Home Care NJ - New Jersey Home Health 1-800-848-2336

Many Seniors in New Jersey are Unprepared To Face the Future - What, me worry?

With life expectancy rising, Americans are facing retirement of 25 to 30 years or more. But many seniors are not financially or legally prepared for the future.

A lack of retirement planning is partly to blame. With Social Security benefits increasingly playing a smaller role in retirement funding, about 90 percent of people feel they will need to take on more responsibility for supporting their retirement, according to a recent survey by the American Council of Life Insurance (ACLI). However, only 44 percent of non-retirees say they are saving for retirement and are able to report how much.

A lack of planning is reflected in other areas as well. Currently, 57 percent of Americans don’t have a will — potentially leaving them without any say about their assets or the care of minor children after they die, reports legal Web site FindLaw. 

If someone dies without a will, their estate will be distributed according to a rigid legal formula and not as they may have wished. Legal experts advise anyone who is over the age of 18 and has assets, children or other dependants to create a will.

Call Expert Home Care when worried whether or not you can stay home comfortably. Please call 800-848-2336.

September is Healthy Aging Month - Because there’s lots of living left to do…

Visit Healthy Aging often for quality healthy aging information - September is an annual observance month designed to focus national attention on the positive aspects of growing older.
http://www.healthyaging.net/index.htm

Healthy Food - for those who want to age healthfully and enjoy good food.

How many times do you think.. yuk, healthy food? It gives the connotation that healthy food is bland and flavorless.. rather than thinking it is better for us. Healthy food can inspire us and motivate us to cook with exciting, great tasting recipes that please our palate! For healthy eating recipes and more, go to healthyagingfood.com. http://www.healthyagingfood.com/

In addition to eating healthy habits is adding more activity and exercise into one’s daily routine. New Jersey Seniors know it’s good for us but avoid it like the plague. The reasons being we are familiar with being sedentary or afraid that exercise has to be vigorous and painful to be worth the effort given.

But what is beneficial to know is movement is movement -  the more you do, the healthier you’ll be. Even doing moderate activities like chores, gardening and walking can make a big stride in gaining a healthy body.

Just adding a little movement to your life can:

Reduce the risk of stroke, diabetes & heart disease

Have a positive effect on our joint stability

Improve range of movement

Maintain flexibility

Help maintain bone mass

Prevent osteoporosis and fractures

Improve our mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression

Enhance self esteem which makes us happier people

Increase and improve memory in elderly people

Reduce stress

Even the small changes, adding movement to your day, and adjusting to a more modest weight, you will gain many benefits. One study exists that shows just a 10% weight reduction helps obese patients to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and increase longevity.

For help when caring for an aging relative at home go to Expert Home Care and call 800-848-2336.

Family ties: The role of siblings in NJ elder care - Expert Home Care and call 800-848-2336.

In North America today, it is very common for children to provide full time care to their aging parents, often within their own homes. Adjusting to the arrival of a parent into a home can be both rewarding and burdening, and it is important that the caregiver receives both emotional and physical support from the rest of his/her family.

Unfortunately, caregiving for a parent is a situation that can often be a source of tension for siblings. It can be difficult for families to agree on the best methods of care, and is not uncommon for non caregiving family members to feel left out. In order to make the adjustment easier on the parent and caregiver, it’s crucial that non active siblings leave the major decisions to the caregiver while still being there for support. Siblings should respect decisions made by the caregiver and keep in mind the sacrifices that he/she has had to make in order to care for mom or dad.

Families need to stick together to provide for the well-being of their family unit, and maintain a peaceful and happy environment for their elder members.

Many New Jersey seniors are at risk during the summer’s heat and humidity.  Seniors over the age of 65 in four North American cities revealed that while nearly 90 percent of the respondents were aware a heat warning had been issued, only about half of the people did anything about it.  Many thought the warnings were targeting the NJ elderly, and not them.

To make sure that both you and your elder loved one are safe, here are some important tips:

• Keep a glass of water in every room for quick access.  Drink plenty of fluids, even if you don’t feel thirsty.
• Dress in light-weight clothing.  Remove all heavy materials, long sleeves and dark colors from closets. 
• Stay out of the sun during the hottest times of the day.  Sunburn makes heat dissipation more difficult.
• Take a nap during high heat times or find a good television program or movie to watch.
• Keep shades down and blinds pulled. 

Most people know that extreme heat can make us sick. But we may think of heat-related illness as something that only affects people who are overdoing it like overheated marathon runners, professional athletes, or new recruits doing drills on military bases.

But most people who die from heat stroke in the U.S. about 400 every year, and possibly more don’t get it from overexerting themselves on a muggy day. In certain people during high temperatures, it’s all too easy to develop heat stroke while sitting perfectly still on the couch.

Heat stroke occurs when the body is unable to regulate its temperature. The body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down.

Read the full article: Hot Summer Days Can Make Sick People Sicker.

Call Expert Home Care NJ if your elder needs Home Health Care in New Jersey at 800-848-2336.

If you are caring for a New Jersey elderly loved one at home, you should make them as comfortable and safe as possible. Quality home health care is important. This can reduce stress for you, as well as, your loved-one. The more secure your loved-one feels, the less the likelihood of them becoming confused, aggressive, or agitated. There are simple, little changes in Home Health Care that you can make to ensure a heightened level of contentment for your loved-one.

Expert Home Care New Jersey suggests the following home health care tips at home:

Buy a small, lightweight pitcher. Keep it filled with water at all times in a convenient place for your loved-one to get at. Remind them periodically about drinking plenty of water and where the pitcher of water is located. Staying adequately hydrated can ward off a number of different ailments like headaches, sleeplessness, and appetite suppression. It’s great for overall health and well being.

Avoid placing a lot of mirrors around your home. Mirrors can seem confusing for elderly people because they may not recognize their own reflection. Also, walking up to a mirror can startle or confuse them. If you like to have mirrors in your home, buy smaller mirrors and hang them relatively high on the walls. This is to prevent your loved one from seeing their reflection.

Visit us tomorrow when we give family members more home health care tips for their aging loved ones in New Jersey.

Call Expert Home Care if your elder needs Home Health Care in New Jersey at 800-848-2336.

Expert Home Care when your aging seniors in New Jersey needs live-in care, elder care, or senior home care in NJ  800-848-2336.

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Continued from our posting date August 13th - Estate Planning for New Jersey Seniors

The place seniors should start is with a complete financial inventory. This includes taking not of income, assets, expenses and even liabilities. Talk about what the senior is interested in long term. Is retirement living an option or will the family home be sold. These are important questions that should be worked out early on before a situation arises. Finally, determine what kind of insurance the senior will have as well as how much money for retirement.

Also, discuss a senior life settlement. This is an option for seniors who want to sell their life insurance policy for more than the cash value the life insurance company would give them to cash out. This means seniors can sell life settlements and get money to live their retirement on and the individual who bought the insurance policy will simply cash it out upon death.

Before making any of these serious decisions it is important for seniors to discuss their options with a professional. Lawyers well versed in senior matters or financial planers are two great resources for seniors to have their legal questions answered and to receive the help they need planning their retirement. Most of the time using an expensive attorney will be expensive in the short run but it will result in major savings down the road and is worthwhile.

Expert Home Care in New Jersey at 800-848-2336 - We introduce Mr. Michael FitzPatrick, Managing Partner, The LTC  Partnership, LLC -

Michael FitzPatrick reminds us why women need to pay close attention to planning for their future.. the long term care future.  He asks a provocative question…  ”When visiting nursing homes in America, what do you see? More specifically WHO do you see in nursing homes?”

Thinking back when visiting my dad living with Alzheimer’s, I remember seeing more women.  “Why do you suppose that is?”, asks Michael FitzPatrick. 

We can only assume why there are more women in nursing homes is because women out live their mates, and we don’t plan for our on future. “Men”, as Michael shared, “don’t plan for their future…, why do you think?” Michael believes it’s because most men KNOW they will be taken care of by their family.. usually the wife first, and then the adult children.

Reasons there is a disproportionate number of women in nursing homes -

• Women live no longer
• Family is no longer close to provide care for aging relative
• Increasing number of women remain single and childless
• Women have no financial plan in place

2008 Statistics on Long Term Care for Women

• Average life expectancy is 84
• Social Security provides 40% of all retiree’s income
• 12-15 million Americans need long term care now
• Between 65 and 70% of women work outside the home
• Divorce rates are on the rise - 1 out of 2 marriages end in divorce
• 25% of baby boomers don’t have children
• Family members can live across town & the country

Expert Home Care invites women in New Jersey to learn how better care for themselves in the future. Call Michael FitzPatrick at (973) 394-0053 or visit THE LTC Partnership at www.theltcpartnership.com.

Expert Home & Live-in Care for seniors and elders in New Jersey - living with Alzheimer’s and Memory Loss. Call us for help at 800-848-2336.

Alzheimer’s Association tells us that memory loss that disrupts everyday life is not a normal part of aging.

Alzheimer’s disease, a fatal brain disease that gets worse over time and causes changes in thinking, reasoning and behavior. Although the disease is more common in people 65 and older, it can also strike those in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

Here is a list of Alzheimer’s warning signs to help you understand if it’s serious health concern. If you notice any of these signs don’t ignore them,  see your doctor for a check up. There are other conditions, some that are treatable, that could be causing the signs.

1. Memory Loss
Not normal: Forgetting recently learned information is one of the most common early signs of dementia.

Normal - Forgetting names or appointments occasionally.

2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks
Not normal: People living with memory loss or dementia find it hard to plan or complete everyday tasks. 

Normal - Occasionally forgetting why you came into a room or what you planned to say.

3. Problems with language
Not normal: They often forget simple words or substitute unusual words, making their speech or writing hard to understand.

Normal - Sometimes having trouble finding the right word.

4. Disorientation to time and place.
Not normal: Become lost - forget where they are and how they got there, and not know how to get back home.

Normal - Forgetting the day of the week or where you were going.

The biggest thing most family members wished they’d known about Alzheimer’s disease is the importance of understanding the ten signs of early onset. When you understand the difference between normal aging and the early signs like your loved one’s negative behavior becoming more aggressive with the onset of Alzheimer’s, then you would know that your elder loved one is not just getting old. This might put you in the drivers seat… to find the right doctors to perform testing like blood, neurological, memory, CT and PET scans and help uncover Alzheimer’s or dementia sooner.

Expert Home Care in New Jersey wants adult children to pay close attention to the early signs of Alzheimer’s and take proper action if you see a parent displaying one or serveral. Consult with a neurologist who specializes in dementia. A neurologist or an medical doctor who specializes in geriatrics will do the proper testings and evaluations to uncover Alzheimer’s or dementia early on. They will prescribe the right medications that help delay the progression of the disease. Hopefully the medications will help your aging parents and potentially keep them in that early stage for a longer period of time.

Memory loss that disrupts everyday life is not a normal part of aging - It may be a sign of Alzheimer’s disease, a fatal brain disease that gets worse over time and causes changes in thinking, reasoning and behavior. Although the disease is more common in people 65 and older, it can also strike those in their 30s, 40s and 50s.  Alz.org.

Visit us in a day or two when we give more information of the signs of the disease.

Expert Home & Live-in Care for seniors and elders in New Jersey.

Call us for help at 800-848-2336.

Nursing Homes - Five-Star Rating System delivered to you by Elder Law Answers!
 
Elders and Seniors in NJ can eat at a five star restaurant or stay at a five star hotel. By year’s end, you’ll also be able to select a five star nursing home.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced plans to implement a one  to five star rating system for nursing homes to help consumers in New Jersey evaluate a nursing home’s quality when selecting a facility. The ratings would appear on the agency’s Nursing Home Compare Web site.

CMS will base the ratings on government inspection results and the staff data and quality measures. It is yet to be determined - if the ratings will include patients with dementia or those on ventilators.

CMS Administrator Kerry Weems believes the public is hungry for this type of information. And he adds, “lower ratings will likely put nursing homes on the path to improvement . . . I don’t think we’re going to see many people who are very anxious to put a loved one in a one star home.”

But the new rating system was criticized both by consumer advocates and the nursing home industry, for different reasons.

A senior policy attorney with the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Toby Edelman, said that two of three criteria CMS plans to use for the ratings like staffing data and quality measures are “self reported by nursing facilities and are inaccurate.” Edelman said, “Relying on nursing homes to describe accurately how well they are doing . . . just doesn’t make sense”

The president of the American Health Care Association, Bruce Yarwood, a long term care industry trade group, criticized CMS’s use of government inspection results as criteria for the ratings and said CMS should consider consumer and staff satisfaction.

If you want your elder or senior living in New Jersey to continue living at home go to Expert Home Care and call us at 800-848-2336.