Reminiscing during the holidays is normal and feels great! How about this holiday season you dive into a book that is a Christmas classic "A Christmas Carol." The book is written by Charles Dickens and is appropriate for all ages! Follow Mr. Scrooge as he is visited by the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. A story that has been loved for centuries that is sure to make you feel warm inside and remind you that during the holidays it is important to enjoy friends and family. As a caregiver it is important to take some time to relax and do an activity you enjoy. Read this book with your elder or by yourself!
RAISE Act will help integrate national strategy to support family caregivers. Caregivers are so important as they are the backbone of healthcare. It will offer emotional, physical, and stress relieving support for caregivers. It aims to: promote, train, give respite options, increase financial security, create workplace policies, collecting and sharing of information, assess federal programs , address disparities to increase diversity. Learn more at http://ow.ly/NwON30mYSFX
Medisafe App is designed for users of any age, for caregivers involved in medication monitoring, and for physicians who want to connect with their patients. Medisafe has been featured on CNBC and in Reader's Digest. It is easy to use and free to download. Caregivers can just use it to alert them and keep track of medication when their patient needs to take it, quantity, etc. It is a great tool to use!
Looking for a great app to read, get more suggestions, and rate books?
Look no further and try the app GoodReads it allows you to do all this and it is an award winning app. They offer a variety of suggestion in their “Popular Caregiver Books” section. What’s even better is that there are 20 million members on GoodReads and the app also allows you to read brief descriptions from the people who have read it!
With the holiday season kicking in many are running around to find the perfect gift, enjoy holiday events, or be with loved ones. So how about running to get your flu shot?
It’s National Influenza week and as they say “don’t let the flu stop you.” Flu activity can last into the spring, so keep your elderly safe and yourself by taking some time and getting a shot. As a caregiver it is important to stay healthy and feel good. So look into the resources your community offers for flu vaccinations and further education.
November is National Family Caregivers Month, and to continue supporting caregivers nationwide the National Alliance for Caregiving developed a fact sheet to use when advocating for paid leave. Paid leave is one of the most pressing needs for family caregivers, and this fact sheet provides useful information. Lack of paid leave leads to financial strain as most caregivers cannot afford to take unpaid leave. Evidence has shown that paid leave can result in better results and lower overall health care system costs.
Read more on the National Alliance for Caregiving's Fact Sheet.
Journalist Paula Span shares the stories of several families in her book: When the Times Comes: Families with Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions. Each family faces a question regarding elder care and all have to weigh out the options to reach an appropriate decision.
Paula details the emotional challenges, practical discoveries and solutions that these families go through, as each one finds what is best for their situation. It's provides useful advice and insight into finding the right path for different elder care circumstances.
Read more about her book
here.
Reminiscing can have positive effects on aging adults, and with the holidays approaching it's easy to get nostalgic. According to the American Psychological Association, reminiscing can help a person maintain a sense of continuity in their lives despite all of the changes that occur. It can also help a person cope with loneliness, by recalling past events and successes.
One way to reminisce with your senior clients is by rewatching favorite holiday movies from childhood memories. Some holidays movies for people aged 60+ include:
- Miracle on 34th Street
- It's a Wonderful Life
- White Christmas
- A Christmas Story
The Caregiver's Guide to Self-Care, written by Jane Meier Hamilton is a self-care guidebook with tips on dealing with caregiver stress.
It includes stories, advice, activities, and discussions to guide caregivers through their own journeys.
The National Alliance for Caregiving is partnering up with the National Council on Aging to release a resource for senior caregivers. The toolkit will provide guidance on how to prevent falls and how to have a conversation on prevention.
The toolkit will be released during a webinar that will also feature a Q&A with industry professionals. It will be shared on November 28th at 4:00 pm ET.
You can learn more and register here.
