Slowly but surely our days are getting longer and we know that warm, sunny days will be ahead. This week's stress relief photo was taken in the summer on the island of Stegesund, near Vaxholm in Sweden. Caregiverlist invites you to enjoy the photo and share it with loved ones. At Caregiverlist we know the realities of caregiver stress. Thank you caregivers and certified nursing aides for your hard work and caring for our seniors. Please refer your friends to apply for part-time and full-time job positions on Caregiverlist.com and visit our career center for additional career tools. We hope you have a great week.

Caregiver education has evolved to become state-specific as senior caregiving services have moved to the home. Senior care has become it's own industry with both state and federal regulations which now include training certification requirements.

Senior care education includes learning about:

• Communicating with Seniors
• Age-related Illnesses such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease
• Infection Control and Environmental Safety
• Emergency Game Plan
• Safe Transfers and Assistance with Activities of Daily Living
• Personal Care and Toileting 

Buy Online Training and Maintain Ongoing Access with the Caregiverlist Certified Training courses.

Caregiving jobs are plentiful for many reasons. Seniors don't plan ahead for senior care needs, which can arise suddenly after a medical emergency. Many American still do not realize that caregiving can provide ongoing employment with a professionally licensed senior care and because of this, do not pursue these jobs. Others think they must be a nurse to perform professional caregiving positions.

Right now, there is a shortage of senior caregivers in the U.S.A. and many legal immigrants, or first-Americans, thankfully, have joined our workforce as caregivers. We are so very grateful at Caregiverlist that we have this diversity of employees to help fill senior care company's job openings.

After the knee-replacements, heart by-passes, and age-related illnesses, seniors require caregiving services in order to maintain living a safe quality of life each day. Their families often no longer live nearby.

Caregiverlist includes many first-Americans, or "immigrants" on our job list and caregiver training registry. They are all here legally and employed as caregivers by licensed senior home care agencies. These companies must verify all employees by conducting background checks, finger-printing and in some states, home health registry verification.

Caregiving is hard work. More caregivers are needed. Because also, you know, some people are tough to care for and require multiple caregivers to rotate on a weekly schedule to maintain staffing.

Gerald F. Seib's article in this week's Wall Street Journal, shares some numbers to highlight why having more caregivers must be considered as immigration policies are updated.

• 1 in 4 Direct-care Workers are First-Americans which means 860,000 immigrants fill these caregiving jobs now
• This number has grown to 24% in 2015, from 20% in 2005
• In New York, California, New Jersey and Florida, 40% of the caregiver workers are immigrants
• Among these immigrant caregiver workers nationwide, 56% are citizens by naturalization

Not having enough workers has the potential to drive up care costs.

Do you know someone who could work as a part-time or full-time senior caregiver? No experience is required and they can obtain online training for all of the beginning caregiver skills. Please refer them to the Caregiverlist' Career Center to learn more and submit a job application.

Drug and alcohol abuse impacts people of all ages and can become a hidden danger in the elderly population. Many aspects of aging are difficult as you begin to lose some of your capabilities and your life-long friends are passing away. One martini or one glass of wine to help relax at the end of the day can easily lead to another and another until an addiction develops. It is important for seniors to develop a healthy way to deal with the natural stresses that come with growing older.

Senior caregivers are often the only person a senior needing care will see every day and can learn how to identify if a senior has a drug or alcohol abuse problem.

People often mistakenly think that seniors have passed the danger zone for addiction simply by growing older. However, the Baby Boomer generation may be even more at risk as they age. Remember that some Americans who are Boomers grew up in the highly experimental drug culture of the 60's.

Signs and Symptoms of Elderly Addiction

One of the reasons why elderly addiction goes unnoticed is because the symptoms are easily mistaken for other symptoms associated with aging. For example, someone with the following symptoms may have a problem with addiction:

• Confusion

• Memory loss

• Lack of balance

• Slurred speech

• Social isolation

• Depression

Each one of these symptoms could be associated with a condition related to aging or with aging in general and this is where the challenge presents itself for caregivers. Caregiver training allows a senior caregiver to identify addiction issues in order to begin the intervention process.

Fortunately, there are other ways to spot drug and alcohol addiction in the aging population.

How to Spot Addiction in Senior Adults

Although many of the symptoms could be confused or explained away, caregivers should have cause for concern if the person in their care exhibits multiple symptoms.

If you notice any of the following signs in addition to any symptoms above, you may be dealing with a substance abuse problem.

• Hiding pills or alcohol – Anyone who is addicted is likely to hide the problem, so look for signs that the person in your care is hiding something. Look for empty bottles hidden in their room or buried in the trash.

• Erratic behavior – As a caregiver, you’re already going to be looking for signs that the person in your care is in good health. This makes it likely that you’ll be the one to spot addiction before anyone else. Although your patient or loved one may take multiple medications, look for signs that they are intoxicated. This may manifest as a change in their behavior, such as detachment, increased energy, exceptional moodiness or even giddiness.

• Sudden onset of isolation or depression – If you’ve been caring for the same person for a while, you probably have a very clear knowledge of their daily routine. If their routine suddenly begins to change or you discover they are isolating themselves for no apparent reason, this could indicate a problem with addiction.

If the person in your care has access to alcohol or addictive prescriptions, it’s very important to watch out for signs of addiction. Alcohol and prescription drug medication addictions are increasing in the elderly population, and it can pose an extreme danger to their health and to others. As we get older, our bodies don't metabolize things as well as they once did. This can cause an elderly person to become intoxicated sooner than they may anticipate. If possible, talk to your patient or loved one about the dangers of addiction, especially at this point in their lives.

Nature continues to create beautiful things, even during these cold winter months. We invite you to take a moment to relax and enjoy our stress relief photo and inspirational quote and share them with loved ones. This week's photo was taken at North Avenue Beach in Chicago, Illinois. These ice formations are taking the place of the usual sand. Thank you caregivers and certified nursing aides for your hard work and the care you provide for our seniors. More caregivers are always needed as seniors in America are living longer. You can learn more about becoming a senior caregiver and apply for a job near you. We hope you have a great week.  

Senior caregivers working as professionals in most states are required to have annual training. This just helps to make sure the caregiver has continued to maintain their knowledge of caregiving skills. In addition, caregivers are able to advance their caregiving options and career by demonstrating knowledge in additional areas.

Senior care companies can enroll caregiver in a renewal training course on the Caregiverlist Training Portal with 1-click and senior caregivers and family caregivers may also purchase training on their own for $59 or $79 (to receive a lapel pin and t-shirt).

Buy the online caregiver training course and you will be enrolled in your renewal course automatically or, call 312-669-8820 if you have any questions about the certified caregiver training for your state. 

Caregivers provide companionship and caregiving to seniors, and must remember to "care for the caregiver." We thank you caregivers and certified nursing aides for your hard work and caring for our seniors. This week's stress relief photo was taken in a Japanese garden in Delray Beach, Florida. The rain had just ended and sunlight was breaking through to brighten a dreary day. We invite you to take a moment to enjoy the photo and the inspirational quote and share them with loved ones. We hope you have a great week. 

We hope your new year is off to a good start, despite the frosty weather that has come with it for so many of us. This week's stress relief photo was taken near Zurich, Switzerland at daybreak and shows Lake Zurich with a view of the Alps. Please enjoy and feel free to share the photo and inspirational quote with loved ones. Thank you caregivers and certified nursing aides for your hard work and caring for our seniors. Senior care training assists caregivers to better manage a senior's care needs and manage caregiver stress. We hope you have a great week.

Happy New Year! May the coming year be one of good health and good times with family and friends. This week's stress relief photo was taken on a walk in the freshly fallen snow Manchester, Connecticut. Caregiverlist invites you to enjoy the photo and share it with loved ones. At Caregiverlist we know the realities of caregiver stress. Thank you caregivers and certified nursing aides for your hard work and caring for our seniors. Please refer your friends to apply for part-time and full-time job positions on Caregiverlist.com and visit our career center for additional career tools. We all have a fresh new year ahead, and hope yours is off to a great start.