Many thanks to The Jewish Federation of Cleveland for inviting us in to teach a Container Gardening class. The students learned how to put together a visually-pleasing container arrangement. At the end of class we planted Alyssum seeds as a Mother’s Day gift to all the participants.
Facts about hospice care
Hospice care provides support for terminally ill people and their families. There are several misconceptions about hospice, due to misunderstandings about what hospice is and a common reluctance to think about end-of-life realities. Clearing up these misunderstandings can help families better decide if, how and when to incorporate hospice into the care plan for a loved one.
Hospice care consists of a team of doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, pharmacists, social workers, spiritual counselors, companionship volunteers and bereavement specialists. The patient’s family, caregivers and physician are also members of the team. The purpose of hospice is to help patients spend their last days in as much physical and mental comfort as possible.
Hospice is not a specific place. Rather, it is a service that can be provided anywhere that the patient calls home—a house, apartment, assisted-living community, skilled nursing facility, hospital or any other location. Anyone who is terminally ill can receive hospice care, and he or she does not have to be bedridden.
Hospice costs are covered by Medicare and private insurance. The Medicare hospice benefit never expires, so the care can be continued for as long as the patient needs it. The benefit also covers the patient’s medication and medical equipment.
Many people view entering hospice as giving up. Michele Oblak of Senior Independence Hospice offered a different view: “The patient is not giving up when they enter hospice care. Rather, they are taking control. They decide what assistance they would like to have and when.”
Senior Independence Hospice recently assisted a Cleveland Heights woman whose terminally ill father was in a nursing home. They helped move him to the daughter’s house, and got him the medication and equipment he needed. He was able to die in the comfort of a family environment “The purpose of hospice is to maintain the patient’s quality of life for as long as possible,” said Oblak.
Laurie Henrichsen of Hospice of the Western Reserve agrees. “Many people don’t realize that hospice care can actually help prolong life, if it is started early,” she said. “It also reduces a lot of stress on the family.”
In order to receive the greatest benefit from hospice care, it should be started as soon as the patient is eligible, rather than waiting until the last few weeks of life.
Not all hospice care providers are alike, so Henrichsen recommends beginning a search early and evalutating the differences. “Ask for recommendations from family, friends and your doctor,” she said, “and put your end-of-life wishes in writing while you are still able to do so. This way your family will know how you prefer to spend your final days.”
Contact Senior Independence Hospice at 440-953-1256, and Hospice of the Western Reserve at 800-707-8922.
Click here to read the full article in the Heights Observer.
Home safety remodeling for senior adults
For senior adults with mobility challenges, simple everyday activities like bathing, cooking, laundry and climbing stairs can become increasingly difficult. Unfortunately, most Heights-area homes are not designed to support the decline in physical ability that often occurs with age.
To enable seniors to continue living safely at home, several home improvements can be made. Some are simple and others are more complex, depending on the layout of the home and the needs of the individual. Following are just some of the options available.
In the bathroom, install grab bars near the toilet for stability, and in the bathing area to help prevent slipping. Installing a taller toilet makes it easier to sit down and get up. Add a walk-in door to the bathtub, or replace the tub with a step-in shower. A fold-down seat and a hand-held sprayer make bathing easier.
In the kitchen, convert the lower cabinets to pullout drawers for easy access to frequently used items. Install lighting under the upper cabinets to provide more illumination on the countertop. Faucets with lever handles and pullout sprayers make clean up easier.
For those with difficulty climbing stairs, add exterior ramps at the front and side doors of the house. Install an electric chair lift on interior stairs. If space permits, install a full bathroom on the first floor, and convert a dining room or den into a bedroom, for first-floor living. A stackable washer-dryer unit installed in a first-floor closet facilitates laundering.
For seniors confined to wheelchairs, widen the interior doorways of the home for easier passage. Replace the bathtub with a roll-in shower, and the vanity with a wall-mounted sink. Install a flip-up countertop in the kitchen at wheelchair height.
The benefits of these remodeling projects are many. The cost is usually far less than that of nursing-home care, and some of the costs are tax deductible. It brings great peace of mind for families to know their loved one is safe at home. Most important, it enables the senior to retain the dignity of independent living for as long as possible.
It is best to plan ahead and get these remodeling projects done before an accident occurs, so that the family is not dealing with construction and a family crisis at the same time. Architects and construction companies experienced in safety remodeling can perform a home safety analysis to help plan the remodeling project.
Click here to read the full article in the Heights Observer.
3/26/2012 – 2012 Women’s Empowerment Network conference
Many thanks to Bridgette Hopson of Mothers Assisting Mothers for inviting me to speak at the 2012 Women’s Empowerment Network conference for disabled and homeless women last Friday.
There were about 50 women in attendance and I was able to give them tools for reducing stress, balancing energy and overcoming obstacles.
I am very honored to have been asked to participate, and hopefully make a positive difference in the lives of these women who are facing some very tough challenges. They were such an inspiration to me!
3/19/2012 – Our First Anniversary
This marks the first anniversary of the founding of The Loving Hands Group! We are so very grateful for your support. It is because of you that we have been able to reach out and help a great many people in need over this past year, throughout the Cleveland area. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting our cause!
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