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April 9, 2020 by Kirk Brechbiel

Social Distancing for Seniors: How to Prevent Loneliness

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, the term “social distancing” has become a part of our daily language. However, it’s so important to keep in mind that this is better described as “physical distancing” as social connection remains imperative, now more than ever.

Especially for our senior population, feeling social distant is a constant battle. As they are among the key population most likely to need serious medical care as a result of contracting COVID-19, this has led to less and less physical interaction from friends and loved ones. Even those who have professional care, whether this is in-home or in an outside care facility, physical contact has decreased as caregivers and medical professionals work to “flatten the curve.”

What we hope to share in this article are tips and solutions for maintaining a safe physical distance from our aging loved ones, at least until no new cases of COVID-19 have emerged, while still staying connected socially to ensure loneliness is kept at bay.

  1. Utilize technology.

Everyone appreciates a phone call or text to check in, but don’t undervalue the need to see each other’s faces. It changes everything! You will feel so much more connected to your loved when one when you use Zoom, Face Time, Google Hangouts, Facebook’s Messenger App. Set a weekly (or even more frequently) time to connect and make it a priority.

  1. Check in often.

We have ample tools to stay connected, but they’re not doing much good if we don’t make it a point to use them often. Commit to hearing from your loved one, ideally daily if you can. This ensures they never go more than 24 hours without a check-in. Hearing back from them daily will also give you peace of mind that all is well.

  1. Become pen pals.

Now more than ever, people really appreciate receiving a good old-fashioned letter in the mail. Sure, it takes added effort than a phone all or text, and that’s the point. Become pen pals with a senior and you two can exchange letters that will serve as a beautiful memory you can re-read and look back on in the future.

  1. Mail a care package.

Speaking of snail mail, take this one step further by sending a care package to an aging loved one. Consider including some activities or treats they enjoy, but may not be able to go out and get on their own. Many online retailers can bundle and ship such items to them directly and are taking all precautions to keep their items sanitary and safe.

  1. Ask directly about how they feel.

Checking in is the first step, but the next important step is being sure to ask your senior friends and family how they feel. Are they feeling anxious, lonely, unwell, or depressed? It’s human to not want to openly share our emotions, especially if they are negative. Yet, when someone asks us directly, we are far more inclined to share the hard truth – which also provides an opportunity to get help.

  1. Help answer their phone, app, or social media questions.

Adult children, you are so vital to your aging parents right now. In an effort to feel connected to the world during social distancing, they will turn to technology, much of which may confuse or frustrate them. Be patient and kind when helping them with their IT questions. This is one of the most loving gestures you can show.

  1. Create something to look forward to in the future.

Finally, give both you and your aging loved one hope for the future and a time when things will feel normal again. Consider planning your first in-person get together. Ask them what they would like to do – and plan it out! Pick a location and an activity. Possibly make a day of it and also ask what you can help them do around the house that needs done. They will be so grateful for the thought, and for something to look ahead to.

Do you have an aging loved one struggling from the isolation and loneliness during this time? Consider implementing a few or all of the above tips this week to help them through the challenges so many of us are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most importantly, maintain safe practices for you and your family so we may all overcome this soon and get back to seeing one another in person. Stay well!

Filed Under: Blog, Caregiver, Home Care Tagged With: aging adults, aging population, assistance, care, coronavirus, covid-19, covid19, depression, elderly, emotional care, healthy, help, home care, loneliness, older, older adults, outreach, professional care, relationships, safe, seniors, sickness, social distancing, stay home, stay safe, virus

April 6, 2020 by Kirk Brechbiel

How to Protect Our Seniors from COVID-19

Commit to not seeing one another in person.

This is a hard piece of advice, but one that must be followed to the best of all of our abilities. Unless you are providing essential care to your aging loved one, please commit to not seeing them in person during the quarantine. Even the best precautions can fall short and it would be devastating to feel as though you passed on the virus to someone for which you care deeply.

Reinforce social distancing and staying home.

When you do check in with your loved one (by phone or computer), take the opportunity to reinforce the importance of being serious about social distancing and staying home. You may find that they don’t understand the need to do so, or maybe are still going out and about to run their own errands. Be sure to communicate the facts and that your request to follow recommendations comes from a place of love.

Run errands for them.

While you are reinforcing the need for older adults to stay home and social distance, offer to run errands for them, if you are low-risk and able to do so. Try to combine this with your own errands. You can pick up their groceries and other necessities like medications. Doing so eliminates their need to leave the house and reduces risk of exposure.

Remind them often of the CDC’s recommendations.

As the United States learns more about COID-19, the CDC’s recommendations are evolving. Be sure to check in with your aging loved ones to ensure they have received the most up to date information and are following it. Also guide them to where they can go to review these recommendations first-hand, such as online or offer to mail them an article.

Help answer their questions and concerns.  

Many people feel anxious during these times because they have questions and concerns that are not being properly addressed. When speaking with a member of our senior population, ask them if there is anything you can help clarify. You might be surprised by what your mom or dad don’t know or don’t understand. Use this as an opportunity to educate them with correct information.

Ensure they have professional help, if needed.

Finally and most importantly, when checking in with your loved one, be sure their essential needs are being met. Ask whether they have what they need to keep up with their personal hygiene, cooking, and cleaning and have the ability to do so without risk of injury. If you find your aging loved one cannot get by on their own, yet still wishes to remain living in their home, hiring a professional caregiver may be a solution. During the COVID-19 pandemic, home care agencies can provide professional caregivers who help seniors with their basic needs while taking every precaution to not spread the virus. This allows families to safely social distance while not worrying about the care of their aging relatives.

From our family at Ella Home Care, we hope you stay well and stay home during this time. Though this is among the hardest circumstances our world has ever faced, we thank you for doing your part to help keep everyone – including our loved senior population – safe and healthy.

Filed Under: Blog, Home Care Tagged With: aging adults, aging population, assistance, care, coronavirus, covid-19, covid19, depression, elderly, emotional care, healthy, help, home care, loneliness, older, older adults, outreach, professional care, relationships, safe, seniors, sickness, social distancing, stay home, stay safe, virus

October 12, 2018 by Kirk Brechbiel

Halloween Crafts and Activities for Caregivers

Many people will tell you that Halloween is their favorite holiday all year. And even if it’s not, most everyone will agree that Halloween themed crafts and activities are pretty fun. But don’t be fooled (or should we say “tricked”), getting festive for Halloween is not limited to children. In fact, there are a ton of creative activities that can be enjoyed by just about every generation.

Take a look at a few of our favorite crafts and activities that personal caregivers can do with their clients to make new memories and get in the Halloween spirit!

Popsicle Stick Magnet

Create something that is as cute as it is useful. This popsicle stick magnet requires little more than a magnet backing, glue, some popsicle sticks, orange and black markers and a few pieces of hay for hair. This activity will help aging adults use their fine motor skills, as well as their creativity to create a festive magnet that can help display important information on their refrigerator, or be given to someone as a present.

Create a Leaf Bouquet

Go for a walk and slowly look at all the different sizes and colors of the changing leaves. Collect a variety of leaves, examining the unique qualities of each one and talking about it together. Then, take your leaves home and arrange them in a small glass vase. There, you’ll get to enjoy the beauty of fall for a few days while remembering the afternoon you spent walking outside selecting the perfect combination of leaves!

Painting with Q-Tips

Create a beautiful fall tree with some red, orange and yellow paint, a brown marker and a bundle of Q-tips. Start by drawing a tree trunk, then bundle a handful of Q-tips together and secure with a rubber band. Dip the Q-tips into a mixture of the paint colors and dab them all throughout the top of the tree to create bursts of leaves. This craft is fun, easy and there’s no wrong way to do it!

I Spy Halloween

Go to the Dollar Store and purchase between seven and ten small Halloween items. Then, create a list detailing each item; include a picture of that item for extra help! Next, hide your items throughout your client’s house or apartment, making it as easy or as challenging as what fits their skill level. Finally, go on a scavenger hunt seeing if they can find where you hid each item. This is a fun and interactive game that provides both physical and mental exercise.

Jack-O-Lantern Mosaic

This craft is great to do slowly while you talk with each other and really spend some time telling stories and sharing memories. All you need are a paper plate cut into a pumpkin shape, corn kernels, kidney beans, mung beans and glue. Start by making your Jack-O-Lantern’s face with the kidney beans and fill in the rest with the corn kernels. Finish off the stem with the mung beans. You can create a detailed pattern or let it be more free form. It’s completely up to you! The time and care you put into these will be what makes it special.

Do you have another Halloween craft or activity that would be perfect for a senior adult and their caregiver? Share your ideas by leaving a comment!

Filed Under: Blog, Caregiver Tagged With: activities, activity, aging adult, aging loved one, autumn, care, caregiver, central pa, craft, crafts, creative, ella home care, fall, family, halloween, ideas, in home care, in-home caregiver, multi-generation, october, pennsylvania, professional care, professional caregiver, relationship, senior adult, things to go

October 5, 2018 by Kirk Brechbiel

4 Reasons Why Families Should Bond with Their Professional Caregiver

When you hire a professional caregiver to care for your aging loved one, the arrangement should feel anything but transactional. This is why it’s so important to work to develop a bond with your family member’s caregiver so that you can remain involved in their care, while gaining peace of mind that their physical and emotional needs are being met.

Take a look at just a few of the many reasons why you should want to build a friendship with your professional caregiver.

  1. The deeper the bond, the greater the quality of care.

It’s true in any facet of life. When you care deeply for someone, your level of care for them goes from feeling standard or “sterile” to feeling like a very own member of your family, who has known them all their life, is caring for your aging loved one. By investing in getting to know your family’s professional caregiver, you’re helping to increase the bond and level of care that family member receives.

  1. It can reduce turnover and maintain consistent care for your loved one.

Additionally, forming a bond with a caregiver, increases the health and happiness of your working relationship. Together you make it a favorable work environment that makes your caregiver look forward to coming to each day. When this is the case, you reduce turnover in your caregivers, giving your loved one stability and consistency in their care.

  1. You will reduce stress and worry when you’re away from your loved one.

Next, you will reduce your own stress and worry when you must be away from your loved one. When you’re out running errands, at work or enjoying some time to yourself, you won’t need to worry or feel guilty about what your loved one is doing. You’ll have peace of mind knowing they are with someone you trust, receiving the highest level of care.

  1. Because everyone deserves to feel like family!

Finally and most importantly, you should want to bond with your family’s professional caregiver because put yourself in their position. They are taking on emotionally and physically hard work to care for an aging adult. This work deserves thanks and appreciation. When you invest in forming a relationship with your caregiver, you’re showing them they are appreciated and viewed as a member of the family. This goes a long way in saying thanks, even if you don’t remember to say it every day.

Do you or someone you know use a professional caregiver? What steps have you or they taken to create a bond with this person? Share your insights and ideas by leaving a comment below.

Filed Under: Blog, Caregiver Tagged With: aging adult, aging loved one, care, caregiver, central pa, ella home care, family, in home care, in-home caregiver, multi-generation, pennsylvania, professional care, professional caregiver, relationship, senior adult

August 14, 2018 by Kirk Brechbiel

How to Grow a Stronger Family Bond at Any Age

The bond of a family is one of the greatest gifts you’ll ever have I your life. But as families grow and change over the years, it can be challenging to keep a close bond with those you love. You may not see each other as often as you wish or schedules can get so full that there hardly seems time for quality visits.

However, growing a stronger family bond can happen at any time, no matter how much time has passed or the distance that may between family members. Take a look at several things you can do right now to grow a stronger family bond at any age!

Be intentional about visiting one another

Months and then years can fly by in between visits with family, especially if you don’t take care to schedule your visits. Some families take annual vacations together, some spend certain holidays together. Figure out what works for your family, then stick to it! The most important point about growing a stronger family bond is to stay connected. Be intentional about seeing one another on a regular basis. Schedule it like you would any other important commitment!

Use technology to your advantage

Thought technology is often seen to be a replacement for face-to-face connections, in situations where family is spread out across the globe, technology can actually help you to reconnect. Use apps like FaceTime or Skype to be able to see family members as you talk to them. Though it will never replace seeing each other in person, you feel more connected than if you were only communicating by email or phone. There are many other apps, like Marco Polo which allows you to easily send short video clips to family so they can hear your voice and see your face every day.

Remember the milestones

Remembering family members’ birthdays, anniversaries and other major milestones is another great way to strengthen your family bond by showing them you care. Mark these special dates on your calendar so you remember to send a card, small gift or text on these days. If you have a big family, it might be easier to keep these dates in a spreadsheet and then at the start of each new month spend an hour or so writing all the cards you wish to send so that they’re ready to go!

Create something together
One final idea to strengthen your family bond is to start a family “project.” Pick something that everyone can help with! Creating a family scrapbook is a great idea because it allows everyone incorporate their own unique memories and add things that someone else might forget. Near or far, you can collaborate on this project together, sharing pictures, captions and stories to include.

A similar idea is a “memory quilt” where family members each create their own square to be sewn together into a larger quilt. Everyone’s square will be different which will create a colorful and fun quilt! Best of all you can share the blanket, with one family member keeping it for a year before sending it on to another family member to enjoy.

Is your family bond as strong as you would like to be? What steps have you taken to strengthen this bond? Share your ideas by leaving a comment below!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: activities, adult, adult children, aging, children, elderly, ella home care, family, family bond, generations, grandchildren, grandparents, how to, ideas, in home care, love, milestones, parents, personal care, professional care, relationships, senior old

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