For seniors, however, summer weather can also bring special health concerns. But don’t worry! There is no reason seniors can’t enjoy the fabulous weather summer has to offer! Here are seven tips to ensure a happy and healthy summer season.

1. Don’t get too hot.

Everyone should be sure to not get overheated. Being outside for even shorts amount of time when it is very hot can create problems for seniors or anyone with medical concerns. So try to stay cool as much as possible. There are many air-conditioned places to visit during the summer, such as museums, shopping malls, libraries and more.

2. Stay hydrated.

This is probably the most important piece of advice to follow during the hot summer months (or any time!). Be sure to drink water often throughout the day. Carry water with you when out and about, too.

3. Dress appropriately.

It is important to dress appropriately for the weather. In the hot, summer months wear cotton and other natural fabrics to help keep you cool. Even better, make sure your clothes are lighter-colored, which is less likely to attract the sun than darker colors. Loose fitting close are also usually more comfortable in the heat than tight-fighting clothes.

4. Wear sunscreen.

Everyone should wear sunscreen – and not just in the summer! Sunscreen is one of the top defenses against skin cancer.

5. Wear a hat.

Hats are important to wear on the days when the sun is shining bright. They can prevent sunburns to the scalp and some will also help protect the eyes.

6. Wear sunglasses.

Speaking of protecting your eyes, don’t forget to bring your sunglasses with you when you leave the house this summer. Not only can sunglasses make your eyes feel comfortable, they can protect your vision, too!

Don’t let the sun scare you into staying home during the beautiful summer weather! By following these tips, you can get out and have fun!

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As people age, they may face many challenges like illness, mobility issues, and memory problems. Unfortunately, unscrupulous individuals may use such struggles as an opportunity to neglect or take advantage of aging persons. This occurrence is known as elder abuse.

Forms of Elder Abuse 

Abuse against an older adult could be undertaken through several different ways including:

• Physical Abuse 
  A caregiver uses physical force to subdue, restrain or coerce an elderly individual into performing a specific activity.
• The Irresponsibility of Caregivers 
  Home health aides, nursing home workers, and rehabilitation facility employees might neglect to assist the elderly persons under their care. Such actions may include forgetting to administer medications, failing to check up on bedridden or immobile persons, and not bathing individuals who cannot clean themselves.
• Verbal and Psychological Abuse 
  This type of abuse could be executed by yelling, making threats against, or insulting an aged person for subjugation purposes.
• Financial Abuse 
  In specific instances, especially when an older person is stricken with memory, mental, or mobility issues, said individual might entrust the management of their finances to a relative or trusted professional. However, the designated financial manager uses the power they are given to misappropriate the monetary assets of the person they were sworn to care for or steal their items.

Alarming Statistics about Elder AbuseAbuse of seniors is a growing problem and has been for awhile now. In 2011, there were roughly 4,000 cases of abuse reported in Palm Beach County. As the aging populations grow, cases of elder abuse in Palm Beach and throughout the United States are, unfortunately, expected to increase.

Signs to Look Out for if You Suspect Elder Abuse Sometimes a person being subjected to some form of abuse will display red flags, such as unexplained bruising or bodily injury, declining physical or mental condition, poor hygiene, unsafe or unsanitary living conditions, and have untreated wounds like bedsores. It is also important to pay attention to how the individual in question’s caregivers behave when a loved one is present. For example, should a caretaker not allow a relative to visit with their family member alone, such circumstances could be a significant cause for concern.

Can Corrective Measures be Employed? 
If a loved one suspects that their family member or friend has been the victim of elder abuse, authorities advise them to take crucial steps such as speaking with the victim, garnering the testimony of witnesses, taking pictures highlighting any sustained injuries, and monitoring the victim’s financial accounts for any drastic or unsuspected changes or withdrawals. Once this information is collected, it can be taken to a lawyer, a State-based Ombudsman for long-term care, or in severe manifestations of abuse, the local authorities

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(http://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/aging/os-elder-abuse-lillian-moses-20160527-story.html)

Deaths Following Irma and Subsequent Cover-Up

As reported by Orlando Weekly, 12 residents died in a Broward County nursing home following Hurricane Irma. The problems at the nursing home began when the air conditioning system ceased functioning during the storm. However, there were signs of a cover-up by the staff. Four of the residents died after being admitted to a hospital with body temperatures from 107 to 109.9 degrees. While they were in critical condition or worse, the nursing home staff made “late entry” notes giving them an average temperature. Thankfully, a state appeals court upheld an order shutting down the facility.

(https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/06/21/appeals-court-backs-move-to-shutter-florida-nursing-home-where-12-people-died)

Resident Duct-taped to a Chair 

Wate.com reported that two nursing home staff in Boyton Beach duct-taped a 67-year-old woman with dementia to a chair and covered her mouth after she refused to remain quiet. They were arrested and charged with elder abuse and false imprisonment.

(https://www.wate.com/news/national-world/police-florida-nursing-home-workers-duct-taped-patient-to-chair/1303476824)

Neglect and Failure to Release Medical Records

According to WPTV, after a 66-year-old Boca Raton man broke both his feet in a landscaping accident he checked in to a nursing home to receive the level of care he needed after undergoing surgery for the injury: physical therapy and a fresh wound dressing every day. He alleges that after he left the facility, he had to endure more surgery and medication after receiving an infection due to only having his bandage changed weekly, and had difficulty obtaining medical records from them afterward.

(https://www.wptv.com/news/region-s-palm-beach-county/boca-raton/ross-bayer-whitehall-nursing-home-patient-suing-for-neglect-failure-to-release-medical-records)

Denied Services and Benefits

Naples Daily News reports that Florida’s most extensive network of nursing homes withheld physical therapy from a 45-year-old man in the Jacksonville area by telling him that his benefits did not pay for the treatment, despite that being false. This case is one of a dozen in a lawsuit against the network.

(https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/special-reports/2018/05/31/neglected-fraud-and-abuse-nursing-homes-florida/542609002/)

Loved ones are so important and protecting them from nursing home abuse should always be our number one priority as friends and family members. To ensure that your loved one is safe, always research potential nursing homes carefully before placing loved ones in them, educate yourself on the signs of elder abuse, and watch out for emotional changes, developing preventable conditions or unexplained bruises when you visit your loved one. If you notice anything suspicious, report the issue immediately to the proper authorities and seek legal counsel.

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Seniors deserve attention, love, care and attention and it is paramount that loved ones provide them with adequate care whenever possible. The Nurses Guild is one such specialized caregiver institution. We pride ourselves in providing exceptional home health care throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties. We offer Medicare-certified services to support families and hold the seniors hands to walk them through their everyday lives. But before making a decision, let’s consider the pros and cons of this type of care. In this post, we’ll explain them in further detail. Let’s get started.

Home Care Pros

• Familiar surroundings can produce feelings of calm and a sense of control and inner peace. This is especially true in cases in which the senior has dementia, a chronic illness, mental illness, or other condition.
• At home, seniors are less likely to be abused and can receive quality care at home. By hiring a vetted and trained professional, the senior will be more likely to avoid elder abuse or become a victim of fraud.
• Quality home care can be a good choice for those on a budget. As net mentions, the nationwide costs for a nursing home in America is the most expensive option for seniors, followed by full-time home health care, and then the least expensive is home day care.
• Even when your family leaves to attend to their daily work and duties, your senior doesn’t have to feel lonely, helpless and depressed. You can also feel competent and secure because a qualified home health care professional is there to assist your loved one in their own home.

Home Care Cons

• It may be difficult to find people who will provide qualified assistance to your loved ones and it often takes time to find someone whom you can trust. However, quality facilities like Nurses Guild make the process easier. They have vetted professionals who are qualified to assist your senior 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They have strong educational backgrounds, professional experience and have undergone rigorous background checks.
• Home care can be more expensive than in-person care if 24 hour care or hospice care is required. com mentions that the average health care cost in the state of Florida, according to a survey published by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, accounts for $18 per hour. Therefore, it is important to evaluate your financial situation before making this decision.
• Unlike hospitals or assisted living centers, home care does not change the aspects of your home and make it senior friendly. So certain architectural adjustments may need to be done to make it safer for seniors. For instance, guard rails may need to be installed on beds, toilet seats may need to be raised, locks may need to be placed on doors, video monitoring may need to be added, etc.

Therefore, if you’re considering home health care, carefully weigh all the pros and cons and decide on a caregiver staff.  Nurses Guild is here to support you and your senior through every phase of the transitional period.

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According to www.healthline.com, dementia begins with impairments of thought, communication, and memory that leads to a significant reduction in their cognitive abilities and their ability to function on a daily basis.

As one might imagine, this can be an extremely frightening and heart-breaking experience for the elder and those that love them. If your beloved senior is experiencing fragmented memory or memory loss and are having a difficult time communicating with loved ones, they may be experiencing age-related loss of memory, dementia or Alzheimer’s.

The good news is that medical professionals are quite knowledgeable about distinguishing between the various types of memory issues and can help you and your family determine the difference between age-related memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s. So, your first step is to seek assistance from a competent medical professional to help you and your loved one diagnose the issue and develop a suitable treatment plan. In the meantime, here are five early indications of dementia that you should be aware of:

• The most visible sign of dementia is a significant change in the senior’s vision. He or she may experience difficulty perusing or seeing the distinctions in shading of objects. While driving or riding in a car, they may also experience separations or breaks in objects or may not understand where the road ends and where the pavement begins. This inability to understand the separation of objects may extend to the home also, wherein they may not be able to differentiate between a chair and a table, a bed and a sofa, etc.
• The second indication of dementia is the inability to properly construct sentences. He or she may have a hard time engaging in conversations. For instance, the senior may stop in the middle of a discussion and forget about what they were talking about or may not know how to proceed. They may find it difficult to articulate certain thoughts or feelings and may also have a hard time saying a word although it’s on the “tip of their tongue.”
• The third indication that a senior may experience is the ability to make sound judgments. For instance, they may approach outsiders for a ride home or ask someone they just met for some money or food. They may offer cash to telemarketers or give their lunch to a stranger on the street although they’re extremely hungry and need to eat before they take their medication. In essence, their thought process is mostly guided by random thoughts and judgments that are made entirely within their head, without paying attention to the surroundings or outcomes.
• The fourth indication is the fact that your senior may become unaware of time. That is, they will not be aware that time exists and will not be able to recollect what day, date or season it is. They may think they are in an alternate year, and it’s mostly possible that will repeatedly mistake their time frame and go back to the moments they have already lived in the past.
• Finally, your senior may have a significant change in personality. That is, they may all of a sudden stop taking an interest in exercises although they were previously very active, they may become withdrawn although they used to enjoy social gathering. A friendly and happy person may become depressed and angry. Also, they may become disoriented and confused. That is, they may not recognize people, including their spouses, children, or loved ones.

Detecting the early signs of dementia can be scary to witness but is absolutely necessary. By being aware of your senior’s symptoms and seeking medical attention, you can help them obtain adequate health care and attention. At Nurses Guild, we work with seniors with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other health conditions so that they stay safe and cared for in their own homes. We pride ourselves on providing exceptional home health care throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties and can come to your senior’s home to help you care for them. So, whether your senior has dementia, Alzheimer’s or simply age-related memory issues, we are here to help you take care of them.

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Here are some tips to help alleviate some common worries:

If they’re worried about illness, falls or becoming incapacitated, make sure that they receive adequate health care.

Staying healthy is extremely important as healthy seniors are better equipped to handle the emotional and physical demands of aging. Encourage your senior to receive regular medical care. It is typically recommended that seniors see a doctor on a regular basis, more often if they have a chronic medical condition. If medications are prescribed, make sure that your senior has the right medications on hand and know how to properly take them. Unfortunately, seniors overdose on medications every day so it’s important that your senior understands how to properly take their medications. At Nurses Guild, our qualified professionals can help your senior take their medications at the right time and can monitor for any side effects that are common with prescription medications.

If they’re worried about outliving their savings, make sure they have enough insurance coverage.

An overwhelming number of seniors in the U.S. are covered under the private insurers and government programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration. Thus, being aware of their benefits will help ease their mind that they won’t be able to adequately take care of themselves as they get older. Debt.org stated that Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors older than 65, now covers almost 40 million seniors. Under this insurance coverage both hospitalization and outpatient services such as doctor’s visits, lab tests, preventive care, surgeries, clinical trials, are typically covered. Alongside this, there is Medicaid, a health insurance program that has a different variant according to individual American states and partially funded by the federal government. This insurance is a great benefit for seniors as well. Seniors who qualify for Medicaid and Medicare both are mostly regarded as ‘dual eligible.’

In addition to these lucrative government insurances, one can also purchase health insurance policies from private companies. Although it is cheaper to purchase insurance when you’re younger, you may be able to find an economical policy for your senior as well. For instance, your senior may quality for private insurance, Medicare Supplemental Insurance, Medigap and long term care insurance. These policies can be used in addition to any governmental policies and help your senior fund their health care needs or meet home care costs, like those offered by Nurses Guild.

If your senior is worried about outliving their savings, encourage them to seek advice of an experienced financial planner

Investopedia.com states that  long-term care, estate planning, and asset management are just some of the lucrative areas for which the elderly needs regular counselling. As a family member, you must counsel the elderly in your family to seek financial advice from experienced financial planners. Explain that a good financial value can help them stretch their hard earned money, which they have accumulated over their long professional careers. Help them establish a spending plan and get their finances in order. For instance, you may want to move them to a cheaper home or cut necessary expenses. Either way, do whatever you can to help them feel secure and confident about their money and their investments. With the proper advice, their finances will flourish and so will their confidence.

If your senior is worried about being a victim of a scam, teach them about Internet and phone scams and ways to avoid them

The FBI recently states that, “people who grew up in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were generally raised to be polite and trusting. Con artists exploit these traits, knowing that it is difficult or impossible for these individuals to say ‘no’ or just hang up the telephone.” Therefore the seniors in your family are more gullible to bogus offers which are likely to be presented to them in a glittery, gimmicky package. With this in mind, you should make a special effort to teach them the difference between such false claims and hoax calls and give them a list of warning signs to watch out for. Educating your senior and providing them with facts and tips to avoid scams will help boost their confidence and help safeguard them from fraudulent situations.

If your senior is worried about falling, safety proof their house or apartment to help them avoid falls and provide them with physical therapy

According to National Council on Aging, one in every four Americans over  the age of 65, is likely to experience a fall. These falls amount to 2.8 million injuries a year and a great majority of these are fatal. To keep your senior safe and avoid emergency hospital visits and treatments, and expensive hospital costs, you should safety proof your seniors home and build up their muscles through physical therapy so they can avoid falls. By working with a specialized home care nurse, you can safety proof the house and provide your senior with exercises to build strength and prevent atrophy. For instance, at the Nurses Guild, we offer qualified experienced professionals who can take care of the elderly in your family, with the utmost care and respect. They can help you choose a walker or mobility device, safety proof your senior’s home and offer recommendations like safety rails, raised toilet seats, etc. so they can avoid falls.

In conclusion, getting older brings forth many challenges and worries. However, if you plan ahead and work to alleviate your senior’s concerns, you can ensure that their “Golden Years” are a time for fun, relaxation and safety. By working through any concerns in their life, you can take concrete actions to safeguard and protect them on a long-term basis so they live out their days safely, happily and prosperously.

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UTI is easily treated and prevented but more challenging to do so with the sick and elderly because the symptoms can be misdiagnosed or even over-treated. For instance, the home test for UTI is the urine dipstick. Unfortunately, this method is not reliable with the elderly, and often the results are erroneously interpreted. The urine dipstick is unable to distinguish between asymptomatic bacteriuria (high bacteria count but not UTI caused by conditions like diabetes, spinal cord injury, etc.) and UTI.

With the high number of errors in UTI diagnosis, experts recommend that professional and experienced RNs be requested to handle the testing. These nurses will know about the protocol in collecting the urine sample, like checking the blood pressure, temperature and pulse of patient beforehand.  Interestingly in a study done among over 140 home care staff last 2017, the level of knowledge for primary symptoms was high but low with secondary symptoms. Moreover, symptoms like poor appetite, localized pain, and apathy are not common among UTI patients, except for the elderly because of their age.

Also essential is the urine culture and the transportation of the urine sample en route to the lab for processing.

Prevention and Treatment of UTI

The role of the family when there is an ailing elder in the house or family is to select a caregiver who has experience caring for geriatric patients under the guarded watch of a professional nurse who can oversee the home care plan and visit at least once a week.

UTI can be prevented with proper planning. First, the overall health of the patient must be understood, and a medical care plan must be agreed upon with the doctor. Periodic physical exam and lab testing will help determine if there is UTI or any new medical condition.

Second, for recurring UTI, the medical team should determine what the underlying factors are. The family will need to know with certainty what is causing the UTI, perhaps with the use of empirical data which a professional nurse can help gather. Aggressive treatment is only recommended for an acute UTI. For non-acute UTI, some of the procedures prescribed include pelvic floor rehab for prolapse, vaginal estriol for urethral atrophy, balanced diet, and hydration, IV if necessary.

Finally, it is critical that a detailed medical record be started and preserved for continuity and better organization.

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IV therapy reemerged around the 19^th century because of the cholera epidemic but was only used on the most critically ill patients. It was only when blood typing became acceptable in the 20^th century that IV therapy was confirmed as a lifesaving and therapeutic plan, especially in fighting infectious agents in the body.

Today, there are three kinds of IV therapy: fluid, blood, or drugs. The fluid-based IV therapy is used to rehydrate the body. Blood-based IV therapy is done to replace lost blood while drug IV therapy is given to a person who cannot orally take medicine, may need pain relievers or antibiotics to prevent infections.

IV Therapy Risks and Complications

No matter what the type, IV therapy has its share of risks. Here are the most common of them that will emphasize the need for a trained professional nurse who can oversee and act decisively should any of these risks occur.

Infiltration and Extravasations – This risk happens when there is a leakage. In infiltration, the leak can come from the catheter insertion site or because the catheter was dislodged. It will cause swelling if the fluid is toxic and is exposed to soft tissue. Extravasations is a leak from a vein causing a vesicant or blistering agent around the site which will destroy tissue and cause the patient to feel pain. In both leaking cases, a well-trained and experienced nurse would know precisely how to react and what procedure to follow to stop the leak. This nurse can apply a compress or request for approval to move the location of the insertion. The recommendation would be based on the assessment of the leak, policy of the home health care agency, and doctor’s advice.

Hematoma – This is another leak but of blood from a vein to the soft tissue. This can happen if there is lack of pressure during catheter removal or when the catheter goes through a vein wall.  While this is usually a low-risk complication, the right treatment is necessary. There are some cases when hematomas can be treated with ice compress or elevation, but there are other cases when medical intervention is required.

Air embolism – This happens when an air bubble enters the vein through the catheter, and it is a serious situation because it can cause a blockage. This is why a trained eye is needed during IV transfer.

Phlebitis and Thrombophlebitis – This happens when a vein becomes inflamed due to a blood clot and usually happens when the patient has had the IV for several straight days.

When you get your home IV therapist, do ensure they have adequate experience and training, especially in the area of being able to anticipate a complication.

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The difference between self defense for the sickly and a healthy person is you have to equip the patient with defense tools as aids since physically, it might be impossible to fight off intruders. At the same time, focus on mental toughness but not at the level of a professional athlete.

Experts in self defense actually believe that the best time to start learning about self defense is when you feel you are at your weakest because it keeps expectations realistic. On the other hand, it is critical that you get self defense tips from the right expert – someone who has worked with the sickly and elderly before.

First, here are some valuable tips on what not to do:

• Don’t use self defense at the first sign of trouble. Sometimes, the person is just angry, depressed, tired. There are times when the caregiver is on edge or the man at the front door is a mailman. If you feel fear, blow a whistle and use scare tactics first.
• Never try to fight on your own if you can call for help.
• Don’t panic.
• Don’t be afraid to use your weapon.

Second, learn to use technology to secure the house and premises. Install CCTV appliances in your front lawn and front door. Aside from open windows, the front door is the most common entry point. There should be an alarm system that will alert someone of an intruder. A system that alerts a third party should have a dedicated line or strong, consistent signal. You could also consider something like a shock detection switch in doorways against forced entries that the patient can switch on to protect himself. If the patient is to be left alone for any period of time, all valuables should be kept hidden from plain sight.

Third, have a back-up power source in case of outages with a emergency light close to the patient. There should also be smoke detectors, first aid kits, and a guard dog. If possible, be neighborly while maintaining privacy and mutual respect between each other.

Fourth, teach the invalid basic defense skills including how to handle a weapon like a gun. However, any weapon should only be given to someone who does not suffer from any mental issue and there should be regular assessments from a medical professional on the mental state of the patient. If you are uncomfortable with having a gun around, get your patient a stun gun or rechargeable stun gun with flashlight. There are quite a number of security gadgets in the market today including an app that sounds like a gun shot.

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Did you know that falling is the greatest cause of injury among seniors? And that most falls occur at home? For many seniors with limited mobility, the fear of falling can cause them to limit activity. This may be both bad for health—as it means less movement—as well as unnecessary. If the right precautions are taken, seniors can enjoy freely moving about their homes without fear of fall risk.

So, what can you do to make your home safer?

Something to Hold On To

If you or a senior in your care has begun to decrease activity around the house, try to determine if a fear of falling is the reason. If so, consider putting up handrails along common walkways and particularly risky areas such as the bathroom. Also, a walker or cane may be a solution when out of the house.

Well-Lit

A common cause of falls is insufficient lighting. Especially at night, if trying to get up without waking others, a senior may be at risk. Consider installing nightlights, or better yet, motion sensor lighting. This way no one need trip while searching for the lightswitch.

Stay Clutter Free

This tip may seem obvious, but preventing falls is a good reason to declutter your home. Though it may seem an overwhelming task, you can always start small. Make sure the most common walkways are clear first, and then go from there, getting rid of unnecessary things and putting the things you must keep in out of the way places.

Dress for Success

Many may overlook that their clothing can present a fall risk. Loose or baggy clothes may get caught on door handles or furniture, or may get caught under foot. Clothes don’t need to be tight, but fit close enough that they aren’t likely to trip you up.

Watch Your Step

While footwear is key (it’s a good idea to keep shoes on around the house), flooring is also important. Old carpets, slick tile or hardwood floors, wet bathtubs—all can have anyone tripping or slipping. There is no need to change all the flooring though, just put down non-slip mats.

Get Moving

This tip may seem contradictory—doesn’t more movement mean more opportunity for a fall? Not necessarily. Getting more exercise, within your own ability of course, can build strength, increase coordination, and decrease fall risk.

Stay Connected

Whether you or a senior in your care is at risk of falling, communication is key. Perhaps the greatest danger with a fall is if you are alone, injured, and unable to get help. Take extra precautions when alone, such as keeping a phone in your pocket or having a neighbor check in regularly if you will be by yourself for an extended period of time.

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