Gifts for Seniors

If you’re a little low on cash or strapped for credit this holiday season, here’s a bit of good news.  What the senior on your shopping list may want the most won’t cost a dime.  When given the choice of what they’d like to receive for the holidays, 84% of seniors surveyed in a nationwide poll conducted by Home Instead Senior Care, said time would be the most special gift they could get this year. To further reinforce that finding, 42.4 % said they didn’t know what their favorite gift was last year, but 98.6% recalled with whom they spent the holidays.

If you are giving a gift, the most popular gifts are practical items that are most often economical as well.  Some ideas you might consider are:

1.  Gift certificates to restaurants and grocery stores, or gas cards

2.  Personal items, i.e. hand and body lotions, shower gels 

3.  Customized Gift baskets, such as hobby supplies, and scented candles

4.  Books, magazine subscriptions, crossword or puzzle books and pencils

5.  “Coupons” for family delivered services, i.e. yard care, washing the car

6.  Towels and wash cloths

7.  Stamps and stationery and a selection of greeting cards

8. Family photograph albums or CD’s of stories/memories told by family members

9.  Gift certificates for companionship services through a licensed non-medical agency

10. Paying for a Personal Emergency Response system or Medication Reminder System

Remember your presence is the best present!

A Stress-Free Holiday - The Caregivers Wish List

The holidays can be among the most hectic of seasons for anyone, but those who care for seniors face special stress. "Many families expect things to be exactly the way they were when their parents were younger," said Donna Washburn, eldercare specialist with Answers4Families, a Website co-sponsored by the Nebraska Health and Human Services System, and by the Center on Children, Families, and the Law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

"It won't work for caregivers trying to get all that done for their own family as well as others," Washburn said. "That's why they should consider revamping their plans, which could mean something as simple as asking someone else to cook the turkey or making the bread in advance."

Caregivers who feel they don't have time for themselves should learn how to take five-minute "vacations" by stepping outside and taking a deep breath of air. For example, Washburn said, "I knew one caregiver who would go out to listen to the radio or watch TV for five or 10 minutes while their loved one was sleeping."

Following are other holiday tips for busy family caregivers:

·         Simplify food items and preparation - such as starting holiday breads from frozen dough, and baking and freezing pies and cookies in advance.

·         Do what you can in advance, such as writing cards, shopping and wrapping gifts.

·         Include as many people as possible in the decorating, food planning, cleaning, baking and shopping preparations.

·         Pledge not to be drawn into squabbles with family members.

·         Get plenty of rest and spend time doing things you enjoy, even if that means just stopping by a special place for a few moments.

There can be serious consequences for family caregivers who don't take care of themselves. "Caregivers' health can sometimes take a back seat to caring for their loved ones," Washburn said. "We see caregivers crash and burn and become ill, and we've lost caregivers to death before the person they are caring for dies." Signs of caregiver stress can be both physical and emotional and include disturbed sleep, headaches, weight fluctuation, fatigue, anxiety and mood swings. To gauge their level of stress, family care givers should log on to www.caregiverstress.com to complete the 20-question stress-assessment survey. Developed by the Home Instead Senior Care advisory board - a group of leading senior care and caregiver-stress expects - this online tool also can help determine what support caregivers may need for themselves - including advice, tips and resources.

For the CAREGiver on Your List

Looking for something appropriate for the family caregiver on your holiday shopping list? Consider the following ideas from Answers4Families and Home Instead Senior Care:

·         Hugs, Hugs, Hugs

·         Shopping Spree

·         Tickets to a show

·         Gift certificates to a spa, restaurant, clothing store or movie theater.

·         A walk in the park or other recreational activity

·         Selection of cards and stamped envelopes

·         Fishbowl full of favor coupons to draw from (wash car, vacuum, grocery shop, do laundry, etc.)

·         Respite care from Home Instead Senior Care

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, log on to www.homeinstead.com. To visit the

Answers4Families Web site, go to www.Answers4Families.org.

Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.

~James M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan

Who is going to walk this year? The walk in Savannah is on September 28, 2013. Please come out and support a wonderful cause!

Pay It Forward!!!

Award recognizes Savannah Hospice Hero

The winner of Georgia’s 2013 Salute to Senior Service Award is Carole Tutan.

The 78-year-old has logged more than 5,500 hours in the past 15 years at Hospice of Savannah. Home Instead Senior Care Network sponsored the award and the $500 prize. The award was not given for the amount of time she volunteers, but for the quality of it.

“Hospice helps the patients and the caregivers have a better quality of life” Tutan says.

“I’m a people person, I love to make people smile, to make them feel comfortable, even if that means bringing them an ice cream cone at midnight.”

If you think the words warm and fuzzy don’t belong in the same sentence as Hospice, you have obviously never met Tutan, and more than likely, she’ll say you don’t really understand Hospice.

Tutan didn’t enter the competition with the hopes of winning the award for recognition, but to choose the charity which will receive the $500 prize. She cares about the patients and the caregivers who have needed the help of Hospice. She cares about her co-workers and the families who visit loved ones. The only thing she doesn’t seem to care about is recognition.

The only thing about her volunteer work at Hospice that she seems shy to discuss is herself. When asked why she does it, she simply replied, “I cannot imagine volunteering anywhere else.”

Immediately she explains her favorite picture, the one of a soldier. Tutan believes the single photograph explains everything clearly. There is a 30-year-old African-American soldier bravely fighting his last battle. At the foot of the bed is a friend and fellow soldier. Climbing onto the bed is a military assistance dog, and in the middle is Tutan’s smiling face.

The young soldier who Carole describes as “so special, and his smile was just...” her voice trailing off a bit.

“He asked his friend to let him pet a dog, a real dog” and the next day the golden Labrador retriever from the base was there. With a gentle paw on the bed, he seemed to be asking permission for exactly what the soldier wanted. After a little adjusting, the dog lay beside the young soldier.

“It’s all there” she says. “Black, white, young, old, male, female ... it’s what Hospice is all about.”

She is now in the running to receive the National Award.

Wade Branson - Savannah Morning News

Posted: June 28, 2013  

http://savannahnow.com/accent/2013-06-28/award-recognizes-savannah-hospice-hero

 

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

June 15th is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) and was launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. 

The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect. In addition, WEAAD is in support of the United Nations International Plan of Action acknowledging the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue. WEAAD serves as a call-to-action for individuals, organizations, and communities to raise awareness about elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Concerned citizens of all ages can become involved in prevention.  To find out more, visit the National Center on Elder Abuse

What are you doing June 21st?

Here’s a great thing to do - Join the Alzheimer’s Association on June 21, 2013 for The Longest Day^® , to honor those living with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers. Organize a team for this sunrise-to-sunset event and raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. This event is about patience, strength and endurance – but it’s also about a challenge.

On The Longest Day, do something you love – or try something new – to advance the cause! For people facing Alzheimer’s disease, this challenge is every day. For you, it’s just one.

https://thelongestday.alz.org/