NPR recognizes CaringCompanion.Net!


August 26, 2010
Posted By Jim Reynolds | Comments (1)

NPR's series Aging at Home linked to CCC as 1 of only 4 additional resources. This national recognition confirms what many know: CCC is an innovator in home care.

Many of you probably heard National Public Radio’s popular series this week Aging At Home.  We were enormously proud to learn that NPR selected Caring Companion Connections as one of only four resources they listed on their web page as Additional Resources for the first episode.  Clearly, NPR has realized what many already know: Caring Companion Connections is a leader in providing wellness-focused home care and innovative, effective ways to help seniors age comfortably in the home of their choosing.

Find out for yourself! Download our white paper: Reimagining Home Care: New Needs, New Approaches .  See how home care in the 21st Century is different, and find out what every family needs to know before you choose your home care agency!

Click here to download the white paper.

Alzheimers, Dementia & Art


August 17, 2010
Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (2)

I’ve been absolutely fascinated for years by the highly positive findings around exposing dementia patients to art, both as an observer and as a participant.  How amazing that exposure to great and moving art can significantly improve patients’ functioning!

ARTZ offers free, local museum tours designed for Alzheimers/dementia patients. This is the type of activity our caregivers can take clients to, as well as families can explore with their loved ones: http://www.artistsforalzheimers.org/tourschedule.html

(more…)

Re-engaging in life’s passions


August 2, 2010
Posted By Jim Reynolds | Comments (0)

Toot your horn!

This is what it’s all about! On the heels of our 100-mile Alzheimer’s Memory Ride fund-raiser, here is the story of a man whose efforts cast ours in a pale light.  Carleton-Willard Village resident Bob Sawyer of Bedford, MA, is an active cyclist approaching 90 who might easily have given up when his health declined.

But he didn’t, and those around him didn’t, either. In a recent article in the Boston Globe, Sawyer’s physician describes his “recovery as a case in which the presence of friends, the efforts of medical professionals, and the patient’s inner drive conjoined to turn a dire situation around.”

(more…)

Massachsetts Alzheimer’s Memory Ride Report


July 26, 2010
Posted By Jim Reynolds | Comments (1)

Alzhiemer's Memory Ride 100 mile group

“So what’s it like to ride 100 miles with 4400 feet of vertical climb on a really hot, humid day in July?”

That’s the question I heard most often following Saturday’s Alzheimer’s Memory Ride.  And I’d like to answer it here: like many athletic challenges, the key to success is psychological – you have to be crazy! Fortunately, I was the right man for the job, and was joined by more than 50 similarly-minded folks.  I’m not a skilled cyclist – Concord has dozens of people who ride faster and farther and more challenging routes than I do – but I do it enough that I knew I’d be fine, and I really enjoyed the ride.

(more…)

Help Create a World Without Alzheimer’s


July 12, 2010
Posted By Jim Reynolds | Comments (2)

"A difficult but doable challenge"

On Saturday, July 24, Caring Companion Connections will join hundreds of others at the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Ride, as we work toward our commitment to a world without Alzheimer’s disease. The Memory Ride generates awareness and raises money for Alzheimer’s research.  We hope you will join the fight with a pledge.  Any amount helps. Don’t think it doesn’t matter; individually, none of us can cure Alzheimer’s disease – but together, we will. Click here to donate.

CCC will sponsor a rider (that’s me!) for the 100-mile ride. It will be a difficult but doable challenge, just as curing Alzheimer’s is a difficult but doable effort. We hope that you will also rise to the challenge and join with us and others by donating now so that the later years of our large aging population can be ever richer.

90% of money raised by Memory Ride participants funds grants awarded through the Alzheimer’s Association’s research grants program. 10% of the proceeds stay in Massachusetts and New Hampshire to help fund programs and services that assist families affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

As a home care agency on the front lines of elder care, CCC focuses on wellness and on improving the lives of our clients and their families. We daily see first-hand how many of our clients and their families have been affected by Alzheimer’s disease. We are committed to helping our clients live each day to its fullest, and to improving the lives of their families.  Please join us in this important effort.

Helping, Fixing or Serving Our Clients


July 5, 2010
Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (0)

Here is an article a social worker friend sent me about a dozen years ago.  Every so often, I come across it among my papers, taking the opportunity to re-read it… and learn from it anew.  It’s a beautiful formulation of the profound difference between helping, fixing, and serving by Rachel Naomi Ramen, MD called In the Service of Life: http://www.rachelremen.com/service.html.

Remen is one of the earliest pioneers in the mind/body holistic health movement and the first to recognize the role of the spirit in health and the recovery from illness. She’s also the author of the best-selling books My Grandfather’s Blessings and Kitchen Table Wisdom

Wellness and Creativity: The Bigger Picture


July 2, 2010
Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (0)

“Creativity is a new paradigm for aging that articulates the idea of seeing older people for their potential rather than their problems.  In later life, creativity strengthens morale, enhances physical health and enriches relationships.  Creative engagement also constitutes the greatest legacy older people can leave their children, grandchildren, and society as a whole.

“Older people have functioned historically as keepers of culture who pass on the history and values of a community to the next generation. Therefore, creativity develops culture; and, culture builds and sustains community life through the positive engagement of older people in the arts.

(more…)

The Herb and Spice of Life


July 1, 2010
Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (0)

Continuing our recent series on food and aging, I want to turn this time to the use of good quality herbs and spices in cooking. Our caregivers are often the main dietary gateway for our clients, and I heartily encourage their use of fragrant, colorful herbs and spices whenever possible in foods.  There are three main reasons:

1) Use of seasonings makes food more flavorful, enjoyable and interesting; I’ve already written about why I think our mainstream food sources have become lacking in flavor… and savor. Where appetites are low or nutrition has been poor, the more yummy, healthy food we can offer, the greater the benefits (including pleasure) to the client. (more…)

Optimism Connected to a Stronger Immune System


June 25, 2010
Posted By Dr. Deborah Bier | Comments (0)

Many wellness practices and activities are designed to increase positive affect (among other results), and as such we feel our wellness focus here at CCC is therefore crucial to our clients’ and caregivers’ health on all levels. While some folks think that wellness is just a “nice extra”, studies such as the one below show how absolutely vital wellness is for creating, improving and maintaining our health.

Optimistic Expectancies and Cell-Mediated Immunity: The Role of Positive Affect,” published by the Association for Psychological Science, is just the latest article showing the connection between attitude and health. In short: increases in positive cellular immune factors were shown to correlate directly with increased levels of optimism. (more…)

How to Avoid Going Back to the Hospital


June 21, 2010
Posted By Jim Reynolds | Comments (0)

A recent article in the New York Times caught my eye — Aftercare Tips for Patients Checking Out of the Hospital. The Times cites among other statistics that 20% of Medicare patients return to the hospital within 30 days of being discharged.  That astonishingly high percentage drives millions of dollars in unnecessary medical expense, and greatly reduces the quality of life for patients who might have stayed healthy at home.

At CCC, our goal is to drive that number close to zero within our client population.  We do it in two ways: a focus on wellness and using cutting edge technology to help confirm compliance with plans of treatment.

(more…)

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