Tips for the Sandwich Generation Caregiver

"More than 50 million Americans support themselves, their children and are becoming the primary caregiver for an aging parent. This growing group, known as the “Sandwich Generation”, faces the financial and emotional burdens of caring for multiple generations. As parents age and require more assistance and care, it may be time to investigate options." - Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio

As a caregiver, it's equally as important to care for yourself. The Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio offers four tips for sandwich generation caregivers to obtain balance between taking care of their children and their older loved ones. 

Regardless of what holiday it is, here are 10 gifts to give yourself year round. 

New Years Resolutions: Live well, Eat well, and Love well

Why make a New Years resolutions unless it will have a positive impact, right? 

So this New Year, make a realist resolution within the three Healthy Now and Later wellness categories:

Live well
If you have a dream that you've given up on due to time, past failure, or discouragement, pick it up again. If there is a skill or sport that you always wanted to be better at, out it into your schedule. There is no time like the present to go after your aspirations and goals. You never know where it will lead you. Likewise, try something new that may increase your health or happiness. 

Eat well
It's easier than ever to find healthy recipes or purchase healthy alternatives. Pick one day of the week to indulge in your favorite junk food, but research the majority of the week to eating healthy. As they say, "you are what you eat". 

Love well
Quality time with close friends and special family members is priceless. Cut out negative relationships and avoid unnecessary drama that only results in stress. Seek out people and relationships that bring out the best you. 

Make 2014 the year of wellness. As you live well, eat well, and love well, you will notice that ultimately you are prolonging your years of healthy and happy living. 


Join me on Monday, December 30th at 7pmET for a Tweetchat at #Nurseup to share your New Years Resolutions to Live well, Eat well, and Love well. I'll be sharing mine as well! My name is Leah Korkis and I am a nurse and caregiver. I'm founder of Healthy Now and Later, a site and forum devoting to health living for caregivers and those 55+. Hope to see you then! 

What Does "Retirement" Mean to You: 8 Unique Retirement Communities

"Aspiring Hemingways, die-hard recreational-vehicle fans, Harley-obsessed boomers: If you’re feeling a little uninspired about your retirement options (another community based around a golf course? Really?), you’re in luck. A new breed of retirement community is catering to those whose interests lie a little outside the mainstream.

The number of retirement communities that serve a specific niche, a group of people that share a common background or interest, is on the rise." - Catey Hill of The Wall Street Journal 

That's right! The Wall Street Journal officially announced an increase popularity of niche communities. Neil Schuster, founder of niche community Lake Weir Living commented, “The typical cookie-cutter gated community is over-saturated…a lot of people just don’t want that.”

Whether you are a theatre buff, crazy for cats, a technology buff, or a retired postal worker. There is now a perfect place just for you. Here are links to a few of these oases: 

• Lassell Village: Requires residents to attend 450 hours of class a year. Setup is similar to college.
• Lake Weir Living: For retirees who enjoy their big toys. Homes and surroundings are accommodating of RVs, motorcycles, boat, multiple cars, etc. 
• Aegis Gardens: With a design focused on Feng Shui, residents may participate in activities including tai-chi, calligraphy, and mahjong.  
• NoHo Senior Arts Colony: Exclusive to artists, actors/actresses, or those of the creative arts, residents have full access to numerous art rooms and theaters.   

I want to hear from you! 

What would your ideal retirement community have? 

 

Older Patient Hospitalization: Preventing Readmission

"There’s a 1 in 5 chance that an older patient who has had a common surgery will end up in the emergency room within 30 days of their hospital stay, according to a new study in Health Affairs. Transitions from hospitals to the outpatient setting can be dangerous for many older adults. As patients are still recovering when they are discharged from the hospital, they might not understand or remember instructions about caring for themselves at home. Often, older patients don’t see their primary care doctors for follow up care and don’t take their medications properly." And you can help with the information offered by author Martine Ehrenclou. In a recent blog post she features 10 tips to prevent readmission. 

You can also check out Ehrenclou's books: 

• Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide To Get Your Loved One Out Alive
• The Take-Charge Patient: How You can Get The Best Medical Care

New Norms: A Short Story

It was a quiet night. The full moon cast mysterious shadows across the empty streets.

A woman lay next to her husband, her eyes gazing into the swirling darkness above her. Slowly she pulled the covers back, put on her robe, wondered into the hallway and followed the stair railing down into the kitchen. With a long sigh, the woman light a few candles and took out several bowls, flour, eggs, and butter.  

The husband upstair slept soundly and loudly. He took a deep breath in of cinnamon and opened his eyes. He quickly pulled the covers back, put on his robe, and followed the smell down to the kitchen. The wife poured him a couple fingers of scotch to help him go back to sleep as they sat in the candlelight.

Instead of getting him tired, it only brought to memory the dream he had that night. He remembered that he was in the wings on a theatre being dressed and made up to go on stage, though he had no idea what play this was. He kept asking and the lady of his dream would only say, 'you'll be ok, you'll be ok'. She then gave him a little push and just as he walked out on stage he woke up to the smell of the exact same cookies his mother used to make. He went on to tell about how his mother would make these cookies year after year and he couldn't recall a time when he had ever thanked her. He thought back, back, and he couldn't remember a single time when he had.

They sat down in the kitchen while the second batch of cookies baked. The wife said she had similar dreams to this. She was supposed to go out and sing in Church but had no idea what song. She was walking down the isles of the Church, perspiring, though people around her said, 'it'll be ok, it'll be ok'. Just as someone said, 'it will come to you', she woke up.

The husband and wife became to wonder if these dreams of terror and uncertainty had a meaning. They wondered together about their children who had all moved away, if they were just fine. As empty nesters in the 50s, they were now living just the two of them. No, they thought, their children were ok. All happy, healthy, and successful in their own endeavors. Though, as new parents they were recall being terrified of not knowing what to do with the small infant, or the teenager, or the college bound young adult. In fact, sometime now they even wonder what to do as empty nesters.

They realized then, all the new norms they had overcome over the years: moving, job hopping, children, etc. Along the way they worried about the next steps, and yet somehow they made it through ok.

Caregiver Legislation

Commission on Long Term Care: A Congressional Report 

"The Commission on Long Term Care released its report to Congress, with recommendations on how to integrate and fund the American system of long-term care. The report addressed four main areas: Service Delivery, Workforce, Finance, and formation of a National Advisory Committee on Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS). Family caregivers are recognized as being the backbone of the LTC system, providing a majority of care in the U.S. The workforce section of the report states a vision of an LTSS system that supports family caregivers while attracting and retaining a competent workforce that will provide high quality person- and family-centered care in all settings. Recommendations for improvement include: involving the family caregiver and considering their needs in the assessment and care planning; ensuring family caregivers access to relevant information through technology to facilitate care, communication and decision making; inclusion of family caregivers as part of the care team and in the patients' records; and providing opportunities for caregiver interventions, including respite and integration with volunteer services."- Caregiver.org

For more information about legislation introduced at the state and federal levels, go to the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) online database of current legislation and bills related to family caregiving. Archived bills can be searched by state or by the policy strategy used to support family caregivers, such as tax incentives, Medicaid policies, or respite assistance.

Population Aging Research Redefined

Fairly often I hear people say, "You're as old as you feel" or "45 is the new 35".

Turns out, they might actually be true. 

In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Population and Development Review in 2013 population researchers Warren Sanderson and Sergei Scherbov redefines the way demographers study population aging. 

Previously, studies on aging highlighted one characteristic: chronological age. However with the rising average age of athletes, new mothers, and ultimately end of life, Sanderson and Scherbov sought to go beyond the number. 

“Your true age is not just the number of years you have lived,” said researcher Sergei Scherbov, Ph.D., of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. It also includes characteristics such as health, cognitive function, and disability rates.

The new study provides a framework for measuring aging based on characteristics of people that change with age, including life expectancy, health, cognitive function and other measures. These measures can be used by demographers to better understanding aging societies.

Demographers have traditionally not used such measures in studies of population and society, leading to strangely different research findings by country for each age group.

However, as lifespans get longer the same age no longer correlates with the same level of health and other such characteristics. The same is true in countries and cultures around the world.

“We used to consider people old at age 65,” said Scherbov. “Today, someone who is 65 may be more like someone who was 55, forty-fifty years ago in terms of many important aspects of their lives.”

Sherbov points out that, "aging is multidimentional", therefore by incorporate how people actually function, the study seeks to provide the foundation of a much richer and more realistic view of population aging.

This holistic approach may bring to light diets, lifestyles, and/or environments ideal for healthy aging, maintaining high quality of life, and perhaps longer lifespans. 

Reference: 

Sanderson, W. C., Scherbov, S. (2013). The characteristics approach to the measurement of population aging. Population and Development Review. 39: 673–685. doi: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2013.00633.x

Words of Wisdom at 94

  

This year my Grandma turns 94. Filled with spirit and spunk, 

there she is blowing a kiss from her front window.

Over the years she's given me several words of wisdom, some funny, some didn't make sense till later, but all play like a recording in my mind. Here are 20 of my favorite words of wisdom. Feel free to comment with the sayings or wisdom of your loved one. 

1. The only thing guaranteed in life is change. 
2. You can't hide broccoli in milk, so you may as well spill the milk and feed the broccoli to the dog while no one is watching. 
3. You will reap the seeds you sow. 
4. Measure twice, cut once.
5. Take a picture with your mind and the memory will forever be in your heart.
6. Laugh loudly--no one should ever have to restrain their joy. 
7. Don't mistake my kindness for weakness. 
8. When all else fails, suck it up!
9. Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it. 
10. Run from the person who says, "I want change"but never let go of the one who says, "lets change". 
11. Why you do something is infinitely more important than the how. 
12. Always, always always, have more jelly than peanut butter in your PB&J sandwich. 
13. Love is a choice, not a feeling. 
14. If you don't have the time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over? 
15. Everyone has two wolfs in them, one is Good and the other is Evil. Pick which wolf you want to feed. 
16. Comparison is the thief of joy.
17. Well done is better than well said. 
18. Be the kind of person you want to meet. 
19. Counting others sins does not make you a saint. 
20. Love is the true price of love.  

Good News: Strokes Fatalities on the Decline

The December 2013 edition of the American Heart Association journal Stroke released a statement saying that stroke deaths in the United States have declined dramatically in recent decades due to improved treatment and prevention. 

"The decline in stroke deaths is one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th and 21st centuries," said Daniel T. Lackland, Dr. P.H., chair of the statement writing committee and professor of epidemiology at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, S.C. "The decline is real, not a statistical fluke or the result of more people dying of lung disease, the third leading cause of death."

Public health efforts including lowering blood pressure and hypertension control that started in the 1970s have contributed greatly to the change, Lackland said. It's estimated that there has been a 30% reduction, dropping stroke from the third leading cause of death, to now the fourth. 

In addition, smoking cessation programs, diabetes education and management, cholesterol control, now has better and faster treatments than ever before. All of which play a pivotal role in preventing strokes. Notwithstanding, improvement in acute stroke care and treatment is also associated with lower death rates.

"We can't attribute these positive changes to any one or two specific actions or factors as many different prevention and treatment strategies had a positive impact," Lackland said. "Policymakers now have evidence that the money spent on stroke research and programs aimed at stroke prevention and treatment have been spent wisely and lives have been saved. For the public, the effort you put into lowering your blood pressure, stopping smoking, controlling your cholesterol and diabetes, exercising and eating less salt has paid off with a lower risk of stroke."

Stroke deaths dropped in men and women of all racial/ethnic groups and ages, he said.

Know the Signs- Remember FAST

Face- Ask the person to smile. Does the side of  their face droop? 

Arms- Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm droop downward? 

Speech- Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?

Time- If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1. Time is brain! 

Other symptoms include sudden numbness or weakness (especially on one side of the body), confusion, trouble speaking or understanding, trouble seeing in one or both eyes, trouble walking, dizziness, or severe headache. It is important to keep you loved one safe during this time but sitting them or laying them down. Do not give them food, liquid, or medications at this time. Simply call 9-1-1. 

If the symptoms subside after several minutes, this is still reason to call the doctor as it may be a "mini-stroke" or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA). 

You never know when you may save the life of your loved one. 


REFERENCES: 
Stroke. 2013: published online before print December 5, 2013, 10.1161/01.str.0000437068.30550.cf.
University of Alabama at Birmingham, news release, Nov. 21, 2013

Put Preventative Care on the Calendar

Those famous birthday landmarks: 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80... 

Some see them as milestones, others see them as wrinkles, however your doctor sees them completely different. With age, comes the increased risk of certain types of health conditions. In fact there are screenings, tests, and vaccinations that are highly encouraged based solely on age. But who can keep track of them!?

Let me introduce you to the Aging for Healthcare Research and Quality Electronic Preventative Services Selector (AHRQ ePSS). Based on five questions (including your age), this program will give you a printable list of health promotion and prevention recommendations unique to you. 

 Consider that in 2012, a scant 3 percent of current health care spending in the United States is now focused on prevention and public health, while a whopping 75 percent of health care costs are related to preventable conditions. The United States can — and must — do better, especially considering that its per capita health care spending is twice the average of other industrialized nations even as it still ranks a dismal 24th out of 30 for life expectancy.

Obamacare will radically change this, offering free (yes, free) preventative care. 

Today people are living longer but are also spending more time living with chronic ailments. Over the course of the 20th century, global life expectancy soared by 30 years, 25 of which stemmed from public health advances such as improved sanitation, environmental advances, vaccine campaigns, and tobacco control. 

So at your next milestone, put preventative care on your calendar. You and your loved ones can be the start of a new statistics of people who choose to max out their preventative care and take care of things early. It's never too late to start. 

Caregiver Travel Guide

Traveling with a loved one who have a chronic health condition or memory impairment may be more difficult, however there are certainly steps that can be taken that make the trip well worth it. Melissa Kahn, founder of Kahn Healthcare Consulting LLC and author of The Personal Healthcare Passport says, "Just because someone is living with a chronic condition, it shouldn't prevent them from traveling to visit loved ones, going to new destinations, and having new experiences." Here are some tips to help you along:  

1. Plan Ahead

     Start off at your health care provider. Once you get the ok, have them give you written prescriptions just in case the bottles you take with you are lost. While at your healthcare providers, ask for the name of a doctor or a hospital in the area that you're traveling, in case you need to see someone. If you're going to a location that is in a different time zone, find out if medication dosing times need to be changed. From there, something like shipping supplies or suit cases to your destination may be a good way of minimizing the amount of baggage you carry while traveling. Call the travel company ahead and find out what supplies you can and cannot take onboard. For example, oxygen tanks cannot be taking on board planes. Another good thing is to ask for travel assistance between flights or ask for permission to board early. As for your carry on, always carry medications with you along with a medication list, and bring a pack of goodies, puzzles, a photo album, Ipod with books on tape or movies, etc. Especially for those with memory impairment, things that are familiar such as a specific board game or movie will help ease their anxiety during travel.  They key being, plan ahead to minimize stress. 

2. Have Realistic Expectation

     Be mindful of nonverbal cues of your loved one while traveling. So much stimulus can be exhausting, not to mention the fact that they now have a new routine. Go less by the clock, and more by what they are experiencing in terms of when to eat, rest, etc.

3. Anticipate Needs

    With certain medical conditions comes the need to adapt, particularly to changing environments. For example, someone with heart disease may benefit from wearing support hose for long plane flight to prevent swelling in their legs. Other things to consider might be an extra pair of undergarments and disposable wipes, ear plugs, eye mask, special utensils, and so forth. Likewise, consider travel insurance or find out if your medical insurance covers you and/or your loved at your travel destination (particularly if you're traveling to another country). 

4. Be Flexible

    It's no secret that the travel industry has seen a lot of changes over the past decade. With that in mind, try to find airlines, cruises and hotels that are age friendly. Keep in mind that you might not be able to do some things due to these regulations, however a travel company that is used to catering to health needs, may be more accommodating. Ultimately, expect the unexpected.  


This Monday, December 16th, join me along with other healthcare professionals and caregivers for a Tweetchat to discuss travel woes, the do's and don'ts of flying with elderly loved ones, how to find an age friendly travel company, and hear lots of great tips to help you enjoy your travel this holiday season. The Tweetchat starts at 4pmPT/7pmET at #Nurseup.  

Savvy Baby Boomers Push the Envelope

Savvy boomers are pushing the envelop for senior living. More and more, 50-somethings are relying on the Internet for initial research on senior living and other health care products and services. 

According to Andy Cohen, the co-founder and CEO of Caring.com - more than 50% of the senior living industry's referrals are coming from the web.In the 2012  study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, titled Baby Boomers and Digital Technology, close to 77% of the boomers, ages 47 to 65 are Internet users. According to the same study, 91% of that age group use the Internet for Search Engine activities and 81% use the Internet to Research products and services.

Social networks are also acquiring more senior users with each passing year. The Pew study demonstrates that internet users aged 74+ have experienced the fastest growth in use of social networking sites, which has quadrupled since 2008. Since social media users are significantly more likely to check their email frequently, the rise in social networking among senior citizens signals a further increase in frequent email use.

By 2015, eMarketer forecasts there will be over 26 million senior internet users in the U.S. By 2030, when tech-savvy baby boomers will mature into this demographic, the US Census Bureau predicts nearly one in five Americans will be seniors — a citizen demographic that cannot be ignored.

So what does this mean for longer term care and retirement homes? Like restaurants, senior living facilities will need to keep close tabs on their online reviews, rankings, and "google-ability". 

1) Review are crucial. About 87% of U.S. consumers trust local businesses after reading positive online reviews.

2) Dozens of senior care facility directories are popping up all over the internet. If you're not on the list, you will most likely go unnoticed. 

3) According to HubSpot (2012), 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. Talk about pressure.

Meanwhile, games like bridge, shuffle, and dominos will be hitting the shelf, while e-readers, I-pads, and outlets will become a hot commodities. 

Where do you see the future of long term care and senior living communities? Will admission decrease or increase over the next 15-20 years? 

Are You A "Healthy Ager"?

A new study finds that exercise among older adults helps ward off depression, dementia and other health problems, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

The researchers found that exercise increased the odds of healthy aging as much as sevenfold. Even better news, it's never too late to start: Even adults who begin exercising later in life could increase their odds of healthy aging threefold.

The report was published online Nov. 25, 2013 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

"In a growing elderly population, it is important to encourage healthy aging. Physical activity is effective in maintaining health in old age," said lead researcher Mark Hamer, from the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London, in England. "Encouraging physical activity in older adults is of benefit, and small changes are also linked to healthier aging." 

Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist and exercise physiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said it's no secret that physical activity and exercise are good for us. "What this study emphasizes is that the 'I'm too old' excuse doesn't fly, because it is never too late to get your fanny off the couch and out the door for some exercise," she said.

The benefits of exercise include improved bone, muscle, cardiovascular and organ health. Even better circulation and brain benefits like an increase in communication between neurons. In fact Heller confirmed that exercise may slow the brain tissue loss associated with aging and mental decline.

"The question we face now is, How do we motivate and support people of all ages to get moving and keep moving? There is an undeniable resistance among non-exercisers to the notion of motion," Heller said. "On an individual level, we can gently insist that family and friends join us in regular walks, a dance or yoga class, a game of tag, or an exercise DVD."

Partnering with someone is a real motivator or even investing money so the money isn't "lost" if the membership or equipment goes untouched. 

For the study, Hamer and his colleagues collected data on nearly 3,500 people with an average age of 64 who participated in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging. The researchers kept track of their exercise, along with serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, emphysema and Alzheimer's disease. They also monitored the participants' mental health and physical strength. 

Over eight years, almost one in 10 participants became active and 70 percent remained active. The others stayed inactive or became inactive.

By the end of the study, almost 40% of the participants developed a chronic medical condition, almost 20% were depressed and one-third had a disability.

1 in 5, however, was considered by the researchers to be a "healthy ager," an obvious association being between healthy aging and exercise. 

The researchers found that people who partook in moderate or vigorous physical activity at least once a week were 3-4 times more likely to be healthy agers, compared with those who remained inactive. People who were active at the start of the study were 7 times more likely to be healthy agers than people who were inactive and remained so. 

The CDC recommends 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise a week, or 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorously intense exercise, along with two or more days of muscle strength training. If you're not already, this may be a great New Years Resolution (*hint* hint*).    

Reference:
Hamer, M., Lavoie, K., Bacon, S. (2013). Taking up physical activity in later life and healthy ageing: The English longitudinal study of ageing. Br J Sports Med doi:10.1136/bjsports-2013-092993

Strategies To Help Increase Your Participation With Your Healthcare Provider

Many patients are nervous about asking questions of their doctors, afraid of being labeled as ‘difficult’ or taking up too much of their provider’s time. Patients resist speaking up, according to a new Health Affairs study.

I [Martine Ehrenclou] interviewed several health psychologists for my new book, The Take-Charge Patient: How You Can Get the Best Medical Care to find out why patients tend to be submissive and timid with their doctors. Several explained that patients tend to relate to their doctors as they do to authority figures in their lives, which directly relates to the power imbalance. Others mentioned that patient’s health worries influence their confidence when interacting with providers. Increasing confidence as a patient will help you interact more effectively and maximize your engagement in your health care.

Consider your own vulnerability when you don’t feel well and you see your doctor for a medical visit, especially if the doctor is rushed and moves quickly to assess your symptoms and arrive at a diagnosis. You are dependent on your doctor’s expertise and good will, his or her ability to diagnose you correctly and provide a treatment plan that works for you.

Following are a number of strategies that will help reduce your anxiety and increase your participation in care.

1. Find a doctor who welcomes your participation. Look for a physician who accepts and welcomes your questions. Good communication is essential for a successful relationship with your doctor. Good doctors are good communicators and listeners. If you feel that your doctor does not value your contribution and isn’t really listening to you, walk away.
2. Prepare ahead of time before your medical appointment. List your top three medical concerns and create a list of questions for your doctor. If you are prepared for your office visit, you’ll feel less anxious and more able to ask questions. Also create a list of your current medications and their dosages, over-the-counter medications, herbs and supplements, and allergies to medications. Bring it with you to every doctor/medical office visit. In addition, create a brief health summary about how you have been feeling and list any changes in your health, changes in medications, other physicians you’ve seen and for which medical reasons.
3. Create a simple health history of major medical events over your lifetime such as births, surgeries, procedures, major tests and current medical diagnoses. This allows a new doctor to see a snapshot of what you’ve been through. By creating this, it also increases your familiarity with what you’ve experienced, which in turn increases your confidence.
4. Create a symptom diary. For a week or two before you see your doctor, take note of any symptoms you want addressed by your physician such as when they started, what makes them worse or better and the time of day they occur. This will help facilitate an accurate diagnosis and you’ll present as a patient invested in your health who values the time spent with the medical provider. This also familiarizes you with your symptoms over a period of time and increases your confidence so you can discuss them with your doctor.
5. Obtain copies of your medical records from your doctor(s) over the last five years. This includes copies of pertinent test results and reports, MRIs, CT scans etc. Place them in a health file. This allows you control over your own medical records and gives you the freedom to bring copies of pertinent test results or reports to a medical provider, instead of relying on a doctor’s office or imaging center to do this for you. The latter may not happen in a timely manner or at all.
6. Do a little research. If a medical professional has given you a diagnosis and/or treatment plan, do some research from credible resources such as academic, government or professional medical society/academy websites. These end in .gov, .edu, and .org. Doing research on your own gets you more informed so you can evaluate what is best for you. It empowers and prepares you to ask questions of your doctor.
7. This is your time with the doctor. Remember, this is your office visit and you are paying for it. Many patients are fearful of using up too much of the doctor’s time and resist asking important questions. This backfires for the patient and the doctor.

Most importantly, be assertive!

By: Martine Ehrenclou, M.A., is an award-winning author, patient advocate and speaker. Her newest health book, The Take-Charge Patient: How You Can Get The Best Medical Care, winner of sixteen book awards, empowers readers to become proactive and effective participants in their own health care.  You can find out more about her and her book by visiting www.thetakechargepatient.com. 

Fall Prevention Made Simple

If you have fallen lately, you are not alone. 

There are more than 11 million people over the age of 65 fall every year who fall -- that's 1 of every 3. With videos like "Scarlet Took a Tumble" going viral on youtube, a fall might not seem like anything too serious. However, countless times as a nurse I see broken bones, internal bleeding and death, due to a fall. 

There are a handful of things that can be done to prevent a fall. 

First step: Walk

The first step to fall prevention is to perform an assessment by walking the living space to see if you can fluidly go from room to room and from furniture to furniture. Do you have to navigate between furniture or avoid bulky shelves? Are there unmarked steps that have no side-rail? Is the lighting dim or the switch hard to find? All of the above are hazards. You may know that they are there, but when the going gets...well, going, these things can easily be missed. 

Step two: Plan

Brainstorm what can be done to reduce these hazards. Often, the simplest answer is the best answer. Instead of considering how to sell the bulky furniture, simply think how it came be arranged to where the legs are not within a high traffic walking area. Instead of throwing out flowerpots, simply put them on tables or shelves. A solid plan of action will make for easier implementation.

Step three: Do

 Time to put your plans to action. Remove rugs, add a rubber mat to the bathtub, install ramps or handlebars and railings, and arrange furniture. 

Step Four: Evaluate 

Make sure the changes fit the lifestyle and reducing the risk of falls. Do another walk through and assess your changes. Ask someone else for a second opinion. This process of evaluating is continuous, as needs change and new norms are established. 

This plan of action for fall prevention can be applied to any location: home, hotel, hospital room, assisted living community, etc. Take advantage of these basic tips and prevent falls today. 

This post is in honor of my Aunt Sunny who passed away Sunday, December 2nd, 2013 after a fall. Her sunny spirit lives on in my family's memories. 

Join me Monday, December 9th, on Twitter to chat more about how to fall-proof the living space of your loved one. The TweetChat starts at 4pmPT/7pmET at #Nurseup. See you there! 

Below are a list of changes from HipProtector.com: 

Bathroom

Grab bars to get into and out of the tub

Use a bath chair or stool in the shower

Don't use throw rugs or wax on the bathroom floor

Use a raised toilet seat with arm rails

Buy soap on a rope, or put a bar of soap in a nylon stocking with one end tied to a towel bar

Bedroom

Never get up in the dark - make sure the room is well lit

Keep light switch close to bed 

Avoid slippery socks or slippers

Consider using a Bed Transfer Handle or Bed Security Rail

Hide all loose extension cords

Use carpets and rugs with skid-proof backing or tacked to the floor

Kitchen

Use a long-handled sponge/mop to wipe up spills

Keep your floors smooth but not slippery

Store your often-used supplies in easy-to-reach cabinets

Avoid hard-to-reach wall phones; consider a cordless phone that can be carried from room to room, or a counter model

Around the House

To be safer, consider using a Medical Alarm / PERS System

Stairwells should be well lit; consider nightlights for hallways and bathrooms

Wear low-heeled, comfortable shoes with nonskid soles;

Don't walk around in socks, slippers, or stockings on bare floors

Keep rooms and hallways free of clutter

Make sure carpets, including those on stairs, have skidproof backing or are tacked to the floor