Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • In Home CaregiverChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence

Not Just Spring…
We’ve heard of Spring Training for those who follow baseball teams like the CUBS or the SOX, and we...
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April 13, 2021
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Can I Have A Hug?
I doubt there is anyone who does not have something that they have not been able to do during...
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March 4, 2021
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COVID’s Other Deadly Toll
During this pandemic, over 13,000 more Alzheimer’s and other dementia patients have died than expected from these cognitive disorders,...
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September 22, 2020
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Dementia: We’re Not Post-COVID Yet
If you have a family member or loved one with dementia, this pandemic and its restrictions have been exponentially...
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May 26, 2020
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Distance Caregiving Through a Wall
I’ve written numerous times about distance caregiving, and one of the observations I have offered is that distance is...
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May 19, 2020
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Caregiving During COVID: Four Tips for Reengagement
You may recall that I have recommended limiting your news consumption, because it really does add to our stressed...
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May 12, 2020
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Tips for Distance Caregiving: Up Close and Personal at a Distance
If you think being a caregiver to an older loved one is hard–with all the trips to help them...
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February 4, 2020
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Caregivers and their Medicare?
Yes, you read it right. I am posting this one about what caregivers should know about their Medicare. But...
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September 12, 2013
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

I like Simple. If you do also, then you will like the American Heart Association’s and American Stroke Association’s “Life’s Simple Seven.” In short, what they find is: what works well for cardiovascular health also shows the promise of working really well to stave off dementia caused by strokes, vascular dementia, and even Alzheimer’s disease. If you have an older loved one whom you would like to see have a healthier heart, you will get the added benefit of a healthier brain by encouraging the Simple Seven. And there is a bonus...it also will work for you! The seven steps that have been recommended to improve heath health now also are considered as important to improving your brain’s health. "Life's Simple 7" are considered to help prevent dementia caused by strokes, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. They have been chosen by AHA and ASA as metrics to help confer brain health. "…the same risk factors that cause atherosclerosis are also major contributors to late-life cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease," commented Philip Gorelick, MD, Mercy Health Hauenstein Neurosciences in Grand Rapids, Michigan, chair of the advisory writing group. The seven steps are a combination of individual characteristics and behaviors that help to foster better brain as well as heart health: 1. Don’t smoke 2. Be physically active 3. Maintain or reduce body mass index to less than a 25 on the scale 4. Have a healthy diet – there are guidelines for this 5. With a combination of exercise/reduced weight have a blood pressure of <120/80 mm Hg 6. Without meds (but with diet and exercise), have a total cholesterol <200 mg/dL 7. Maintain an A1C (fasting blood glucose) < 100 mg/dL Before this most recent analysis, researchers tended to look at brain health and heart health as pretty much different conditions caused by different lifestyle or health behaviors. But "over time we have learned that the same risk factors for stroke that are referred to in Life's Simple 7 are also risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and possibly for some of the other neurodegenerative disorders," Dr Gorelick noted. All of this is a step toward better brain health while at the same time promoting better heart health. This is one of those fortunate opportunities where a person can get two for the price of one. Take better care of your heart and you get better brain health as a bonus. Take better care of your brain, and your heart also gets a benefit. Not a bad bargain for anyone who is a bargain shopper…no coupons required. Be healthy. Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, 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.
What human organ weighs about half a pound and pumps about 2.4 liters per minute and is indispensable to the body's circulatory system? It is not the organ I have pictured here; it's your kidneys. And the older we become, the more important it is to take care of this "other" pumping organ. Not to mention March is National Kidney Month. So what can you do to promote the healthiest kidneys possible? The following are recommendations from the American Kidney Fund help us to understand how to take care of our other vascular organ. 1. Less Salt and Fat Intake. Steer clear of processed and fast foods. When cooking, don't add salt to give flavor; add new herbs. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables. 2. Stay Physically Active. Exercise helps to flush the system as well as relieve stress which in turn lowers blood pressure. High blood pressure is as hard on the kidneys as it is on the heart. 3. Maintain a Healthy Weight. Speak with your health care provider about your target weight. Added mass around the middle is the worst place to put your excess. IF your weight is stressing your heart, it also stresses your kidneys. 4. Manage Your Cholesterol. Watch what you eat so that your overall cholesterol will be under 200, your "bad cholesterol" (LDL) is less than 100 and your "good cholesterol" (HDL) is over 40. 5. Take Medicines as Instructed. Talk with your provider to be sure they know everything you take, even over the counter medication. And just because you don't feel your blood pressure does not mean you can ignore your medicine. 6. Reduce Alcohol Consumption. The limits are different for men versus women, but stay to two drinks if you are a guy and less if you are a woman. 7. Don't Smoke. That goes for chewing tobacco as well, because any amount of tobacco use elevates your blood pressure. Tobacco use also is a risk factor for certain types of kidney disease. 8. Limit Your Sugar. If you are a diabetic, sugar makes your blood sticky and begins to shut down the micro-vascular system within the kidneys. Even if you are not diabetic, too much sugar intake will either make your kidneys work harder or add to fat deposits. 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.
I have a suggestion for the perfect gift for those of you who may be visiting with family during the holidays, perhaps with family members whom you may have begun to notice have cognitive abilities that are slipping a bit. I joined a group this past weekend who annually goes holiday caroling to those who are unable to get out or who are in memory units at a number of facilities here in our home town. It really helps me each year to share a bit of joy with those who are no longer able to just jump in the car and head out to a holiday show or a family gathering. It also reminded me of a significant therapy for people with many types of dementia. It is not a therapy that restores memory, but it is what is termed “reminiscence therapy,” and it restores a calm to people with cognitive impairment by “taking them back” to a place in their memories that they can still access…a place that is a good memory to savor. Therapists in the Netherlands have created small villages as settings for people with dementia so that they can return to some of the familiar looks, smells and music of an earlier time that is still within reach in their minds. It takes them back. There has been success with this concept in a village called the Glenner Town Square outside Baltimore as well. It is complete with pictures of a generation ago on the walls, period music emanating from the speakers and even a vintage Ford Thunderbird parked outside a vintage diner. Think of such places as comfortable and safe environments which are structured to be soothing memories of a time that becomes clear in their minds. And as with all pleasant sensations, the mind rewards the body with a boost of “feel good chemicals.” It brings a smile to participants’ faces and a better night sleep following. All of that makes their tomorrow a bit better as well. So I thought about this while we sang to people who immediately beamed when they heard our familiar refrains…and yes was even in a room playing a rerun of It’s a Wonderful Life…but who doesn’t do that during the holidays? And as we sang another old standard, I watched many of them singing along without using the songbooks we were provided. No troubles with their memories as I followed the words in my own book rather self-consciously. So here is something you all can take home for the holidays in the form of a little experience that will be a real “feel-good.” Bring along some classic music, add to that some of the vintage photos you may have and follow where your older loved one wishes to go. Please don’t correct them if they happen to talk about the older relative who died ten years ago as if they just couldn’t make it to the family dinner. Go with their flow and you all will get to a happier place that will have some really nice memories for you along with the “feel good” for you all. Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, 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. She also is the co-author of How Do I Know You? A Caregiver’s Lifesaver for Dealing with Dementia.
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.
Caregivers to loved ones with any of the many forms of dementia deal with their loss quite poignantly on special holidays like the one on our calendars for this Friday. While a loved one who is suffering from dementia may not remember what calendar date it is, they likely will have at least some distinct memories of past Valentine's Days just the same. So, if you are a caregiver to a loved one with one of the forms of dementia, there are ways to still share a special moment...even special memories with your older loved one. You doubtless have photo albums of moments shared with your loved one, and some of those photos may evoke a genuinely positive emotional response from your loved one. A walk down that memory lane can be surprisingly positive for both of you. Staying in the moment also can have its rewards. You can make it a point to bake festive cupcakes or cookies with a Valentine's look, or if your loved one is willing and able, you can even arrange flowers for the date. And maybe the flavor of chocolate will evoke "taste bud memories" in your loved one? Because more distant memories will be clearer than what has happened even earlier today with some patients, you can make Valentine's Day an opportunity to talk about first meetings, first kisses or first dates. And if you have special memories of a specific romantic movie that you had enjoyed with your loved one, you may find that a viewing now will evoke some of those good feelings again. Or at the very least, even if they do not remember the film, it may elicit similar positive feelings now just as it had back when you both first viewed it. In a similar vein, you and your loved one may have had "your song" or a number of songs that you enjoyed in an earlier time. If the song is one that you all learned the words and tune, you may find that your older loved one still remembers enough to sing along with certain refrains. Finally, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, hugs and gentle touch are every bit as important to an Alzheimer's patient now as they would have been before the onset of the condition. Alzheimer's patients also will respond to gentle talk as well as good humor...just as long as they do not feel they are the object of a joke. And while we are talking about caring for your loved one who may be wrestling with a fading memory, please remember my cardinal rule. You will do a better job of caring for your loved one if you also are caring for you, the caregiver. 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.
“I have had the opportunity to work with Charlotte Bishop on several cases in recent years. She always goes the extra mile for my clients. (more…)
Eric Parker, Stotis & Baird Chartered