No one knows better what you are facing than someone who has been there before.

Support groups offer the riches of experience, helping save families from some of the trials and errors members of the support group made.

• ASA and its sister organization, the American Heart Association (AHA), are affiliated with two such programs available across the country.

• Mended Hearts, Inc. is a national nonprofit affiliated with the AHA (www.mendedhearts.org). The organization has chapters at 460 hospitals and rehabilitation clinics. Its mission is to “inspire hope in heart disease patients and their families.” New heart patients and their families get together to learn from experienced patients and healthcare professionals, covering everything from lifestyle changes, recovery, treatment and depression. To learn more about Mended Hearts and to find a chapter in your area, visit www.mendedhearts.org or call 1-888-HEART99 (1-888-432-7899).

• Stroke Family Warmline (1-888-4-STROKE) connects stroke survivors and their families with ASA team members who are either stroke survivors or family members of survivors. They offer callers a listening ear and helpful information.

Giving up some of the caregiving responsibility for a loved one to someone else can be difficult. After all, how are you going to find a caregiver who provides the same degree of quality attention that you provide?

We’ve assembled a list of important questions you should ask prospective professional caregiving companies before you entrust the care of your loved ones to them:

How long has your company been in business?
If an in-home care provider has been around awhile, you should have no trouble researching their reputation through the Better Business Bureau, local senior service and healthcare providers, at church, around town, and from friends and family. Well-established providers generally have higher staff retention rates than fledgling organizations and thus offer more experienced, trained caregivers.

Can you send me information about your services and fees?
This will do more than help you compare services and fees. The quality of the informational materials you receive may indicate the attention an in-home care provider gives to all aspects of its operations. Also ask for references.

How do you select your in-home caregivers?
Look for agencies that balance experience and training with a person’s innate gift to serve and care for others. No amount of experience makes up for a lack of true compassion.

It is also essential that an agency thoroughly screen and interview candidates. This should include criminal and other background checks, personality assessments (which can identify people who possess caregiving qualities), interviews and reference checks.

Also look for organizations that provide training to candidates who pass the screening process and require that caregivers, once hired, complete ongoing training to maintain and update skills.

Are your caregivers bonded and insured?
Make sure the agency you choose has coverage to protect your loved one and your family. The provider should carry professional and general liability insurance, bond its employees and cover employees with workers’ compensation.
 

How are caregivers supervised?
Some agencies, such as Comfort Keepers, make regular quality assurance calls and visits to make certain caregivers consistently deliver quality care. To further ensure quality care, see that all caregivers are regularly and closely supervised by a qualified company representative.

Will you provide an home assessment prior to starting services?
Through a thorough in-home assessment with you and your loved one, a representative of an in-home care provider can discover needs and help you determine whether the organization can meet them to your satisfaction.

Will you provide a written care plan before you begin service?
A written care plan prevents misunderstandings. You can use it for reference when calling the in-home care provider with concerns. To be effective, the plan needs to be developed with your input and needs to be flexible so it can be updated as your loved one’s needs change.

What if I am not satisfied with the caregiver assigned to me or a loved one?
Reputable in-home care providers will assign a new caregiver when a match does not work out.

What procedures are in place for emergencies?
Ask how the agency or caregiver will deliver services in the event of a power failure, snow storm or natural disaster. Does the organization provide 24-hour telephone service for handling emergencies during weekends and holidays?

What is the process for addressing problems?
Confirm up front whom to contact—and how—when you experience problems or have questions or requests.

Travel can be intimidating for anyone. Seniors can be especially vulnerable in some travel situations to thieves or identity theft. Here are a few ways seniors can travel safely.

Prevent identity theft by bringing only the ID and credit cards you will need. Leave anything with your Social Security number at home. Use prepaid or stored-value travel cards and keep the issuers’ phone numbers in a safe, accessible place. Keep your passport and other ID, credit cards and cash in a money belt worn under your clothing and carry an inexpensive decoy wallet.

Travelers should also plan leave expensive jewelry at home and dress in clothing that does not shout “tourist!”

It may also be a good idea to make copies of important documents, like passports and tickets. This will make it easier to replace them if they are lost or stolen. Give a copy of your passport to a friend or relative and carry one with you. Also keep a list of credit card and transportation contact numbers.

No matter where you lodge during your trip, never open your hotel door to strangers. Use the door viewer to see who is outside, and do not trust anyone claiming to be a hotel employee if you are not expecting one. Call the front desk to check. Keep the door to your room locked at all times, and turn the deadbolt and fasten the security chain when you are inside. It is always best to use the main entrance when leaving your hotel after dark.

Many seniors also prefer group travel for ease of transportation and safety, but do check to make sure the itinerary is at the right pace for you.

We lead busy lifestyles – even when we’re older. More and more seniors are adding activities to their schedules. While volunteer opportunities, events or other activities are excellent ways to add an interesting layer to our lives, we often let start letting our schedules control our lives rather than the inverse. Time management plans can be necessary – even for seniors
Here are some tips for seniors and their caregivers to consider in developing a good time management plan:

• Make a list of all activities: Try not to leave anything out. Include exercise and rest, because both make us more efficient. If you have trouble coming up with everything all at once, spend a few days putting this list together, jotting down each activity as you prepare for it. Also make note of whether the activity is a regularly scheduled one or whether it occurs only occasionally.

• Prioritize the list: Determine which items on the list are the most important to you. If you’re unsure, come back to this later after you’ve taken time to consider the next item.

• Understand your personal goals: Knowing what you want to accomplish during this stage of your life is just as important as it’s always been. Goals keep you focused and on track and will give you a sense of accomplishment. Knowing this will make prioritizing your “to do” list so much easier.

• Put your schedule in writing: When you put it in writing it’s more difficult to waver from. You’re more likely to follow through and accomplish those things that are most important to you and your goals in life. You can use a planner, a wall calendar or even an online calendar. The point is to write down what you’re doing and when. As each new opportunity presents itself, glance at your calendar to see if there’s time to include it. If necessary, take time to think how the activity fits into your personal goals. If you don’t have time for it and it doesn’t advance or enrich your goals, consider passing.

• Be flexible: The days of living by a rigid, inflexible schedule are over! Never be afraid to change plans when the mood or meaningful opportunity strikes.

Just as we make plans to retire from work—possibly transitioning from full-time to part-time employment before full retirement—it is important to look ahead to retiring from driving. In fact, many seniors choose to limit their driving as they encounter physical and cognitive changes. For instance, they may decide to drive only in daylight when vision impairment makes night-time driving difficult. Or they may decide to drive only in town when high-traffic situations become stressful.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported in a recent study that more seniors are self-limiting their driving and surmises that this could account in part for another finding: Fewer drivers 70 and older died in crashes and fewer were involved in fatal collisions from 1997 through 2006 than in years past, even though this segment of the population grew 10 percent.

It is essential that family and friends of a senior approach with compassion a discussion about driving —being sensitive to the senior’s need to maintain independence. Also approach the subject from a concern for the senior’s and others’ safety. Have you discussed retiring from driving with an elderly loved one recently? Feel free to comment and let us know how the conversation went.

According to a study presented May 2, 2009, at the American Geriatrics Society annual meeting in Chicago, retirees over 65 who volunteer are living to an older age compared to their peers who do not volunteer.

The study, conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center, included 6,360 retirees who were enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study in 2002. The average age of the study subjects was 78.

Although that study did not examine the reasons for the health benefits of volunteering, other studies have. The Corporation for National and Community Service compiled findings of 30 such studies in a report, The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research. Among the findings:

• Volunteers have better social networks as they get out and interact with others
• Social engagement  results in reduced stress
• Volunteering leads to a more active lifestyle—both physically and mentally—which reduces risk of chronic conditions, such as heart disease and depression
• An active lifestyle also helps boost the body’s immune system, protecting against infection and illness
• Volunteering builds self-confidence, self-worth and self-identity and proves to seniors and others that they still have much to offer

More than 26 million senior citizens in the U.S. have already discovered the rewards of volunteering, from tutoring students to serving food in a soup kitchen, running a church rummage sale, recruiting donors for a blood drive or helping with a fund-raising campaign.

In addition to providing seniors the time to volunteer, in-home caregivers can transport seniors to volunteer sites. And for those who have difficulty getting out, volunteer organizations offer opportunities that seniors can do at home. These include knitting blankets for a fund-raising sale or to give to nursing home residents, cooking meals for church members who have just returned home from the hospital, or stuffing envelopes for a mailing.

The opportunities are practically endless. Schools, nonprofit organizations, churches, hospitals, nursing homes, animal shelters and even businesses all welcome volunteer help and value seniors’ experience. With so many ways to give to others and receive health benefits in return, it is time for seniors to find out how an in-home caregiver can help them find the time to volunteer.

Shopping for seniors who have everything—or who are working on downsizing—may be difficult. But there are plenty of holiday gifts that take up little or no space, yet are big on uplifting a senior’s spirits.  For instance:

• Give a ticket to a concert, sporting event, museum, zoo or other venue that is important to your loved one. The gift to your loved one will also include a ticket for yourself and others who want to join in on the special outing.
• How about a gift before the holiday? Taking your loved one out for dinner and a holiday shopping trip.
• Baskets of favorite nonperishable foods, teas and coffees, along with lap robes or blankets can also be nice gifts to help your loved one during the cold winter months.
• If you live away from your loved one, you can help shrink the distance with a gift of technology – such as a computer with a microphone and webcam that can enable you to stay in touch throughout the year.
• Another idea to give yourself peace-of-mind and allow your loved one to continue living comfortably, safely and independently at home is the  Comfort Keepers®’ SafetyChoice® line of technology solutions, such as the 24-hour Personal Emergency Response System.

Visit our holiday website to learn more about helping the seniors you care about during this special season.

Holiday gatherings give adult children an opportunity to talk with their parents and to sense whether they are doing well or if they may need help to maintain their independence.

The Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.com), for instance, suggests certain signs and changes to look for. These can include:

• Weight loss, which could indicate serious health problems, assuming that the loss is not part of an intentional health improvement plan. It could indicate conditions such as malnutrition, dementia, depression, heart failure or cancer. Or it could be that the senior is lacking the energy or dexterity to prepare meals.
• Housework and home maintenance, which if it appears to have been neglected, could point to physical impairment or depression. Also look around the house for safety issues such as tripping hazards. Or, is the senior having trouble with stairs?
• Do the seniors appear to maintain good hygiene and dress well? Does it look like they are still taking good care of themselves?
• Mood. Do they seem normal or out of sorts? Are they still involved in their hobbies and interests and getting together with friends? Or do they seem withdrawn or blue?
• Physical abilities. Do they appear to be getting around the house OK? Or are they unsteady on their feet?

These kinds of observations open the opportunity to talk with aging parents about their possible need for accommodations or assistance around the home. Emotional partings at the end of holiday reunions could, in fact, reveal that seniors feel less confident than they used to about living independently. Now is the time to invite them to share their concerns, find out how you can help and discuss with them options, such as in-home caregivers who can assist with the things they are beginning to have difficulty with.

As delivery of healthcare continues to change, your relationship with your doctor may no longer be like talking to Marcus Welby. No matter what you heard, Dr. Welby was an actor not a doctor.

Managed care, restrictions and reimbursement reductions imposed by Medicare and private insurance have forced doctors to see more patients just to keep their practices afloat. This means less time for each patient.

Even the most confident big wigs may feel intimidated as they wait barefoot in an exam room in a open-backed hospital gown. To complicate matters, all the restrictions, paperwork and limits on reimbursements contribute to a shortage of front line doctors like internists and general practitioners. In addition, a movement to empower the patient to become more involved in their own care has shifted relationship focus from primary care doctor to specialist, who typically have even less time to foster a long-term patient-doctor relationship.

So how do you handle a doctor appointment, get answers to your questions and understand what the doctor tells you? Here are a few tips to help you make your doctor visit a success:

• Start with a pencil and paper. If you are experiencing a symptom that has prompted you to consider an appointment, keep a diary of what is happening, what activities bring on your symptoms and when you experience them so you can give your doctor the most accurate information. If you are experiencing pain rank it in the diary from 1 to 10. If the symptoms or pain are aggravated or relieved by medication you are taking, note that too.

• Learn how to communicate effectively with the office staff.  Making an appointment with a doctor can be a challenge in itself. If a health issue is potentially embarrassing, asking the doctor to call you may not be the best course to take without giving them an inkling to the why you are calling. If a script is helpful when you call and talk to the receptionist or scheduler, write one. Regardless of the issue, give the receptionist at least some idea of why you are calling. Don’t worry – he or she has heard worse. One trick that works well for me is to fax the doctor. I give a brief, written explanation, and I always get a quick call from the nurse or physicians assistance. If the office will give you an e-mail address, that’s even better. You can e-mail your notes or symptom diary.

• Bring someone that will keep you occupied and not aggravated in the waiting room. If you feel you may benefit by someone being there with you, then bring a friend, family member or caregiver. Another set of ears and someone who is slightly detached from your symptoms may make the visit even more beneficial. Of course, this is your appointment and you should be communicating directly with the doctor.  Your support person should be there just to support you and should not be having the primary conversation with the doctor.

• Remember your doctor is here to help you. You should clearly communicate all information, issues and concerns with your doctor.  Your doctor can then more thoroughly evaluate you and then offer a clear explanation or solution that you can understand.

• Take notes. If necessary, ask the doctor to repeat what he or she told you so you can make notes. If your doctor is giving you too much information too quickly, speak up and let him or her know to slow down. A small tape recorder could come in very handy for playback later.

• If you feel that good bedside manner is lacking in your relationship with your doctor, a change may be in order. Not all doctors have good bedside or exam table manners. While they may be great technicians or mechanics, they may lack in the personality arena. More and more, medical schools are focusing on this intra-personal area of medicine. Many are adopting role playing scenarios to allow doctors to understand how their mannerisms can affect their patients. You should expect your doctor to treat you with respect.

• Being open and honest with your doctor is in your best interest. If you have a concern about what you are being told, tell him or her. If there is some underlying issue that may affect when, where or how you may be able to comply with recommendations, tell your doctor. The more your doctor knows about you, the better he or she can help you.

Where did I put my keys? Or, where did I park my car? For most people, these questions probably sound more than vaguely familiar. That is because aging normally involves a certain degree of memory loss. Over the course of our lives—starting in our 20s—we lose brain cells, a few at a time, causing a normal decline in the brain’s ability to remember.

We can take an active role in keeping our minds sharp and slowing memory loss. Eating right provides valuable nutrients and exercising improves circulation to the brain. Reading, playing cards, learning new skills, doing puzzles and brain teasers, maintaining an active social life and getting adequate rest also help maintain a fit brain.

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers tips to help your memory stay sharp:

• Repeat names when you first meet people
• Put important things, such as keys, in the same place every time
• Keep lists and a detailed calendar
• Make associations, such as using landmarks to help you find places
• Follow a routine
• Run through the ABC’s in your head to help think of words you are having trouble remembering. “Hearing” the first letter of a word may jog your memory.
• Exercise your mind and body