by Janet Campbell, Founder of ElderSpark
April is Occupational Therapy (OT) Month. Occupational therapists are a valuable resource for caring for patients at home. Keeping patients safe at home can be a challenge related to bathing, excessive clutter, unsafe pathways, etc. Leverage your OTs to assist working with patients and families to develop a safety plan to reduce hazards. An HHQI Underserved Population webinar, Compulsive Hoarding for Care Managers, can provide insight with the clinical team addressing barriers, including therapists. Today’s blog provides great insights for you as the reader or to share with patients/families or friends.
Let’s face it. No move is easy. Whether you’re heading off to college, moving in with a significant other, or upsizing to accommodate your growing family, every move has its own unique set of challenges.
One of the most difficult moves of all, however, is your last. While there are many benefits to downsizing as you age — like lower energy bills, less maintenance, and proximity to your loved ones — the physical and emotional strain of packing up and leaving your family home can be overwhelming. In addition to the memories you will be leaving behind, you’ll likely need to significantly pare down your belongings as well.
While the process of going through a lifetime of possessions will almost always be a painful one, there are things you can do to ease the transition. First, give yourself plenty of time. It took nearly a lifetime to accumulate all those things and, more than likely, it will take longer than you think to go through it.
The earlier you begin preparing for your move, the less stressed you will be. Take it one room at a time, and start in an area where you don’t have a lot of emotional attachment, like the laundry room or linen closet. Spend at least a few seconds on each item before you make your decision. If you begin to feel overwhelmed, feel free to move to another room or take a break until you feel better. You may even want to try meditating to ease your mind, calm your breathing, and remind yourself of your goals.
Next, establish some ground rules regarding what you will keep and what you will toss, donate, or give away. If you can, do this before you begin packing and purging, and let it be your guide as you wade through each drawer, closet, and shelf. One easy-to-implement way of doing this is to ask yourself these four, simple questions about your belongings:
- Do I need it or want it?
- Does it have sentimental value?
- Do I use it often?
- Do I have another item that performs the same function?
Of course, these rules aren’t hard and fast. It will be up to you to interpret the difference between “want” and “need,” for example. And, as difficult as it may be, lose the guilt. If you don’t need it, want it, or use it, and it has no sentimental value, don’t feel obligated to keep the item. No matter who gifted it to you, how old it is, or whether it has monetary value.
Image via Redfin.com
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Friends and family members who are less emotionally invested in your belongings than you can be invaluable helping hands (and hearts) as you declutter. From doing the heavy lifting to sharing memories about your favorite items, they can lighten both the physical and emotional load.
Moreover, having your children and grandchildren involved in the process can help you gain clarity when it comes to legacy gifts. It may be easier to let go of those hand-sewn quilts if you know they will find a loving home in one of your children. Likewise, you may feel relieved to put that grandfather clock up for sale after you find out none of your heirs want it for their own.
If you don’t have any family nearby or need even more help, there are also companies that specialize in helping seniors simplify prior to a move. For a fee, these professionals can help with every part of the process.
Above all, remember to be kind to yourself. A season of your life is coming to a close and, as is always the case, it takes time to make the transition.
Janet Campbell founded ElderSpark to fulfill her mission to encourage people to live their healthiest and happiest lives ever. She strives hard to provide information on senior wellness and safety as well as ideas for how to make the most of this beautiful chapter of our lives.
by Dr. Angie Kurosaka, DNP, RN, CNN, CCM, NEA-BC, Sr. Vice President of Medical Management, Specialized Markets, a division of Centene Corporation
A is for Advocacy. Advance practice registered nurses (APRNs), nurses, doctors and the public must advocate for themselves or their patients. Advocate for yearly or more frequent check-ups if a primary care provider already exists to assess for any co-morbid conditions that could lead to kidney disease. Collaborate with insurance companies who have access to BIG data and analysis, work with Case Managers or hire your own Home Health Case Managers to help in this endeavor; it can be very successful. Early identification and intervention can delay the progression of kidney disease as well as provide significant cost savings.
As a Certified Nephrology Nurse and a Certified Case Manager, I am always on the lookout for ways to get my patients involved in their care. Studies have shown that member engagement is a key to success (Greene & Hibbard, 2013). Many start-up companies are offering providers and insurance companies ways to improve member engagement. I, personally, try to live the ABCs of prevention when working with my patients with compromised kidney function.
February is American Heart Month. Why is heart disease still important? Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women resulting in 1 in every 4 deaths in the U.S. each year. Every 40 seconds someone in the U.S. has a heart attack, and each minute someone dies from heart-disease related death. (CDC, 2016)
Being prepared in the event of an emergency is important for anyone, but when you have children, elderly family members, or loved ones who have health issues, it’s especially imperative. When the roads become too difficult to travel, a medical emergency can quickly turn dire for some, so it’s best to be prepared for any event.
Fundamental Needs
Greater Washington County Food Bank (GWCFB), located in southwestern Pennsylvania, is able to get food to deserving families all over Washington County thanks to federal and state programs. We also have the capability of stretching our dollars farther than the average consumer. For every dollar we receive in monetary donations, we can stretch that dollar to five. That gives us 5 times the buying power! GWCFB delivered more than 2 million pounds of food in 2016-17 fiscal year. More than 33,000 families visited our food pantry locations. Also, thanks to partnerships with Walmart and Sam’s Club, we are also sending fresh produce, meats and bakery to our clients.
Our new building sits on 22 acres of old farmland. We are working with the local university to get interns that can help us create a working farm. We have started with a few raised beds and 70 fruit trees that were donated by The Fruit Tree Foundation of Pittsburgh, PA. We envision traditional row crops of tomatoes, peppers, corn, pumpkins and squash. Having fresh produce grown on-site will enable us to save money in gasoline, will cut down on exhaust emissions and will be providing healthy produce to our pantry clients. It will also give the pantry clients an opportunity to give something back by volunteering in the gardens. The knowledge they will gain by helping on the farm can be used at their homes and communities to start gardens for their families and neighbors. Expanding green space in cities and suburban spaces has proven to be spiritually uplifting, and good for the body and soul. We also have plans for the “future” farm. Shipping containers can be turned into hydroponic gardens that will yield as much produce in a 20’ x 40’ space as farming two acres. We are also working with a local school district that has one of these onsite, to engineer 2 to 4 shipping containers to put in production on our back lot. 1500 heads of lettuce can be harvested each week out of one container. Local restaurants have already shown interest in buying from us which will help them promote “fresh, local foods.”
by Susan Gay, M.A.Ed., CHES., public health training coordinator, Southern Plains Tribal Health Board
She also shared, “I have the information and resources I need to successfully manage my diabetes. In the beginning, I learned a lot from other people I knew that had diabetes, like my mom and friends. I started asking my doctor more questions and met with the diabetes program at our clinic and learned more about what diabetes is and what foods to eat. It was really hard to balance my life with diabetes sometimes, but I saw my A1C [a blood test for type 2 diabetes and prediabetes] go from an 11 to a 5.9 and stay there just by sticking with a few healthy changes. I felt better physically and emotionally.” She continued, “Now, to control my diabetes, I watch what I eat a lot more and make sure to take my meds and schedule my doctor checkups. I stopped eating most foods with added sugar and the “white stuff” like white bread, white pasta, and cut back on potatoes.”
These are all important things to consider because they all affect health. In other words, health is also affected at the social environmental level (family, friends, social networks), the organizational and community levels (organizations, institutions services, products, leadership, etc.), and the public policy level (national, state, and local laws, economics, natural environment, etc.). These factors affect Native Americans.
HHQI would like to specifically thank all physical therapists (PTs) and assistants (PTAs) in honor of 
My outpatient therapy experience was great. The PTs and PTAs worked hand-in-hand to adjust my therapy, attend to my medical needs, answer my many questions, and encourage me toward my goals. I watched other patients who were similar to our home health population as they progressed through their rehab. The therapists guided and encouraged these patients with a caring attitude.
