Resources for Seniors – Dignity Care

Getting Up After a Fall

No one ever intends to fall. I hear it from my clients all the time: “I’m careful” or “I’m not going to fall” even though I think they are really trying to tell me that they are worried about falling. However, that level of fear doesn’t always translate into taking specific measures to avoid a fall or learning what they can do to prevent falling. Without proper prevention and safety measures, falls happen. When people fall, the response is usually, “It was an accident, I won’t fall again.”

One of my clients is the poster child for this attitude. She has fallen multiple times, but isn’t able to relate any of her falls to the other times she has fallen. While we’re working on that end of things, in the meantime we needed some tips on getting up after falls.

My favorite find is this video on how to get up. The main point is to be creative about what you have within reach or crawling distance to be able to get yourself (or someone else) up off the floor. Also, make sure to evaluate yourself for possible injuries, pain, range of motion issues, and/or bleeding before trying to get up. Another thing they discuss is the importance of lifeline devices such as Life Alert. If help is immediately available at the push of a button, you won’t even need to worry about how to get up with possible injuries or finding a way to get help.

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Dignity of Risk and Caring for an Elder

Growing old should not mean that you lose control of your daily life and all the decisions that go along with it. Yet too often that is exactly what happens. If you are a caregiver, have you ever heard yourself saying, “you NEED to use your walker, because you might fall”, “you need to drink that water”, “let me carry that for you or you might drop it”, and/or “don’t do that, you might fall”?

Even though the person has lived with and managed their risks all their adult life, suddenly everyone else is telling them what they can and can’t do. However, this is based on what? Safety? For what end, hanging around waiting to die?

There is a wonderful concept called “The Dignity of Risk”, which acknowledges that life experiences come with risk. It explains that we must respect a person’s self-determination and right to allow them to make their own choices about which experiences are worth a risk.

I understand that there is an issue of safety here. I’m not saying ignore the risks. However, I’d like to see risks balanced more thoughtfully against the person’s preferences for how they want to live their days and what they do or do not want to do. They’ve been making decisions all their life about what they choose to do, what they want to try, what they want to eat, etc. They weighed the risks of eating fast food, of skiing, of taking a new job, and/or buying lottery tickets. They deserve our respect and support in continuing to make their choices.

As caregivers, I’d encourage us to allow the elders we work with, or are related to, to live their lives as independently and freely as possible. Listen to their priorities and concerns. Help them think through their decisions. Yes, there is that pesky risk factor, but how does it weigh against the dignity of their life and the loss of life experiences? They have the right to choose their risks. Let’s support them in that.

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Choosing Care Wisely – the conversation between provider and patient

Choosing Wisely^® aims to promote conversations between providers and patients by helping patients choose care that is:

Supported by evidence
Not duplicative of other tests or procedures already received
Free from harm
Truly necessary

An initiative of the ABIM Foundation, Choosing Wisely is working to spark conversations between providers and patients to ensure the right care is delivered at the right time. Participating organizations have created lists of “Things Providers and Patients Should Question” which include evidence-based recommendations that should be discussed to help make wise decisions about the most appropriate care based on a patients’ individual situation.

Take a look at the list of questions the American Geriatrics Society put together for older adults vising their physician.

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Why Is Staying Hydrated So Difficult For Seniors?

Hot summer days are a good time for everyone to be thinking about staying hydrated. For older adults the topic of hydration is a year-round discussion that never goes away. It’s a serious issue for most seniors but doesn’t get resolved because it needs to be addressed every day and can’t be solved with a pill.

Seniors have a very high risk for dehydration, which is one of the most frequent causes of hospitalization after the age 65. They have a greater risk of dehydration for many reasons, including the facts that as we age, our kidneys become less efficient at conserving fluids, our sense of thirst weakens, and we are less able to adjust to changes in temperature. Some medications like diuretics, sedatives, and laxatives can also cause increased fluid loss.

Dehydration can cause temporary symptoms that mimic symptoms of Alzheimer’s. If dementia-like symptoms seem to appear suddenly, it could be dehydration which is easily curable.

Symptoms of dehydration range from minor to severe and include: persistent fatigue, muscle weakness, headaches, dizziness, nausea, forgetfulness, confusion, lethargy, increased heart rate, sunken eyes, dry mouth, dark colored urine. Urine should be clear to pale yellow. I tell my clients that if their urine is darker than pale yellow, they should head straight to the kitchen from the bathroom and drink a full glass of water. Keeping a glass of water beside you all day to sip on rarely results in someone drinking enough fluids. It’s more effective to drink the entire glass, even if it’s a small glass. Seniors can’t rely on their sense of thirst to tell them when to drink water. Scheduling a glass at each meal and/or after a bathroom visit, making sure to drink the full glass, is the best way to make sure you’ve gotten your full daily amount.

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Senior Nutrition Staying Hydrated

Bringing Seniors the Quality Care They Deserve

We all realize that September 2013 will long be remembered by those in Boulder County and other communities along the Front Range. I, along with everyone at Dignity Care, wish all those who have had to deal with this huge upheaval in their lives, the courage and the strength to put the pieces of their lives back together, one step at a time.

For many of our senior citizens in Boulder County, the flood has greatly affected/changed their lives. Add to that the confusion about Medicare, Medicaid, Obama Care, and the recent chaos of our government, many seniors are feeling lost and in need of assistance. So, as Healthcare Professionals we must help our senior citizens deal with all the changes and educate them as to where help is available to them. Our county provides many senior resources that can really make a difference in their lives.

In the past few years, we are pleased to say, Dignity Care has experienced a tremendous growth spurt. Dignity Care owner, Mary Kirk and Dignity Care Director, Ruth Rowse, RN have gained the confidence of the senior community in Boulder County through their model of Case Management and heartfelt caregiving. We have appreciated this trust. We strive every day to bring quality care to those we serve to the highest possible levels.

We always feel honored to be of service to our clients. Along with our basic homecare services, Dignity Care also has Registered Nurses and Geriatric Case Managers that can help seniors in many ways – from something as simple as Medication Administration to the complexities of crisis intervention.

Let’s all keep working to provide our seniors with the wonderful care they deserve.

Dignity Care

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