Chicago Senior Care Providers Lend Assistance to Avoid Slips and Falls

According to researchers from the University of Illinois, subconscious training may be the “vaccine against falls” elderly people are looking for. The team, headed by physical therapy professor Clive Pai, is currently working on a custom treadmill that may be used to implicitly train seniors how to not fall by tripping them on purpose, while they’re rigged to a safety harness. Headlines & Global News takes a closer look at this study, which aims to improve senior care:

Home Care in Chicago Ease Burden of Caring for Elderly Loved Ones

Taking care of an elderly mother or father is never an easy job. Besides the physical burden the task puts on a family caregiver, the emotional toll of watching your loved one age and waste away can be difficult to deal with, at best.

However, on the positive side, being a family caregiver can also be immensely rewarding. By caring for an elderly loved one, you return the care and affection you received from them when you were younger, resulting in strengthened emotional ties. Additionally, the pride you get when you see how much your loved one appreciates your time and attention can also leave you feeling gratified. 

Chicago Senior Home Care Helps Aged Workers Avoid House Accidents

Working can be very satisfying as it offers people the opportunity to become financially secured and feel good about contributing to the general welfare of society. For some, these reasons are enough to keep on working as an employee or as a manager of their own business even beyond the normal retiring age prescribed by the government. A perfect example to this is current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who, according to Paige Lavender’s report for The Huffington Post, intends to keep her job as long as she thinks she can still perform her responsibilities well:

Cook County Elder Care Services Give Kids a Chance to Thank Parents

Over the next twenty years, people aged 65 and older would represent 20 percent of the United States’ population which will, no doubt, open up problems on how the government and family members will take care of the aging citizenry. Writer and blogger Arlene Nisson Lassin gives us a glimpse into the troubles and hardships many will soon face in her article for The Huffington Post:

Chicago Home Health Care for Seniors with Dementia and Heart Disease

Compared to individuals without cognitive impairment, dementia patients are more likely to receive a pacemaker prescription. That’s according to a study recently published in JAMA: Internal Medicine. The retrospective analysis of information on the National Alzheimer Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set provides the foundation of the report. Writing for Medscape, Steve Stiles, seasoned reporter on cardiovascular medicine, has more on the story:

Chicago Home Care and Technology Use Help Seniors Stay Independent

If you think seniors are too old for exercise, a study featured in Harvard Health Publications begs to disagree. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the trial called Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) concludes that regular exercise and walking can help the elderly in avoiding physical disability.

The Future of Senior Care in Chicago: Shifting Towards Home-based Care

Senior care in Chicago is facing a sea change. In the past, people often sent the elderly to nursing homes. However, with the changes brought on by the Affordable Care Act, people are thinking more and more of home care rather than moving their elderly loved ones into nursing homes. A blog post by Levin & Perconti, Attorneys at Law in Illinois, explains:

Cook County Senior Services Can Assure You of Your Loved Ones’ Safety

As our loved ones get old, they will more than likely be unable to take care of themselves. Usually, you or a family member would take them in. Unfortunately, not everyone has that luxury. Thankfully, Cook County has senior care services that can take care of them as well as family can, sometimes even better. A good recent example would be how a senior caregiver saved the lives of his charges, as told in an article by the NBC Bay Area’s staff:

“Firefighters are crediting a home health care worker with saving the lives of an elderly couple from a two-alarm house fire in the South Bay.

 

The fire broke out just before 5 p.m. Saturday at a home on Braxton Avenue in south San Jose.

 

It was Conrad Gozon’s first day caring for a 92-year-old man and his wife.

 

Gozon said he smelled smoke, and then saw the fire.”

You can be assured that excellent Cook County senior services like the Comfort Keepers of Chicagoland Area, IL would employ health care workers with the same dedication. The main problem is to select the right home care service for your family member. Here’s a look at three things that should guide your selection:

First, it should be properly licensed; after all, having a license means they have passed the state’s requirements to provide the service. Illinois requires a Home Services License for Home Care providers to operate. If they have one, it would be a simple matter to check on the service you are thinking of hiring; for this, you can contact the Illinois Department of Health. Such senior care services are not only monitored by the state; the state can also evaluate a senior’s home care needs, change the services depending on the situation, and send a replacement if the service provider is overbooked.

Second, the Home Care Agency should conduct its due diligence when hiring its caregivers. In other words, potential caregivers should be interviewed at least twice by the agency, screening for both overall experience and for the essential soft-skills required to care for the Agency’s elderly clients. This ensures that whomever they send to care for your loved ones will be compassionate and experienced home care professionals.

Third, you should ask them about their emergency procedures and operating hours. Depending on the infirmity of your family member, you can ask for overnight care or just day care; some conditions require 24/7 monitoring so be sure to check if they offer that. Additionally, knowing what they will do in the event of accidents and emergencies will put your mind at ease.

(Source: Home Care Worker Saves Elderly Couple From 2-Alarm San Jose House Fire, NBC Bay Area, July 6, 2014)

Unique Insights into Senior Care in Chicago from Primary Caregivers

Taking care of elderly loved ones can be tough work. Recently, two primary caregivers gave their insights into the challenges of senior care from their unique, firsthand perspectives:

Employees May Seek Cook County Elder Care Benefits from Employers

As the United States’ population ages, eldercare issues are put on the spotlight. A recent Forbes article discusses the subject of eldercare in relation to work issues and highlights the growing acceptance of employers providing employees with elder care benefits.