By Aparna Ghosh, MPH, clinical quality consultant, MPRO

By Emily Lord, executive director, HealthCare Ready

The Louisiana floods in August of 2016 destroyed more than 60,000 homes and forced more than 15,000 people into shelters at the height of the disaster. These floods were not caused by a massive hurricane like Katrina in 2005 but by tons and tons of rain. No one expected rain to cause the damage on the scale it did. It is a powerful lesson that we need to always be prepared to protect ourselves and those we care for, especially the elderly who are more vulnerable than most because of limited mobility and additional health care needs.

While disaster preparedness sounds overwhelming and yet another thing to add to your to-do list, there are easy, low cost ways to protect the health of your family or those to whom you provide care. There are many organizations that provide preparedness training and toolkits, including the American Red Cross and the CDC, but they don’t always include health care preparedness. Here are a few key things to think about when planning.

Home should be a place of comfort and safety. As time passes, however, we can become a little too comfortable in those familiar surroundings to recognize emerging safety concerns. For this reason, living safely at home can turn into a challenge for older adults. 

With increasing age, vision and hearing become less acute, balance is less steady and reaction time slows. Household and personal tasks that were once easy and safe to complete can turn into difficult and dangerous activities.

Make Necessary Repairs

Make it a priority to look around your loved one's home for potential safety hazards. Take time to check that all appliances, electrical devices and outlets are in good working order. If necessary, make repairs and replacements. It's important to personally assess the situation. Your loved one may be reluctant to bring any household problems to your attention due to concerns about costs, maintaining personal independence or simply not wanting to make extra work for you. 

Can I interest you in a tall glass of kombucha to wash down your poke? Does this question have you scratching your head? No fears, we’re here to help! As part of National Nutrition Month, we’re taking a look at five popular food trends in 2016.

Adjusting to decreasing independence, mobility, eyesight, hearing, memory, or mental health can be difficult life changes for senior citizens to handle. It can also be challenging for family caregivers to be able to provide their loved ones with sufficient assistance or the proper level of care.

This article from Deseret News features an excerpt from an upcoming book by Linda & Richard Eyre on how boomers can live their life to its fullest. Covering seven key decisions boomers should make to ensure their golden years are happy, productive and fulfilling, the steps are general enough that anyone can benefit from.  

It can be hard to care for elderly parents, especially when you’re a parent yourself. Making sure they are healthy and happy takes just as much time, energy and commitment as taking care of your children. Balancing these two things can be difficult, which is why homecare services are available for people who need a little help providing basic care for their older parent’s needs.

As a senior care service provider, safety is a top priority. We want to ensure that you senior is as comfortable as possible while being safe and cared for. Some safety concerns are obvious, but other safety concerns may not have crossed your mind. Below are some in-home safety concerns you should keep in mind.

Boomers face a lot of stereotypes, not the least of which being that they tend to be, let’s say, less than fantastic drivers.

Good news for boomer women who are single and still working: according to a study covered in this MainStreet.com article, you’re probably feeling better than ever before. In part, that might be because a full 79% of the single boomer women surveyed reported feeling satisfied with their current job.