Falls are one of the most serious threats to an older person’s quality of life. In adults 65 and over, one out of every three fall in a year, and of those, 20-30 % have falls that cause moderate to severe injuries, such s fractured hips which will radically alter the course of life. Estimates [read more…]
Posts
Caregiving: A Gift You Give; A Gift You Get
“My mother told me she loved m. She has never said that to me before in my life. Never.” The quote, above, is from the daughter of one of our clients. All her life her relationship with her mother had been difficult; when she first started caring for her mother at the mother’s home, it [read more…]
Wheelchairs: What To Know Before You Buy
This month Elder Voice welcomes guest writer, Barbara Purdy, Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapist I often see people in poorly fitted wheelchairs, sitting for hours, slumped over in pain and discomfort and unable to correct their own positions. They may have slid forwards, a sign of that discomfort, as they tried to find a more comfortable [read more…]
Stress and Stress Management
by Peter S. Silin, MSW, RSW People often talk about being stressed, and about managing stress. I think it helps to take a closer look at what stress is. Stress is, in some ways, a psychological/physiological response to stimuli. The stimuli can be externally or internally generated. For instance, it could be a colleague at [read more…]
Choosing Seniors Housing
Headliner: New Rates For Nursing Homes On October 8th, the Minster of Health announced new rates for residential care, beginning in January, 2010. While they emphasized that some rates will go down, those paying the higher rates will be paying close to 25% more. Rates will now range from $29.40 up to $96.40 per day. [read more…]
Hospital Discharge in 2009: What Families Need to Know
If you have a relative about to go into or be discharged from hospital, you should know that the experience is much different today from the way it used to be. Whereas care used to be mostly physician directed, today much of the decision making and planning, including discharge, are done mostly by a medical [read more…]
Caregiver Burnout
by Peter S. Silin, MSW, RSW I often ask my clients who are caregivers, to think of themselves as a watering can, and the person they are caring for, as the plan they water. “Imagine,” I will say to them, “ that your plant needs a lot of care and attention, and so you end [read more…]
About Assisted Living
It can be difficult and confusing to choose the housing appropriate to the needs of Seniors. One reason for the confusion is that the different types of housing provide differing services and levels of care. In B.C. we have several levels of housing: Independent (or Supportive); Assisted Living, and Complex Care. Independent Living generally provides [read more…]
When Someone Stops Eating
More than once we have been told by the staff in hospital or nursing home that a client has stopped eating. The staff’s interpretation is that it is a choice by the client who has decided that they wished to die. We need to be very careful about the interpretations we make about the behaviour [read more…]
A Little Bit of Failure – With A Lot of Impact
By the time a person is diagnosed with a dementia or other illness, they may have had it for many years. Their caregivers have already been through a long and confusing journey alone. A recent experience with a client illustrates the impact that journey can have, and where attention needs to go. One of our [read more…]