Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • senior care chicagoChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence

Independent Living for Your Parents – Part 1
The discussion about whether home is still the right or safe place for an aging parent should start with...
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October 11, 2012
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Senior Care in Action: 6 Tips for Preventing Outdoor Falls
It has been a long time since we all first saw the television ad for “Help I’ve fallen and...
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October 1, 2012
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For the Chicago Caregiver: 6 Tips for Family Harmony
At the point in life when one of the family steps up to be a caregiver to an aging...
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September 27, 2012
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Senior Care Essentials: Costs and Benefits of Respite Care
This is not going to be a course in economics, but quite often caregivers of family members get more...
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September 24, 2012
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

If you’re like me, you may have had moments when you’ve looked at the latest clinical information on the health benefits of dark chocolate, and your first response is, “But I don’t like dark chocolate.” What’s a milk chocolate lover to do when dark chocolate gets all the good press, and it seems the only benefit you get from milk chocolate is that it tastes…well…really great! Good news, milk chocolate lovers, new research is pointing to overall health benefits for milk chocolate that include it’s ability to fend off dementia and more. Disclaimer here, when we extend the benefits to milk chocolate, it’s about “minimally-processed milk and powdered varieties” of chocolate. So, read the labels, but be prepared for five health benefits:
1. As with dark chocolate, our milk chocolate intake is part of an overall healthy diet that can reduce the risk of heart disease. Research has shown that adults who even eat a bit less than an ounce of chocolate daily are less likely than those eating no chocolate to develop heart disease. Researchers haven’t pinpointed what the mechanism of action is, but the outcome is real.
2. The antioxidants in chocolate help to defend your blood vessels against plaque buildup by reducing low density lipids – the bad cholesterol. Dark chocolate has an advantage with its greater concentration of stearic and oleic acids, but the less-processed milk chocolate also confers an advantage.
3. Especially if you have high blood pressure or a family history of hypertension, chocolate helps blood vessels to dilate without damaging the vessels, because of the flavonoids all chocolates possess. Improved blood flow means lower blood pressure.
4. Research from Harvard Medical School has found that this blood flow improvement is important to the areas of the brain associated with higher cognition. In other words, chocolate improves mental acuity and memory, but …the good news…you need to consume chocolate daily to optimize the effects.
5. Scientists at the University of Copenhagen found that people consuming chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, had reduced cravings for non-healthy salty or sweet or fatty foods. Who would have thought that chocolate helps promote a healthy diet overall.
Five benefits (and yes, dark chocolate does have an edge over milk chocolate) are a pretty good return on your dietary investment. And you can’t overindulge and expect positive results, but a bit of chocolate-induced happiness has more benefits than just a happy palate. Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of, 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.
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Not a day goes by that the sun does not linger a bit longer, that the landscape gets a bit greener, that the weather gets bit warmer and that the scammers get a bit craftier. We all are accustomed to preparing for a change in the seasons, but we also need to be able to help our older loved ones defend themselves against an evolving art of scamming. I want to share five of them that have taken scamming to new depths. It’s always the same bottom line: they are looking to steal people’s money or people’s identities with which to make monetary gains. But they continue to improve their game, so help your older loved ones prepare.
1. It starts with ZOOM – For the past year or more we have had to substitute real gatherings with digital gatherings. We are all accustomed to receiving the “link” and clicking into a meeting with a friend, a club, a congregation and more. Scammers, however, send authentic-looking links that take your loved one to a platform where the scammer may download malicious software that hacks passwords or gains access financial information. RESPONSE: Impress upon your older loved ones to not click on links in unsolicited emails.
2. Generous Actor giving away money – There have been noteworthy screen actors or athletes who have stepped up to help communities that have been devastated by the pandemic quarantine. Your mom or dad get a text or email invitation from a famous someone, and all they have to do is send their account information and small deposit to cover the “cost of the transaction.” RESPONSE: If it is too good to be true, assure your loved one that it IS too good to be true.
3. New Medicare benefits – With expanded health benefits lately and pandemic-related benefits, there can be a lot of information being broadcast. The offers sound great. RESPONSE: Medicare will never solicit your older loved one; hang up, log off, just close that screen.
4. On-line romance is not love- There is an ever-increasing array of options that allow people to meet on-line. And with the incredibly long quarantine who is not in need of some social interaction. It may even be a book club or a prayer group. RESPONSE: The red flags will be provocative videos or language or any number of suggestions that ultimately lead to a request for money or confidential information; this is another hang up, log off.
5. Account Issues – A text or email with your loved one’s credit card logo and an alert that payment is past due or a text with similar wording. Maybe it is an alert, but… RESPONSE: Encourage your older loved one to ALWAYS call the toll-free number on the back of the credit card or visit the actual web site; never click on a link or provide account details to a caller.
So, you and your loved ones have just these five scams to guard against? Not exactly. These are in the top tier, but scammers are a creative lot, so follow all these general rules of response so as not to be taken in by the next wave. Charlotte Bishop is a Caregiver Coach, an Aging Life Care Advisor, 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. She also is the co-author of How Do I Know You? A Caregiver’s Lifesaver for Dealing with Dementia.
Who doesn’t love indulging during the holiday season? Rich food, delicious drinks, and decadent desserts make every gathering something to look forward to. This is a time of year to celebrate, but it’s not a time to stop thinking about how we can still encourage healthy behaviors from our loved ones and from ourselves while enjoying the season you celebrate to the fullest.
1. Waist Watchers – This seems the one time of year when no one’s worried about what’s on anyone else’s plate—unless it’s to note something delicious missed on a buffet. A happy holiday is a healthy holiday, and most Americans, not just seniors, would benefit from limiting their intake of red meat. Make sure to have leaner versions, like turkey and salmon, available as alternatives. Similarly, make sure some sweets are heavy in fruit instead of processed sugar. Dark chocolate, rich in antioxidants, is an excellent choice for the conscious party planner.
2. Walk It Off – It’s especially easy to ignore exercise after a heavy meal when it seems impossible to move. If this is you, plan ahead and get a walk in before you eat. Grab a buddy, a light jacket in this unseasonably warm weather, and go looking at decorations. For those with limited mobility, or even those temporarily immobilized by calories, seated stretching is a great way to keep moving or get moving again.
3. Riddle Me This! – Research continues to show that mind consistently challenged is less likely to suffer significant cognitive decline. Puzzles and skill-based games and crafts aren’t just fun that everyone can enjoy; they’re also ways for your loved ones to stay sharp. Just remember to keep the competition friendly for everyone, and no slamming the table when Aunt Viv puts a hotel on Boardwalk.
4. Ritual and Remembrance – As adults age and lose independence, some seniors may become homebound, meaning that holiday celebrations might be the only significant interaction they get through the season. Helping to making sure that a senior’s holiday is special and celebrated in a way that they find familiar and comfortable, either by co-attending a religious service, or just singing a favorite holiday song together, helps the senior and caregiver alike, fostering good will and cross-generational relationships. It might be the most inexpensive gift you give all season, but it also might be the one that is most cherished.
Nearly 500 Medicare patients die every day from hospital mistakes, accidents or infections acquired while the patient is in a hospital. Short of death, about 25% of all Medicare patients admitted to a hospital will have some sort of preventable incident or harm. Sadly, almost all of these mistakes are preventable. If you are a caregiver to an older loved one, there are a couple of very important precautions you can take to prevent this from happening to your loved one.

       The first precaution is to be choosy in the hospital where your loved one will be admitted, because not all hospitals do as well at preventing these accidents as others. You now have someone on your side that can help you sort out which hospitals do a better job at making your loved one's hospitalization a positive health experience. If you cannot stop a hospital from making mistakes in the care of your loved one, you certainly can choose a hospital which has a better track record for safety. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) collaborated to come up with a single letter grade scoring system - on the familiar A through F scale - for hospitals. About 30% of hospitals they graded received an "A," and only one percent actually got and "F.” But would you still want to go to a "C" hospital (38% of the total) when you could choose a higher scoring facility? Check out how they scored hospitals as well as a list of those facilities they graded at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org . Those who subscribe to Consumer Reports also can go to www.consumerreports.org/hospitalratings.

       The same people also offered advice on how patients and their caregivers can be vigilant about some of the preventable errors within their control. Most important on that list is being aware of medications administered to the patients while hospitalized. They suggest:

·         Bring a written list of all your medications (prescription and non) with you

·         Watch that hospital staff are checking the patient's wrist ID when administering any medication

·         Be sure the patient speaks up if a med tastes "funny" or looks different

·         If the patient does not feel well after taking a med, let someone know

·         Ask about any medication, what ailment it treats, etc.

·         If it is a new medication, ask what drugs are contraindicated with it

       The bottom line is that when your loved one is admitted to the hospital, the goal is to be safe and to get better. These suggestions are to help you get the best team on your side and make sure everyone is working together for a positive outcome.

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.
We all think that we could never get scammed, right? We all think that only other people can be fooled into giving away personal financial information of access, right? Well, this week I came as close as I want to being taken by on-line scammers. You perhaps cannot see very clearly the picture insert on this post, but two giveaways are highlighted, and one is not. This email came to me this week, and it took some close examination to see that there was a grammar error – the part that says “within 1 days” and a suspicious address – Amazon calls Seattle home, not “Knoxville, Tennessee.” The part you cannot see is what tipped me off, though; I don’t have an Amazon Prime account. If I had the account, I might have clicked through to update my credit card information, and you can guess how that story would have ended. I have said it before in other posts, but the bad guys are quite inventive, so we have to be on the alert for the next new thing, and these suggestions are some that you should share with your older loved ones as well as yourselves. Let me share some of the advice that Google offers:
- Don’t Click on the button until you hover your cursor over the button to see the address to which it will direct you if you do click;
- Check Reviews to see if you are dealing with what should appear to be a legitimate business-everybody gets reviewed;
- Contact Details should be present and verifiable – like the example that I just shared with you;
- “Whois lookup” is a site you can go to as a way to check that the website referenced is an actual, registered domain;
- Too Much is too much – your health care provider and purveyor of spirits may ask for your birth date, but no one else should be requesting it;
- Check Grammar, because a lot of the bad operators may not be operating in this country; English will not therefore be their first language;
- Go Offline and check your credit card statements each month for any charges that may come from web domains that you don’t recognize;
- Trust Your Intuition, because chances are that if the story does not sound right or the offerings don’t seem quite right, then you may be on the verge of being taken.
Of course there is more, but a fair bit of it gets into the more intricate elements of web site construction and such. I think the last is probably the bedrock of safe online commerce…listen to your feelings. It sort of makes me miss the days when I just had to worry about holding my purse close to me so that it wouldn’t get snatched. Be careful. 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.

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Posts tagged with ‘senior care chicago’

Independent Living for Your Parents – Part 1

Senior Care in Action: 6 Tips for Preventing Outdoor Falls

For the Chicago Caregiver: 6 Tips for Family Harmony

Senior Care Essentials: Costs and Benefits of Respite Care

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