It’s that time of year again, when seniors across America will be hopping in their cars, on trains, and in planes to visit family near and far over the holidays. While many seniors look forward to this time of year to come together with their families, going away from home can be stressful. To ensure that the holidays remain joyful, make sure that you try these travel planning trips for seniors:

1. Don’t travel with anything you don’t need – keeping your luggage as light as possible will avoid extra baggage charges and be easier to manage. Ship gifts ahead of time rather than travelling with them

2. Remember it will be busy – leave extra time, it’s likely you’ll encounter crowds, such as long lines when checking in at the airport

3. Keep costs low – by researching your travel options you can keep costs low. Don’t book the first flight you find, find the best price, and if staying in a hotel, find the best deal!

4. Travel with a companion – travelling can be less stressful if you go with a friend or family member, so try to avoid travelling alone

5. Double and triple check your packing – make sure you travel with all of the essentials, especially your medications, so check what you’ve packed before you travel

Via: About.com

After cooking for your family for decades around the holidays, you may want to bring something fast and simple to the holiday meal. This Cranberry-Mango Relish may be the perfect solution, as it is a quick and easy holiday side for a senior to make.

Fresh and Fast Cranberry-Mango Relish Recipe

• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter

• 1 large red onion, finely diced

• 2 Tbs. grated fresh ginger

• 1 cup orange juice

• ¼ cup light brown sugar

• 1 lb of cranberries

• 2 ripe mangoes, halved, pitted and diced

• 1 Tbs. grate orange zest

Start by melting butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Then add the chopped onion and grated ginger to the saucepan, cooking until soft. Next, add the orange juice and brown sugar. Once the juice and sugar are cooked until boiling, add half the cranberries. Once that half of cranberries has popped, add the remaining cranberries, cooking them for 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from heat and add the mangoes and zest. Serve the relish at room temperature. Yields portions up to 8 people.

Caregiving is tough, and it’s a job that can often make family caregivers feel like they’re isolated. They run the gamut of emotions, and feel like they’re going through it all alone. The reality is, while caregivers might feel like they’re the only ones in the world feeling that way, there are others like them who can relate.

To show family caregivers that they’re not alone, the National Family Caregiver’s Association (NFCA) is asking for caregivers to share their stories about family caregiving to give others perspective on what they’re experiencing, and also help caregivers to cope with their emotions through sharing.

In order to join in on the action, family caregivers must join the story project, registering their information. Only those who share their stories have access to view what other people have had to say, because the point is to create a safe environment where caregivers feel comfortable sharing their stories with each other, even when they’re personal or unpleasant.

If you’re a family caregiver, join the NFCA Family Caregiver Story Project, and know that you’re not alone.

National Family Caregiver’s Association

Winter can be a dangerous month with snowstorms, ice, and house fires. If you are a senior caregiver, it is important to stay up to date on safety tips for winter in order to prevent a fall on ice or even carbon monoxide poisoning to an unsuspecting senior.

• Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors should be working—If your home or your senior’s home is not equipped with the detectors, install them on every floor. If your home is fully equipped, winter is a good time to change the batteries.

• Buy a fire extinguisher—Every senior’s residence should have a working fire extinguisher, and every senior should know how to use it.

• Space heaters can take your space up in flames—Space heaters are notoriously dangerous. Every senior should keep themselves and any items at least three feet from the heater.

• Think about your feet before leaving home—Seniors should always wear sturdy shoes with a good sole when winter weather looms outside to avoid breaking a hip.

• Grab on to something—A senior’s hands should always be attached to available handrails or have your cane or walker when moving about in winter conditions.

• Do not out do yourself with the snow shovel—Rather than risk a back or heart injury, hire a neighbor to shovel the walk or do it yourself with the help of modern technology shovels like the wovel, a shovel on wheels.

Via: MSNBC

Q – The time has come where I know my mom needs more help at home. I’d love to become her primary caregiver, but that just isn’t realistic for me, so the best I can do is try to coordinate her care. I want to make sure that the caregiver she’s with provides for her needs and ensures that she’s healthy and happy. Do you have any tips for selecting a caregiving agency?

A – Just because you won’t be providing care primarily, doesn’t mean that you’re not a caregiver; you’re playing a major role in the process in finding care for your mother, and here are some tips to help you through it!

1. Know what’s out there – to choose the best option, explore them all. Even if you have home care in mind, visiting a nursing home will only help to reassure you of your decision

2. Ask the opinion of others – the best feedback you will receive on home care places you’re exploring is from other trusted friends and family members who have been through the process

3. Interview someone at the service – before you even meet with a caregiver, interview someone in charge at the home care service about what they provide, and what their specific policies are

4. Ask about licensing – the home care service should have appropriate licenses as required by their jurisdiction; ask about this, and also find out if the home caregivers have any specific level of training

5. Be straight forward – to make sure that that important senior in your life receives adequate care, don’t sugar coat what you’re dealing with. If your loved one is difficult with certain tasks or activities, let them know so they can reassure you by talking about how they’d address these circumstances

Via: Family Caregiver Alliance

To honor family caregivers, there is a petition to create a stamp which will pay tribute to those who make daily sacrifices to care for a loved one. This petition will bring awareness to the public, offering them information regarding just how great family caregivers are. Many people are not aware of what actually goes into being a caregiver. There are many sacrifices that are made, including:

• An estimated out of pocket expense of $5,531 per year which include travel and transportation, medical care co-payments, food and household goods

• These additional expenses result in the cutting of leisure activities, personal savings, vacations and putting off home improvements

• More than a third of caregivers use their own savings to provide for their loved one

• Almost half of current caregivers have had to quit their job in order to keep up with caregiving responsibilities

• The annual estimated expense is much higher for long-distance caregivers

• These expenses increase levels of stress and can have an effect on the over-all health of the caregiver

• The financial burden that comes along with being a caregiver can have serious emotional effects

Sources:

caregiving.org

stanford.wellsphere.com

With the cooler weather on its way and the holidays just around the corner, it’s time for caregivers to start coming up with some unique, hearty and healthy recipes to make mealtime enjoyable for the seniors that they care for. At this time of year, hot meals like delicious and nutritious stews are the most appealing, so here’s a unique one that we came across for Pork and Apple Stew to help caregivers with their meal planning process!

Pork and Apple Stew can be made in a crock pot, so it’s perfect for busy caregivers who can’t find the time to slave over a hot stove every time they prepare a meal!

Ingredients required for Pork & Apple Stew:

1 (3-pound) boneless pork shoulder (butt) roast, cut into 2-inch cubes, trimmed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 chopped onions

2 carrots, pared, cut into 1/2-inch rounds

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, quartered

3/4 cup apple cider

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage

Meal Preparation

1. The first part of the meal needs to be prepared in a large skillet, over medium heat with oil. When ready,  adds the cubes of pork and turn them as needed to brown them on all sides

2. Once the pork is cooked, take from skillet and put on plate, adding salt and pepper for seasoning

3. With the skillet still hot, add carrots, onions and apple. Stir them often, cooking for about 5 or 6 minutes until the onions begin to brown

4. Move cooked vegetables to 3 ½ quart slow cooker, topping them with the cooked pork cubes

5. Bring apple cider, thyme, allspice and sage to a simmer in the skillet then add to slow cooker

6. Meal can cook for approximately 6 to 7 hours on low in the slow cooker, until the pork is tender

7. Puree the meal in a blender to make it into a hearty stew. Make as smooth or as chunky as you like!

Via: The Good Health Blog

To honor family caregivers, there is a petition to create a stamp which will pay tribute to those who make daily sacrifices to care for a loved one. This petition will bring awareness to the public, offering them information regarding just how great family caregivers are. Many people are not aware of what actually goes into being a caregiver. There are many sacrifices that are made, including:

• An estimated out of pocket expense of $5,531 per year which include travel and transportation, medical care co-payments, food and household goods

• These additional expenses result in the cutting of leisure activities, personal savings, vacations and putting off home improvements

• More than a third of caregivers use their own savings to provide for their loved one

• Almost half of current caregivers have had to quit their job in order to keep up with caregiving responsibilities

• The annual estimated expense is much higher for long-distance caregivers

• These expenses increase levels of stress and can have an effect on the over-all health of the caregiver

• The financial burden that comes along with being a caregiver can have serious emotional effects

Sources:

www.caregiving.org

stanford.wellsphere.com

Trusted Home Care for seniors and elderly living in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. Please call us for more information at 1-760-469-4441.

November is National Family Caregiver Month, a time to address the challenges that family caregivers face, lend them some support and appreciate everything that they do for the most important people in their lives.

Most family caregivers don’t just provide care to their senior parents or relatives, they also have careers, often some that come with a great deal of responsibility; and it’s not unusual for them to have families of their own with young children and a household to maintain that also add to the sometimes overwhelming responsibilities that they face on a daily basis. Yet, while being a family caregiver can be incredibly stressful, most family caregivers would never change anything for the world, because their lives are most rewarding when they’re taking care of others.

But for those who aren’t family caregivers, including seniors who are on the receiving end of care, it’s easy to under-appreciate just how much caregivers give to others, and truly recognize the efforts that they put in. National Family Caregiver month is the time to take a long hard look at the family caregivers in your life and everything they do, and remember to say thank you!

Via: FamilyCaregiving101