Senior Independent Living

Consider Senior Independent Living

There really is no place like home. When asked about their preference for housing, most seniors answer, “What l would really like to do is to stay right here.” The person’s own home represents security and independence to most Americans.

Most housing, however, is designed for young. active and mobile people. To live at home, a person must, at the very least, have access to transportation, go shopping, cook. and do household chores. Many of us will lose one or more of these abilities as we grow older.

Nursing HomesOne option is to purchase in home services, to cope with declining abilities. For a fee, an army of workers will appear to cut your grass, wash your windows, cook your meals, do the shopping, and even provide personal care and/or refer your to local memory care facilities. This may be the option for you, depending on the amount of help you need. However, this can be expensive and will require a lot of management and coordination.

For people willing to relocate, there are plenty of options, although there may be some confusion about what all the terms mean. You may hear about “board and care homes,” “personal care homes,” “life care” and “continuing care retirement facilities.” All refer ‘to some type of “assisted living” or service-oriented housing. Alternatively you can consider respite care which is a flexible way to get short or long-term help.

Housing With Services for Seniors

As we age, we want to focus more on activities we enjoy than on the trivial ones. If you feel this way and you’re looking for an environment that will let you focus on the activities and people you enjoy, than housing with services is the place for you. It provides a home in which your medical as well as general clean needs are managed for you.

Housing with Services Include:

  • Assisted Living
  • Board & Care
  • CCRC

Senior Residential Health Care

There are several types of residential care options available in most senior living communities. However, the names used to refer to each type may vary from state to state. In addition, some types will be licensed and required to follow set regulations. It is important to remember that not all settings within any category will be appropriate for people with dementia, or may not be able to provide care throughout the progression of the disease. Therefore, consider how long a setting will be appropriate and when another move may be required. Keep in mind, that moving a person with dementia into a new environment can cause increased agitation and confusion.

Choosing a Nursing Home

Convalescent HomeFor many caregivers, there comes a point when they are no longer able to take care of their loved one at home. Choosing a residential care facility — a nursing home or an assisted living facility — is a big decision, and it can be hard to know where to start. Websites like seniorliving.com could aid in your selection process.

  • Gather  information about services and options before the need actually arises. This gives you time to explore fully all the possibilities before making a decision.
  • Determine what facilities are in your area. Doctors, friends and relatives, hospital social workers, and religious organizations may be able to help you identify specific facilities.
  • Make a list of questions you would like to ask the staff. Think about what is important to you, such as activity programs, transportation, or special units for people with AD.
  • Contact the places that interest you and make an appointment to visit. Talk to the administration, nursing staff, and residents.
  • Observe the way the facility runs and how residents are treated. You may want to drop by again unannounced to see if your impressions are the same.
  • Find out what kinds of programs and services are offered for people with AD and their families. Ask about staff training in dementia care, and check to see what the policy is about family participation in planning patient care.
  • Check on room availability, cost and method of payment, and participation in Medicare or Medicaid. You may want to place your name on a waiting list even if you are not ready to make an immediate decision about long-term care.
  • Once you have made a decision, be sure you understand the terms of the contract and financial agreement. You may want to have a lawyer review the documents with you before signing.
  • Moving is a big change for both the person with AD and the caregiver. A social worker may be able to help you plan for and adjust to the move. It is important to have support during this difficult transition.

 

senior citizen day care center

Senior Care and Special Diets for The Elderly

When Janette Miller, from San Diego County, could no longer feed herself properly, she moved to an elderly home under the PACE Program. Short for Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly. Today, she can enjoy three meals a day served to her and about thirty other people in their home-like communal dining room.

To qualify for the PACE Program, a person must be age 55 or over, live in a PACE service area, and be certified by the state to need a nursing home level care.

PACE ProgramThe typical PACE participant is similar to the average nursing home resident. The typical participant is an 55+ year old individual with several medical conditions and limitations in three activities of daily living. Nearly 50% (fifty percent) of PACE participants have been diagnosed with dementia. Despite a high level of care needs, more than ninety percent of PACE participants are able to continue to live in their community.

When James of Chula Vista, San Diego County, could no longer feed himself properly, he moved in with his daughter and her family. With her guidance, he ate six times a day, snacking on high-calorie, high-protein foods, and maintaining a near-normal weight.

Living alone in most cases, they often are unable to meet their dietary needs and are forced to make compromises. David didn’t know how to cook. He developed cancer, which made it even more important that he eat a well-balanced diet. Deanne knew how to cook but didn’t take time to prepare adequate meals for herself.

“I would snack is what I’d do,” she said. “I would think about getting a meal and then just have a cup of tea and toast. I knew I wasn’t doing the right thing as far as nutrition was concerned.”

Their eating problems stemmed from loneliness and lack of desire or skill to cook. Other older people may eat poorly for other reasons, ranging from financial difficulties to physical problems.

The solutions can be just as varied, from finding alternative living arrangements to accepting home-delivered meals to using the food label developed by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Physical activity also is important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

What’s the big deal with senior elderly care you might wonder?

Nutrition remains important throughout life. Many chronic diseases that develop late in life, such as osteoporosis, can be influenced by earlier poor habits. Insufficient exercise and calcium intake, especially during adolescence and early adulthood, can significantly increase the risk of osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to become brittle and crack or break easily.
But good nutrition in the later years still can help lessen the effects of diseases prevalent among older Americans or improve the quality of life in people who have such diseases. They include osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, gastrointestinal problems, and chronic undernutrition. elderly home

Studies show that a good diet in later years helps both in reducing the risk of these diseases and in managing the diseases’ signs and symptoms. This contributes to a higher quality of life, enabling older people to maintain their independence by continuing to perform basic daily activities, such as bathing, dressing and eating. Poor nutrition, on the other hand, can prolong recovery from illnesses, increase the costs and incidence of institutionalization, and lead to a poorer quality of life.

Senior Care and Special Diets

At the same time, many older people, because of chronic medical problems, may require special diets: for example, a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet for heart disease, a low-sodium diet for high blood pressure, or a low-calorie diet for weight reduction. Special diets often require extra effort, but older people may instead settle for foods that are quick and easy to prepare, such as frozen dinners, canned foods, lunch meats, and others that may provide too many calories, or contain too much fat and sodium for their needs.

Program of All-inclusive Care For the Elderly (PACE)

Proper medical care is crucial to your health. At St.Paul’s program of all-inclusive care for the elderly health center, we provide what you need to stay active, healthy, and alert. At our medical branch, you can have your primary care doctor check-up on your medical needs, but we offer far more in terms of your health and wellbeing.

St. Paul’s PACE Medical Care

In addition to your primary care physician, we offer many specialists who can provide you with expert medical attention in a variety of fields which include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Audiologist: Hearing Specialist
  • Dentist: Care of Your Teeth
  • Optometrist: Vision Specialist
  • Podiatrist: Care for Your Feet

In addition, we have a psychologist that visits our PACE health center weekly to provide support and treatment for conditions related to your mental wellbeing. From depression to anxiety and more, we offer what you need to help you when need it the most.

If you need to see a specialist, all appointments are handled through your primary care physician along with being approved by your care team. Our goal is to ensure that you get the best medical treatment and that everyone associated is involved so the best-informed decisions can be made.

You can visit our St.Paul’s PACE Reasner Center in San Diego for your medical needs. The fully trained staff, nurses, and physicians on call are there to help you with the proper treatments. You can also visit our St.Paul’s PACE Akaloa Center in Chula Vista or our St. Paul’s PACE East in El Cajon if they are closer to your location.

Our Services to You

As a participant in our St.Paul’s PACE center, your medications will be properly supervised and prescribed by your primary care physician which greatly reduces the chance of accidents from occurring.

In addition, we provide PACE nursing emergency support 24/7, which means that you can see and speak with a fully-trained nurse who will work with you no matter the time of day. We also provide quick access to your medical records in real time to answer any questions that you might have. It is recommended that your family be contacted in a reasonable amount of time if you are accessing your medical records or have need of our emergency services.

We do advise that you give our PACE San Diego staff at least 24 hours-notice to refill your prescriptions to prevent any unwanted situations from occurring. Our PACE nursing staff will be here to help in answering your questions, so you get the best care possible.

If you need medical assistance, help with your prescriptions, or just have questions to ask our PACE nursing staff, feel free to call or come by our St.Paul’s PACE Reasner Center in San Diego and we’ll provide the answers. You can also visit our St.Paul’s PACE Akaloa Center in Chula Vista or stop by our St.Paul’s PACE East in El Cajon if they are closer and more convenient to where you live.

Who will be my doctor?

You can continue to receive care from your primary care physician if he or she participates in PACE. Or, if you choose, in one of the fully equipped health clinics located right in our PACE day centers. If you need care from a specialist or in a hospital, you can choose from among the hundreds of doctors and hospitals in our provider network. Click here to learn more about program of all-inclusive care for the elderly.