Florida Elder Care & Senior Health

TAX PREP TIME FOR SENIORS

It's that time of year again!!

Suggestions to Eliminate Errors When Preparing Information to be Given to the IRS

1. Review last year's tax documents

2. Put  W-2's and 1099's in a folder to be given to your CPA/Accountant (make copies

    for your file

3.  Check each W-2 and 1099 for correct spelling of your name, social security number,

    and account number

4. Use your correct name, especially if you were recently married 

5. File early

6. Check your return before mailing AND send certified mail

 

Wishing All Seniors a Happy Tax Season

Mary Ellen Humphreys

www.sofss.com

When your loved one moves from her home into a facility

There are going to be numerous reactions when moving from one's home into a retirement or assisted living facility. Every situation is different, and every person is different. It may be dreaded, or it may actually be exciting.

This post is going to be a personal experience I have had with my mother. She is 86. Before my step-father died last fall (he had been very sick for years), they sold their home and moved into a very nice retirement community. Mother was excited. She could hardly believe she was going to live in such a nice place with a beautiful dining hall to eat in and exciting things to do everyday. She didn't have to worry about caring for a yard and keeping up with a three bedroom home. The retirement community was lovely. She had her own small one-bedroom apartment with a small fully equipped kitchen, yet she could go down to the dining  room for dinner whenever she didn't feel like cooking.

She knew she would be very happy with so many people to keep her company. There were so many fun things available to do, and she didn't even need to worry about driving in traffic. Thank goodness. At 86, she was not a very safe driver anyway.

As it happened, my step-father died last fall only about 3 months after moving into their new place. We were very glad the move had been completed before he died. I spent a week with her during and after the funeral. She knew she was doing great. She spent more effort worrying about what to wear and if she was wearing the right necklace with matching earrings than anything else. We all thought her way of grieving was very odd. Because my step-father had been in so much pain for so long, she felt a sense of relief that he had finally past at 87 years old.

However, my mother's euphoria soon dissipated. We communicate by email because she can not hear well on the phone. She goes to the dining hall, doesn't feel like eating or mingling, so takes her food back to her apartment. She's just a "homebody," she states. She doesn't participate in the activities provided by the facility. She doesn't hear well, so doesn't enjoy watching everyone else visit, while she watches and feels left out. So she mostly stays in her apartment, except for a very few outings. When I speak with her about it, she again replies, "Well, I guess I am just a homebody." She does frequently mentions how much she misses her husband.

Fortunately, for our family, my sister lives close by. I called my sister and told her, "Mom sounds depressed." My sister is a wonderful daughter. She goes over there and invites her to her son's birthday dinner at a local restaurant the next week. Mother says she will need to check her calendar. She's not sure she can make it. My sister replies, "Mom, you have nothing on your calendar. Just plan on it. I will pick you up." My sister also arranges to pick her up weekly to go see her 5th grade daughter play basketball. The little girls aren't very good yet, but my mother  doesn't have to hear to enjoy watching her little granddaughter run up and down the court.

For our mother and our family, having Mom move into a nice retirement community with her own little apartment that someone else vaccuums, is great. If she doesn't check in with the main desk by a certain time each morning, they call or come and visit her. This takes an enormous load of worry off of her children. She does have a computer and keeps in touch with us via email.

Even though this was a good decision for our mother, I can tell she is still lonely. All of her "neighbors" who she was so sure would become fast friends are mere acquaintances. She only sees her not wanting to go anywhere as being a mere "homebody." Thank goodness my sister lives near, as well as a few grandchildren, step-children, and step-grandchildren who visit her occasionally.

If we did not have family nearby to check on her regularly, we would definitely be in a position where we needed to hire someone to visit with her on a regular basis and get her out for activities. I cannot count on that she would do that on her own, even though it is offered through her retirement community. She is becoming way too much of a "homebody."

Thank goodness for caring family.

Karen Best Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
www.SeniorPro.com
www.BlogforHealthyLiving.com
www.GrandparentingBlog.com

What's the difference between LDL and Non-HDL Cholesterol?

When we think about Cholesterol, we usually just think about the "Bad" kind, LDL, and the "good" kind HDL. So what is the difference between LDL and non-HDL. One would tend to think that if it isn't HDL, it must be LDL. Well there is more to it than that. Since about half of heart attacks occur with people who have NORMAL LDL (the bad kind) cholesterol, scientists are researching why this is happening.

When HDL cholesterol is extracted from the entire cholesterol, the NON-HDL remains. This contains "remnants" of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), the main carriers of triglycerides.These remnants promote the buildup of plaque in arteries. Non-HDL cholesterol is better than LDL cholesterol alone at predicting cardiovascular risk, especially in people with elevated triglycerides.

People with type 2 diabetes often have elevated triglyceride levels but relatively normal LDL cholesterol values. Knowing this is important in assessing their risk for developing cardiovascular  disease. One good news is, there is no additional blood test required to determine the level of VLDL that carries triglycerides. For more information on this topic, click here, to visit the John Hopkins Health Alert, "What is Non-HDL Cholesterol?"

Karen Best Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
www.SeniorPro.com
www.BlogforHealthyLiving.com
www.GrandparentingBlog.com
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com

How to Talk to Your Parents About Getting In-home Assistance

Sometimes it is a gradual progression of declining health, or a form of dementia, and other times it can happen suddenly, without warning, a stroke, or heart attack. When our parents have difficulty living by themselves, it is often times the children who must then step in and find a solution. Sometimes parents may object to help or be very resistant for a variety of reasons, most often the main reason for the objections is that they just simply do not recognize the need themselves.

In the past if an elderly parent had difficulties living by themselves it was a signal that it was time for them to move in with family or move to a nursing home, and that is a big fear for elderly, but things have changed and now with a little planning and some assistance it is feasible for them to stay in their own for many years . This is called "Aging In Place". Here are a few questions and answers you may find helpful.

1.Why is Aging in Place desirable?

It is natural for most people to value their ability to live as independently as possible for as long as possible.Home health care can offer an affordable option to the high cost of an Assisted Living Residence or Nursing Home by promoting independence and offering  just the right amount of assistance when it is needed.

2. What types of assistance does a home health agency provide?

Well, think about everything you do for your elderly loved ones and all the little things that need to be done around a house everyday, like: doing dishes, cooking meals, doing laundry, cleaning and other chores. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some help with those tasks as well as making sure you loved ones are bathed, dressed and physically cared for properly, and are taking their medications correctly. Home health caregivers can also help by driving them to errands, hair appointments or to doctor appointments if needed. They can also provide skilled nursing services like medication management, would care, IV, and home blood draws to name a few.

3. How does a family know when your aging parents or loved ones need help?

There are several tell- tale warning signs that can let us know when it is time to get them the assistance they need, because ,if some of their basic needs are met by home health care workers, children and family can spend time with them, playing games, watching movies, reminiscing about family history or just talking and enjoying their time together.

4. What are those warning signs you were talking about?

 

Difficulty walkor unsteadiness on level ground-recent falls.

 

Poor Grooming, declining personal hygiene-soiled clothes.

 Loss of appetite, changes in cooking or eating habits.

Spoiled outdated food in fridge- little nutritious food in the home.
Diminished driving skills, recent accidents, near misses.

Loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed, reluctance to leave house.

Losing track of medications, missed doses, overdoses.

Memory loss, forgetfulness, confusion,

Persistent fatigue, lack of energy, sleeping for long periods.

Personality changes, irritability, sudden mood changes.

Unopened mail, pas due bills mishandled finances.

Not making sound decisions, not recognizing emergencies or knowing the
correct response.

Leaving the stove turned on, cigarettes burning, other unsafe conditions.

5. One you recognize that your parents are displaying several or all of these signs, what is the next step?

Recognizing that they need help is easy once you know what you are looking for, the next step, convincing them to accept that help in their home is often the most difficult. Resistance to any kind of change is common especially among the elderly population. Bringing in outside help is not a change most older folks are agreeable to, in spite of the obvious need. Understand that bring someone in from the outside to help them is perceived as a threat to their independence and privacy.

If your parents are living together; for instance suggest that his or her spouse might benefit from the help. It is less threatening. By allying yourself with the most independent parent they might both ultimately accept the help. 

Another approach might be to put the emphasis on getting help with some of the heavy housework, like vacuuming, not actual personal care. Or suggest help with driving to appointments or shopping, and hopefully they will see the value of having assistance and develop a trust with the caregiver then allowing them to provide other types of help like personal care.

If your loved one is living alone or with you, you might try putting the emphasis on yourself. Saying it would give you more time to focus on other things, that it would alleviate your worries while you are away from them. Downplay them as the cause, make it your need.

Another idea might be to enlist the help of a professional that your parents hold in high regard. They might accept advise from their physician, someone from the church or a long time family friend.

 

 

Dianne Campbell

Community Liaison

 A Preferred Nursing Service

www.APNursingService.com

Vitamin D for arthritis, bones, and depression

When we think of vitamin D, we usually think about sunshine. We get Vitamin D from the sun, so why be concerned? Studies show that many of us are actually Vitamin D deficient. Of course, people who live in Alaska may be more prone to a Vitamin D deficiency than someone in Florida, but not necessarily. Especially elderly individuals who stay inside most of the time.

Most of us know that we need Vitamin D for our bones because it promotes calcium absorption. However, Vitamin D also regulates about "1000 different genes including those that weed out precancerous cells and slow the runaway reproduction of cancer cells. Vitamin D also helps maintain a healthy immune system and activates cells that fight infection," according to a John Hopkins Health Alert. Scientists have discovered that Vitamin D deficiencies also affect arthritis and depression.

Vitamin D is not like other vitamins. It is actually an active steroid hormone that helps keep tissue and joints healthy and obviously so much more.

A Vitamin D deficiency can be detected by a simple blood test. However, there seems to be disagreement on how much is an optimal amount. It is believed that over the next few years the recommended amount of daily Vitamin D will be increased. Vitamin D is a fat soluable vitamin, so one would not want to take too much, but it is estimated that as many as 60% of the population actually get too little. Most experts agree Vitamin D blood levels should be 30 ng/mL or higher. Now that is not the amount of Vitamin D supplement you take. This is a question to ask your doctor the next time you or your loved one has blood work done. Have the doctor check your Vitamin D level and recommend whether or not you should take a supplement.

Click here to learn more about Vitamin D and arthritis from the Johns Hopkins Health Alert Newsletter.

Karen Best Wright, B.S. Health Education
www.SeniorPro.com