TakeCare

A Deep Connection: the Internet, Family Caregivers and Recipients

Posted on 04/24/2013 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Personal Health | RelationshipsHigh-speed Internet can be key to living independently (also known as “aging in place“). You can go online or get smartphone apps that help you monitor chronic diseases, work from home to care for a loved one or prevent or delay functional decline with game systems that help you stay physically active. And, don’t forget the ability to be socially connected through email, online forums and message boards. And yet, a recent report issued by the AARP Public Policy Institute shows that …

News Flash: Multiple Chronic Conditions Are a Common Event

Posted on 04/19/2013 by Chuck Ross | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Personal Health | Your Life Medical researchers are beginning to recognize what anyone who’s cared for an older loved one learns in the first or second doctor’s appointment: older folks often deal with multiple chronic conditions. This can make medical care very complicated. This news flash has been deduced by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after analyzing data from the first large-scale survey of residential care facilities — think assisted living centers and board-and-care homes that serve individuals …

5 Things Caregivers Must Know About Diabetes

Posted on 04/17/2013 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Personal HealthWith a U.S. diabetic population of 26.9% age 65+, or 10.9 million, caregivers must be careful observers. If your parent or spouse has diabetes and is over age 65, read on. Their condition is unique to their age, but it’s not always treated that way. “Geriatric diabetes is not as well understood as it is for the pediatric population. Treating a 40-year-old the same way as an 80-year-old is inappropriate,” says Dr. Medha Munshi, a geriatrician and endocrinologist who runs …

5 Ways Humor Can Help You Cope With Dementia

Posted on 04/10/2013 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | RelationshipsBefore she had Alzheimer’s, author Jill McCorkle’s mother was very religious, never cursed or, God forbid, mentioned sex. But McCorkle’s sister called Jill last month. Apparently, their mother was talking nonstop about gonorrhea. She was convinced a lot of the residents in her memory care facility had it “and we all know how they got it,” she repeated. “There are things my mother says that are so out of character and off the wall,” says McCorkle. “I can’t even imagine …

AARP’s Caregiving Resource Center Just Went Mobile

Posted on 04/9/2013 by Patti Shea | Home & Family blogger | Comments

Caregiving | TechnologyCaring for yourself, your parents or a loved one just a whole lot easier. We’ve put our Caregiving Resource Center from our website into our AARP iPad app so you can have all the housing options, legal and respite care information you need at your fingertips. How do you get it? Easy! Grab your iPad and click here>> App Store for AARP. Download (psst, it’s FREE!). The first square you see in the grid should say Caregiving Resource Center (see image …

Home Health Aides — More Than Just Babysitters

Posted on 04/5/2013 by Chuck Ross | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Work | Your LifeThe subject of raising the minimum wage has been a theme in the news for the last several weeks. You might be surprised to learn that many home health aides will see no benefit from any possible bump to the current $7.25 an hour rate — I know I was, when I read an article from CNN Money posted on one of my new favorite blogs, The Voice of Aging Boomers. It turns out that many home health aides are grouped …