April 30, 2010 |
Posted By Jim Reynolds | Comments (1)
 Hats off, and many thanks, to Toby Conway of Minuteman Senior Services in Burlington, MA, for an excellent discussion on elder abuse and neglect last night. We had previously encountered Toby through her work as a case manager with one of our clients and her passion for this work always shines through, as it did last night.
As one would expect, Toby recapped the signs of physical or emotional abuse (unexplained bruises, withdrawal, implausible stories, etc) and the resources (contact CCC or Minuteman for questions). But I thought one of the most interesting points to emerge during the discussion the importance of caregivers being able to recognize when they are becoming overwhelmed, and their own need for care. (more…)
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April 24, 2010 |
Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (0)
Caring Companion Connections will present this talk on Thursday, May 13, 2010 from 7-8:30 PM at the Concord Carlisle-Cable TV Studio at Concord-Carlisle High School. It will be recorded for future broadcast. Hope you can be there! (Our speaker’s fee will be donated to the MinuteMan Senior Services Meals-On-Wheels program).
Aging, Disability & New Technologies: Real Hype or Real Help?
 Safety alert technology. Online communication services. Remote medical sensors. There are so many devices to help us monitor our health and communicate. And new ones on the way.
Are you confused about the new technologies to help senior citizens, the disabled and their caregivers? Some are truly beneficial to elders, the disabled, their families and caregivers, while others are mere gadgets or toys that aren’t a good value. We will help you separate the real hype from the real help, allowing wiser choices in this bewildering, rapidly expanding marketplace. We will review some of the high tech tools on the market, highlighting ones we think have the ability to help you stay connected, happy, safe and healthy. Included will be remote medical monitoring devices, safety alert technology, and consumer technology customized for seniors and the disabled. You will come away better able to assess new technologies for yourself.
To Register: Call 978-318-1540 or register online for Course Number #4321 here: http://www.ace.colonial.net. Fee: $10 donation. Location: 500 Walden Street, Concord (enter the front left door where glowing Adult Education sign is showing). This event is sponsored by Concord-Carlisle Adult & Community Education.
Presenters: Jim Reynolds has been a National Practice Leader for IBM in the area of mobile and wireless technology. His family has owned and run the largest private-pay home care agencies in Florida and Kansas since 1992. Continuing the family business, he is the owner of Caring Companion Connections in Concord.
Deborah Bier, PhD, has been a health care educator, author, and wellness coach for 20 years. She holds a doctorate in counseling and has helped hundreds of individuals and families to live better with chronic illness and disability. She is the director of the Concord office of Caring Companion Connections.
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Posted By Jim Reynolds | Comments (0)
Friends of Lincoln (MA) Council on Aging are hosting a 2010 Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. The Lincoln COA conducts many helpful programs for seniors and is active in this area.
CCC recently gave a talk there on ways that technology can part of the solution to keeping people safe and comfortable in their own home’s longer and we found the audience attentive, knowledgeable, and engaged. And the staff is first rate.
The luncheon is April 29 at noon in Bemis Hall in Lincoln, MA. We are looking forward to attending!
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April 20, 2010 |
Posted By Jim Reynolds | Comments (0)
A client wrote to us recently after we had provided caregivers for her mother while Mom visited. Mom loved Mary Ann,
one of our wonderful Caring Companions, and “the online reports are GREAT. As I’m sure you know, it’s wonderful to get a sense of what Mom has done during the day, how she’s been feeling, etc. I have cut and pasted the reports and sent to my siblings so they can get a sense of it too …”
And I laughed. It’s so much easier than that! You don’t need to cut and paste, or do anything at all to inform the rest of the family. Those days are over, if you want them to be. (more…)
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April 15, 2010 |
Posted By Jim Reynolds | Comments (0)
At a recent meeting with discharge planners, a nurse from Emerson Hospital in Concord emphasized the importance of an immediate response when she has a patient heading home and in need of care.
Caring Companion Connections is always staffed for immediate response, because we maintain additional staff capacity to meet immediate unanticipated needs in any given shift (for example, a caregiver who cannot work a shift due to a child’s illness). So we can provide the response that discharge planners need within 24 hours, often less.
To allow time to make the best possible match of personality, temperament, skills, and client needs, our communications with families typically discuss a three-day response time. However, when the immediate need is a skilled, trained, well-managed caregiver to support client safety, meals, and ADL support, we can meet a discharge planner’s requirements quickly, and then can begin to work with the family to seek the perfect match once the patient has returned to the home.
In short, whether you need an immediate response to keep a patient safe and secure at home, or a longer term match for a caring companion for a loved one, Caring Companion Connections will provide the quality service your patients and loved ones deserve.
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April 5, 2010 |
Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (1)
 (Caring Companion Connections is a member of the Liberty Alzheimer’s Partnership and we will be there Wednesday! Please come introduce yourself to us if you attend.)
The Liberty Alzheimer’s Partnership presents a program on care options for seniors with Alzheimer’s Disease and related disorders. “Navigating the Journey” will be presented on April 7, 2010 at the Concord Council on Aging, 1276 Main Street in West Concord. Registration and a light supper will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by the presentation at 6:00 p.m.
Robert Larkin will be the keynote speaker for the event. Mr. Larkin is President and founder of Senior Living Residences, one of New England’s first assisted living management and development companies. Senior Living Residences specializes in service enriched assisted living and innovative Alzheimer’s care. Additionally, Mr. Larkin will bring his own unique family perspective, having navigated this journey of dementia care in his personal life. (more…)
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April 4, 2010 |
Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (0)
 We publish a periodic newsletter (available via snailmail and/or email) with articles about the work we do, aging in place technology, enhancing your or your loved ones’ care at home, helping caregivers, hands-on caregiving, and all the other topics we talk about more extensively on this blog. Download the current copy in Acrobat (PDF) format here, or click on the image at right.
Would you like to receive a copy via snailmail? Or send a copy to someone who prefers paper? Send the name and address here, or phone us at 800 869-6418.
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April 1, 2010 |
Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (1)
 Following on our earlier post here about getting our clients and caregivers out into the garden, and how health promoting working and being with plants is, I thought I’d talk a little about therapeutic or healing gardens. These are fairly new types of landscape design concepts and practices, though in many ways gardens for healing, restoration, respite, and sanctuary have always been present since the time humans first started nurturing plants.
There are a number of different types of therapeutic or healing gardens, some with general healing intents, and others with more specific purposes. There are healing gardens designed specifically for Alzheimer, cancer, psychiatric or rehab center patients. Other gardens focus on assisted living facilities, residential memory units, adult day care or continuing care communities, or vocational schools. And yet others are intended for respite or meditation. (more…)
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Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (1)
 So often we hear from elders that food just doesn’t taste as good as it did when they were younger. And it’s fairly well accepted now that as we age, we lose some of our sense of taste of food. Food tastes less sharp and bright, and — especially if we shun foods with excessive salt and sweeteners — meals just don’t taste like much. This helps to contribute to nutritional deficiencies as food becomes less and less interesting to consume.
But is diminished ability to taste really the entire cause of food losing its savor for many of our older population? Or is it that our customary food supply lacks flavor? I think it’s probably some of both.
(more…)
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