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Author: Craig Bass

Congratulations Jeff and William on your Caregiver Awards!

Posted on by Craig Bass

CONGRATULATIONS JEFF AND WILLIAM!

Good afternoon Golden Heart Team! We would like to take a moment and award Jeff and William for exceptional work. They are both receiving a Caregiver Award today. I spoke to two family members of a client last week and they both said, “Laurie, your Company provides care better than Mayo Clinic. And Jeff and William went above and beyond.”

That is a very nice compliment and Rodney/I are very grateful for the hard work and dedication on a very challenging case. CONGRATULATIONS JEFF AND WILLIAM! They will be receiving a bonus for the award! Bravo! Laurie and Rodney
Reply “Message @ Laurie Malone” if you need to discuss further.

Four Ways to Help Your Senior When She’s Resisting Care

Posted on by Craig Bass

It’s never easy to try to do something to improve your elderly family member’s life, only to have her refuse that assistance or help. You can’t force your elderly family member to accept help, but you can try to make it clear to her why you’re offering help. You can also do a few things to reframe what accepting help means for her.

Try to Put Together a Plan

Talk to your elderly family member about what you’re seeing and what she needs. That might not be an easy conversation, but it’s one that you need to have with her. If you can come to some sort of agreement about what her needs are, that takes you both one step closer to putting the right solutions in place for her.

Look at Boundaries that Work for You Both

Boundaries are important when it comes to caring for your senior. She needs to know that you respect her wishes and you need to know that she’s going to follow the plan that you’re both working to outline. It’s a delicate balance and it’s all part of helping her to get what she needs, when she needs it.

Reframe Care and What it Means for Her

For some seniors, care and help translate to her being infirm or incapable. Redefining and reframing what care means for her is crucial. Your senior needs to know that home care assistance isn’t about taking anything from her or restricting her independence in any way. Elder care providers are there to make her life easier and to support her in getting her needs met.

Look for Ways to Make Her Home Safe for Her to Age in Place

It’s also important that you and your senior periodically assess her home’s safety. If there are modifications that need to be made, those can help her immensely. Home care assistance can also be part of planning out what will help your senior to be safer while she’s at home. Having a safe home can allow her to age in place for a lot longer, so it’s important that she sees how it can benefit her the most.

Just because it’s difficult for your elderly family member to accept help at this stage doesn’t mean that it always will be that difficult for her. Be patient and remember that she is facing some big changes in her life. That can help her to see what you’re trying to get her to understand about the help that you’re offering.

 

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

Holiday Cupcake Recipes to Share with Your Senior

Posted on by Craig Bass

A great way to fill up a senior’s time is by baking some holiday goodies. These can be given to family members when they come to visit, close friends, neighbors, and more. It is a good way to warm up the house by turning the oven on and a nice way to get a sweet treat. Even if a senior doesn’t want to give this to anyone else, senior home care can help portion it up for the week.

If you are looking for fun ways to make holiday cupcakes, there are tons of kits at the craft store or online that can help turn an average cupcake into something extraordinary. This is also a good time to practice baking and design skills. It can be tons of fun for you and your older parents.

Holiday Cupcakes To Try This Year

The best thing about the holidays is that there are tons of flavors associated with Christmas and even Hanukkah. Have the senior write down a list of all the flavors and smells they love. Senior home care providers can pick a few and find flavors that match closely. Here are some yummy favorites a senior can try this year.

Sparkling Cranberry Cupcakes
These are moist vanilla cupcakes filled with cranberry mascarpone that melt in your mouth. Each cupcake is topped with buttercream, a sprig of rosemary, and sparkling cranberries. It creates the perfect bite and a senior can use different frosting bags to make various designs out of frosting.

Christmas Light Cupcakes
If a senior is craving chocolate, this is the perfect recipe for them to try. It is a dark chocolate cake covered in a light buttercream frosting. On top of the frosting there are little colored chocolates that look like Christmas lights. You can even create a thin black line to make it look like the chocolate lights are strung around the cupcake. It is a cute and festive recipe that is sure to make a senior happy.

Santa Hat Cupcakes
You can either use chocolate or vanilla cupcakes for this recipe and a buttercream frosting. The fun thing about this recipe is it looks super festive but it is easy to make. All you have to do is cut a strawberry in half and place it on top of the frosting, then add a smidge more frosting for the cutest look. Most of these recipes are ones that take under an hour to bake. However, keep in mind that depending on how intricate a senior wants the designs to be, will determine the overall amount of time to make them.

Every family caregiver has to find ways to fill up a senior’s day during the holidays. This is the time of year kids are off school, but parents still work. So, although it may seem like December is the month for family time, it can actually be stressful to fit everyone in. Senior home care can help keep your older parents entertained and taken care of while you focus on other family members.

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

Congratulations Karime!

Posted on by Craig Bass

Good morning Golden Heart team! We are excited to announce that Karime has been awarded a Caregiver Award today. I was meeting with a client yesterday and asked, as we always do….” How are we taking care of you?”

The clients ( husband and wife) talked for 10 minutes about Karime’s kindness, skill and compassion. They described her as “ self motivated” and a take charge person.

Our work means everything to the the seniors and families that we serve. Thank you Karime for your excellence.. Karime will receive a bonus for her hard work! Bravo Karime and Golden Heart!

Diet Improvement for the Elderly: What Do You Need to Know?

Posted on by Craig Bass

Have you recently noticed that your elderly loved one doesn’t eat well? You may have visited their house last weekend and realized they don’t have much food in their fridge. When asking them about it, they may just say they don’t need to eat much. There are far too many elderly people who aren’t eating well or eating enough. The good thing is that there are some diet improvement tips that might be able to help your elderly loved one.

Weekly Meal Plans Aren’t Just a Fad

When thinking about weekly meal plans, your elderly loved one may just think that is something younger adults do when they want fancy meals. However, making weekly meals plans can be great for anyone. In addition, if you or an elder care provider help your elderly loved one to make these meal plans, it can ensure they eat better than they are eating now. For example, maybe your elderly loved one currently doesn’t eat breakfast. However, when having a weekly meal plan, you can add breakfast recipes to their meal plans.

Alternate Ingredients

Maybe, your elderly loved one doesn’t make new recipes because they don’t like a lot of foods. If this is the case, it shouldn’t deter them from eating healthy foods. There are most likely foods they can replace with the ingredients they don’t like. For example, if a recipe calls for them to put green peppers in it, maybe they could replace that with carrots. You or a home care provider can look up ingredient replacements for a specific food that your elderly loved one doesn’t like. Hopefully, by doing this, your elderly loved one will start eating better.

Reducing Sugar and Salt Intake

It is also important for everyone to limit their sugar and salt intake, especially elderly people. The risk of diabetes and heart disease can be extremely high when someone eats a lot of sugar and salt. The good news is there are plenty of tasty recipes that are low in sugar and salt. If needed, you or an elder care provider can help your elderly loved one find these recipes. Even if they don’t think they will like certain ones, it might be worth a try. There are also many snacks that are delicious, but still low in sugar and salt.

Conclusion

Does your elderly loved one need some help with improving their diet? If so, there are numerous tips that can help them to do this. Don’t forget that if your elderly loved one isn’t sure where to start or what to do, you or a home care provider can help with making their meal plans and finding recipes.

Sources
https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/eat-healthy/how-to-eat-healthy/index.html

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

Golden Heart Senior Care visits SCL Nursing School!

Posted on by Craig Bass

Golden Heart is out in the community! We have always visited nursing schools to provide clinical partnerships for their students. True hands on clinical training and on the job experience are a winning combination for the seniors we serve. Have a great Wednesday! #goldenheartscottsdale

 

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

Holiday Travel Plans: How to Travel Safely with Your Senior

Posted on by Craig Bass

The holiday season is nearly here – Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve, and New Years Day will be here before you know it. If you and your elderly loved one have plans to travel, there are some holiday travel plans that can help. Many senior citizens struggle when traveling. However, hopefully, these tips can help.

Talking to Their Doctor

Before you travel with your elderly loved one, you may want to have them see their doctor first. If your elderly loved one has a medical condition, it is best to see if their doctor believes it is safe for them to travel, especially if they will be travelling via airplane. If the doctor says it is fine, but they should have someone with them at all times and you can’t do that, you can get companion care at home services.

Packing the Proper Clothing Items

The weather will be getting colder soon. Many senior citizens may forget to pack the proper clothing. For example, your elderly loved one may think to pack pants, but they may forget to pack long-sleeve shirts. You may need to go to your elderly loved one’s house to ensure they are packing all the proper clothing items. If you don’t have time to help them pack, you can have one of their companion care at home providers help with this.

Food and Hydration

Does your elderly loved one have any special dietary needs? If so, this is something that should be considered before going on the trip. For example, will you be driving to the destination? If so, how long is the drive? Do you need to pack snacks or other food to ensure your elderly loved one’s dietary needs are being met?

It is also important to remember hydration. Many people don’t realize how important hydration is all year long. It isn’t only important in the hot weather. Even when it is colder, people need to stay hydrated. Make sure your elderly loved one always has a water bottle on hand.

Conclusion

Do you plan to travel with your elderly loved one this fall or winter? If so, hopefully, these holiday travel plans can help out. If needed, don’t forget you can always get companion care at home services. Companion care providers can help with preparing your elderly loved one for the travel plans. They may be able to help out when you go on the trip, as well. It is important to make sure your elderly loved one is up for the travelling before going. If they don’t feel up to it, you may need to have someone stay at home with them or change the plans this year.

Source
https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/safety/info-2018/state-department-recommendations.html

 

If you or an aging loved one is considering companion care at home 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!

Golden Heart Training Time!

Posted on by Craig Bass

Golden Heart has been training new office team members and field staff!

Golden Heart is Celebrating Employee Appreciation Month!

Posted on by Craig Bass

Rodney and I want to show our gratitude to our valued front line workers! It’s Golden Heart Employee Appreciation Month. Here are some of the team who have stopped in to accept their gift and grab Halloween goodies for their kiddos!

 

 

Congratulations Sharon and Joyce on your Caregiver Awards!

Posted on by Craig Bass

CONGRATULATIONS SHARON AND JOYCE!

Rodney and I went to visit one of our valued clients for her 83rd birthday! It was a delight to see our wonderful client in person after this long year.

We saw SHARON (L) who has been one of the longest tenured Golden Heart employees. Sharon is one of the best, clinically skilled, most compassionate caregivers we have. She has worked with us for 6 years. Rodney and I finally got to hug her after 2 years apart! Our client loves her and while we were there to bring birthday flowers, Sharon didn’t know she was being awarded a Caregiver Award for service above and beyond! Sharon will receive a bonus for this award.

And we MUST award JOYCE (R), who was coming on to shift. Joyce has worked with this client for many years, and certainly the last two years when the client and Joyce joined us (through a 2019 acquisition of another company). Joyce is kind, cares above and beyond and understands this client’s needs completely. Joyce will receive a bonus for this award!
#goldenheartscottsdale