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The Importance of Advocating for Your Parent or Loved One

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Medical professional talking to senior and her family caregiver

Advocating for a parent can be stressful, but our home health care services in Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding area can help.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” – Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Advocating for your parent or loved one is probably one of the biggest honors – and responsibilities – you will have as a family caregiver. It means fully comprehending the other person’s wishes and needs, and communicating those wishes to people who can help make sure they are fulfilled.

If the role seems intimidating and possibly more than you feel equipped to handle, there are a number of actions you can take to bolster the relevant skills you will need to be successful.

Observe. It may seem to go without saying, however with so many issues vying for your focus, it may be very easy to pay less attention than needed to slight shifts in a senior’s condition, behaviors, or mood. It’s beneficial to first make sure your own self-care needs are met so you’re sharp and well-rested. Then implement a system to take and share notes with any other members of the family or friends who are in close contact with the senior to detect any changes.

Communicate. Effective communication with medical, legal, or financial professionals is vital to successfully advocate for a senior. Since these professionals are extremely busy, keep your communication style clear, concise, and to the point. Bring notes so you’re certain to cover all the bases. Remain respectful, and keep in mind listening is just as crucial to good communication as speaking. And, thank the professional for hearing you out and for their assistance in coming to the best resolution.

Learn. Continue to educate yourself on the particular health condition(s) a senior loved one is navigating, along with aging in general, and legal/financial matters. While you find out more, it’s possible that subsequent questions will surface. If you can’t get the answers you require from one particular professional, try another trusted source until you have the understanding necessary.

Be tenacious. Advocating for an older adult member of the family effectively has been referred to as serving as “chief bulldog.” It means giving it your all, finding creative solutions to challenging dilemmas, always with the older adult’s best interests at heart. Be ready for frustrations to develop, and to have to advocate for exactly what your loved one requires!

Most importantly, maintain an optimistic mindset, and surround yourself with a strong support system, including the senior care team at Responsive Home Care. We are here to partner with you to ensure the absolute best quality of life for a senior you love. We also provide you with the chance to take a break from your caregiving role to recharge and refresh – something extremely important both for your loved one and yourself.

Give us a call at (954) 486-6440 any time and let us know how we can help provide home health care services in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the surrounding area! We offer a free of charge in-home assessment and the creation of a customized plan of care that will help ensure each of your care bases are covered!

Six Simple Steps to Improve the Health and Wellness of Older Adults

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Health and Wellness of Older Adults

Simple changes can help improve the health and wellness for older adults.

Many individuals have left their New Year’s resolutions by the wayside by the end of January, but who says resolutions should only be made at the start of the year? There’s no time like the present to start a brand new habit or goal, especially when looking to improve the health and wellness as an older adult.

We have six recommendations you can implement today. Pick one to begin, or jump right into all of them to achieve the most benefit:

  1. Schedule a physical. As opposed to waiting for a sickness or injury to call the doctor, a yearly check-up is an excellent method for older adults to remain on top of their health and potentially prevent problems before they occur.
  2. Get physical. With the physician’s approval and recommendations at hand, kick off a new health and fitness routine – together! Working out with a senior you love enables you to motivate one another and serve as accountability partners. Commit to sticking with it for a minimum of 21 days, after which it should be an ingrained, pleasurable habit you’ll wish to continue.
  3. Stay connected. Help the senior keep up friendships and contact with loved ones to defend against loneliness and isolation – something we’ve all become too familiar with throughout the pandemic. Offer transportation, if necessary, for dinner dates or with setting up technology to stay virtually connected.
  4. Update vaccinations. Along with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, flu, pneumonia, and shingles vaccines ought to be up to date. As people age, there is an increased risk for severe effects from these illnesses, so vaccinations become even more crucial.
  5. Don’t forget mental health. A mental health provider will help determine if depression, anxiety, or any other concerns should be addressed, offering both therapeutic tools and medication if needed. Maintaining mental sharpness through brain enrichment activities can also help with the natural cognitive decline that is experienced in aging.
  6. Watch what you eat. If the pantry and fridge are full of fatty or empty-calorie foods, replace them with proteins, whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruits, and low-fat dairy products. An extreme change in diet can be overwhelming and difficult to stick to, so start simple with one replacement at first – carrot sticks instead of potato chips, for instance – and work up to a healthier overall diet.

Responsive Home Care is here with personalized in-home care and companionship to help improve the health and wellness of older adults and to help seniors accomplish any other goals. From accompaniment to medical appointments and exercise classes to prepping and preparing healthy meals, all while giving socialization a much-needed boost, we are empowering seniors to live their best lives every day. Email or call 954-486-6440 for more information on how our caregivers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the surrounding areas can help a senior you love!

Laughter and Health: The Connection Is Sure to Make You Want to Start Smiling!

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Happy Senior Woman

Discover the connection between laughter and health.

Have you ever caught yourself getting ready to bubble over with uncontrollable laughter at the most ill-timed moment – in a crowded elevator, a hushed waiting room, or a religious service? While there are, certainly, times when we will need to stamp down the silliness, writer Jane Heller explains that, “Humor can keep us balanced, even in the grimmest of times. It reminds us that despite illness and disability, there are moments of real joy in life and we need to embrace them.”

The connections between laughter and health are phenomenal, including:

  • Releasing endorphins that ease tension
  • Fortifying brain connectivity
  • Supplying a social boost
  • Relieving pain
  • Improving the immune system
  • Boosting mood
  • Defending the heart from coronary disease
  • Revitalizing circulation and muscle relaxation, both of which minimize stress
  • And so many more

Even though there is absolutely nothing funny when it comes to receiving a difficult medical diagnosis for someone you care about, there are methods to keep up an underlying feeling of positivity that may result in more possibilities for laughter:

  • Be deliberate about placing snippets of humor throughout your home/office; for example, a popular comic strip, meme, funny photographs, etc.
  • Look into a laughter yoga class – yes, there honestly is such a thing!
  • Adjust your reading material and TV viewing to incorporate additional lightheartedness. Include joke books – or browse the internet for new jokes to add to your collection.
  • Spend time with loved ones and close friends who raise your spirits. Reminisce over prior memories together that make you laugh, and create new ones!
  • Discover how to laugh at yourself, switching your internal dialogue from reprimands for errors to comfort in recognizing we are all human.

Interestingly, even if you don’t feel like laughing, rewards can still be achieved through faking or forcing laughter, according to certified health coach Nancy Kalish.

At Responsive Home Care, the top providers of senior care services in Pembroke Pines and the surrounding area, we understand the link between laughter and health, and our caretakers make it a point to bring happiness to seniors every day. Our friendly senior companions spend quality time with older adults, participating in conversations, games, puzzles, exercise, fun outings, and of course, laughter. And with our full selection of in-home care services, which include meal preparation, light housekeeping, and looking after personal care needs, family care providers together with the seniors they love are able to spend more quality time simply enjoying each other’s company. Allow us to help brighten your world! Contact us at 954-486-6440 any time to learn more and to schedule an in-home consultation.