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Did you know September is National Senior Center Month?
Senior benefits centers are often overlooked as a vital source of support for
our older loved ones. Here’s what you should know.
1. How to Find a Senior Center
As of 2024, there are an estimated 11,000 senior centers in
the U.S., serving roughly 1 million older adults every day. In contrast, there
are roughly 58 million Americans over the age of 65, meaning that many are
neglecting the benefits of the services available at these centers.
One of the biggest reasons these centers are underutilized
is because not everyone knows how easy they are to find. A simple Google search
for “senior centers near me,” can redirect you to your town’s office of aging
and disabled services, or you can also visit the website for your local Area
Agency on Aging. Both resources can provide you with plenty of options and
information about the senior centers nearest to you.
2. A Senior Center is a Community Hub
Senior centers not only provide older adults with a
community hub to interact with other people of the same age, but they also
provide productive outlets to keep our older loved ones engaged. From fitness
classes and health screenings to organized social events and parties, a senior
center can provide a lifestyle similar to what you’d find at an upscale country
club.
3. Senior Centers Combat Isolation
One of the biggest risks to older adults is isolation.
Isolation can expedite the aging process and is a leading factor behind
depression in older adults. Senior centers offer the perfect social outlet to
avoid these threats by providing older adults with a wealth of group-centric
entertainment options to choose from.
4. Senior Centers Promote Health & Wellness
Many of these group activities are centered around fitness
and health. From group yoga to swim classes to readily available health
screenings, there is no shortage of options to choose from for a person to stay
in shape at a senior center.
5. Senior Centers Provide Support and Services
Senior centers can also handle many day-to-day needs for
older adults that they may not feel comfortable doing on their own. Some
centers come with in-house nutritional programs and meal prep to keep diets
balanced, while others also provide transportation assistance and direct access
to other nearby social services. The ultimate goal of these senior centers is
to provide the everyday assistance that an older adult may need in order to
continue living independently.
SYNERGY HomeCare offers many services that complement those
found at a typical senior benefits center. Both outlets are designed to provide
much-needed respite for everyday caregivers, meaning your local SYNERGY
HomeCare office likely has a close working relationship with nearby senior
benefits centers.
If you want to tap into SYNERGY HomeCare’s professional
in-home caregiving services, visit our website here, or call (877) 432-2692.
Conversely, if you need information or guidance on how to get your older loved
one some out-of-home help, the professionals at your nearest SYNERGY HomeCare
location are happy to point you in the right direction.
If you have any questions, please call us at 720-204-5788.
Did you know that nearly one-third of the population has difficulty swallowing pills? Most people dont swallow pills correctly. This often results in gagging, choking, and vomiting, which usually results in people not taking their medications at all, or not taking the recommended dosage, which then results in a need for later additional medical care.If you are caring for a senior who has trouble swallowing their pills, here are some medication tips and some good news. Researchers have found new techniques that make pill-popping easier, even for large pills.German researchers recently tested two methods of swallowing pills and found that 80% of the time these methods worked better than the normal way of taking a pill. The first is the pop-bottle method, and it makes tablets go down with ease. The second is the lean-forward technique, which sends capsules straight down the throat. Both have been rigorously tested by 151 volunteers who swallowed numerous dummy pills for the sake of science. And now they are being shared with the world via their publication in the Annals of Family Medicine.Read about each method so you can try it yourself or have the senior you are caring for try it. Just may make life a little easier for you both.
At least 42 percent of U.S. workers have been caregivers for aging loved ones in the last five years. In fact, most family caregivers work full or part-time while caring for their parent, spouse, aunt, uncle, or other loved one. Juggling Your Job and Caring for a Loved One The majority (68 percent) of family caregivers report making work accommodations because of caregiving duties, including: Arriving late/leaving early or taking time off Cutting back on work hours Changing jobs Stopping work entirely If this is you, you understand the challenge of juggling work and caregiving. Youll want to know that AARP is fighting for workplace flexibility, like family leave or paid or unpaid sick leave, to support family caregivers as they balance work and caregiving responsibilities. AARP is pushing for legislation that would: Let employees use their existing sick time to help care for a family member; or Give employees a few hours of unpaid time each year to help care for their loved ones; or Allow employees unpaid leave to take their loved ones to the doctor, in the same way 15 states allow employees to take unpaid time off to attend parent-teacher conferences and school events.
Many people with dementia lose their social filters and no longer understand what is or is not appropriate to say in public. They do not say embarrassing things intentionally but have indeed lost the lens they used to live with. You may have encountered situations like these: Person with Dementia upon hearing someone speaking a different language: Speak English! or they may use a racial slur to describe them.I have seen and heard many elders using racial references that were, to say the least, disrespectful. It doesnt necessarily mean the people are racist. Many of our elders grew up in much less diverse communities than we have today. They have simply lost whatever inhibitions they may have had. When they see someone of another ethnicity, they blurt out labels that they heard as youths, embarrassing everyone involved.How to respond: One of my clients used to make these remarks frequently. He also had travelled a lot. I would apologize calmly to the person and then begin talking about what language I thought they might be speaking and what country they might be from, asking my client if he had ever been there on his travels. This could lead him into a conversation about travel. If the person, he was making the remark about was on staff at the nursing home Id include them in the conversation.Person with Dementia, generally a man pinches a woman or otherwise acts out sexually: Nice butt!Stay calm and realize that this behavior is caused by the disease. Dementia has stripped your dad of his inhibitions and he really cant help it. Try not to overreact from embarrassment.How to respond: Calmly say, Thats inappropriate, Dad, or something to indicate that the action is not acceptable. It wont help to scold, however. Apologize to the person affected and then if possible, move your dad away. Explain to the person that dad has Alzheimers and his actions are the result of the disease. If you cant defuse the situation by moving him away, just allow the affected person to handle it. If it happens to a professional caregiver, they are trained to handle these situations.When these and other uncomfortable situations occur, we are embarrassed for ourselves and for the person our elder once was. Learning that we arent alone in enduring this public embarrassment helps, Talk with other caregivers, either in person or online, for perspective and the chance to laugh about these situations. When we share our stories with people who understand, our pain and embarrassment doesnt take on a life of its own. Try a caregiver forum, such as the one at AgingCare.com
At SYNERGY HomeCare, "CARE" stands for Coordinated And Responsive Engagement. We provide an integrated total solution to meeting your specific care needs. Whether for family members, friends or for yourself, you can be assured of the very best and highest quality care available. As loved ones experience the physical and emotional effects of aging, such as memory-related disorders (dementia and Alzheimers), chronic or acute illness or physical injury; our highly skilled caregivers are there to provide safety, comfort, and dignified assistance. We provide peace of mind and ensure that life at home will continue to be as independent and safe as possible.Call us now, at (303)465-HOME, to learn how our comprehensive CARE approach can help those with supportive needs, continue to live in their own home for as long as they like.