Archives for in home care chicago

How to be at ease with a new in-home caregiver

How to be at ease with a new in-home caregiver

September 27, 2012 | Comments Off on How to be at ease with a new in-home caregiver

Family members will often take on the added responsibility of taking care of an aging loved so as to not bring a caregiver into the home. Often the burden can be too great, but because of apprehension surrounding potential in-home care candidates, family members feel that they do not have any other choice. essay writing By understanding the demographics of the caregiver community, however, and by knowing the high level of standards placed on Freedom Home Care during the hiring process, we hope to diminish some of those uncertainties. As we here at Freedom Home Care have explained in past
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Considering a pet for your aging loved one

Considering a pet for your aging loved one

September 24, 2012 | No Comments

In the article “Our Pets, Our Health,” published by the Pet Information Bureau in Washington, D.C., editors explained the mental health benefits that can come from having a cat or dog in the home. And although there is some work associated with keeping a pet, there can be even greater rewards for it. “Many of us occasionally feel alienated from others and some of us, such as the elderly…feel this loneliness even more acutely,” the article explains. “Pets can help bridge this isolation by serving as a social catalyst between young and old.” As more and more aging individuals choose to live
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Six tips for delivering safety in the bathroom

Six tips for delivering safety in the bathroom

August 28, 2012 | Comments Off on Six tips for delivering safety in the bathroom

In yesterday’s post, we here at Freedom Home Care discussed the importance of creating a safe at-home living environment for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. And we started with the kitchen, one of the home’s top locations for accidents to occur. Bathrooms, however, can also provide special challenges for caregivers. Therefore, we’re delivering some of AgingCare.com’s best tips for how to create an enhanced level of safety in the bathroom. Here they are: 1. Whenever possible, bathtub and toilet areas should supply adequately anchored grab bars in both bathtub area and around the toilet. 2. Products such as raised toilet
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Four tips for creating a safe kitchen environment

Four tips for creating a safe kitchen environment

August 27, 2012 | Comments Off on Four tips for creating a safe kitchen environment

Providing a safe home environment for a loved one suffering with Alzheimer's is a top priority. And the caregivers at Freedom Home Care understand how important it is for a patient with Alzheimer’s or dementia to be safe and comfortable in their own homes. Therefore, over the course of the next few days, we here at FHC will dedicate our blog posts to providing helpful tips and methods to ensure the utmost level of in-home safety. According to the editors at AgingCare.com, “in the long run, adapting the home environment is much easier than trying to adapt behaviors that may
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Asking the right questions regarding in-home care

Asking the right questions regarding in-home care

August 24, 2012 | Comments Off on Asking the right questions regarding in-home care

Communication is truly the key to a successful in-home-care environment. As we mentioned in yesterday’s post, developing a plan before the need arises can ease the stress involved with transitioning into one’s twilight years. Therefore, creating an open forum for discussion within the family is essential when it comes to the specifics of everyday care. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, the first step in exploring care options is identifying what is most important to your aging loved one. “Projecting into the future is difficult, but it is important to educate yourself about choices and communicate how you feel about
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The NCOA debunks the myths of older adult falls

The NCOA debunks the myths of older adult falls

August 6, 2012 | Comments Off on The NCOA debunks the myths of older adult falls

The National Council on Aging is a great resource for older individuals as well as for the people who take care of them. Therefore, we here at Freedom Home Care tend to visit the NCOA’s website with a fair amount of frequency. When we stumbled on the article, “Debunking the Myths of Older Adult Falls,” we knew we had to share it with the regular visitors of our blogs. We hope you find it to be as enlightening as we did: Myth 1: Falling happens to other people, not to me. Reality: Many people think, “It won't happen to me.” But
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Celebrating Chicago’s North Shore communities

Celebrating Chicago’s North Shore communities

August 3, 2012 | Comments Off on Celebrating Chicago’s North Shore communities

More than 150 years ago, Europeans settled in what are now known as Chicago’s North Shore communities. After an 1833 treaty with local Native Americans, the area was free for the picking. Towns like Evanston rose up once Northwestern University opened its doors in 1855 and even more emerged upon the founding of Lake Forest College two years later. After the devastation of the Great Chicago Fire, city dwellers escaped to its quiet neighborhoods, building mansions and beautiful homes that still line the streets today. Ever since, the tight-knit communities have welcomed even more residents to raise families and open
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Feel comfortable and confident with your loved one's caregiver

Feel comfortable and confident with your loved one's caregiver

August 1, 2012 | Comments Off on Feel comfortable and confident with your loved one's caregiver

When your loved one opens his or her home to a new caregiver, the No. 1 hope is for that individual to become not only an aid but a friend, as well. A recent study, however, revealed that hiring a caregiver can open up the unfortunate opportunity to a host of concerns. The study, recently published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and funded by the National Institute on Aging, revealed poor hiring and screening practices by home-care agencies around the nation. According to an article published by NextAvenue.com, which summarized the study’s findings, including the responses of 180
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Competing in the 2012 Olympic Games at age 71

Competing in the 2012 Olympic Games at age 71

July 30, 2012 | Comments Off on Competing in the 2012 Olympic Games at age 71

Hiroshi Hoketsu of Japan, pictured here, is 71 years old and is, believe it or not, competing at the 2012 London Olympics in the individual dressage for Japan's equestrian team. According to an article recently published by the Huffington Post, Hoketsu isn’t just the oldest athlete to compete at London 2012; he's the oldest one to do so in the last 92 years. As we have come to understand, staying active at a later age in life is not just important; it is imperative. And physical activity isn’t just good for aging individuals; it’s good for people of all ages. Simple
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Three straightfoward questions to ask a potential caregiver

Three straightfoward questions to ask a potential caregiver

July 24, 2012 | Comments Off on Three straightfoward questions to ask a potential caregiver

When it comes to choosing a caregiver for your aging loved one, there are a lot of options. And we here at Freedom Home Care understand that it is not an easy decision to make. Therefore, to make the transition easier, we offer free in-home consultations in order for you to learn more about our services and to do so face to face. During the meeting – or while interviewing any potential caregiver – it’s important to ask the right questions. TodaysSeniors.com, a website dedicated to providing tips, news and advice plus reverse mortgage and Medicare tools for seniors and
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