Keeping You Safe From COVID-19
Interested in a career at Golden Heart Senior Care. APPLY HERE!

Month: September 2023

Has Your Dad Talked About Aging in Place?

Posted on by ltcep2023

Aging in place is choosing to remain living at home in the twilight years of life. It’s what your dad wants, and you want to ensure he’s able to. Before he can, he needs to take a few measures to make sure he’s able to safely age in his current home. Here are a few important steps to take, and how elder care can help ensure he remains safe at home.

Heighten Safety Around His Home

Take measures to improve safety around your dad’s home. Add grab bars around his toilet and inside and outside of his shower. If he needs help keeping his balance, the grab bars are there. Non-slip bath mats and shower seats may also be useful.

In his living room and main living areas, make sure furniture is arranged in such a way that your dad has plenty of room to walk without tripping over things or stubbing his toe. Check that there are no loose or uneven hardwood boards, torn carpeting, or electrical cords that are in the way. If there are decorative rugs, remove them or make sure they have rubberized backing.

Where is his bedroom? If it’s upstairs, is he steady on the stairs or does he have a hard time getting up and down the stairs safely? Would a stairlift help or could you move his bedroom to the main floor?

How Is His Health?

Does your dad have health issues? Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol may have him taking prescription medications every day. If he forgets to take his medications, is anyone available to remind him?

If your dad has several medical appointments or therapy sessions throughout the month, is he able to drive himself? If not, who brings him? Would it help to have a caregiver available for transportation?

Is he supposed to exercise every day? Does he like to walk by himself or does he avoid it and skip the recommended exercise his doctor wants him to do? If he’d be more likely to take a daily walk if someone else joined him, make sure there is someone with him for his daily walks.

Plan and Cook Meals

If your dad is tempted to eat canned soup, ramen cups, frozen pizza, and other heat-and-eat meals, try to get him to focus on home-cooked meals. A ramen cup may be easy to prepare and taste good, but it contains over 1,100 mg of sodium. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1,500 mg per day.

Instead, focus on meals that contain lean protein, whole grains, and fresh produce. Dairy is good for calcium and vitamin D. Keeping salt to a minimum is ideal, and easy to do when you cook from scratch and use herbs and spices instead.

Book Elder Care Services

Support your dad’s goal of aging in place by arranging elder care. He’ll have caregivers with him to cook meals, clean his home, and do the laundry. Your dad will have a driver when he needs to run errands, and company when he’s going for walks or shopping. Learn more about elder care by talking to an advisor.

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in Mesa, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

K2 Adventures Foundation Fundraiser at Top Golf

Posted on by ltcep2023

Today, K2 Adventures Foundation raised money for special needs families by hosting an event at Top Golf. We had about 130 attend. We raised some great money. We passed out some great gifts. We helped some remarkable families. Keep up the great work K2.

How Do You Make Housekeeping Easier For Your Dad?

Posted on by Craig Bass

As your dad’s stamina and strength decline with age, he’s finding it harder to keep up with daily housekeeping chores. How do you help him with these tasks when you’re not always around? How does in-home care play a role? Read on to learn more.

Aim for Rechargeable When Possible

Rechargeable small appliances remove the cord that could trip your dad up. A rechargeable vacuum is just one of the helpful cleaning tools out there. A rotary scrub brush and steam mop are also handy to have.

At the very least, try to have a rechargeable vacuum to lower the risk of your dad tripping on cords while he’s cleaning his house. If it has a removable hand-held section for cleaning stairs, that’s even better.

Embrace Technology

Make the most of technology as it can make housekeeping a lot easier to manage. A robotic vacuum can clean floors on a schedule. Some are set up to empty their canisters themselves. This can eliminate a second chore from your dad’s list.

If you clean with a broom, there are automatic stationary vacuum bins where you sweep crumbs, pet hair, and dust to the device’s intake vacuum to clean up without needing a dustpan.

Move the Laundry Room If Possible

In some countries, it’s common to have a combination washer/dryer in the kitchen. If your dad has a basement laundry room, while it’s the norm in a lot of the U.S., the stairs can be impossible for your dad to navigate. Is it possible to move the laundry room upstairs?

If there’s room in his kitchen, a closet, or even a bathroom and there’s money available for this small renovation project, it’s worthwhile. He won’t have to struggle to do the laundry or wait until others are there to help him.

Simplify Meal Preparation

A slow cooker is one of the best kitchen tools for older adults. It’s not as heavy as a casserole dish that’s taken out of the oven each day. It also doesn’t require constant attention. At most, your dad has to stir the food in the cooker every couple of hours.

Having vegetables prepped and ready to use is helpful when your dad isn’t good at slicing or chopping ingredients. You can take care of it on the weekends or when you visit, and he can use items when he needs them.

Hire In-Home Care to Help

Is it better if someone else helps your dad with the housekeeping tasks? Home care services are ideal for assistance with household chores like cooking, cleaning, and laundry.

Have you considered the benefits of in-home care services like housekeeping and laundry? Instead of struggling to do things as he has the energy, your dad can have caregivers to do these things for him. Talk to an in-home care expert to learn more about the availability and cost of caregiver services.

If you or an aging loved one is considering in-home care in Cave Creek, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!