Conflict With Key Tasks

From time to time, you will have sudden, unplanned events, visits, or activities arise. When possible, arrange them so that they don’t conflict with key tasks.

For example, you know your mom must take her heart medications each morning with breakfast. Those pills usually lower your mom’s energy levels. Try to avoid having visitors or appointments during those low-energy hours. Aim for afternoon visits or appointments instead.

Schedule Services With a Local Home Care Agency

Would it help to have a helper keeping track of your mom’s ADLs and IADLs? Arrange to have professional caregivers helping your mom with the things she needs to complete each day.

Hire home care aides to help your mom manage her daily to-do list. While it’s fine for some tasks to get skipped every now and then, she has some daily activities that are essential to her well-being. Home care aides can ensure those items are completed each day.

Source
https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20100401/daily-routines-help-seniors-sleep-better

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

5 Emotional Benefits of Companion Care at Home

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Craig Bass

Companion Care at Home in Henderson NV

If your elderly family member is generally okay with living on her own and keeping up with her needs, you may think that there’s no reason for her to have home care assistance. But if she’s spending a lot of that time alone, your senior may have emotional needs that aren’t being met by her current living situation. Bringing in companion care at home can make a difference in your elderly family member’s emotional health, so it’s an important option to consider.

Independence and Dignity

Your senior might be concerned that having help from companion care at home automatically means that she’s losing her independence. None of that has to be the case, however. Your elderly family member should quickly find that caregivers only offer the help that she actually needs and that they do so without making her feel bad about herself or her situation. Preserving both her dignity and her independence is crucial.

Friendly Companionship

There might be a big age difference between your senior and any caregivers who spend time with her, but that does not mean that they won’t develop a friendship that is just as real as any other friendship. Companion care at home can help your senior to discover new hobbies that she enjoys or spend time with her as she enjoys favorite activities. All while offering companionship.

A Comforting Presence

Comfort can be incredibly important for your aging adult, whether she realizes it or not. Having someone there with her can help your elderly family member to feel more at ease about a great many situations. This is particularly true if she’s not necessarily at risk of having a health issue flare up but feels nervous about what might happen.

Confidence that Keeps Growing

It can be difficult to maintain confidence as aging adults grow older. Your elderly family member may worry that small difficulties can be enough to mean that she needs to leave her home. The benefit of all types of home care is that having just the help that she needs reminds your senior that she can be confident in her own capabilities. That’s huge for her self-esteem in the long run.

Peace of Mind for You and Other Family Members

Wondering how your senior is really doing is never a good feeling. You don’t have to wonder when she has companion care at home there with her, however. They can help you to understand what your senior’s needs truly are and where her biggest challenges lie. That information can help you to make other decisions regarding her care plan.

Spending time with people who genuinely want to make sure that she is doing well is important for your elderly family member’s mental and emotional well-being. Conversation and engaging in friendly activities help to keep your elderly family member mentally stimulated and ensure that there is someone there for her if she does happen to need any assistance. You’ll all feel better knowing that your senior has some friends who stop in to check how she is doing.

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

Employee of the Month – September 2022

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Craig Bass

Please join us in welcoming Kayla A. as Golden Heart’s September 2022 Employee of the Month.

Kayla is an AMAZING caregiver and a pleasure to work with. She always greets you with a big smile when you meet her.

Kayla is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is married to a wonderful man named John. She also has a beautiful daughter.

She began her caregiver career more than 10 years ago, started in a nursing home working with seniors. Kayla enjoys being a caregiver because it’s very rewarding to to make a difference in the life of her clients.

We want to congratulate Kayla in becoming the September 2022 Golden Heart Employee of the Month!

Five Ways to Help a Highly Independent Senior Thrive with Arthritis

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Craig Bass

Senior Home Care in Henderson NV

Everybody needs help from time to time, but sometimes aging adults don’t feel comfortable accepting assistance. If your elderly family member is both highly independent and is dealing with arthritis, she may be struggling more than she lets on to you. Having help from senior home care providers reduces the struggling and keeps your elderly family member as independent as she wants to be.

Work with Her Doctor to Formulate a Care Plan

It’s really important to understand as much as possible about your senior’s arthritis and how it impacts her life. Working with her doctor can help you both to find out as much as you can about what’s happening now and what might happen down the road. There might be therapies and tools that your senior can put into place now that will help her as her arthritis continues to change.

See if Assistive Tools Help

Some people with arthritis don’t realize that there are lots and lots of tools that can help them to manage daily life. Tools that assist with buttoning and zipping clothing, opening jars, and turning keys all protect your senior’s ability to keep up with her daily life. Sometimes, though, your senior may need more help than that. Senior home care professionals are experts in helping people with all sorts of challenges continue to live their best lives.

Make Sure She’s as Safe as Possible

Safety is always important when it comes to your elderly family member and arthritis can hinder her ability to be as safe as you might want her to be. Home care providers can watch for potential issues, like slippery rugs or other tripping hazards, and work to prevent possible issues for your elderly family member. They can also alert you to bigger issues that might pose problems, like not having handrails in the shower or tub that your senior can use to steady herself.

Get Extra Help from Senior Home Care

Above all, senior home care is able to take on a variety of tasks that might have become too difficult for your elderly family member to manage on her own. When your senior has help on a regular basis, she is better able to spend time and energy on what she is able to do easily. Then she’s not struggling through her day and ending up frustrated and upset, which is a huge waste of energy.

Keep Tabs on the Situation

Over time, your elderly family member’s situation is likely to continue to change. By keeping up with what is happening, you’re able to start anticipating what your elderly family member might need. This is another area in which senior home care can be a huge help. They’re able to use their experience to share information that helps you to stay ahead of your senior’s biggest needs.

Having help doesn’t mean that your elderly family member can’t still be independent. What it does mean is that your senior doesn’t have to struggle to do the things that she used to do so easily.

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