Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 | Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence

Part 2: Five Important Tips for Caregiving and Self-Care
In my last post, I gave you some tips on distance caregiving that arguably could be called the 30,000...
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February 18, 2020
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Five Things You Need to Know about Coronavirus
Okay, there may be more than five things you want to know about the coronavirus, but these five basics...
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January 28, 2020
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Alzheimer’s: A Cure at Hand?
I have posted before that the currently approved therapies for treating patients with Alzheimer’s disease are not really very...
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January 21, 2020
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Medicare Doesn’t Cover WHAT?!
Gregory Peebles is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) and trained Medicare Counselor, whose work focuses...
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June 18, 2018
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Do You Sea a Hero in Yourself?
Associate Care Manager Gregory is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) whose work focuses on...
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June 4, 2018
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What May Flowers Bring
April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but what does May bring? It brings Mental Health Awareness Month…among...
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May 28, 2018
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Five Tips for Winter Because It’s Not Spring Yet
There is a lot of advice that goes around for older loved ones in our orbits when we see...
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January 16, 2018
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Is This Normal?
As we age, our bodies give us feedback we’re not used to. Activities that never required a second thought...
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October 23, 2017
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Insta-Gram: It’s a Date!
Associate Care Manager Gregory Peebles returns with a series on the Internet and aging. Gregory is both a Certified...
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September 23, 2017
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Insta-Gram Part 2: The Internet and Aging Adults
Associate Care Manager Gregory Peebles returns with a series on the Internet and aging. Gregory is both a Certified...
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September 4, 2017
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In the Caregiver's Words

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In the meantime, we invite you to download the below featured FREE white paper - offering both personal and professional advice for those who care for the elderly or people with special needs. Make sure to come back and visit us for more great FREE resources.

Caregiver Counsel on Senior Living OptionsFinding the best living options for your loved one can be tough. Whether it is picking the right senior living community or making your current family home safer, we help you to prepare for a productive conversation with your loved one about these transitions.Download
We all have heard report after report about how we should stay active, especially as we grow older. It builds endurance in general when we exercise for 30-45 minutes five times a week. It helps prevent body muscle loss if we exercise regularly – the “use it or lose it” notion. It can help stave off bone density loss if we exercise regularly, and we just feel better because exercise releases endorphins which are the “feel good” hormone of the body. While you are thinking about all of that, exercise will help … that is, exercise will help you actually think! Research recently reportedly by scientists from the University of British Columbia demonstrated that those who exercise just three times a week over a six month period scored substantially better on a measure call the Cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS). Notice I said “substantially” better on this scale. We see a lot of studies that make it to the popular press that show differences between people who do X or Y or Z versus those who do not. This study actually took the scientific approach and compared two different segments of a group of 70 people who already early signs of Alzheimer ’s disease. That is, they demonstrated an measureable improvement in the subcortical ischemic vascular cognitive impairment among people who exercised those three times a week versus the other segment who did not. The researchers point out that it would take a 3-point improvement on this scale to be statistically significant, and their measured difference was just less than two points. But the non-exercise group was also receiving an educational program to stimulate them mentally plus normal care and they still fell behind on this scale. Who would turn down a nearly two point improvement…not a slower rate of decline – an actual improvement. The exercise group, however, did show significant improvement in their “6-Minute Walk Test” and their blood pressure. So if you pick up the exercise program you can expect to be more fit, perhaps even lower your blood pressure medication needs. Consider the cognitive improvement to be a bonus. One of the researchers also comments on how exercise has “minimal side effects.” You cannot say that about too many medications. I also see another hidden bonus in that with the added exercise, I can maybe have a portion of dessert. Now that is statistically significant! Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecaremanagement.com.
It is not just because of the housing collapse that many seniors have decided to stay in their existing homes instead of moving into a senior community in recent years. It also is because it is easier to make home changes to keep up with the needs of older adults who wish to "age in place." In this two-part series, I am going to take you on a walking tour of an older adult's home with an eye to how to make life a bit easier and safer. If you are a caregiver to an older adult or someone else with special needs, think of it as a checklist room by room.

Front Door. Don't think of those few steps that lead up to the front door as a stairway; think of them as barriers to entry and exit. Recall from an earlier post that osteoarthritis becomes increasingly common with age, and what used to be four easy steps can now become a big challenge. Then, add an armful of groceries or a dark night when things are not as easy to see clearly, and you have an accident waiting to happen. Consider as alternatives either a no-step rehab to the entry way or a long ramp; I say long ramp, because it is important to keep the grade modest to accommodate a wheelchair, a walker, crutches or a cane. And get rid of the threshold - that strip of wood or molding that rises up between the outer wall of a house and the inner wall.

Garage Entry. For the older adult who still drives or is a passenger to someone who drives, getting from the garage to the house can be as daunting as those stairs in front of the house. Consider a hydraulic garage lift, especially if someone requires a wheelchair to get about.

Halls and Floors. Once in the home, turn on the light. Especially at night an older adult will find the abrupt transition from the bright porch light to the dark interior will make it hard for one's eyes to adjust, an invitation for trip or fall. For ease of use consider also replacing old light switches with rocker switches that are much easier for older, less facile hand to manipulate. Then, look at the floor surface as a potential obstacle. Throw rugs are just waiting for an older adult with unsure footing, and a fall is the outcome. Of if the carpet has been aging with the resident in an older home, there may be edges coming loose or seams that may trip the older adult who treads there. For any longer corridors or internal stairways, also consider hand rails for both walls. These rails can be the first line of defense for an older adult prone to slipping or tripping.

In the next installment, I will continue with a room by room walk through as you consider how best to refit your older loved one's home. I'll also add a web site that is full of useful resources for anyone looking to make it easier for older adults to remain at home and independent.
Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Case Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to ccbishop@creativecasemanagement.com.
Do you have pain in your back, particularly your lower back - that area around your belt line or slightly lower? If not, please consider yourself lucky, but also just wait. According to some experts, about four in five Americans will at some point in their lives experience low back pain...chronic low back pain. What may be surprising is that most of these cases have no specific cause that can be diagnosed. As a geriatric care management professional, I hear about this a lot. And if you are a caregiver to an older adult, you may hear this from your loved one as well, or you may be experiencing the pain yourself. So, as a consequence, doctors are seeing more and more of these patients, and without having a specific cause to address they may be tempted to treat the pain. While surgery may be an option for serious spinal conditions, most of this low back pain does not reach such a level of acuity to justify surgery. A lot of doctors have started giving injections into the site with anti-inflammatories, opioids, or in some cases vitamin B-12. Injections would be great if they worked, but there is not much evidence to suggest that the injections are any more than a short term fix for the pain. A research commentary, reported earlier this summer in the Journal of the American Medical Association, says that there is almost no evidence in the larger literature that injections have any positive effect over the long term. Other reports suggest that they likewise do not substantially reduce the likelihood of surgery later. There was one research study published in February that actually showed the opposite; patients with pinched nerves in their lower back receiving injections showed less pain relief than a control group who received no injections. The JAMA authors are now recommending against injections. What are the alternatives? Here are :
1. For those with above average weight, especially belly fat, weight loss can be very beneficial.
2. Strengthen the back muscles with more exercise. It could be as easy as taking longer walks, swimming or riding a bicycle.
3. In a journal called The Clinical Journal of Pain, doctors recommend yoga or Pilates as a somewhat more aggressive approach that has showed good results.
It does not have to be confusing. According to some physicians, we seem to have made a symptom into a diagnosis. That is to say that pain is the result of something being wrong, and we ought to treat the source of a problem. Yet, most doctors do not like to prescribe long walks or losing weight, because patients ask for a "quick fix" to their problems. We have come to view pills as a solution to our problems instead of changing our lifestyles. I have talked in other postings about helping older adults to have more active lifestyles, because it will be helpful for their sense of well-being. Being more active, it seems, also will be good for addressing low back pain. Do it in small measures at first, but be persistent and grow the number of minutes, laps, blocks or other measure of investment in an active life. If you as a caregiver are walking with your older loved one, you also may find that the social activity of conversation is a health boost. Make sure their shoes give them solid support. The pain may not totally go away, but chances are that there will be relief at least during the exercise. And the relief can continue to grow. Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Management professional and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecaremanagement.com.
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Associate Care Manager Gregory Peebles returns with a series on the Internet and aging. Gregory is both a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) whose work focuses on helping aging adults and folks with limited independence by providing resources and support to help them discover and lead their best life. Gregory has been a part of CCM, Inc. for over a decade. – Charlotte Back in 2007, when the Internet was still being settled, I was in one of those lines that stretched around the block to ensure that the day it came out, I had a brand new first generation iPhone in my greedy little hand. Once acquired, friends and family were all amused by the machine, but saw little use for it in their own lives. The revolutionary, all-in-one device was an expensive fad that they imagined would calm down. Life had changed though, and I knew it was just a matter of time before what was in my pocket was the norm instead of a curiosity. Five years later, my retired mother, more than a little bored, adopted a smartphone baby, shortly thereafter becoming an excellent texting conversationalist, casually sharing with me links to favorite YouTube finds. She blossomed online and is currently the Facebook page administrator for one of her social groups. My mom is a special case. She’s very curious and took to virtual reality like a duck to water. Not everyone is as interested. It takes all kinds. In 2017, more than 2/3 of adults over 65 have cause to be online, with well over half of that number identified as being active Facebook users. That means that chuckling over technology-challenged grandparents has an expiration date, and it’s now! The cohort we call “oldest old” (85+) still tends towards pencil-and-paper or maybe typewriter modalities (and that doesn’t look likely to change), but aging boomers have rushed online in droves. Some overeducate themselves regarding proper safety, locking their identities down in privacy settings to the point that “social media” loses meaning. Meanwhile, others prefer to bleed important personal information to anyone listening. At CCM, most of our Internet discussion to-date has been dedicated to sharing with you the ever-changing scams Internet predators use to prey on vulnerable users of all ages. (We’ll talk some more about those, too.) But for the next few sessions, we’ll focus instead on the ways aging adults are using the Internet socially to enhance the quality of their lives. From best practices in social sharing to recognizing bots in chat, we’ll be engaging in eye-opening discussion about the real online lives of your older loved one and answering questions like:
- What can seniors expect from online dating?
- Where are seniors online?
- What services or sites have engaged them as a group?
- What does a secure and social Internet experience look and feel like for aging adults?
We hope you’ll join us for this topic each Monday for the next four weeks, commenting and sharing this important, somewhat unusual conversation with your own corner of the Internet.