Newsletter – December 2008

In This Issue

Greetings From A Servant’s Heart Care Solutions!

“Home for the Holidays” is a theme people often use this time of year. Home is considered more comfortable and for many people, home is where the heart is. At A Servant’s Heart Care Solutions we work hard to ensure that our clients spend as many years in the comfort of their homes as possible. In this newsletter, we continue our mission of sharing the latest in home care, home health care and elder care news with colleagues, clients and friends.

Please enjoy these articles in the spirit of community in which this newsletter was sent.

Happy Holidays!

Given Housing Market Issues, Aging in Place is the # 1 Choice

South Florida is one of the nation’s worst hit areas for real estate downturns, but the region’s bad real-estate market is having at least one positive side benefit. An article in the Orlando Sentinel states that, “Businesses that help South Florida homeowners ‘age in place’ – or stay in their homes as long as possible – are gaining popularity with seniors and their adult children as more elders choose not to move into assisted living facilities.” Read the full article here.

Breaking Myths of Aging

Tips, advice and anecdotes offered by geriatrician Dr. John Morley:

The artist known as Grandma Moses, who passed away at age 103, took up painting in old age after her hands and fingers became so crippled that she could no longer quilt. The Impressionist Art movement was helped along by Monet’s blurred vision. Willem de Kooning made his best art after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Ditto Ravel’s simple, repeating melody we know as “Bolero” was composed after dementia settled into the composer’s brain. Critics think Michelangelo’s first Pieta, done when the sculptor was 25, is inferior to the one he did at 80. Nelson Mandela’s presidency was all the more remarkable because Mandela survived years as a political prisoner to become president when he was 80. Roger Bacon’s prescription for healthy aging included all things in moderation, proper diet, rest, exercise and – for the book jacket – “inhaling the breath of a young virgin.”

Read the full article.

Losing the Sense of Smell? Could Be a Sign of Impaired Cognition

Participants in a hearing loss study at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, were reported to have unexpectedly presented an intriguing connection between reduced odor identification ability and the association with the subsequent incidence of cognitive impairment. This conclusion was reported in the August issue of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. Lead investigator Carla Schubert told Reuters Health that “participants who performed poorly on an odor identification test were at higher risk for cognitive impairment 5 years later.”

Read about the study.

Keep Active – Keep Mentally Alert

A 2008 study by the Harvard School of Public Health found evidence that seniors in the United States with active social lives may have slower rates of memory decline and lower mortality rates. In fact, memory decline among the most integrated of the study subjects was less than half the rate among the least integrated (findings were independent of age, gender, race and health status).

To read the full press release, click here.

High-Fat Diet Could Promote Development of Alzheimer’s Disease

A recent study conducted on mice suggests that metabolic changes induced by a diet rich in fat (diets typical of most industrialized countries) could affect the inflammatory response in the brain, thus contributing to Alzheimer’s disease. The study was done on mice and the authors of this study admit that the work might not translate from mice to humans, but they feel the addition of more Omega-3 fatty acids to a diet are not likely to hurt a person and may significantly help.

Read the entire article here.

Links of Interest

Open enrollment time? To save money, open a flexible spending account, use mail-order prescription drug services and tap into discounts on gym memberships.

A simple online calculator for businesses to estimate the costs of elder care in the workplace.

A primer on aging related terms.

Originally posted 2008-12-01 11:46:34.

Tim Colling
Tim Colling

Tim Colling is the founder and President of A Servant's Heart In-Home Care, which provided in-home caregiving services in San Diego County, and also of A Servant's Heart Geriatric Care Management, which provided
professional geriatric care management services and long term care placement services in San Diego County. Tim has more than 30 years of experience in management in a variety of industries. He held a Certified Care Manager credential from the National Academy of Certified Care Managers. Tim is also a Certified Public Accountant (retired), and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from California State University at San Diego. In addition to writing blog posts here for the Servant’s Heart blog, Tim also is a regular contributor to HealthLine.com and to FamilyAffaires.com as well as blogs of other eldercare services provider companies. Finally, Tim is also the president of A Servant's Heart Web Design and Marketing, which provides home care marketing as well as website design and online marketing for those who serve the elderly and their families.

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