Bathing Without a Battle

The second edition of Bathing Without a Battle: Person-Directed Care of Individuals with Dementia was just released!

Speaking about the second printing, PHI said:

In addition to the original materials, the new book substantially updates the section on special concerns, including pain, skin care, transfers, the environment, and determining the appropriate level of assistance.

If this has been a concern with your facility, feel free to check out the links and purchase a copy today.

Seniors Helping Seniors

Seniors Helping Seniors® provides all non-medical in-home services for Seniors so they can remain independent in their own homes and also help relieve anxiety of loved ones; who worry about their senior being alone.

Our services include Companion care/ship, Household assistance (light house keeping, laundry, meal preparation, etc.), transportation to the doctors or shopping, errands, handy man work and yard work. What makes our service so unique is that the caregivers themselves, are also Seniors.

Our innovative program creates the support you need from people who will understand you the most! Everyone who works with us has a strong interest in helping others. Since our helpers are also seniors, they understand just a little more about the unexpected twists and turns of life. And out of that understanding our people, who have come to help, become friends of yours. Our mission is to provide seniors with the ability to choose an independent lifestyle in their own home, for as long as possible, with the dignity and respect they deserve. We are fully committed to helping other and that adds to our own purpose in life! We service the entire Lehigh Valley. If you or someone you know and love needs just a little or a lot of help, we are only a phone call away.

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a caregiver, we would like to talk to you/them too! Please call or email us or see us on the web, http://www.seniorshelpingseniors.com/.
610-253-3232
seniorshelpingseniors@verizon.net

Marble Competition

Members of Third Street Alliance’s Sharing the Caring have added marbles competition to their list of activities and will soon challenge the Easton Senior Center. For more information about how adult day services can help your family, visit click here.

When a Loved One Has Multi-infarct Dementia

Caring Right at Home Newsletter has a great article about dealing with multi-infarct dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's. Learn how family members can help a loved one cope and prevent worsening of the condition here.

Spring Activities for People With Dementia

In yesterday's post, we mentioned the "feeling bag" idea for people with Alzheimer's. Here are some more ideas for clients:

Recreation Therapy

Discussing Autism blog

Eldercare

Activity Connection

Review of the March 18th Meeting

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Direct Care Workers held their monthly meeting on March 18th, 2008. Some of the topics discussed were the recent protests by a Direct Care Worker at one of the long term care facilities, the need for training tapes in MH/MR, and some activities to do with older adults.

One of the Direct Care Workers is making a "feeling bag" for her clients. In the bag, she included something soft, some smooth stones, some seashells and some other items. The older adults can reach in the bag and feel the different textures. What a great idea!

LV Chapter Meeting

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 18th from 2:30 - 3:30 will be the Lehigh Valley Chapter Meeting for the PA Direct Care Workers Association. There is no fee to join and you do not need to be a member to attend. So, please feel free to stop in and join us!

United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
2200 Avenue A, Third Floor
Bethlehem, PA 18017

Conference in Maryland

The National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center, with the support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Labor, will host a National Symposium on Strengthening the HCBS Direct Service Workforce on May 8-9, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore, Maryland. This event will provide a forum for showcasing best practices in home- and community-based direct service workforce development, highlight Federal and state workforce initiatives, and disseminate research findings. A primary theme of the event will be the importance of addressing workforce issues across age and disability consumer populations. Planned session topics include partnership and collaboration, recruitment strategies, best practices in worker training, supervision and selection strategies, registered apprenticeship, worker empowerment, measuring workforce outcomes, and many more. There is no registration fee for attendance at the Symposium.

Reserve your space now!

Candidates Views on Direct Care

In November 2007, the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) contacted the campaigns of all the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, asking the candidates to respond to a set of questions on critical aging issues facing the nation. Responses have been received from Democratic candidates John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, as of December 31, 2007. Their answers can be viewed here. Click on a name to read the candidates views on aging issues.

Of particular interest to us are the questions about long-term care, including:

How would you improve the quality of life and quality of care for people in nursing homes and what would you do to ensure that a sufficient number of direct care workers are recruited and retained across the long-term care continuum?

United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, the Lehigh Valley Alliance on Aging, the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the PA Direct Care Workers Association, and LCAO make no endorsement of any candidate, and provides these responses as a way of enabling American voters to gain a perspective on the candidates.

Two Hands Caring: Helping You Help Others

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the PA Direct Care Workers Association, Lehigh Valley Alliance on Aging, the Workforce Investment Board and United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley proudly offer you the unique opportunity to improve the quality of care you provide to your clients through a two-day conference series here in the Lehigh Valley! Due to funding requirements, the conference is only open to Direct Care Workers working in Lehigh or Northampton Counties.

Training will be provided by Kelly O'Shea Carney, Ph.D., CMC. Dr. Carney is a licensed psychologist and is certified as a geriatric care manager. She has over 20 years of experience in working with older adults. This program meets state requirements for dementia training under state regulations for a variety of geriatric care services. Please check the licensing regulations for your program regarding specific dementia training requirements.

Friday, May 16th, Morning Session

8:30-8:45 Registration and Breakfast
8:45-9:00 Welcome by Dr. Donna Miller
9:00 – 10:30 Understanding Dementia
10:30 – 10:45 Break
10:45 – 12:15 Behavior Management with Dementia

Friday, May 16th, Afternoon Session
12:15—12:30 Afternoon Registration
12:30 —1:15 Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 Understanding Depression and Anxiety in Elders
2:45 – 3:00 Break
3:00 – 4:30 Coping With Bereavement


The Training will be held at:
Northampton Memorial Community Center
1601 Laubach Avenue
Northampton, PA 18067

The cost is only $5 for the full day -- including breakfast and lunch!

To register, please contact Cori Rolón for a registration form:

Cori Rolón
United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
2200 Avenue A
Bethlehem, PA 18017-2189
(610) 437-6371
corir@unitedwayglv.org

National Elder Economic Security Initiative™ Blog!

As you may know, the National Elder Economic Security Initiative™ program at Wider Opportunities for Women has been experiencing tremendous growth. They continue to develop the multifaceted character of the Initiative which coincides with our well-rounded approach to the measurement and assessment of the income adequacy of older Americans.

Today, they are launching their own blog! Welcome to the blogosphere!

Click here to view the blog: http://wow-eesi.blogspot.com/ and remember to save it to your “address book” and/or your “favorites”.

How to Dance in the Rain

One of the Direct Care Workers shared this story from a hospital worker at our last meeting:

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb.

He said he was in a hurry as he an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch, and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress the wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzherimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning even though she doesn't know who you are?"

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."

I had to hold back the tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life."

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.